Welcome back to part two of the Old Photo Corner… Let's all chip in and make this next act go just as well as the first one. You can view Old Photo Corner I, here!
Anyone wishing to add a picture or ten to the thread and needs help doing so, can PM me for instruction on how to post pictures, or email the picture to me and I will post them for you. Please pm me for my email address.
I am following up on the last discussion on OPC I regarding the OHIO car plate 52102 of 1913. I sent an email to the Ohio DMV Registrar to see if they are able to identify the car attached to the plate from their records. I'll report back if that happens. Still think it is a Heinz of some kind and not an early Chevrolet. BTW, the photo appears to have been taken with the camera at level with the hood ridge, as the ridge is perfectly horizontal in the shot. If camera was higher, hood ridge line would rise toward back, if lower it would fall toward back. This means fender tops are well above hood hinge line.
Must be Daytona Beach...Sea breeze, sand in your face...Can't decide which handled better... The 'vette or a truck of that era... Great picture though...Thanks for sharing...
Regarding the OPC-I 1913 OHIO plate 52102 (which we thought might be an early Chevrolet), I have heard back from the Ohio DMV who indicate the microfiche records going way back were destroyed in 2001? So that source of an identity for this vehicle appears a dead end.
See photos posted at left to solve the mystery of the 1913 vehicle 352102 initially shown in OPC I and attributed as a Classic Six. It is clearly an Oakland of about 1913/1914, and they produced their 4 cylinder cars with RHD, their LHD cars had 6 cylinders. Took me a while to chase this down.
That was excellent detective work. I just knew we couldn't trust Brewster. Just wait 'til his missus hears about this. She'll start to think he's not as perfect as he claims, anymore.
I knew right away that that wasn't no Chevrolet but a Oakland. I just couldn't prove it. Yeah, right!
Brewster,
You get a point off for this mistake. You had us going every which-a-way on this issue. Sorry, but you are not 100% correct anymore. Shame. (I'm just kidding you.)
Gee Brewster, as a fellow Canuck I'm sorry to see my compadre under the gun. I shoulda sent this info privately to you and let you take all the credit like our American Amigos would have done. Live and learn!
The wife tells me that 60% of the time I'm always wrong… I like my score better around here! I'll be sure to post another 100 photos to bring my batting average back up...
Edgar Allen Poe wrote "believe half of what you see and none of what you hear". My Dad always told me to believe 1/8th of what I hear, 1/4 of what I read, and 1/2 of what I see. So I figure either way, if Brewster is in the 90% correct range, he is setting a high bar!
Brewster, you asked about similarities between the 1913 Chevrolet Classic Six and the 1914 Oakland of the same period, and if they may have had some of the same parts suppliers.
If you read some of the history of Billy Durant's role in the formation of General Motors and United Motors during 1908-1910 you will see there was a lot of common characters involved in a fairly tight circle of automotive magnates in Michigan at the time. When Durant began (some money of his own making along with wealth from old family money), he bought up Buick, Oakland, Cadillac and Oldsmobile, and with the help of Smith, MacLauchlan and others, created GM. He lost control of GM in 1910, and soon was starting up Little in 1911 and eventually Chevrolet (with Louis C)in 1912/13. He was back in control of GM by 1916, only to lose it again by 1921, after which he started Durant Motors, Hudson and Star.
In the same period he also organized United Motors (with Sloan), which was an agglomeration of parts and pieces manufacturers, including names like Delco Remy. With manufacturing facilities in Detroit, Flint and Pontiac Michigan, most likely all of these varied and sundry interlocking businesses shared designs, parts secrets, style info and business models.
This tightly controlled conglomeration of car makers and parts suppliers (Ford was only major competitor before Walter Chrysler appeared on the scene), likely was a factor in the limited choices available in the marketplace, the remarkable similarities between makes, and some might say the slow pace of technological development in the early American Car industry.
By comparison, in the European Market there were a great many fully independent manufacturers producing highly individualized cars and competing on both the race track (with technological development) and in the sales room (with a focus on design and quality).
Here is a 1949 Cadillac, completely covered with 38,295 pennies! They were affixed one by one using Silicone. They added over 200 pounds to the vehicle's weight. The entire project took 6 weeks.
The pennies are American, and include an 1817 "Big Cent", two Error Pennies, and four 1943 Steel pennies; (but who's counting?). Read the sign on the hood.
My car car needs a paint job...Maybe I should go that route... If you did the "math" with the weight of solid copper pennies it would be 253.278 lbs...Almost the added weight of having my girlfriend riding "shotgun"...
GMC 270 engines with Hydra-Matic Transmissions sit ready for installation. How'd you like to have this pile of crate motors sitting in your shop today?
