There was a time before World War II when car companies binged on a trend toward companion cars. That binge reflected the sometimes up-and-down nature of the car-selling business, and the volatility of the economy in which new cars were sold.

The 1920s was not an easy decade for the car industry in America or, for that matter, the world. After the 1918 armistice ending the Great World War, a glut of soldiers returned to peacetime America, hoping to reclaim their jobs. A good number did, but others found that their jobs had changed, been eliminated or were filled by others. The economy took a real jolt when military contracts were suddenly nulled. Social and economic chaos resulted. At times like that, buyers tend not to purchase a new car. The decade known as the “Roaring Twenties” were just that in the dawning years of the decade; the “roaring” was a series of threats and dangers that undermined the production and financial progress in industrial America.

More than several makes of cars vanished from the scene as the early 1920s were plagued by car-company defaults on loans, questionable management judgments and exorbitant retooling costs. It was at that time that the rising name of Lincoln was transferred to the Ford Motor Co., and the likes of the exquisite and expensive Lafayette was eventually gobbled up by Nash, only to reappear some years later as a not-too-costly model name in that company’s lineup.

As the 1920s progressed, there were good sales months and poor months. Study the ups and downs of the stock market in that decade and you’ll see many failed companies, stock schemes, faulty land investments and questionable mining interests. Confidence in the economy weathered those blips and swirls, somehow tempting more and more hard-working folks to invest their excess income into the very market that would implode in the fall of 1929.

So car companies hedged their future bets by introducing companion cars. Ask a Cadillac collector about that, and the name LaSalle floats into the conversation as one of those companion brands, slotted slightly less in cost than Cadillacs. The LaSalle’s 1927 entry was to fill a price gap between Buick and Cadillac. General Motor’s chief, Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., promoted the notion with good success. That fostered more investigating to see if there were other gaps in the GM lines. What resulted was the Pontiac-Oakland connection, the Viking-Oldsmobile relationship and the Marquette-Buick companionship. Being at the low end of the pricing structure was Chevrolet, which was a cornerstone of sales success for the entire corporation, so it was not in need of a companion-car filler for a price gap.

Howard C. Marmon expanded his company’s market coverage with a downward step in price with the Little Marmon for 1927. Its price of around $1,000 implied that the quality of the costly Marmons could be had at a bargain price. Hence, more than 10,000 Little Marmons sold in that first year, followed by succeeding annual sales successes of nearly 15,000 units, then more than 22,000. There were profits in companion cars.

Well, more or less. Some companies (GM included) realized that the gains of companion cars occasionally resulted in lesser sales for the higher-priced cousins in the line. As those patterns developed and were recognized, it became judicious to ax the newbie in favor of the old, reliable brand. By the Wall Street Crash of 1929, that change became inevitable since production costs and resultant lower sales tallied in a depressed economy meant car concerns had to tighten their belts or face extinction.

When Ransom E. Olds shifted his corporate gears from Oldsmobile to REO by 1905, he carried resultant sales success along with him. His new company was fourth-most wealthy among domestic car makers, which positioned the organization for greater things. Mr. Olds added to his reputation as an innovator, and back then, he was generally accepted as the “practical father” of the modern car industry. There were others who wanted that title and may have earned it, but Mr. Olds held it in the minds of most Americans.

The REO Flying Cloud models and the stately REO Royale were highly respected models in their day. The Cloud was introduced in 1927 and enticed the interests of the public as far away as Australia. The REO Royale Eight would come by 1931 as conveyances for the well-to-do. But least of the trio of inventive ideas was a practical car also launched in 1927 — the REO Wolverine.

It was all REO in concept and promotion, but it really wasn’t all-REO in the sense of carrying a REO-built body and a REO-made engine. Those Wolverine six-cylinder, 199-cubic-inch engines were by Continental, well made and reliable with the REO name attached by order. Wolverine bodies (fitted to a 114-inch wheelbase) were by Murray Corp. of America which, by 1927, also provided bodies on order to Hupmobile, Willys-Knight, Chandler, Jordan, Marmon, Durant, Studebaker, Chrysler, Dodge and, by 1928, even Ford. Of course, REO officials supplied the designs, ordered adjustments and received good value for their money. Truly, the Wolverine was a companion to the higher-classed REOs.

Those Wolverines were history by the end of 1928, serving their two-model-year run well, but not sufficiently enough to be considered for the long term.

Survival was the corporate goal. That goal spawned many grand companion cars to be made for short terms before the war. Due to that binge, the car hobby today is more diverse, more interesting and more historically rich. After all, how many times have you seen a Little Marmon, a Viking, a Marquette or a Wolverine?

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Roger Hansen, Jr. never expected his first attempt to restore an old car would be easy. But he figured starting on a Model T Ford might be a little less challenging than some of his other options.

The Appleton, Wis., resident was right on both counts: doing a meticulous remake of his lovely 1912 T was, indeed, not particularly easy, but he is still convinced it wasn’t nearly as tough as something more modern — and less primitive.

“A gentleman I just talked to probably had it right. He said, ‘It’s just like a lawn mower. Give it gas and a spark and it will go.’ There’s really not that much to it,” Hansen says.

Still, Hansen was determined to do the best job he could and try to do the wonderful survivor T justice, so he took his time … which turned out to be about four years. He began tearing down the car in 2019, and finally got to the last of the major work — having the wood-spoke wheels rebuilt — in 2022.

Between those steps was a lot of learning, researching and networking with other old-car folks.

