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Bonnie and Clydes B-400 mystery hood ornament

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by HOTRODPRIMER, Feb 27, 2011.

  1. HOTRODPRIMER
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 64,922

    HOTRODPRIMER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    This subject came up on the Deuce Limited board and after I did a lot of searching I haven't came up with any clues.

    I noticed it a few years ago in the photo but never really did much research.

    Anyone know anything about it or what it's from ?HRP,,

    [​IMG]

    and enlarged,,

    [​IMG]
     
  2. tb33anda3rd
    Joined: Oct 8, 2010
    Posts: 17,588

    tb33anda3rd
    Member

    i thought they drove a '33?
     
  3. ct1932ford
    Joined: Dec 3, 2010
    Posts: 13,287

    ct1932ford
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Who thinks Bonnie is Hot? Man I am getting Old!
     
  4. HOTRODPRIMER
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 64,922

    HOTRODPRIMER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    They drove whatever Clyde stole,,some of the more infamous photo's were taken with a 1932 B-400,,

    They met their maker in a 1934 Ford. HRP
     
  5. R Pope
    Joined: Jan 23, 2006
    Posts: 3,309

    R Pope
    Member

    They were killed in a '33. They stole lots of cars, Clyde preferred V8 Fords. I believe he even wrote Henry a letter praising his cars as the best getaway cars on the road!
    That swan looks like one of hundreds of accessories available back then.
     
  6. theHIGHLANDER
    Joined: Jun 3, 2005
    Posts: 10,767

    theHIGHLANDER
    Member

    Looks like a Cadillac "Heron" mascot. Several OEMs had similar looking birds but their sizes would be different and look even more disproportionate. Hispano Suiza also had a heron style ornament but I'm thinkin Caddy here.
     
  7. lothiandon1940
    Joined: May 24, 2007
    Posts: 32,503

    lothiandon1940
    Member

    I don't know for sure what it came off of, but you can bet it was STOLEN.
     
  8. HOTRODPRIMER
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 64,922

    HOTRODPRIMER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Strange,that 33 Ford was sporting a 34 hood,,,:confused:

    Correct me if I'm wrong but the 33's had a single hood latch in the middle of the side panel and the 34's had two,,one in the front and another in the rear. HRP

    [​IMG]
     
  9. wizzard23
    Joined: Dec 12, 2009
    Posts: 733

    wizzard23
    Member

    Came off a Schwan's truck.
     
  10. HOTRODPRIMER
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 64,922

    HOTRODPRIMER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    You are correct about the letter. HRP

    [​IMG]
     
  11. arkiehotrods
    Joined: Mar 9, 2006
    Posts: 6,802

    arkiehotrods
    Member

  12. krylon32
    Joined: Jan 29, 2006
    Posts: 10,908

    krylon32
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Nebraska

    The B400 was supposedly stolen in South Western Kansas and was used extensively in one of their midwest crime sprees. It was recovered and returned to the original owner. There was a rumor around in the last year that it may have been found alive and well and now lives in a collection in Colorado but that was never confirmed
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2011
  13. Packard ornament...
     
  14. HOTRODPRIMER
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 64,922

    HOTRODPRIMER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

  15. lothiandon1940
    Joined: May 24, 2007
    Posts: 32,503

    lothiandon1940
    Member

    Correct me if I'm wrong but the 33's had a single hood latch in the middle of the side panel and the 34's had two,,one in the front and another in the rear.

    [​IMG][/QUOTE]....That's right, HRP, and the louvers are definitely '34. The '33 louvers were slightly concave in appearance to more closely match the bit of concaveness of the grille.
     
  16. HOTRODPRIMER
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 64,922

    HOTRODPRIMER
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    Good try but,,,,

    Rolls Royce used The Spirit of Ecstasy,,it was also call the silver lady or flying lady. HRP

     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2011
  17. KFC
    Joined: Jul 17, 2008
    Posts: 456

    KFC
    Member
    from UK

    Packard used a winged lady holding a wheel in the thirties , but not the flying lady / spirit of ecstasy . That was well protected by rolls royce.
    The swan was a later Packard ornament , I'd guess one of the many accessory ornaments.
     
  18. Dirk35
    Joined: Mar 8, 2001
    Posts: 2,067

    Dirk35
    Member

    I dont think Ive ever seen a goose ornament so no help on the hood ornament, but everything I read, and the car in the pictures with the bullet holes and their bodies .........well they died in a 34, on May 23, 1934, thus the car was pretty much brand new when they stole it.

    As far as the pictures they took, it would make sense that they were in probably a few 32's since they reportedly linked up in 1930 and died in 1934, and conducted most of their crimes in 1930 through 1934.