A couple of great photos there! And a huge welcome to the "Old Photo Corner" to all of our "Now Official" GMC members! OldCarKook, your post is the first GMC we've shown since I mis-identified a Chevy truck back on page 3 of the first old photo thread!
Huck brakes front drums (ribbed) and snout on damper for a hand crank, GMC 228 engines reach their final point of solitary life and join a chassis in the assembly line.
Nice sharp photo. Note I have returned the thread title of this thread so we can follow it clearly as we always have! Please do not change it folks. Thanks.
Interestingly it has a DC plate of 1923 over what appears to be an older plate, perhaps from another state, Mass. perhaps or is that long word at bottom of lower plate Washington? That might suggest it is a 1922? Although it does look brand new, I guess cornering at high speed was a problem for those spoke wheels! BTW, have changed the thread title again, if replying, please reply to my posting and not one with one of the other headings in order to keep the thread heading. just askin'.
I just love these unposed photos, likely about '36/'37 I'm guessing (based on a few years of age on the '34)at a warehouse for something. Quite a crowd (8 guys), must be lunch hour. What state on plate?
Oops!1923 Superior...Looks like it has two license plates...Trying to make out what it says on the window...Oh, now I see it...It says "No Fat Chicks"...
Another amazing find tonight while googling for photos! I have joined a Facebook group that is about "Growing up in Fergus" which was my hometown from the age of 6 until I left in my mid twenties. My parents still live there, and I will always call it home. I've always tried to look up old pictures of Fergus, but it seems that the same 7 or 8 pictures come up online, and that is all. This week, a whole bunch of people including the towns "official historian" started posting the real type of photos that I've been looking for. Street scenes that show how life was in the previous decades. The Chevrolet's are few and far between, as we had a Ford dealer on the main drag in the early thirties. Here's the couple that I did find, courtesy of Pat Mestern…
This one was titled "Showing of New Cars on St. Andrew Street". Of note for us is the Chevrolet, second from the right. If they are indeed new cars, then I would date this as about 1919, as it looks to my uneducated eye to be a 1919 FB series Touring. I'm fairly certain the front fenders were different on the 1920's, so it must be from the teens. Maybe one of you guys could help verify this for me. The building on the right is the public library, which is still in use today. I spent a good deal of my childhood there! All of the other stone buildings behind still stand as well…
This picture shows the scene outside of The Fergus Restaurant on the night in 1954 that the Fergus Thistles won a lacrosse championship. The 1950 Deluxe sedan appears to be dressed in quite a few of the aftermarket accessories available through the local Canadian Tire store…
Another great set of pics, including the Fergus ones. As for the crackers photo, assuming it was not for a much later car show, I'm guessing about 1955/56 based on the array of fine looking cars in background. Anyone recognize a specific year/ make, other than what appears to be a circa '53/54/55 Buick? Cars had character back in those days, love em or hate em!
Big John Robinson, proprietor of John's BBQ in Peoria, Illinois. (Later known as Big John's BBQ, and today as Grandpa John's Rib Shack.) Founded in 1949 at 901 Monson Street in Peoria, his BBQ was made with a 100 year-old family recipe that John learned as a boy growing up in Mississippi. How good were his BBQ ribs? This photo shows how good business was just one year later. John took delivery of a 1950 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery and had his business logo and contact info lettering added to it. Long live local business, and old Chevrolets.
Another great set of pics, including the Fergus ones. As for the crackers photo, assuming it was not for a much later car show, I'm guessing about 1955/56 based on the array of fine looking cars in background. Anyone recognize a specific year/ make, other than what appears to be a circa '53/54/55 Buick? Cars had character back in those days, love em or hate em!
The blue one on the left, behind the billboard looks like a 52-54 Ford. Then the first one on the right (cream) a Caddy, 55-ish, then 2 '57 Buicks, a 58 Buick, another Ford and a GM with the reverse C-Pillar of 57-58. My guesses.
In the first picture, it appears that the nice lady has just bought herself a great 1940 Special Deluxe sport sedan. What I imagine the gentleman salesman is saying to her is, "Ms Courtney, I just know that your selection of that one and only accessory of a grille guard is a wise one. Not that you will ever run into anything out there on the ranch but you can never know when an adventurous little Mack may want to take it for a spin and see if he can win a standoff with an equally ornery, major sized Longhorn bull.
I hope you will consider a radio once some stations finally creep far enough west that we can receive reception during daytime hours."
And, what is with the shoe-polish sign in the window saying, "Now Open for Business." Why is the "Now" necessary? Wasteful. Texas logic?
Charlie
Note: I was just trying to poke a little fun at MrMack. Not knowing his history and the time lines, I may have been way out of line here. Not intended to be disrespectful, yet my apologies it it appear so. Good health to you, MrMack!