“When I lived in New Jersey, I had a bunch of buddies and we always hung out; just a crazy group of guys, and they all did something different. But they all collected cars,” Hansen said. “I was talking to them and told them I wanted to get one, and I found this one and asked their opinion and went ahead and bought it from a guy out in Colorado. Basically…. he had gotten it running, but that was about it.”

“When I first got it, my wife and I would drive around in it a lot, but it was not very reliable. Sometimes it would start, but there was always something going wrong with it and it was in pretty rough shape. She finally said, ‘I’m not going to ride in it again until it’s pretty.’”

That was all the inspiration Hansen needed to take the plunge and start trying to make the old Ford look and drive like new again. He was buoyed by the notion that his 1912 Ford was worthy of such efforts seeing as it had survived more than 70 years sitting in a dealership showroom — most likely without ever moving under its own power. It seemed like a car just waiting for the right guy to come along and give it a second life.

“When we moved to Appleton, I started taking it apart, and next thing you know, it was just a pile of nuts and bolts on the floor,” he recalls. “My wife came home one day and the garage was just littered with nuts and bolts and parts. “She’s like, ‘Are you going to put that all back together?’ And I just said, ‘I hope so.’

“I used to work on my cars when I was young, and I’d get the old Haynes manuals and fix little stuff here and there … With this, I didn’t rally want all that electronic stuff to deal with. That is another headache to trouble shoot. I figured this is pretty basic. This is going to be the easiest thing to do.”

1912: A Transition Year at Ford

Model T historians have come to the conclusions that no verifiable production figures exist for the 1912 model year cars, but the consensus is that Hansen’s car was one of between 67,000 and about 70,000 that were assembled that year. They could be ordered as a five-passenger touring, torpedo runabout, two-person commercial roadster, seven-passenger town car, two-passenger delivery car, two-passenger coupe or just as a chassis. Prices started at $590 for the torpedo runabout and commercial roadster, and topped out at $900 for the seven-passenger town car.

By late 1911, Ford began adding “fore” doors, which enclosed the front compartment. These were removable, and many have been lost over the years. The metal side panels of the touring were now relatively smooth from top to bottom, eliminating the “step” under the seats which marked the 1911s.

The two-piece firewall remained, with the front door sections dropped down to the level of the firewall. Later, the firewall was changed to the one-piece design, and the fore doors no longer dipped in front.

The redesigned 1912s had smooth body sides, rear-opening rear doors and a top-support strap which now hooked to the windshield. There is a confusing number of variations in the bodies, and it wasn’t long before the 1913 bodies began showing up in cars built later in 1912, adding even more confusion for history buffs to unravel.

One thing that didn’t change much was the engine. The same basic L-head 176.6-cid four-cylinder continued to chug along, propelling the T through a planetary transmission with two forward speeds and one reverse gear. The cars used a multiple-disc clutch and torque tube drive with a straight bevel rear axle. The brakes were the same contracting band style on the transmission. The hand brake slowed the rear wheels while the foot brake stopped the driveshaft. Standard equipment included a speedometer, three oil lamps (two on the sides and one on the tail), headlamps, horn, a top and a top boot.

Even though the production timeline remains a bit sketchy, 1912 is considered a transition year when Ford took a leap forward into the future. The new three-door style continued until mid 1925, when the new “Improved Fords” for 1926 were introduced.

MILES OF SMILES

As far as he knows, Hansen is the fourth owner of his 1912 touring. The previous owner had left the Ford “as is” for the most part, cleaning it up some and getting it drivable. Hansen had much higher hopes for the car.

“It was my first try, so I went and reconditioned everything I could,” he says. “I got replacements for things worn too badly. I went over every little nut and bolt and bushing. The engine, the rear end, the whole thing. I wanted to make sure I had everything safe, and I got everything all back together and redone.”

Luckily, he had one car buddy who was willing to tackle the engine rebuild… “And he basically just stripped the whole thing bare and made it look like it was brand new.” He found another local shop near his home that painted the body, “and did the timbers and the running boards and some of that stuff for me. The dash and the rest of the paint and the frame and the axles, I did myself. It’s pretty fun. I learned a lot and saw where I’d made mistakes, and I tried to go back and fix them. But now it runs and drives like a dream.”

Hansen farmed out the upholstery work to a small shop in California, and turned to an Amish craftsman in Ohio for help refurbishing the wheels.

“One thing about the Model T, they made thousands of accessories back in the day, and I put on a couple different accessories,” Hansen notes. “One of them is the speedometer, and the other is these road smoothers, they are kind of like an accessory shock absorber. There is a bunch of different brands out there, and they work pretty well!”

“The magneto on it, that’s an accessory, but it was already there when I got it. I have an accessory ‘ah-ooo-gah’ horn, and they didn’t come with mirrors. I put that on. I also put the Moto-Meter on there, that’s not standard. And the step plates are not standard.”

Of course, getting an early Model T operational and looking good is one thing. Getting adept at crank-starting it and learning how to drive a 100-plus-year-old car is another.

“We kind of laugh about it [getting stolen] — it’s only a hand crank. … If you don’t know how to start it, you’re never going to get it [running],” he jokes. “And driving it, well, you don’t have any type of spark advance, so you have to use the levers on the steering column, and your throttle is on the steering column. And the pedals, you have three different pedals, and the one on the left controls your low speed and your high speed, and there’s a brake pedal and a reverse pedal. You have to kind of figure it all out!”

