Hey all, just wanted to share this little story with everyone...I'm sure there are plenty more just like it... Well seeing as Grandpa put a new Ignition switch in sometime in the 60's I hear, the door keys were lost, and blah, blah, blah. So I order up a new "ignition switch, door locks and keys" set. When I was putting in the lock on the driver's door last Sunday, I noticed something in the bottom of the door when shing a light down there...so I pulled the interior handles, interior panel off and one other little underlying panel, and lying there in the bottom of the INSIDE of the door was a One Dollar Silver Certificate dated 1957! I wiped it off, cleaned it up with a little warm water and placed it on the dash to dry a little. Not worth much, other than the story to tell. But pretty neat either way I guess. Wonder how it got down there??? and WHEN?! Anybody else have any cool finds when pulling their cars apart? Later, Mark
Funny you should ask... Back when most of you were in kneepants, all the "little books" advertized a gizmo called a Motor Minder. I'm sure some of the greybeards can remember what miraculous claims were made for it: "Improve your performance by 45%!" "Get 200 percent better fuel mileage" "Save about a million bucks on fuel and excess wear!" It was actually not much more than a glorified vacuum guage, but it was advertized as a true automotive miracle. I don't know how many were sold, but they were advertized everywhere! Well, hanging under the dash of my latest find, the yellow '52 Victoria I recently bought as a parts car, was a sure-enough Motor Minder. A little scrufty, but complete with the light and everything! I didn't see it until I got home and started looking the car over. Naturally, I pulled it off and ****ed on the fitting to see if it still worked. It does! So I'll clean it up and put it under the dash of the blue Vicky and see if all the claims are true. I sure hope so...
As I removed the rear seat in my 53 there was an envelope jammed down between the wheelwell and the body... Inside the envelope was reciepts from 1956 to 1959 tune-up and lube jobs for the car all in order of the dates. A bill for a new distributor and a water pump, air filter cleaning, and an oil pan leak repair were included. I actually framed these and hung them on my shop office wall. I only wish the shop and part prices were like the good 'ol days......
I'm bringing back a few previous interesting topics, this is one that perhaps some of the newer folks can respond to. Re: "motor minder" mentioned by Eric??? That had to be sold by JC Whitney? When I got my '56 it had a stash of girlie mags and a couple of empty beer bottles under the back seat. Nothing worth keeping. . . Years ago I bought a beat up '65 Mustang ragtop. While driving home down a very rough dirt road, 2 funny looking cigarettes fell out from under the dashboard. Had to try one to find out they weren't Marlboros. My buddy tried the other one, said the same thing. Same car, when changing the pan gasket found a comb inside the oilpan. Anybody else have interesting 'finds' to mention? Ron
I was vacuuming out mine and found some small bracelet pieces. Like a monkey, elephant. raceron1120 those are some wacky things that you have found beats mine thats for sure!
I subscribed to a similar thread on the main board last week and had fun reading about all of the crazy things found in old cars. Check it out. The carpet in my '53 looks like it was a DIY operation from a looong time ago. I want to put in new carpet this spring hopefully, and I'm looking forward to what I find under the backseat. If I find anything, I hope it's something cool and nostalgic- not somebody's stash or something. There were a few old registrations, oil change and repair receipts, etc. from the 60's + 70's in my glove compartment- really cool. Does anyone know if the backseat on my '53 just lifts out? Thx Scott
Shove the front seat all the way forward and get in the back, push your knees up hard against the bottom seat and lift up at the same time,there are two catches that hold it in,the back section has two bolts at the bottom.
in my second 54 ford i bought me and my pops got it home and started going through it and found alot of rat dropping a couple dead rats mostly then we pulled out a burlap sack out of back fender in the trunk area...it was clinking and clunking our eyes opened wide thought we hit the jackpot of old coins from a old store or bank robbery....opened sack and inside were tire chains.....never forget that day lol
Things found in my '53's: - original owners manual - 50's Parade magazine mail order catalog insert - Someone's Sunday school homework crumbled in ashtray - Br*** Fire Extinguisher mounted to cardboard heater plenum - Tire Chains in burlap bag (like previous poster) - One more interior to refinish ... so TBD ...
Hey guys, another great find. Was working under the dash of a '68 Cutl*** ragtop last year, wiring in a new radio and putting the AC ducts back together for a customer, and as I'm tucking up the harnesses, I feel something on the bottom lip of the dash. Pull it out and find a genuine 70's hashpipe. Gave it to the customer as a memento. Seemed fitting, he's a high school teacher.
Years ago, about '67 or '68 when I had my first car a '60 plain jane Ford - "found" 2 of my buddies in the trunk after pulling in to the Alpena Drive-In. My other buddy and I thought about leaving them in there but nah - the 2 bottles of $1.99 Boones Farm were back there too
The things a found while taking the interior out was: -A **** load of early 70's beer cans -An old Disney wind up folding clock -Old oil change receipt -Soda bottles -And being an Az. car, sand, sand and more sand.
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