Did you notice that the 2 ladies on the left had dashes from the 52-53 Ford cars?? I thought this was a Chevy site?? Ha!! Seriously though, please keep the photos coming. Sure appreciate it.
You'd have to be a Ford guy to spot that! Is there something you're not telling us?! I really thought they were just a generic dash… I do appreciate that she's bombing through there in 3rd gear...
Actually, the ignition key is shown as upper right, but the correct position would be lower left of steering wheel if it was a true Ford dash.
I gots a real problem though, I just plain love all old cars, regardless of make, and yup, I gots 3 Fords, a Chevy, and an AMC Matador. You probably don't remember those cause I think you are a bit young???
Jane, Abigail and I went for a walk last night into downtown of Bolton, Ontario. The town has done some work on the bridge and riverfront area, and put up a bunch of historical boards that tell the history of our town. This view shows a 490 Touring on Queen St. looking to the south. I never even thought to take the current view, but will do so later.
1. Cleaning up the 42. The bumper ends look like they have been borrowed from a later model. I supposed the fellow in front is sorry he traded the 41 and thinks that using the Weed Eater on the car is just right. What's with the sprinkler bucket on the right? I doubt the pipe is lit. I don't know why they took that thing out front where all the neighbors could see it. Back yard would have served better, I'm thinking. Further, why even wash a 42? Hmmm? Seems that would be a waste of time and water. After all, there are thirsty people in the world.
2. On the models on main street. Why are all the cars on the left sporting the eagle(?) radiator caps? Were they standard on those models? The cars on the right seem to have cloth tops, are they the same year as the ones on the left? Or are they last years models. Seems I can almost make out a sign in their windows saying, "Huge Discount."
3. The ladies taking mandatory driving lessons. Do you think that helped any? The gearshift levers look they are in neutral to me. Anyhow, maybe you folks north of the border refer to a position of the gear shift as "third" but we, who are evidently more logical thinking down here, accurately refer to it as "drive" (because there is no "fourth" you see.
There were two completely different cars in 1935. The Standard looked old fashioned with a 1933-1934 type body. The Master Deluxe had the modern steel top, rounded more modern 1936 type body. The modern body would be used on the Standard in 1936 also.
The "Eagles" were an accessory. The production ornament on a Master was a rather flat bullet. I would guess 95% of the Masters had the eagle. Probably was a required production option package. Was just an ornament on the Master as the actual radiator filler cap was under the hood. In 1935 bumpers were still an option but there again it was a required option and you couldn't get the car without them. Was a pricing thing. A lower suggested list price could be advertised . All of the car companies did it . The 1935 Standard still had the exposed radiator cap and the eagle cap was a dealer installed accessory.
You got a hang-up with Fords?? Look closely and you will see that there are only 3 Chevys on the right side. Then 2 Ford?? trucks. Then a 35 Ford 4 door slantback. After the barricade past the people, looks like a bunch of 35 Fords to me. Could also be Dodges, but me thinks they are Fords.
I thought the trucks on the right side of the road are a 1 ton then a half ton Chevy. I have no idea what town it is, or what the event is that is happening… but it reminds me of the photos that were sent to us from Cowra, Australia in the first photo thread. The new cars were all shipped into town by train, then displayed on main street the day the dealers came to pick them up. Hence the multiple makes here.
As for the gear shifts, Charlie… Third is found on a three speed manual transmission. Drive is found on a Powerglide automatic. They have those so that you don't get your skirt caught in it when driving. Now I'm wondering who's been doing the shifting for you in the '41? Or is that long line of traffic behind you because you thought first was drive, and you didn't have to change them up??!!
P.S. Thanks… now I can't look at that '42 picture without thinking that he's using a weed-wacker on it!!
I stared at those 42 bumper ends some more. Now I can see the three bumps/ridges in them. I missed them before and thats why I thought they were from a later model.
I will confess. I have sinned. Back in 1951 I put the 1942 guards on my 1941. You could find those laying around at the dealership and no 1941's.. Also installed the 1950 uprights. they were removed from wrecks at the body shop and only had a few nicks on them.
While we were on the 2014 Eastern Six Cylinder Tour, Carl Apsley Jr. from CT. shared this photo with us. This is 6 month old Carl in 1929. In the background are his families 1929 and 1928 Chevrolets…
Last night the wife & I sat down to watch some cheesy sci-fi and saw "The Day the Earth Stood Still". This film was loaded with old Chevy cars from the late 48's and early 50's. Here's just a few of them.
Thanks for the photographs. I remember seeing that film when it first came out.
Anyway, I am pleased to see no stinkin Fultons in the pictures. I wonder how in the world those folks got around squinting, suffering from eye-strain, not being relieved of dangerous situations caused by "sun dazzle". etc.