One thing Hansen is certain about, he more than met his wife’s hopes to make the Ford “pretty.” The brass, paint, woodwork and upholstery all shine like new. And the “ah-ooo-gah” horn bellows loud and proud.

It all makes the Hansens’ Model T a big attention-getter when it turns up at events like the Iola Car Show in Wisconsin, where Hansen displayed it this past July.

“I think I’ll hang onto it. I don’t think anybody’s going to be able to offer me what I put into it, so I might as well keep it and have fun with it,” he jokes. “We took it in a parade for the first time this year and it was a lot of fun. We got there a little late and we were at the end of the line — the very last vehicle in the parade. And everybody loved it and somebody came up and said, ‘You’ve got the best car here!’ So it’s been a lot of fun.”

“I like taking it to shows and letting people see something they don’t normally get to see…. We drive it around and if somebody wants a ride in it, I’ll crank it up and take them out for a ride. It’s fun to let other people experience a car like this.” 

SHOW US YOUR WHEELS!

If you’ve got an old car you love, we want to hear about it. Email us at oldcars@aimmedia.com

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– Pierce-Arrow, 1930

Many automobile companies used elegant or flashy ads to sell new cars, but there’s nothing quite so eloquent and persuasive as the “Pierce-Arrow Proclamation.”

While Packard said, “Ask the man who owns one,” and Cadillac claimed to be the “Standard of the World,” Pierce-Arrow skipped slogans and catchy gimmicks to promote its Classic hand-built automobiles. In selling its cars during 1930, Pierce-Arrow, of Buffalo, N.Y., chose advertising prose to be read as literature:

“In extending its Straight Eight line to meet every latest demand of the fine car market, Pierce-Arrow opens the 1930 season with an array of motor cars which again easily qualify as America’s finest,” boasted one of its ads following the stock market crash of 1929.

“There are four new wheelbases in the 1930 group… all cars of increased inner spaciousness… all slender, low-swung, graceful creations in the finest Pierce-Arrow tradition,” continued the ad.

“The 1930 colorings and upholsterings and appointments are new elements of beauty, freshly expressed….

“More important, there are elements of vital consideration… all present in every car of the 1930 line….

“Silent gearshifts… non-shatterable glass… super-safety brakes… low-swung gravity centers… hydraulic shock absorbers, etc., etc. All Pierce-Arrow features… each having been added as it proved itself… and without mention or especial acclaim.

“Nor is there any excess of modesty in this attitude. It is simply that no new feature, or any group of new features, could conceivably be so important as that which is Pierce-Arrow. Greater is that than the sum of all its parts.”

Pierce-Arrow claimed that reaching these Olympian standards was a burden borne under what it called the “tyranny of tradition.”

Fortunately, it was all true. The 1930 Pierce-Arrow remains a truly beautiful and technologically advanced automobile for its time. It debuted its most famous feature in 1914. That year, Pierce-Arrow adopted its enduring styling hallmark when its headlamps were moved from the traditional free-standing place flanking the radiator and into flared housings molded into the front fenders of the car. This gave the car an immediately visible distinction in front or side views. At night, the car appeared to have a wider stance due to the headlamp placement. Pierce patented this placement, which continued until the final model of 1938, although Pierce also offered customers the option of conventional freestanding headlamps. However, only a minority of Pierces were ordered with the option of conventional headlamps.

To see in-person a Pierce-Arrow’s design features, cutting-edge styling and technological advancements enlightens and delights. One opportunity for the public to experience a 1930 Pierce-Arrow phaeton in-person came during the annual Father’s Day Eyes on Design car show at the Edsel and Eleanor Manor (Ford House) in Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich., several years ago. Standing next to this Pierce-Arrow were its then-owners Terry and Rita Ernest, of Port Huron, Mich., who greeted onlookers in period-correct attire, making them look very much the part with the Classic American automobile. It was there that they shared this regal Pierce-Arrow’s story.

1930 Pierce-Arrow B Phaeton

The Ernests said the 1930 Pierce-Arrow Group B phaeton featured here survived the winter weather of the Upper Midwest and crossed the Atlantic twice, only to become neglected and fall into disrepair. It eventually came back to life through a meticulous world-class restoration that has received acclaim by winning the highest awards in the automobile motoring community. Today, the car is a centerpiece in any exceptional automobile collection.

“When my wife and I were married 36 years ago, we discussed hobbies we could mutually enjoy,” Terry recalled. “To my surprise and pleasure, she said she really liked antique cars! After many discussions of different types of antique cars we both liked, we decided we wanted an early Auburn boattail Speedster.”

Soon after the Ernests married, a 1930 Pierce-Arrow restoration was being completed in California, immediately winning top honors at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It then captured the highest award that the Pierce-Arrow Society bestows — the VanDerveer Trophy, which is now called the Weis Trophy. However, it would be many years before that Pierce-Arrow joined the Ernests’ budding collection, as the Auburn Speedster they initially hoped to land became their first collector car.

The Auburn Speedster was eventually joined by a 1934 Packard victoria, a 1936 Packard convertible coupe, a 1933 Cadillac town sedan and two pre-war fire trucks. The couple also added a 1912 Havers to fill their brass-era needs.

The car bug extends far beyond the Ernests’ garage. Terry also happens to be the director of the Wills Sainte Claire Automobile Museum in Marysville, Mich., and has a 1926 Wills Sainte Claire himself.

