We always used them for extra water incase of an overheat. traveling in the roadster with the Ol' man there was always the chance that the nail would get hot. I never knew anyone that actually used them for carrying drinking water, you only drank out of one in a pinch. I guess if you had a farm in the Central Valley and needed to keep the migrant workers hydrated???
I just googled desert water bag and got several hits, if anyone is really interested. One place sold new ones for 9.95. I've seen them for sale at Hershey too, new and old ones. I have a collapsable metal framed bucket that is canvas covered. Folds up to fit under the seat. Had Auto Bucket stenstiled on it.
I remember as a kid traveling from LA Calif to Sioux Falls South Dakota, we had a water bag in the summer and a tabacco pouch in the winter. They used it to wipe the windshield, it was supposed to stop it from fogging.
Cool thread ZZ, just found it. Been wanting to find one with a cool design for my 39. You get tired of that Cali bag, let me know.
I was only talking to my mum about these last week. My dad had one on the front of his work ute. He was a road contractor. One also hung on his grader. This was only the late 60s early 70s. Mum didn't remember but it was one of those childhood memory things...can't argue with those, kids remember.
As a senior at Vegas High,I worked nights at Jim Ward's Triangle Shell. It was located at Main and 5th streets at the North end of the strip,just across from where the Stratosphere is today. Jim always had a half dozen of those bags hanging over split oil drum to catch the dripping water. We sold the hell out of them to the motorists especially from the East . Many thought the "Great Mojave Desert" was like like the Sahara and we said nothing to the contrary. Just the memory brings back the smell and taste of that water and even depending evaporation the water stayed cool. If my memory serves me , Regular was 36.9 and super Shell was 42.9 water bags sold for 2.75, a lube job 2.75 included vacuuming the interior and washing all the windows! How things have changed !!!
I wasn't uncommon for the bag to be hung in front of the grill. The theory was that the evaporating leakage from the bag would help cool the radiator. If there was any truth to that at all, it seems like restricting air flow to the radiator would promote overheating a lot more than any benefit provided by a little evaporation?
The Jalopy Journal