In the movie, what was it the alien told the Patricia Neal to go back to the saucer and say to the robot? It wasn't something like, "come er and git me, I'm shot." It was something scrambled. Kind of like Canadian.
a. "Hello, handsome? Nope.
b. "Say, big boy, whatcha doing later? Nope.
What was it? ...... Oh, I know. I remember it now. It's as clear as day. He told her to say to the robot, "Fortyeightsareboring."
Yep! That was it. The robot obviously agreed, woke right up and then zipped off and got the gun-shot alien and rushed him back to the saucer, where all the surgical instruments were, and performed extensive touch and go surgery on him. Fixed him up good as new. Did too!
One from my hometown of Fergus back in the 1940's. A 1927, with what looks like a 1926 head light for a driving light, and some different front hub caps…
Two things to note in this photo… First, the mostly stock 1931 roadster with the chopped top in the front row, and second, the 1931 Cabriolet in the background row…
A 1934 GM display of new cars. "Yes Please!" to the new 1934 standard coupe and roadster!
The top photo of the Sinclair gas station was taken in Augusta, Wisconsin; near Eau Claire. Shown is a '48(?) Fleetline Aerosedan on the right. Sorry Charlie-- can't tell if there is a Fulton installed. The other two cars are of makes and models unknown. The station was owned by my sister-in-laws Dad in the late '40's to early '50's. The building was demolished long ago.
The second photo shows a 1950(?) Fleetline. The kids are my sister-in-law and her brother.
I know it's not a Chevy but I couldn't help it. The photo with the three above reminded me immediately of this one of my father and his brother holding up their sister. The two photos have similar "moods".
This 1953 Chevy Cantrell Woodie was for sale on eBay a few months ago. It didn't meet reserve and sell with a top bid of $30k, but this was one of the original photos included in the listing. Pretty cool. These people drove this through central and South America for summer vacations in the 50s and camped out of it.
This image was taken by my friend Cliff Burnett when he was a kid with his Brownie Box camera. The Cliquot Club Beverage company was a local (Millis MA) bottler who used the Eskimo girl as their mascot/logo and had this truck built to promote the brand.
Here are some pictures of some Danish assembled Oldsmobile trucks from the mid/late 30´s
This first picture is of a ´37/38 Oldsmobile c-133 truck . The image was taken in the early 80´s. This summer I picked several parts from this truck before it was scraped by the owner.https://app.box.com/s/yy14xo2wq9e7wyxndvyy
And finally here is a picture of my ´39 Oldsmobile C-159 just after we pulled it out from it´s resting place for the last 51 years: https://app.box.com/s/fxbid8eg0zfumhnggd2w
Actually they sold all 3 brands along side of each other, why they did this is not clear. But all brands sold well so it was a succesfull marketing plan.
great photo brewster.i have a 39/40 coe tow truck with an early holmes tow rig. i'd always felt the bed of my truck was home made, but observing this photo, i'm not sure now. there are similarities. thanks, mike
Would be interesting to know when & where. Got it on a thread showing old signs. A lot of them are the type that was painted on brick. Many of them have cars. This one caught my attention.
I think there's some photoshop work in that picture. The line of Divco trucks looks to be repeated a few times. That lineup along the right side looks too perfect...
I'm working on a project to scan my Dad's old slides. After he got out of high school in '48, he bought a camera, and took several thousand Kodachrome slides over the next many decades. However, the one labeled "first photo" is this one here - a '31 on a mission. I identified the spot where it was taken: Pottstown PA, High Street. There was a Citgo station there when I was a kid, I think maybe Texaco back in '48. I wonder what this guy's story was?
We watched Hatari (John Wayne - 1961) last night. What a blast! Great soundtrack with LOTS of revving, Chevy-six sounds. Check out the main vehicle (1947 Chevy truck):
Aftermath of a Boston crash involving a 1932 Cabriolet. Not sure what year the photo is, but is it odd that the rear window is not the correct "football" shaped window? Was that a mid-year change?
Maybe someone with more skill that I can blow up the license plate and see the year. The cars in the background are of the same general time period as the '32 so I am thinking it was fairly new when wrecked.
Wonder what happened to the front bumper? Sure cleaned out the spokes from the rear wheel.
103 years ago, GMC offered their new 1912 model in electric drive. In fact, GMC produced electric drive trucks from 1912 to 1917.
A total of 173 electric trucks were produced by GMC in 1912; about 40% their entire production. By 1914, electric drive accounted for 23% of GMC's total production, 10% in 1915, and just 3% by 1916. Only one GMC Electric was built in 1917.
The long hood also is a hint the it was made for a six. The 27 was supposed to get the six but the engine was not ready. So they used the four and had heating problems. They installed fan shrouds to correct the problem.