A Pierce-Arrow hits the bulls-eye

Terry had admired a friend’s 1932 Pierce-Arrow. and while searching for a ’32 for themselves, Rita discovered this 1930 dual-cowl sport phaeton. The ’32 was at the top of Terry’s list, and he had his heart set on owning one, but he decided to give the ’30 a look. He was immediately captivated by the car. A prior owner had gone to great lengths to restore the car to concours standards, and the finished product gushed absolute perfection.

The Ernests mainly used the Pierce-Arrow for concours-type car shows and touring with the Pierce-Arrow Society and, until they sold it a couple years ago, their excursions with it were the latest in the car’s long road of travels.

“This automobile was [originally] purchased by the Meyer family,” Terry said. “They owned and operated a mill in St. Paul, Minn. A younger Meyer family member took the car to England with him in 1938 where, sometime prior to World War II, it was converted to right-hand drive. After the war, an American G.I. purchased the ’30 Pierce-Arrow, returned it to the U.S. in 1947, and had it converted back to left-hand drive.”

The car needed a full restoration when Lee Garoyan bought it in 1970, but it was mechanically sound enough to make the 300-mile drive to his home in Davis, Calif.

Garoyan hand-fabricated new top bows and hardware and replaced the front seat and windshield pillars. Garoyan had to remove several non-factory items, such as vacuum brakes and a 1936 Buick trunk someone had integrated into the body using lead. A prior owner replaced the original Clark four-speed transmission with a Muncie three-speed. Garoyan installed a factory-correct Clark four-speed transmission.

The Pierce-Arrow came with artillery wheels, and Garoyan sought out and located a set of the originally optional chrome-plated wire wheels.

As with many premium automobiles of its time, the 1930 Pierce-Arrow was not restricted to a narrow set of factory colors. Buyers could order custom one-of-kind colors and combinations for their automobile. The idea of giving the customer an opportunity to personalize their automobile was an attractive feature to those with the means to afford such a luxury. The flexibility with paint color choices back in the ’30s allows today’s restorers of these works of automotive art the freedom to get creative with the final paint finish.

“The cutting-edge contours of the Pierce-Arrow suggest that two or three colors would enhance its appearance,” Ernest said. “We acquired old pictures of the car. It was painted yellow butterscotch, several shades of gray, combinations of greens, but nothing looked good or really stood out. Garoyan reached out to Ron Dreyer, a classic automobile and wood boat artist from northern California. After a couple days, Dreyer came up with three-color combinations and hand-painted images of the Pierce-Arrow, then hung them on a wall for Garoyan and his customers to review. Each visitor was asked to vote on their favorite, and the current color combination was the overwhelming choice.”

This Pierce-Arrow is the Group B mid-level entry from the 1930 factory lineup. This Group B cost about $3,300 new when the average American earned a yearly income of about $2,000, and a home cost $7,200. Even the lower-entry Group C cost $2,600, while the upper-line Group A models cost between $4,000 and $6,000 with factory bodies during 1930.

Group B was available in one of two wheelbases — a standard 134-inch platform and a 139-inch version seven-passenger model. The Group B has Pierce-Arrow’s mid-sized, 366-cid flathead straight-eight engine, and the features are quite advanced for the era: a crankshaft-driven fuel pump instead a vacuum tank, fully pressurized oiling, a factory oil filter and a Stromberg Duplex carburetor with each barrel feeding four cylinders.

The 366-cid engine is factory rated at 125 hp, but with their long strokes and lots of overlap, big straight-eights from the ’30s, such as the powerplant in this Pierce, achieve their power at very low revolutions, and it’s one of Terry’s favorite characteristics of big, prewar Classic automobiles, such as this Pierce.

“It’s not what you would classify or refer to as noisy, but you can hear it pull,” Terry says. “The drivetrain has a good, firm feel to it when you start off in first gear and go into second. It’s a car of substance. It sounds like a big car, and it’s powerful like the big Classics of that time. Our ’33 Cadillac feels heavier and doesn’t accelerate like the Pierce-Arrow. I also have a 12-cylinder Packard that is a heavier-steering car, but the Pierce-Arrow has a lighter body and engine, so it has a much smoother motion to it. It’s very comfortable to drive and easier than some of the big cars from those days,”

Terry says the car’s mechanical brakes are impressive compared to the economy-car mechanical brakes from the early ’30s. “We don’t need to reinvent what the engineers designed. We just need to make sure that what the engineers designed is working properly and to their maximum potential.”

A Pierce-Arrow in flight

Rarely, if ever, does one get the opportunity to photograph a Pierce-Arrow being driven on an airport runway by its owner. When Terry agreed to bring the car up to speed for motion shots, the entire photoshoot rose to another level. We made a few passes on the runway and the Pierce-Arrow performed flawlessly, and I could tell Terry was comfortable being behind the wheel, shifting the gears and quickly bringing the car up to a steady 45 mph. I’ve done many car-to-car motion-shot sessions over the years, and this was perfection. The owner, my camera-car driver and I were in sync. Images of Classic automobiles being driven are far and few between. In some ways, we really fortified the history of this automobile and its legacy of being driven. This Pierce-Arrow has traveled the world, but this documented trip up and down the airport runway was one to remember.

Words, however fine, and pictures, no matter how true in life, are incapable of conveying the rare charm that belongs to the 1930 Pierce-Arrow.

As for the flowery prose Pierce-Arrow expended to promote its product line, Terry and Rita Ernest agreed with the company when it claimed, “All are pardonable boasts.”

