The 49 Fleetline I currently am wrenching on I got from another HAMB'r - FatHack, and he got it from another HAMB'r whose name escapes me right now. That HAMB'r found it in a yard in virginia I believe where it had been setting for 25+ years. It still has a 1976 virginia plate bolted to the front bumper.
I took the serial number from my 55 chevy and researched it and found out it was built in Nov. of 55 in Kansas City Mo. From there it was sold to Bob Whitlock Chevy. in Kaw City Ok.I've tried through the chamber of commerce there to find info. on the dealer to track the car farther but got nowhere until the cars deconstruction in southern jersey in 86. Got the car last year in Aug. rebuilt it to hot rod and pit it on the road this Aug.
I know 42 years history on my roadster. My '27 T roadster's body was apart in a friends attic in '62, I was in the 8th grade, his younger brother was my best friend. About 16 yrs ago he told me he had retired and was building the '27, using an engine he had in a '23 T roadster back in '62, engine was also in an alltered roadster back in the mid '60s, Graham Pharis (sp?) has the frame etc from the altered now with a flathead in it, old dragster, he had it @ Roundup & Kontinental Drags a year or so ago. I have the Moon pressure tank and Eelco hand fuel pump that was on the altered and also on the '23.. He died about 6 yrs ago, '27 roadster was partly built, I purchased it from his wife about 2 yrs ago, got it going, been driving it since. Going to finish it someday, paint & all, & put a plaque on it with his name, birthdate and date of his death in his memory.
I got my '47 from an older friend of my dad's who last drove the car in the '70's. he and his wife took the car a few hundred miles to the street rod nationals a couple times. He bought the car in the earlier 70's from a guy named Red Smith who was known for buying and selling old cars. He stored the car in a garage next to a 41 Ford that was also hot rodded, I think that car is in deleware now. I have some pics from the 70s where my car looks pretty much the same, pretty cool, and some pics from before he painted it too. I did a****le search on my old mustang but it only went back to about 1980. I did speak to the guy that owned it then, funny the car was sold new about 40 minutes from my house, and it's about as far as it's gotten in 40 years. When he owned it he used to drive it to work in the town I live in. He bought it from his neighbor, and he used to throw snow balls at it in the winter before he bought it.
Boy I sure do! I bought this Deuce roadster just because it was available. It was only after I started to strip the paint that I noticed two patch panels below the runble seat. Not for rust but perfectly round holes that looked familiar. I pulled out a 50 Pontiac tail light and found it fit perfectly along with the mounting stud holes. This sumbitch had been a hot rod once!!! When I pulled the door panels the doors were packed these news papers. I often wondered if the owner had a few buddies over for beer while they packed the doors and rumble lid with sound deadening news papers. I know it didn't have the present Chevy engine in it then. The wishbone is still intact so I'm guessing it still had a flatty. I feel honored to be the caretaker of this old hot rod. I sure wish I could learn more about it's history.
The current resident of my garage has a little bit of history behind it. In 1952 two Japanese brothers went fishing @ LA Harbor, one of the brothers slipped into the water and was soon in serious trouble, the other brother jumped in to save him, they both drowned that day. The RPU sat in the family's driveway for a couple of years til a neighbor kid bought it, this was 1954, the kid worked on it quite a bit, sacrificing a 48 Ford sedan for all but the engine/ trans, the 303 Olds was purchased from a 15000 mile wreck, the 39 box was given to him by the same junkyard operator. He made the engine plate, motor mounts and headlight bar in high school metal shop, had the windshield frame & stanchions chromed along with the headlight bar, fitted the 48 ford rear end, front end, steering box, pedal****embly etc, into the little truck, shortened the bed, added some Lee flat lenses to the 48 chevy units, and that's it, this thing never saw life as a hot rod, the guy toted it around from 1954 to 2002 when a friend of a friend bought it, he put it on a KK '32 frame, added a dropped axle and then it sat in his garage until about 2 weeks ago when ShortBus and I drove out to get it, you'll see it in Paso '07
i am lucky enough to know the history of my truck,my grand faher bought it new in 53 and used it as a shop truck,painted the wheels red added glass packs and spotlight,also welded 2front bumpers ogethor for a push bumper,he left it to me when he died this past july right now the truck is 2 differnt colors of primer,i gave the whels a fresh coat of paint,tuned up the old flatty 8 and drive the***** of of it,i also use it as my shop truck
For the older Chevys, go to; www.stovebolt.com/techtips/vin.htm that is where I was at "diciphering your chevrolt vin". I was able to find out that my '50 2dr was built at the St. Louis plant. I presume the California plants(Los Angles & Oakland) supplied the Arizona new car dealers back then. But, the '50 2dr being from St. Louis I can only presume it came West on the old Route 66 a good part of the way to get out here I sure would like to know the history of that car.Somewhere along the line someone had put these crossed checkered flag decals on the dash and the deck lid and wrapped the steering wheel with the old style electrical tape. "If you ever plan to motor West....take my way, the highway that's the best...get your kicks on Route 66..........