That must be a rarely seen photo! Very nice! We'd be forever grateful if someone could dig one up of that era of a Classic Six, Light Six, or D-V8's on an assembly line...
From David Berry on Facebook comes this photo of a 1918 Chevrolet FB Touring. David writes "My mom and her older sisters with the family Chevrolet, late 1918 or early 1919. My mom is the baby sitting on the fender."
Let's jump ahead a few years, with David Berry again!
"Here's another snapshot of my mom, this time from 1934 in Sheldon, CA, standing by what looks like a 1927 Chevy Capitol 2 door sedan, with my grandma in the driver's seat. According to a little book Mom wrote about growing up on a ranch east of Sacramento, her mother did the driving when they left the ranch, while her father just drove his Model T truck around the property."
I like the looks of those 60s and on back dealers,they look so much better then todays all look alike buildings.I just went by a small town Chevy dealer a little north of me and it looks like GM got to him and made him build a new building that looks just like every other but only smaller and tore down the neat old building,that dealer always bragged about being cheaper in the country but I doubt it now that the new building needs to be payed off.
1935 (?) Chevy truck pulls a load of new Buicks in this filling station image from 1936. Interesting that all the car bumpers and brackets are removed for transport; presumably to make them fit on the trailer.
I think the interpretation of a tri-color station wagon is in error. The blue cast in the photo is from the blue back ground lights reflecting on the white top paint. Also see the blue cast on the Bel-Air top edge on the car just in front of the wagon. BTW I like the fourth car in line. Sure looks a little shorter than the rest.
Thanks for the clarification. I like the tri=color look even if it is an optical illusion.
I saw that the link I posted this am was not working and I went to edit the post and can't. Is there a time limit on editing posts? It's only 6 hours old.???
Here's the image I was trying to post. Looks like a '35 Chevy pulling a load '36 Buicks.
It's a '36 High roof truck. Bottom corners of the windshield are rounded, fenders have "apron" behind wheel, grille is chrome and uses same emblem as '34 and '35 cars. Any chance it was over loaded?
This info was also supplied to the Facebook site that posted the picture...
" Ruby Chevrolet was a Southside Chicago dealer on south Stony Island avenue. They later took on a VW franchise. Despite the changing inner city neighborhood in the 1960s, they soldered on until about 1990."
I took a trip back home to Fergus today to help Kaygee with some roof work on the house. After lunch Mom & I took to the old photo albums again. Every time I go there it seems like there's another one that I haven't seen yet! I've dug out the Chevrolets to share with you all again. Sorry for the picture quality, but my scanner is on the fritz, so I had to take photos of the photos...
This is my Grandmother and Uncle Bob, with Grandpa's 1931 Chevrolet. First time I'd seen a picture of it or known he had one...
This was an Uncle's wedding, with a 1934 Chevrolet sedan...
Mom wasn't sure who these two were. Visitors to the farm. I was sure it's a '37 Chevy...
This is my Grandmother's sister, with her daughter...and 1938 Chevrolet.
This is my Mom. The car is her Grandfather's 1946 Chevrolet. He was the 3rd owner of the car, and kept it "as shiny as new nickel", in Mom's words. He owned it for a few years, then sold it when he got a newer car. The new owner wrapped it around a tree within 3 weeks...
This 1958 Impala was owned by a relative. That's Grandma in the passenger seat, Uncle Bob in the front, and my Mom standing in the rear seat. She explained who all of the others were... but I was busy looking at the car! I hope she wrote it all down on the back!
1934 Master Sedan with optional side mounts. Tire covers denote it being from J. V. Baldwin Motor Co., which was a Chevrolet dealership on Figueroa St. in Los Angeles.
The 1934 Master Town Sedan is a 2 door with a built-in trunk. Car pictured is just call a Sedan. t it were to have a built-in trunk it would have been a Sport Sedan. A new model introduced in mid 1934.
How's this for a moment in time... Three hard working guys take a few seconds to climb up on the running board and bed of their 1934 Chevrolet Truck. The object of their attention: the German dirigible "Hindenburg" as it passes over Wildwood, New Jersey shortly before it exploded at Lakehurst, New Jersey - May 6, 1937.
OK... here's one for you Early Experts! This is "Woman's suffrage supporter Rosalie Jones leading by example. (1910-1915)."
Now, is that a 1914 Classic Six that Rosalie is wrenching on? The running boards, hood, lights, engine look right... but the curve of the front fender looks different from the one in the Sloan Museum. Did later Classic Sixes have a different style front fender?