As much as they enjoyed the 1930 Pierce-Arrow, it wasn’t quite the 1932 model that Terry hoped to find. They sold the car a couple years ago to a lovely home in Arizona where it could be driven — and enjoyed — year-round. 

SHOW US YOUR WHEELS!

If you’ve got an old car you love, we want to hear about it. Email us at oldcars@aimmedia.com

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Old Cars is turning 50. In honor of 50 years of the privilege of bringing the old cars hobby to our valued and faithful readers, Old Cars will revisit 50 of our past featured cars in 50 days, to commemorate the half-century of Old Cars. Here’s to fifty more years of Old Cars!

 DAY NINE: 1929 Hudson Model R roadster

Pete Kortenhorn didn’t buy his 1929 Hudson Model R roadster because it had been used in a Bonnie & Clyde-style holdup back in 1931. He just loved the car and wanted badly to own it — regardless of its past. “It didn’t bother me. I kind of liked the fact that it has a history, but that’s not really what sold me on the car,” Kortenhorn said. 

“The appeal of the car to me was its appearance, and really in its year it was a hot rod because it had 92 hp; that’s about double what the Fords and Chevys were running in that period, which is why it was in the bank robbery.”

It’s hard to find a flaw in the car now, but Kortenhorn admits there were plenty of things that needed attention when he brought the Hudson home for the first time. “The doors were sagging because the hardware was coming loose. I had a few friends help me and we re-mounted the doors,” he said. “I moved the seat back about three inches because when I first bought it, you were driving in the fetal position! It was not made for tall people. I modified it a little bit so I can move the seat back.”

The Hudson shows about 73,000-plus miles on its odometer, and Kortenhorn figures he’s added about 3,000 of those himself. The miles will go on the car slowly in the future, and there be no high-speed trips running from the police, or anybody else for that matter. This Hudson’s days as a speed machine are long gone.

 To learn more about Kortenhorn’s Hudson <CLICK HERE>

CHECK OUT DAY EIGHT OF 50 CARS IN 50 DAYS, CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF OLD CARS HERE

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 DAY FIVE: 1910 Maxwell Q-2 Surrey

Vern Campbell hadn’t seen the 1910 Maxwell when a trio of sisters contacted him and informed they needed to sell the car. Their late father had owned the nearly century-old car for many years, but after his passing there was nobody left to care for the venerable brass era machine, and certainly no one to get it ready for the big Maxwell Centennial celebration that Campbell was helping organize in New Castle, Ind.

That was 12 years ago, and Campbell still seems a little perplexed at how things turned out. The 82-year-old Milan, Mich., resident is the keeper of the Maxwell Registry and a great story teller who likes to poke fun at himself. The tale of how he adopted his gorgeous 1910 Q-2 Surrey fills the bill on all accounts.

“At the time we were planning the Centennial we took the names of everybody we had in the registry and sent out a letter of interest, and I got a letter from these three daughters who had owned it,” he recalls. “Daddy owned it and Daddy died quite a few years ago and the mother had also died and they wanted to settle the estate and none of the three children had any interest in the car … One of them wrote me and said they had the car and it was for sale and I wrote back and said, “If you can get the thing to the centennial in New Castle I promise you won’t take it home, somebody will buy it … They said that was impossible and that it hadn’t run in years yak, yak, yak … “So I had the big decision to make. The car was in Terra Haute and I made the decision to go down and look at it, and of course that was a mistake. I took a couple of guys with me and I was hemming and hawing and finally one of them said, ‘Damn Vern, just buy it!’”

To this day, Campbell insists he didn’t buy the 1910, it just “followed me home.” Of course, he says the same thing about some of his other cars: a 1908 Maxwell, a 1911 Maxwell, 1918 Model T Ford, and a 1924 Buick. Indeed, old cars seem to follow the affable Campbell home, and then they don’t leave. 

“I’ve never sold an antique car that I’ve restored,” he says. “I’m just not in the [hobby] for that.”

The 1910 Q-2 had been restored some time in the 1960s and was by no means a basket case, but it needed a lot of work to live up the vision that Campbell had for the car. That dream meant having everything correct and as close as he could make it to factory-original. Of course, when you’re dealing with an antique orphan from the Brass Era, finding parts in any condition is a daunting task. Finding specific parts for a specific car that can be used in a high-end restoration can border on impossible, even for a guy as connected and immersed in the Maxwell community as Campbell. 

“If you are used to Fords and Model T’s, which I am, you can go out and buy anything you want. It’s all over the place at every swap meet,” he notes. “You get into a Maxwell, there weren’t that many to begin with, and you subtract their age, all the way back to 1910, a century ago, and those parts just aren’t laying out there for you. … “As frustrating as it is, that’s part of the mystique of restoring these automobiles.”

 To learn more about Campbell’s Maxwell <CLICK HERE>

CHECK OUT DAY FOUR OF 50 CARS IN 50 DAYS, CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF OLD CARS HERE

– 50 days of cars celebrating 50 years of Old Cars is brought to you by our friends over at Camaro Central, Modine and sonicbidder.com.  If you are looking for parts for your classic Camaro, HVAC for your garage or a place to sell your classic car, check out these trustworthy establishments.

Check out these fine friends of Old Cars

Camaro Central offers thousands of products from only the best manufacturers representing the highest quality in restoration and restyling components available. They are the source for all your classic Camaro car needs. Their goal at Camaro Central is to give their customers the best buying experience possible. 

