My copy (picked up at Auto Aero Books in Burbank) is also having a binding problem. I'll vote for a return of the data page as well. I like to see who does what, perhaps being able to find a new source, vendor, shop, etc.
Our man Janne (don't know if that rhymes, never knew how to pronounce your name!) gets a too cool feature.....your trad, rad art is very BUENO!
but didn't you know that's part of kirks scheme. The article is supposed to be removed so it becomes its own magazine. "kirks journal"
I'm new here and just may very well wear out my welcome with this post but i'll speak my mind anyway. what's with the resistance to restore the "Lost '36"? that car looks like shit as it is in my opinion. what's the excitement over keeping it in that condition? there are cars that look like that in every junkyard in this nation that arent getting the attention that this one is for some reason. is it a cool custom? it probably was once, a very long time ago. now it looks like hell and the desire to keep it "original" reminds me too much of someone jumping on the rat rod bandwagon. i saw another post here recently of a similar '36 that was found and restored and the car is just flat beautiful. who's ever car that was or is, excellent job! it's far more impressive now than it was when it looked like the "Lost '36" feature car. there are those "survivors" or barn/garage finds that are impressive and notable. i just don't feel that this car is one of them. now that it's been featured in it's "found" state and the story told, why not treat it to a proper restoration and make that thing a beautiful car once again? Dave
You said it yourself, that's your opinion. If it's expressed with respect for the car and the people that are preserving it then fine, the viewpoint that it should be restored is worth thinking about and I can tell you probably has been thought about. I can tell you the car does not "look like shit". I see it on a weekly basis and it's always worth stopping and taking a closer look. The current decision to leave it as found is not someone "jumping on the rat rod bandwagon" (if you knew the guys surrounding this car you would find that laughable) but someone who cares enough about the history of the car and the era it represents to not just jump in and tear it apart. Please for the love of GOD tell me where these junkyards are that have cars that look like that. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming you're not stretching and comparing a 50+ year old unrestored '36 Ford Custom to the typical junkyard collection of Astro Vans and Monte Carlos...
i'm not trying to start any flaming arguements here and welcome anyone who wants to explain and educate. i was stretching a bit with the junkyard freference, but it was so you'd get the point. the paint, or what's left of it is a joke, the interior too. the saving grace here though is the chromed dash and cool shift knob. in the articles pictures it appears the passenger side window crank has been "taped" back together with duct tape? i'm curious too over the brake situation. the article mentions front "juice" brakes from a '40, but the rear are disconnected mechanicals? i don't see what's being "preserved" by leaving it the way it is either. some rusty metal with cracked and checked mulit-layered paint? an interior that gave up the ghost a really long time ago and has a rug the dog wouldn't sleep on for a seat cover? should i go into the top? what's good about the car will still shine through after a restoration is doneand it's seemsto me that car would be better preserved in it's greatness as a nice finished restoration. Dave
I really do GET both sides of this discussion... I'm too selfish, I suppose, because I'd have to throw some of my own creativity into an already creative custom, and take what I consider an awesome canvas and stylize it a bit more. Consider for a moment (maybe y'all have already), what the original customizer would think about "his" car's present condition. It could even be painful. Tough call, but those guys in Austin will watch over it carefully either way.
In the article, it says plans are still undetermined. But first they are trying to determine where it came from, solve the mystery of this custom, and you don't want to start ripping apart the clues. It's like an archeological dig. You have to go through the site slowly to reveal its past and its significance. Only then could you even consider building over top of it. Or you think it's just a hole in the ground and it looks like shit.
nah, i don't think it's a hole in the ground. i do think it's a waste to leave it as it is. it's got juice front brakes, but no rear brakes? this kind of stuff makes me question why leaving it seems to be viewed as the best thing to do with it. no one seems to really know anything about it so far, unless they do and are just keeping quiet. it's a good chance that there is nothing special about it and it's just another custom built by a regular Joe at a time when that was a common thing to do. there really isnt anything over the top about it, any real custom lead work or body mods. it looks almost like something that could have been built right from an Honest Charlie or J.C. Whitney catalog besides the chopped windsheild and Carson style top. i'm not knocking the car or it's style. i just don't get the reasoning for leaving it the way it is. are the guys who have the Winfield truck leaving it as they found it? i would think they folks who hang out here would be interested in making this thing a nice custom again. could be worse, some knucklehead could have gotten it and made it into a billet laden gold chainer street rod. Dave
I can understand the arguments here guys. For now it will be left alone until its full history is tracked down.....which is going very well. It was built in the 40s and I want to make sure to know all I can about it before doing anything, if I decide to. I don't want to rush into anything and then find out some details of it's earliest state and wish I'd gone a different direction. To me it's beautiful for what it is and the future is unknown. I'll make sure to keep you all updated though. Thanks, John
finally the man himself! i was wondering how long it would be before you posted on this as i had seen you postin on some other topics. honestly i hope that either you or someone else in the future makes this one "better". i hope the history is found and it's given a nice restoration, maybe even modified more than it currently is. not "over restored", but definitely restored. all depends on what you want out of it though, some collect, some like to own stuff just to say they "owned" it and some like to restore, some like to modify. the first real car i paid any attention too that was a barn find type of deal that was in Rodder's Journal was the Kelly/Christensen '32 coupe. fell in love with that one the second i saw it. Gerard Christensen who owns it know[far as i know] seemed to be unsure for a long time too as to what to do with his little piece of history. i'm glad that he has gone forward and made changes to the car to his liking and has made the former Bill Kelly coupe now "his" car. i asked my dad the other day what he thought of the '36 and told him what my opinion was. he asked me what i was so worried about someone elses car for when i hadn't touched my '49 Plymouth for 5 years. i got the point Dave
rat rods suck, no rat rod in that chevy not my style but the work is that of true craftsmen, at least i think i love the data page wheres the data page
I miss the data pages too... I have subscribed since issue 3. and own em all. I have only ready about 1/4 of the new issue, but Kirk's Starliner is amazing. I can stare at it for hours. With the two rose sizes in the lace it looks like it's glowing.
The Jalopy Journal