Step away from the lacquer thinner sir... I too have often wondered about the events that took place in the cars I own. Was someone in it when they heard the news about Pearl Harbor? Did a newborn baby come home in it? Was someone's heart broken in it? Did some hear their sweetheart say "I love you." for the first time in it? If they could talk, I suppose most of what they could tell us is the everyday mundane stuff, but like our Grandparents, it's the stories about the extraordinary events that I'd like to hear.
You know, some folks show a '40 Deluxe coupe at a few of our local shows that is all original, the paint is a touch on the ratty side, but it has an amazing history in it - it's a Pearl Harbor survivor. I don't remember all the details, but the original owner was up there in rank, a general maybe; the car was used to move as many guys as could hang off the running boards during the attack to get them to defense positions, if I remember what their sign stated correctly. After the war they shipped it to the states and used it sparingly for years (it was a summer car), I think the current owner bought it from the estate.
My T-Coupe body was chopped 5" in 1962 by a body shop for drag car project that was never finished. Owner never came back to pay off the work. Sat from 62 to 97 in a body shop storage building. It was then sold and hauled from Oregon to Indiana by the guy I got it from when his job tranfered him. He sold it when he found a car he wanted in high school, a 68 Road Runner. [A total rust bucket, but to his credit he was about finished replacing the floor, trunk, rockers, quarters, wheel housings, and front fenders.] He sold the T to help finance the Road Runner project. Wish I knew when the T was last a whole car.
In Michigan, you could have a****le history run on a car, I think it was something like $8. Of course the car has to have been****led in Michigan. We picked up my Model A when I was 13 in 1975. It was basically a cab, beat up fenders and butchered chassis. The front axle was an Ford econoline that had round stock welded in the I section and holes drilled in it vertically to mount a stock Model A spring on top. It had an early 60's chevy rear with the A spring behind it (made the wheelbase too short) and cut down chevy trailing arms. The trailing arms mounted to a large hunk of I beam used as a cross member. Doesn't look like it was ever finished like that. The body had multiple coats of paint including the original black, yellowish-orange on the top half, another black that was really shiny, that was coated over by several other paint and primer jobs. The cab numbers show it was originally built in Indianapolis.
My dad bought my 55 ford convertible new and I know who bought my 37 chevy p/u new but have no idea who owned it between the original owner and my dads uncle who bought it to use it on his farm. I found a unused invoice from the 30s under the seat with the companies name on it when I tore the 37 apart but the company was long out of buisness before I got it. Jeff
If you're at all superstitous, you might not want to know all your car's history. A buddies Dad just tracked down the original owner of a '67 Chevelle he bought out of Florida. The 80 year old lady told him that her husband only had the car for 6 months, had it up on jackstands to do something underneath it, when it fell down and killed him. My buds dad now hates to get under it and uses 8 jackstands if he does. The 29 Coupe that I've owned over 20 years was bought in '58 by some friends of my Dad as an original car and built it into a Hot Rod while they were in High School. They've told me a few fun stories about when they had it.
I got the 49 from Jay (SixGunner here on the HAMB), and he litterally pulled it out of the mud in a field here in Michigan where it had sat for YEARS. The original owner drove it here from Virginia in the 70s and it soon got parked with a seized motor and there it sat! There was an oil change sticker from the late 70s or very early 80s if I recall correctly inside the driver's door jamb area, which was probably around the last time it was driven. I think there were faint remains of an inspection sticker on the windshield, too. I left all of the faded original stickers in place on the glass from states like Virginia, Pensylvania, etc...they're a part of that car's history! Now it's left the country and is getting quite a makeover up in Canada from RacerRick, the current owner! My current car is a few years newer, but it went through the same routine...minus the muddy field! Some guy parked it in his driveway for 19 years thinking he was "storing" it, until last year when he got a bug up his**** to sell it. He discovered that the carb was all gummed up (big surprise!), so he did the absolute WORST job I've ever seen of trying to adapt a Ford carb to a GM car and somehow managed to get it running a little, but not enough to drive! A friend of mine bought the car from him and trailered it home, then called me to come and get it to run and drive. It was the same old thing...some jackass "stored" the car for years, so everything was shot under the hood and under the car. A new battery, spark plugs, oil change and alternator got it to where the car would MOVE, but it still needed brakes and lots more work to be halfway driveable! The car got tossed to me to "fix it up", but I decided to make things easier on myself and just BOUGHT the car from my friend, so I could fix things RIGHT and drive it myself...rather than trying to Mickey Mouse a bunch of half-assed repairs with the zero dollar budget my friend always gives me to work with! Now, after MUCH work, it's a very relaible daily driver that'll end up being a killer drivetrain donor pretty soon! It's a fun, comfortable car to drive...but it was another that suffered needlessly because some idiot thought he was doing himself and the car a favor by "storing" it for years on end! Cars are meant to DRIVE...parking them in your yard to "save" them is every bit as bad as pushing them into a swamp, so you might as well do that...it's quicker! I'm just glad I was able to bring another older Chevy back from the dead!