Camaro Central 1967-2020 Camaro Restoration Parts Source
3329 Colonel Road
Richmond, KY 40475
Monday-Friday 9am-5pm EST, Saturday 9am-2pm EST
www.camarocentral.com
Local and outside the USA: 1-859-408-2000
Fax: 1-859-408-2007
– After normal business hours please email : info@camarocentral.com

With over 100 years of experience, Modine is one of the most trusted names in the HVAC manufacturing industry. No matter what your heating and air conditioning need is, their mission is to ensure that they provide you with the right solution.

Modine serves a variety of markets, providing residential unit and patio heaters, commercial rooftop HVAC systems, classroom HVAC, and more. Along with these heating and cooling systems, their Hot Dawg® unit heater remains one of the top-selling unit heaters in the world. The Hot Dawg® unit heater is the perfect solution for keeping your garage or shop warm and comfortable. Visit www.modinehvac.com to find out more.

Modine Headquarters
1500 De Koven Ave.
 Racine WI 53403-2552
www.modinehvac.com
1-800-828-HEAT (4328)

SonicBidder.com brings proven buying power to a world stage. The unique action experience consolidates the thrill of live auctions with an exhilarating 4-D sensory experience that keeps customers delighted as they participate in sales.

SonicBidder.com’s global automotive auctions bring thousands of bidders and millions of dollars in buying power to your event, internationally. Your sell will reach an audience at home and all over the world!

Visit www.sonicbidder.com to find your buyer today!

If you like stories like these and other classic car features, check out Old Cars magazine. CLICK HERE to subscribe.

Want a taste of Old Cars magazine first? Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter and get a FREE complimentary digital issue download of our print magazine.

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The post 50 cars in 50 days, celebrating 50 years of Old Cars: Day Five appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

Old Cars is turning 50.  In honor of 50 years of the privilege of bringing the old cars hobby to our valued and faithful readers, Old Cars will revisit 50 of our past featured cars in 50 days, to commemorate the half-century of Old Cars. Here’s to fifty more years of Old Cars!

DAY TWO: 1907 Wolfe Touring

Harry Pearce of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., enjoyed the parades he saw as a boy in Bismarck, N.D., but he also remembers them coming to a halt every time Clarion Larson’s 1907 Wolfe touring car overheated.

“I was around 8 years old when I was first exposed to the car,” says Pearce about the rare water-cooled Wolfe he owns today. “It was around 1950 — my father was a lawyer in Bismarck and his friend Clarion was the music teacher at the local school. They got the car going, but the water pump didn’t work well.”

Wolfe automobiles were made in low numbers by The H. E. Wilcox Motor Car Co. of Minneapolis between 1907 and 1909. Published production in the “Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942” states 30 cars were built in 1907 and 153 in 1908.

Pearce hasn’t found another drivable Wolfe in the years he has owned his car, but he modestly admits his ‘07 “looks like it’s brand new.”

 To learn more about Pearce’s Wolfe <CLICK HERE>

CHECK OUT DAY ONE OF 50 CARS IN 50 DAYS, CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF OLD CARS HERE

– 50 days of cars celebrating 50 years of Old Cars is brought to you by our friends over at Camaro Central, Modine and sonicbidder.com.  If you are looking for parts for your classic Camaro, HVAC for your garage or a place to sell your classic car, check out these trustworthy establishments.

Check out these fine friends of Old Cars

Camaro Central offers thousands of products from only the best manufacturers representing the highest quality in restoration and restyling components available. They are the source for all your classic Camaro car needs. Their goal at Camaro Central is to give their customers the best buying experience possible. 

Camaro Central 1967-2020 Camaro Restoration Parts Source
3329 Colonel Road
Richmond, KY 40475
Monday-Friday 9am-5pm EST, Saturday 9am-2pm EST
www.camarocentral.com
Local and outside the USA: 1-859-408-2000
Fax: 1-859-408-2007
– After normal business hours please email : info@camarocentral.com

With over 100 years of experience, Modine is one of the most trusted names in the HVAC manufacturing industry. No matter what your heating and air conditioning need is, their mission is to ensure that they provide you with the right solution.

Modine serves a variety of markets, providing residential unit and patio heaters, commercial rooftop HVAC systems, classroom HVAC, and more. Along with these heating and cooling systems, their Hot Dawg® unit heater remains one of the top-selling unit heaters in the world. The Hot Dawg® unit heater is the perfect solution for keeping your garage or shop warm and comfortable. Visit www.modine.com to find out more.

Modine Headquarters
1500 De Koven Ave.
 Racine WI 53403-2552
www.modinehvac.com
1-800-828-HEAT (4328)

SonicBidder.com brings proven buying power to a world stage. The unique action experience consolidates the thrill of live auctions with an exhilarating 4-D sensory experience that keeps customers delighted as they participate in sales.

SonicBidder.com’s global automotive auctions bring thousands of bidders and millions of dollars in buying power to your event, internationally. Your sell will reach an audience at home and all over the world!

Visit www.sonicbidder.com to find your buyer today!

If you like stories like these and other classic car features, check out Old Cars magazine. CLICK HERE to subscribe.

Want a taste of Old Cars magazine first? Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter and get a FREE complimentary digital issue download of our print magazine.

*As an Amazon Associate, Old Cars earns from qualifying purchases.