1953 "Two-Ten DeLuxe" two door sedan, which won the Light Stock Car Class of the 1953 Carrera Pan Americana Road Race from the Mexican-Guatemalan border north to the Rio Grande River in Texas. It was driven by 60 year old C. D. Evans, a Grandfather who dubbed himself as "The World's Safest Driver." He equipped his car with 17-inch wheels and six-ply tires from a one-ton Chevrolet truck as it's sole modification. Mr. Evans was skilled enough to keep his car on the roads through the tortuous curves and bends of the mountainous regions in Mexico, passing many demolished challengers along the way, then ran it wide-open once he made it to the more level terrain leading towards Texas to his victory. I was able to learn VERY little about Mr. Evans beside the fact he lived another 20 years after that.
(Picture & commentary lifted from Kerry Glenn's FB page)
I would like to add the car had a Power Glide transmission. Another 1953 Power Glide finsihed in third place. They saaid alost 100 actual miles per hour was mintained on the long flat desert roads. Some legs of the five day event were through the mountains. I have never heard about the 17" wheels before, that was the secret of the high speeds attained. The picture shows 5 lug 15" wheels but very large cross section tires. The wheels pictured are passenger car type.
First is Lazarus Garage from Smokey Lake, Alberta in 1933. Note the 1932 Sedan is a Deluxe model, but lacks the chrome hood doors which were not offered on Canadian built cars. (Dealers may have been able to add them at extra cost)
Second is Lindberg's garage in 1938. Notice the Maple Leaf behind the GM logo on the sign. The leaf was red, on top of the regular black & yellow GM logo.
There are some interesting features about that '49 convertible with the lady standing by the passenger door. The taillight lenses appear to be from 1950. In 1949, the lenses were flat, following the curve of the fender.
There also appears to be an inside rear view mirror. I was under the impression that convertibles were furnished with one rear view mirror mounted on the exterior of the driver's door. When I purchased Brewster's '50 convertible there was no inside mirror. I mounted one in the upper hole of the windshield divider, like the one in the picture. I found out that when driving with the top up and the rear window zipped up, all I could see in the mirror was part of the back seat, or about 10 feet of road behind the car. When I lowered the mirror to the lower hole of the divider, that made the thing much more useful.
Is that a curb-finder I see behind the rear wheel? How many of you remember curb-finders?
Also it has a 1950 accessory steering wheel. Going back to the first 1949 converible picture in front of the church, it has no out side mirror. 1951 convertible had the big back window so came with an inside mirror and no O.S. mirror. The 1950-1952 Bel Air had the mirror mounted on top of the dash due to the rear window be lower on top.
From the day they came out I always liked the looks of a 1949 convertible. It was an outstanding change from the pevious models.
Gene, the "church" '49 indeed does not have an exterior rear view mirror. From what I can see, it seems to be lacking an interior rear view mirror as well. If it were there, I feel that you would be able to discern it in front of the trousers worn by the gent standing behind the car. Along with the different trunk lid this could very well be a pre-production model. Compared to the "standing lady" '49, the trunk lid does appear to slope away from the rear belt moulding more sharply.
In A Pictorial History the 1950 Bel Air has an inside mirror mount on the center windshield divider like a sedan. Then it has a convertible with no O.S. mirror on page 166.
This is from the 1949 Engineering Manual. It states that the early style will be used in the first 30 to 40 days of production. I think that they did better than that as I saw only one early style lid. Says the sedans are 1 1/2" higher and coupes 2". I never saw a Pontiac with the low lid but saw a number of 1949 Oldsmobile 76 and 88 models with the low lid. The Olds came out about a month before the Chevrolet. Buick went through the same thing on the Super and Roadmaster in 1949. It had the larger GM C body. the 1948 Olds 98 and Cadillac all had the C body with a round lid and in 1949 they got the high lid. Must have been a styling change to make the rear end more square like other makes of cars. Also added a little trunk space.
I had heard it was becuse of the spare tire fitment but do not think that was true. I remember of only seeing one of the rounded lid cars (when new) and would say it was safe to assume it had a spare tire in place. This was an accross the board change in 1948 to 1949 Fisher Bodies (used on the larger Olds and Cadilllac) in an attempt to square off the rear end and make it look more modern and add to the trunk volume.
It wouldn't surprise me that they figured out that people pack their trunk with luggage parallel to the newly upright spare, and a suitcase would fit better if the trunk was high enough...
Were the serial numbers for those early production models listed in the monthly Fisher Body News reports when the decision was made to switch over to the higher lids? Were the owners of those early production units contacted by GM regarding having the lid replaced with the redesigned lid for free? Were the Canadian production early '49's involved in this as well?
Seems to me that having a '49 with the lower lid and a serial number that fits in the production span would make this car a bit more valuable, right?
The only printed Chevrolet info. I have ever seen is what is posted. Chevrolet would not be obligated to change over early models as the literature always states that they have the right to make changes and improvements at any time without doing so on previously sold vehicles. If they would have made all the runninng changes made during the 1949 model year it would have been cheaper to replace the entire car.
