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Features Finding the factory secret compartments...

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Jive-Bomber, Jun 24, 2014.

  1. Jive-Bomber
    Joined: Aug 21, 2001
    Posts: 3,754

    Jive-Bomber
    MODERATOR

    Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post:

    Finding the factory secret compartments...

    [​IMG]

    Continue reading the Original Blog Post
     
    patmanta likes this.
  2. 19Fordy
    Joined: May 17, 2003
    Posts: 8,025

    19Fordy
    Member

    Like inside the inner rocker panels of 49-51 Mercs.
    They run the length of the car.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  3. SanDiegoHighwayman
    Joined: Jun 26, 2012
    Posts: 951

    SanDiegoHighwayman
    Member

    reminds me of sumthin I saw YEARS ago ;) Owner of a new Caddy was complainin bout a rattle the car had on cornerin -- dealership couldn't find it -- unTILL -- in desperation, they cut open the rocker panel -- inside was a coke bottle w a note in it -- "here's your rattle you rich son of a bitch" :O :)
     
    jakespeed63 and bchrismer like this.
  4. Gman0046
    Joined: Jul 24, 2005
    Posts: 6,256

    Gman0046
    Member

    As you can see there are all kinds of hiding places on cars. Just think of how many more there are on commercial aircraft. You could smuggle anything you want. All you need is an accomplice.
     

  5. Yeah, Back in the 80s I was working in a body shop - Downtown Lansing, MI...
    I was working on a quarter panel dent, found something in the trunk that had been there a while, quite forgotten about, old chewing tobacco pouch or something just as the "old guy from across ther isle" walked up. He said ya never know what you will find in the trunk... he said he had this intermittent tunk/thud noise in a two door sedan years ago. They hunted and hunted for it - wouldn't go away - could not find the cause... They finally realized that there was a portion of the quarter panel inner structure that was concealed, so they opened it up to find a 1/2 pint whiskey bottle in a string inside with a note in it that said "How long did it take you to find me"...
     
    bchrismer likes this.
  6. reminds me of sumthin I saw YEARS ago ;) Owner of a new Caddy was complainin bout a rattle the car had on cornerin -- dealership couldn't find it -- unTILL -- in desperation, they cut open the rocker panel -- inside was a coke bottle w a note in it -- "here's your rattle you rich son of a bitch" :O :)

    Come on guys. This bullshit story is over 60 years old. How many more times do we have to hear it and how many more internet bullshitters are going to claim it happened to them. I'm waiting for the 710 cap story to pop up next
     
    racingonerobb likes this.
  7. Hnstray
    Joined: Aug 23, 2009
    Posts: 12,355

    Hnstray
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Quincy, IL

  8. piker
    Joined: Aug 18, 2007
    Posts: 239

    piker
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I'd heard stories years ago about people stashing a bottle under the hood so they could drink and drive and not get an open bottle ticket. They didn't have the breath analyzer test back then. Only walk a straight line, count backwards etc.
     
    chriseakin likes this.
  9. ol-nobull
    Joined: Oct 16, 2013
    Posts: 1,655

    ol-nobull
    Member

    Hi. Back in the late 50's I had a 1952 MG TD car. On the right floorboard where the passengers feet rested the carpet just did not fit correctly so I found & removed the screw holding that angled carpeted foot rest part of the floor to fix the fit. I found with the single lower screw removed that part would hinge up with the carpet as the hinge. Behind it was a triangle compartment & it hit me that it would hold a fifth of whiskey quite well for an underage drinker's hiding place. Just had to use a square sided bottle so it would not roll around. I never put that lower screw back in.
    Now it makes me wonder if I removed that last bottle when I sold the car or if the buyer ever found that hiding place.

    Jimmie
     
  10. Funny. Guess this doesn't count the rusted floorboard of my 76 Mercury Bobcat (glorified Pinto) winter beater.....got pulled over snow drifting back in high school. Perfect for lifting the passenger side floor mat, and stashing our 12 pack on the ground...until the friendly police officer let us go. Ah well. Tis' all I could ever recall, even though it is a pseudo factory stash hole. LOL
     
  11. TBone69
    Joined: Aug 21, 2007
    Posts: 833

    TBone69
    Member
    from NJ

    My Buddy had a 66 GTO Convertible and there is a recessed area where the trunk lid hinges are. He used to hide the spare set of keys in there, until I found them and took it for a joy ride :)
     
  12. KrisKustomPaint
    Joined: Apr 20, 2007
    Posts: 1,107

    KrisKustomPaint
    Member

    Some newer Lincoln's had what we called gun pockets under the armrest. I've had customers ask me to sew hidden pockets into their seats. I've used the gas filler door to hide "things" occasionally. Cops never search behind the gas door. Even better if you have a 50s caddy or a 56- 57 chevy.
     
  13. I have heard of people filling the window washer fluid with alcohol and running the hose into the cab instead of to the nozzle on the hood/cowl. all you have to do it turn your washer on and it fills your glass with the hootch. If this is true I hope they washed that shit out first.
     
  14. The lifespan of a K-Mart cassette deck was about 9 months, I kept it in in the dash for many more years.
     
  15. Pop the center horn button off a '64 Chevy II Nova and there is just enough room for 2 condums.
     
  16. mgbtc
    Joined: Dec 22, 2006
    Posts: 112

    mgbtc
    Member

    Every time we were searched while driving my 65 Riveria, they never were able to open the ash tray in the middle of the dash. Good thing!
     