    This site has good pictures and info:
    http://debez.com/blanche/bonnienclyde.html
     
  19. hudsoncustom
    Joined: Oct 26, 2001
    Posts: 4,129

    hudsoncustom
    Member

    I saw that letter years ago on display in henry's office during a tour.

    I guess the final word is that the handwriting on the letter does not match known samples of Clyde's handwriting...and it is signed "Clyde Champion Barrow", while his middle name was actually "Chestnut".

    FYI
     
  20. sledish
    Joined: Jul 30, 2006
    Posts: 804

    sledish
    Member

    That made me laugh !!!
     
  21. HOTRODPRIMER
    Joined: Jan 3, 2003
    Posts: 64,922

    HOTRODPRIMER
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I won't argue the letter's authenticity but have known my people sign letters with a taken name rather than a given one.

    Case in point,,,Veda Orr,,,Karl Orr's wife that kept hot rodding alive during the war,,did you know her name was actually Frieda? HRP
     
  22. How about J.C. Whitney? They were in business then.
     
  23. Slick Willy
    Joined: Aug 3, 2008
    Posts: 3,059

    Slick Willy
    Member

    How 'bout a fancy Wills Saint Claire?
     
  24. handyandy289
    Joined: Sep 19, 2010
    Posts: 354

    handyandy289
    Member
    from Georgia

    I appreciate that no one has suggested tha it is from a Henway or Dekfer. Maybe it is from a Canardley.
     
  25. 23 bucket-t
    Joined: Aug 27, 2005
    Posts: 1,366

    23 bucket-t
    Member

  26. Weasel
    Joined: Dec 30, 2007
    Posts: 6,696

    Weasel
    Member

    I was thinking Wills St Claire but it's 'not exactly'. Alvis seems closer but still no cigar....



    [​IMG]
     
  27. T.KITCHEN
    Joined: Jan 19, 2008
    Posts: 154

    T.KITCHEN
    Member

    I checked my 1959 J.C. Whitney catalog, but the one in there (Custom Built Bugler/$6.95 each) has a curved neck/not straight out like the one on the B-400.
    In the early '60s my friend and I made a 2 door Phaeton out of a B-400 with a hacksaw and chisles...OMG!!
    As far as Bonnies "Beauty"....NO women ****ed on a cigar back then, so she probably had other "talents" not well known for the times and was VERY popular like a lot of ugly girls are now!
     
  28. Fenders
    Joined: Sep 8, 2007
    Posts: 3,921

    Fenders
    Member

    As for the middle name, see snopes...
    http://www.snopes.com/business/consumer/barrow.asp

    But who, except Clyde, would know he had previously used, and perhaps liked (even as a joke), the middle name Champion?
     
  29. Dragon Wagons
    Joined: Oct 4, 2009
    Posts: 122

    Dragon Wagons
    Member
    from SLC, Utah

    Not a Duesenberg

    1931 & 1932
     

    Attached Files:

  30. scalhotrod
    Joined: Nov 22, 2010
    Posts: 138

    scalhotrod

    Hey Primer,

    This web page is interesting reading up until it says that the car was on display at Whiskey Pete's in Primm, NV.

    That car absolutely was NOT the actual car. Every hole in the car is .45 caliber and most of the shots are in the side of the car. In the actual ambush there were in front of car firing towards the front of it.

    Either someone sprayed the Whiskey Pete's car with a Thompson submachine gun or several magazines were fired at it from a Colt 1911. This fraud has perpetuated a lot of "Bonnie & Clyde" myth. What a waste of a good hotrod body.

    In the ambush that took place on May 23, 1934, there was a posse of four Texas officers (Frank Hamer, B.M. "Manny" Gault, Bob Alcorn and Ted Hinton) and two Louisiana officers (Henderson Jordan and Prentiss Morel Oakley).

    Several different kinds of firearms were used in the ambush including pistols and rifles. In the reports from the posse members, none of them had a firearm in .45 caliber.

    An interesting side note,
    one rifle in particular used was a Remington rifle in 7mm caliber. It is currently owned by a gentleman in TX who is a member of the Remington Society of America. In one of the reports, the officer who was firing the Remington said that he fired the first shot and was fairly certain that he had hit Clyde Barrow in the head.

    - The Whiskey Pete's car has no bullet holes in the windshield -

    A few year's ago I was at the Greg Martin antique & collectible firearms auction in San Francisco that was auctioning several of Bonnie & Clyde's personal effects including the hat that Clyde was wearing in the ambush.

    I saw for myself that there is clearly a bullet hole about the size that a 7mm round would make through the hat band.

    Anyway, just thought I'd p*** along some research I had done several years ago on the subject.
     

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