So... I'm googling and searching Chevrolet stuff tonight, and I come across this pictoral history of baseball in Toronto Canada. A really nice history, with credited photos from various places like the Toronto Historical Society, the Toronto Library, a few published books on Toronto history... all pretty legit and factual places. Then, near the bottom I saw the photo attributed to the "Vintage Chevrolet Club of America"!!! That's right, a photo stolen right from our very own Old Photo Corner"!! Do I tell them that I pinched the photo from somewhere else? Do we feel offended by the pinching of our pinched photo?!! They even supplied a link to our site
Thought I'd do them a solid, and supply the link to their site...
Ray Great old pics on that search! Look at it this way FREE advertising for the VCCA Club! It was funny back in those days they always were all dressed up even with bow ties plus they would go to the factory’s to build cars in the same dressed up fashion! Not like these crazy days! Rory 1934 Chevrolet Standard DC Sport Roadster for sale 1933 Ford 3 Window Coupe 1934 Ford 4 Door Sedan under construction 1933 Ford 4 Door Phaeton
Hi Brewster, when I try to access your photos, for every photo all I see is a request to update. I have looked at these photos before with no trouble. Maybe my dues are due.
Nope... it's my dues that are not paid up. Photo bucket has changed their posting policy from being free to wanting $120 a year (down from $400!!) to allow third party linking on hosting photos. All my photos are stored on photo bucket, and will be moved once I find a new host, or another free way to post. Sorry I'm cheap like that, but I'd rather spend $120 on the cars or on my daughter than on what should be a free service.
Free is nice but I am sure you realize that everything has a price. The only things that are free are those received from charities and then those are donated by someone who has already paid for them.
They were making plenty from all of the advertising pop ups that jammed that site up all of the time. I'm hoping that one of the big guns like Facebook or Instagram sees the benefit to allowing free third party linking to expand their user base, and adds it on. I don't care how they make their money... as long as it's not from me. There are lots of big companies that pay to advertise so we can see it for free.
When you get on the bus that says free ride you don't get to decide where to go. If you want to be "in the drivers seat" then you must pay. It's that simple. Unfortunately there are plenty of folks that feel someone else should pay so that they can get a free ride. Advertisers pay so that when they sell their product they recoup the cost of the advertising-you are still paying one way or the other. If they can't get enough revenue from advertisers then they will look elsewhere. Not enough revenue and they then close the doors.
It's pure GREED ! It's not about making money ! It's about making so much money you can't even spend it all. Why fly your kids to school in 727 when you can fly them a 747 ?
I don't know why we just can't host the pictures right on this site so they are here long term. I'd certainly pay this site to support this and preserve the pictures here for future reference.
I've been through every single post in several forums here and it's disappointing how many threads are useless since the photo links are dead. It's in the thousands. This was before the photobucket change and it was just people or technology breaking the links after a few years, now it's even worse.
Even before the Photobucket cash grab I would not use any of the hosting sites having spent 2.5 decades involved with IT. Privacy was one concern but mainly since the sites just felt risky to be on and painfully annoying. I felt like hackers were groping me just being on the sites. I presently can't even look at most hosting sites at work or home as the Adware/Spyware software flags them as Malicious sites. That says something by itself.
So free hosting or not, regardless of who is paying these sites, many of us can't even see the pictures if they are not on this site. I couldn't see most of the pictures on this thread before the photobucket change. We really need a better way of hosting them right here.
I agree 100% with the idea of being able to post photos directly to this site.Not all who use the site may be technically educated but at least with a photo it is much easier to understand. Hopefully if and when it does happen it will be a process that is as simple as attaching a photo to an Email and not as complicated as the process that is now used to add a photo to a post. Whether we can or cannot afford to do so should be something the membership has a voice in.
Although I agree with what has been said concerning the disappointment with all the dead pic links, exactly why can't folks post pics to this site now? I do, Rustohlic does as do others. Why can't folks just post pics to the Member photos or Member projects? What am I missing?
At one point there was talk that having the club host thousands of photos would require the purchase of much bigger hard drives, etc. For the club, it's cheaper if our photos are hosted somewhere else. As for using the members area photos, I'd want the photos to show up in the posts I make, not off to the side in another thread. Overtime I try to upload a photo to it, I'm told my photo is the wrong size... and I'm looking for a single step process to match my single step knowledge of computers. (I've been totally faking my "expertise" in the area of computers if you haven't guessed!)
Now, I have no idea about the financials of multi million dollar international companies... but I do think it's shady business when a company advertises it's "free" package to the public, while rolling up a lion's share of profit, and then uses the same public's photos as hostages in order to demand payment to release the photos again.