The post 50 cars in 50 days, celebrating 50 years of Old Cars: Day Two appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

If you would like your car featured in Reader Wheels click on the link below and tell us a little bit about your ride.

CLICK HERE

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The post Old Cars Reader Wheels: 1938 DeSoto appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

If you would like your car featured in Reader Wheels click on the link below and tell us a little bit about your ride.

CLICK HERE

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The post Old Cars Reader Wheels: 1927 Buick Roadster appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

Like many people in the old-car hobby, “Flatjack” Meyer is at the point in life where he moves at his own speed. He more or less sets his own schedule every day and does as little or as much as he wants. He keeps busy, but a lot of what he does is what he enjoys doing, such as working on his 1936 Ford roadster.

The restoration of Meyer’s Ford was recently put back on the front burner after sitting for years. According to the well-known Ford flathead V-8 expert from Oshkosh, Wis., 15 years’ worth of work has already been put into the job. It’s one of those projects that was started, then went into neutral for a short while, and that turned into a long wait.

Nobody’s blaming Meyer for not having the car done yet. A few years ago, the city of Oshkosh took over his old shop and he had to move everything to a new place that any hobbyist would love to own. Like most of us, Meyer has a lot of stuff that he never thought he’d ever be moving, so the total relocation took a long time to sort out.

Getting back to the ’36 roadster restoration was actually a benefit of the move. It’s as if Meyer’s life was stirred up by the transition and once the dust settled, he found himself realizing that the time had arrived to pick up the pieces and carry out the work. Prioritizing the ’36 Ford project was a natural, because the model is pretty rare and desirable.

By 1936, roadsters were losing favor to convertible coupes, which were better sealed against the elements with their roll-up windows. 1936 was the second-to-last year of a Ford roadster, and Ford only built 3862 Model 68 roadsters such as Meyer’s car, which sold for $560 and weighs about 2561 lbs. in factory condition. Meyer has already put juice brakes on the car to replace the infamous mechanical binders, so his car’s weight is different than the original printed specifications.

According to a 1936 copy of Ford News, company dealers and members of the press had their first look at the 1936 Ford line on Oct. 15, 1935. Four days later, Ford trucks and Lincoln cars were shown to the public. The Oct. 15 reveals took place at 34 United States and seven Canadian branches and a movie called “The Ford Year” was shown.

Ford’s 1936 models were highlighted by their “more conservative streamlining,” new interior treatments and refinements in chassis engineering. With more than a million on the road since 1932, the Ford flathead V-8 needed no introduction. The 1936 version was advertised at 85 hp.

Fords for 1936 had new front-end styling with a longer hood extending over the attractive new and more sharply Veed radiator grille. The rounded lower edge of the hood blended with the streamlined curve of the inner portion of the fenders. The fenders were
more widely flared and the hood louvers were also of a new design. The horns were recessed into the fenders and covered with small, round grilles below the headlamps.

Improved steering was the most important chassis improvement. Others included new steel wheels that lessened the unsprung weight of the cars and an improved transmission using quieter helical gears. The low, wide, welded-steel body was finished with Ford-developed sun-proof baked enamel paint.

The Ford line offered 10 De Luxe models (three-window coupe; five-window coupe; rumble seat roadster; phaeton; cabriolet with rumble seat; convertible sedan; Tudor sedan; Fordor sedan; Tudor touring sedan; and Fordor touring sedan) and three non-De Luxe models (five-window coupe; Tudor; and Fordor).

Body colors included: Washington Blue (as used on Meyer’s car); Cordoba Tan; Gray Vineyard Green; Gun Metal Gray; Black; Light Fast Maroon; Bambolino Blue; Armory Green; Coach Maroon; Bright Vineyard Green; and Desert Sand. All body types had the fenders matching the body color. On the De Luxe models, the wheels matched the body color while non-De Luxe models had black wheels. The most popular interior choices were brown taupe or light Bedford cloth.

Ford described passenger space as “commodious,” though modern drivers may not agree. Still, interior roominess was increased a bit by relocating the engine forward over the front axle. The seat cushions were deeply pillowed and set off with new piping.

Gear shifting was made easier by reducing the throw of the shift lever. Ford stuck with mechanical brakes in 1936, but improved the cooling system. An adjustable drag link was incorporated into the steering mechanism. The new steel wheels were as strong as the former one-piece steel-spoke wheels, but lighter in weight.

Meyer’s car has a radio, wheel trim rings, an outside rearview mirror, a correct heater, a clock, a banjo steering wheel (standard in roadsters), wind wings, leather upholstery, a radio antenna, a rumble seat (standard in roadsters) and 6.00 x 16 Ford-script white sidewall tires from Universal. The car’s odometer reads just 3210 miles.

Jack bought the car out of Green Lake, Wis., years ago. He was doing a plumbing job and the son and daughter of the people who owned the car had it stored in their garage. They were originally from Virginia and the car was used in Wisconsin during the summer. At the time, it was painted black and had a red vinyl interior and a white top.

Meyer doesn’t know how long the roadster sat in the garage, but when he saw it, the tires still held air. “I hauled it up on the trailer, brought it back to Oshkosh and eventually got the engine to turn over,” he recalled. “I had to pound out the right front fender, which had been damaged, so I could turn the wheels.”

Then, Meyer started the restoration project. He had Larry Southard from Waupon, Wis., install new floor panels and some patch panels and paint the car. Meyer did the mechanical work himself, converting it to hydraulic brakes during that process. “Now, it’s set to go out and get an interior in it,” he said. “I’ll finish up the bits and pieces and then I’ll be driving it. I have a LeBarron-Bonney top kit for it, too.”