when i see an old shoebox I have had the thought like wonder how many people have screwed in that car....thats just me im a pervert
I can trace my 34 back to 1972. The uncle of a couple buddys of mine built it from 1972-1973 and put it on the road. He lost interest and parked it in a farmer's field in 1975. Ed found it in 1977 and bought it from the farmer who also had the****le. Ed tore it down to nothing and proceeded to build it over the next five years and brought it out on the street in 1982 with a blown SBC. From 1982-1995 it was the baddest street car in town. In 1986 I got to witness the most insane street race in my life two nine second cars running on a narrow strip of road hwy 94. It was insane because people were parked up and down the road all along the race surface and shutdown distance. There probably wasn't 1 foot on either side of the cars as they raced. Thanksfully there was no accident. During Ed's ownership of the car it was raced at racetracks all over the midwest. At some point it was billed as the World's Wildest 34 Chevy. In 1995 one of the fiberglass body manufacturers made themselves and Ed each a mold from the car so Ed retired the car in 1996 and made a fiberglass pro mod car. he raced it for a couple of years and decided it was time to play with boats so in 2005 he sold the coupe to me and the pro mod car to I have no idea who.
My brother wrecked my Pontiac (there's a story) and the insurance adjuster had owned my car. He said he took off the fuel injection and put on the tri-power, installed the 4 speed and put in the lighter grill. Small world. At least it is in Kansas.
I have been curious about my 66' Pontiac lemans since somewhere down the line the seats were swapped out for a set of 69' seats. they have since been replaced with the correct seats. As for my 56' Olds, I'd love to know more about it. The guy I bought it from said a rancher owned it. The last time it was registered was in 1964, the year I was born. On the creepy side, ever since I brought the car home I've noticed a strange presense in the garage. Any time I'm working in the garage and I happen to look over at the Olds, I see the form of a man that quickly vanishes.....OOOOOOHHHH! The car creeps my girlfriend out as well.
My Great Aunt Rose Overvold bought my '56 Oldsmobile new from "Overvold Oldsmobile Cadillac" in Fargo, ND. The dealership was owned by her nephew. The only accident it's ever been in was when my Aunt Rose slid into my Uncle Jack's '63 Dodge. My dad was in the car at the time, and that was his first car accident. In the mid 60's, my Aunt bought a new car and sold the Oldsmobile to my Great Uncle Charles (IMS) who had it for a couple years before selling it to my Uncle (dad's brother). My Uncle sold the car to a couple in the early 70's. The couple split up about 2 weeks afterwards and sold the car back to my uncle. That was the only time in the car's 50 year history that it was not owned by my family. The car sat in a field in southeast Saskatchewan for 30+ years until I had it pulled out of the dirt and dragged to central Alberta where it currently sits (in pieces) waiting for me to finish rebuilding it. Somewhere along the way, my Uncle lost the keys. In tearing down the car, however, I came across a super old "hide-a-key" under the carpet that someone had put there 40 years ago. I also found remnants of my dad and Uncle's younger, dumber days (shell casings, beer cans, etc.) and a comb, which harkens back to the days when my Uncle had hair... Kris
Abrasive, that is great the car has been in the family so long. Now go and do it right and rebuild it right so you can go anywhere in it.
The history of the ongoing "Ranch Wagon" project has been told here before, and for the members who have heard it before just skip past it and read the next post. My wife's grandmother (Jessie Fredericks)bought the 54 Ford wagon new off Blue Ridge Motors sale floor here in Anderson, South Carolina in 1954 It served her well as her daily driver and flower shop delivery wagon up until the early seventy's but it was getting tired and she replaced it with a VW. She decided to sell the wagon and ask my fater-in-law (Clyde Coppage)to park it in his front yard on main street with a for sale sign on the windshield. She said, "If you want it you can have it!" He drove it for several years and kinda patched it up with discarded signs for the rusted out floor boards, With all the sloshing of water over the years hauling flowers there was a lotta rust. The day came in the early 80's he decided he no longer wanted it and put a for sale sign in it. My wife (The Queen of Visa) ask her dad how much he wanted for it and he he ask why, "Do you know someone interested in it?" "Yes sir, me"he told her she could have it. So this cars history continues ,it has sat in our barn until 2002,when I decided to drag it out a start the transformation into a daily driver for my wife,,,,, I still got a lot of work to do but I am making progress,,,,, BTW,,,,,It's kinda cool,,,,this is the car she learned how to drive in and delivered flowers for her grandmother,,,,,and NOW she has her own flower shop,,,It just might see a limited amount of hauling flowers again,,,,,, If you want to see the progress of this rough ol' wagon,,,check out the fotki page by clicking on my signature,,,,,,HRP
The Jalopy Journal