I would understand if they Grandfathered it in, and told me that any future photos I add after a certain date would have to be paid for...I might have even considered a membership at a reasonable rate. Then myself, you, and our VCCA community wouldn't be being held hostage by Photobucket. At this point I'll find any other option rather than deal with them again.
Seems to be! If you plan on continuing, it might be best to start a new post with the same theme and then upload directly to the post now that pictures can be attached.
That way when (insert hosting site here) decides to grind you for cash, you will no longer be a victim...
First one is of a friend's mother with her first car. 2nd pic I have no info on, except it's advertising one of my favorite products ! Ruth Simson 31 Chevy Coupe by TagMan, on Flickr
Me (circa 1963) at Joe Mercantini's Chevrolet in Bordentown, New Jersey and a photo of the rear from the next owner.
I traded emails with the gentleman who bought it from Joe. Although he claims the car is from 1926, I suspect it was delivered to the dealership in '26. but was a 1927 model.
That bulldozer must have helped itself a bit to get out of the field for I think that front bumper on the '41 would look a bit different if it did all the pulling, going by the manner that the tow rope is fastened!
We had a dozer like that in our quarry. There is no way that 41 could pull that dozer. I would guess what happened was the dozer was pulling the 41 out of the ditch.
We had a dozer like that in our quarry. There is no way that 41 could pull that dozer. I would guess what happened was the dozer was pulling the 41 out of the ditch.
I agree with jschildberg, that the '41 is being towed out of the ditch. In the end, though, it was the '41 bumper that got : "rescued" and the car left in the ditch.
Actually that would not be the assembly line but rather the plant were Chevrolet/GMC built the bodies.....Then the completed body would be sent to the assembly line to be mounted on the frame.
Passenger car bodies were built at an a Fisher Body plant and shipped to the Chevrolet assembly plant. Most bodies were built at a Fisher Body plant adjoining the assembly plant. Truck bodies were built by Chevrolet and shipped to an assembly plant. There again often adjoining the assembly plant. The building of the body, while on a body assembly line would have taken way too long to keep up with a moving final assembly line. The body would need to be finished well before arriving at the assembly line. If you ever went on a plant tour this would have been obvious.
Gene is absolutely correct. Along with the cars....all truck bodies were pre-assembled in a separate shop way before they ever hit the official "Assembly Line ".
So to the question: where was this plant? I worked for GM Media Archives 24 years ago pulling and identifying GMC Pontiac assembly line images where I got many of the images I share and most are now for sale in the GM photo store. While clearly these cabs were constructed, all the images i have indicate they were made in Pontiac.
The images you posted don't confirm anything about location. Where were these cabs built and then do you claim that all (GMC) trucks, panels, suburbans, medium and heavy duty cabs were constructed off site from the Pontiac assembly line?
Obviously they are constructed, but the question is where since you have claimed they were built elsewhere.
Posting a bunch of "DO NOT COPY" photos of cabs being assembled tells us nothing. I can post photos without "DO NOT COPY" of the assembly line until the cows come home. Remember, GMC is not Chevy.
As long as we are on the subject of " Pirated " Chevrolet pictures being pawned off as being GMC pictures....
The image posted earlier by this so called GMC "expert" is actually taken from a Chevrolet publication entitled: " Chevrolet - Los Angeles Division Assembly Plant Preview 1948 "
Although the picture posted above by the GMC guy is claimed to be a GMC document .... { And he even went out of his way to brand it with his GMC watermark }....
It is actually a picture of a Chevrolet truck body in the Van Nuys California Chevrolet assembly plant publication
MotherTrucker, it's good to see you are still your contentious self, but with yet another a new ID. How many times have you been thrown out of this forum now? You have to hold the record and you must be running out of catchy names to use when you keep re-registering trying to fool the admins here that's not really you. So your answer is that all the GMC truck bodies were manufactured in Van Nuys California and then sent to Pontiac?
Pontiac MI from 1912 through the 1950s. In '48, GMC arranged to assemble light duty and some medium duty GMC trucks at the Oakland and St. Louis Chevy truck assembly plants
1912 GMC Electric Truck. GMC built both gasoline and electric trucks from 1912 to 1915 but battery limitations gave way to internal combustion engines and continued for the next 104 plus years.
Hi, I saw your picture of your car. Very nice. Say this is a shot in the dark, question for you. I'm working on a 1934 Dodge coupe now. I watched on youtube about restoring a 1934 2dr sedan {1934}. I have made a request to the company the made the youtube show but NO reply. another led went dead!! I would like to ask you where you live are there any of these care around??? If so I'm looking for parts. I will give you my email address so if you run a cross anyone there could help me out. No one in the States have parts. email is carhauler1999@aol.com Thank you Happy Holidays