The running boards are the originals with new covers. Meyer touts the car as being all metal with no filler. “Larry Southard pounded out that right front fender,” said Meyer. “He’s a real metal craftsman, so there’s no putty in it. He hammered and picked it.”

Meyer said roadster seats were originally leather like he’ll be using and the door panels and trim were originally leatherette. LeBarron-Bonney used to make an original kit, but it’s not available now due to its recent Chapter 7 bankruptcy. “In order to make it look right, we’re going to go with all leather, which will be installed by Craig Vesters of Little Chute, Wis. He’s a real craftsman,” Meyer said. “The roadster was considered a De Luxe model, so the roadster interior also has a wood-grained dash and banjo steering wheel.”

When asked how long he’s been working on the ’36 Ford, he answered “15 years” and then he laughed. “Obviously, I haven’t been working on it for 15 years,” he said with a smile. “But I have owned it about that long. And I want to get it done before the snow flies.” 

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The post The Right Way Roadster appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.

The Roaring Twenties was a roller coaster ride for the American automobile industry, with peaks and valleys and plenty of high hopes. That’s just the way it was before the onset of the Second World War.

The decade began with a challenge. Due to the sudden conclusion of the First World War in 1918, the U.S. economy stumbled toward normalcy. In an era of “hands off” by the government, society sought its own ways and means to adjust toward a peacetime economy. Sadly, it was not very effective. Soldiers returning to civilian life had no assurance their jobs were waiting. Mustard gas and other atrocious evils of the concluded warfare left a good number of soldiers impaired. The economy took a tumble and a recession greeted the dawning months of the 1920s.

The industry struggled through. Some makers passed quietly. Others, such as independent Lincoln, merged to survive. Ford was a fine partner for Lincoln, albeit the leadership of both companies found it hard to cooperate. Lincoln’s principals found survival was more important than the supreme loss through failure.

While the first decades of the car industry saw loads of inventions and adjustments to car production and capabilities, by the 1920s, the basic design of an automobile had reached a standard. That was good to a degree since a hunger for motor cars developed after the post-World War I recession, and standardization allowed for greater mass production to meet demand. That, in turn, meant less risky experimentation and a move toward reliability and driver confidence as prime directives.

Mass production meant prices edged downward during the 1920s, which made car buying easier. Yet finance plans for loans on new cars also became more popular. Mass production and mass car sales meant the Ford Model T dropped to its bargain price of $260 in 1925.

The 1920s saw the car industry further begin to come of age. A used car market had arisen. Well, better to say it quickly “was a-rising.” First-time buyers were beginning to buy their second car, but did not know what to do with their first. Car dealers saw no profit in buying back the old models. Owners tried to interest dealers of their make with little success and lots of reluctance. Old cars soon were abandoned in droves, making a nuisance and hazard on city streets in large metropolises. In urban settings, car owners merely abandoned their vehicles in fields or consigned them to landfills. Seeing this, car makers eased into a pattern of used car sales methods that eventually redirected the industry. When trying times again came amid the Great Depression and then in World War II with the curtailment of automobile production, the used car market developed during the 1920s offered a glimmer of hope that dealers could stay operational.

The field of car makers had shrunk by the 1920s to those makes that mastered mass production and reliability. Seldom was it possible for a car company to survive on making a couple dozen cars per year in a building that used to be a horse stable. Gone also was the assembly of parts by hand with little regard for mass production techniques or moveable assembly line.

The 1920s were not notable for their automotive innovation, but there were glimmers of invention. In Waltham, Mass., inventor Francis Davis developed the first effective power steering system, which he installed in a 1921 Pierce-Arrow. Driver apprehension was hard to overcome, however, and bugs were to be worked out of the system. The biggest hindrances to mass use of the invention rested in two things: cost of manufacturing and uncertainty of buyers. The first really successful applications of power steering appeared on World War II military vehicles. The innovation didn’t show up on production models of automobiles until 1951.

Safety glass in car use was available in 1926, but car makers did not line up to include it. Why? Cars already sold without the feature. It was more costly. A luxury car buyer would be expected to add at least $200 to the new-car price of his next vehicle if safety glass was used. True, it saved and preserved lives by avoiding shattered shards of sharp glass in accidents. Yet outside of Stutz, which made safety glass a selling point, that wasn’t the concern of other car makers per se. Their actions were meant to bolster the support of bosses and stock holders rather than worry about the safety of car buyers. That view shifted greatly toward safer driving and safer cars as the 1920s cycled along.

Little more than two-score car companies were active in the Roaring Twenties. Those 40 plus concerns seemed to meet the growth of demand. As big companies grew larger, it was not uncommon for a manufacturer to introduce a companion car to its line. General Motors took the tip and eased the name Oakland out and of Pontiac, in.

When the sales dust settled for 1926, car production reached four million units, which amounted to 20 percent of the entire number of car registrations for the country. To augment sales, concerns such as Chevrolet made a quest of selling nearly two-thirds of a million Chevrolets in 1927. And old Henry at Ford was finally convinced that his beloved Model T had to go the way of progress and fade from dealerships.

The result of other events in the 1920s signaled an awakening in the car industry.

Let’s examine more of that in the next installment of “Before the War.”

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The post The Roaring Twenties: Autos, Industry Start to Come of Age appeared first on Old Cars Weekly.