  17. Bruce Lancaster
    Joined: Oct 9, 2001
    Posts: 21,681

    Bruce Lancaster
    Member Emeritus

    Back to the Model A pictured...there is a pretty big compartment inside many of the types of spare tire mounts (and on some later Fords too). Then, for small metal objects like your spare key, make sure the gas tank flash arrestor is loose enough to remove with your fingers...
    On Ford roadsters with tops, swing up the curtain that carries the rear window and snap it to the top, as for ventilation. Big pocket that no one will explore...but remember to slide a piece of cardboard in under your secrets so they aren't visible through the glass.
    Early Fords with battery beneath floor boards came originally with a tiny inspection lid. Bah! Cut out a section of the board a bit bigger than battery (a simple flange makes this piece a drop-in secured by the floor mat) and make up a box that hangs off of the battery down there as a hiding space. This of course makes your battery MUCH easier to service or remove. If your battery is in the trunk...put a hollow battery in the original place and you have a secret tool box.
    If your roadster or coupe still has the shallow tray between seat back and rear of cockpit, make a simple masonite lid covered with the same upholstery as the tray as a lid and disguise for that space. If you elaborate that idea a bit with a hinged split in the center, this area is convenient enough to serve as a sort of glove compartment for your pre-1933 Ford.
     
  18. The thing is about secrets...... Once you tell someone, it's no longer a secret.
     
  19. Richard/SIA
    Joined: Mar 22, 2010
    Posts: 271

    Richard/SIA
    Member
    from No. Nevada

    What, no mention of the El Camino "Smugglers Box"?

    Large enough to fit about thirty gallon second gas tank.
    Originally the foot well of a station wagon.
    Cover is held by a few screws.
     
  20. RainierHooker
    Joined: Dec 20, 2011
    Posts: 2,031

    RainierHooker
    Member
    from Tacoma, WA

    Not so secret then, but the side curtain tray under the front seat on a Model-A Phaeton is plenty big enough to hide pretty much anything you'd like to hide nowadays...
     
  21. 26hotrod
    Joined: Nov 28, 2009
    Posts: 1,151

    26hotrod
    Member
    from landis n c

    A lot of us used our trunk to hide our buddys when we went to the drive-in. A lot of us never got caught!!!!!!............................
     
  22. KRB52
    Joined: Jul 9, 2011
    Posts: 1,077

    KRB52
    Member
    from Conneticut

    A few years OT, but my first car, a '72 Dart, had two square boxes ducted to the cowl for the foot vents. The inside was just a small door (maybe 4" square) with a simple latch. I discovered that it was a good place to stash my wallet, keys, cigarettes, lighter, change and anything else I didn't want to loose while I was playing soft ball. As long as the doors didn't get locked, I was all set. The down side to this set up was the first thing in the spring when I opened the vent door, all the dry leaves, dust, sand, etc. that had build up over the winter came blowing out at me.
     
  23. jroberts
    Joined: Oct 14, 2008
    Posts: 1,658

    jroberts
    Member

    I had an early '60's VW Bug that had a triangular compartment in the floorboard just like this. It was indeed a good visual hiding place.
     
  24. On the steamboat Delta Queen there is a room with a secret door to a smuglers room for boos during prohibition. They never removed it to make the rooms bigger. It is about 5 feet wide and 10 feet deep and 10 feet high. You access it via a ladder.
     
  25. autobilly
    Joined: May 23, 2007
    Posts: 3,123

    autobilly
    Member

    The car is OT but the story kinda fits here. A few years ago a guy I used to work with was doing a warranty repair on a Cop car. He removed the rear seat to reveal a nominal amount of smokeable contraband in the cavity beneath.
     
  26. Atwater Mike
    Joined: May 31, 2002
    Posts: 11,625

    Atwater Mike
    Member

    My friend was a city policeman in a radio car ("One Adam 12") He checked under the rear seat nightly, end of shift. Contraband of all sorts...Pistols were commonplace.
     
  27. RidgeRunner
    Joined: Feb 9, 2007
    Posts: 906

    RidgeRunner
    Member
    from Western MA

    My '63 Falcon Ranchero had a similar deal to the El Camino, not nearly as big though.
     
  28. fasttime
    Joined: May 20, 2014
    Posts: 56

    fasttime

    Yes, I know off topic......but....Karmann Ghia's flip up rear seat was good for hiding 6 12 packs and the removable rear seat pad produced a perfect pocket for a small ice chest and all the fun with it......
     
  29. oj
    Joined: Jul 27, 2008
    Posts: 6,454

    oj
    Member

    A customer decided to restore his dads' Model A Tudor, as he was working on it he'd come by and ask questions about what did what. One day he asked why there were copper tanks behind the upholstery along the sides. They were joined with tubing, there was a spigot outlet and no inlet, no access to them. They were just covered up.
    After asking around for about 6mos he found an oldtimer that explained, the car was purchased around 'The Plains' area of Virginia, a notorious haven of bootleggers, cars could be purchased with 'dealer installed options' of copper tanks to haul hootch into nearby DC. This car was ordered with the tanks, but they were never finished and abandoned inside the car because prohibition was repealed.
    I haven't seen the guy for quite a while, I don't know how he treated the tanks. He wanted everybody to know they were there and still wanted the car properly finished as Ford produced it.
     
  30. Hot Rods Ta Hell
    Joined: Apr 20, 2008
    Posts: 4,670

    Hot Rods Ta Hell
    Member

    1) In the mid 70's while being a passenger in the back of a friend's Dad's 62 Lincoln, I noticed that the back of the front seat had a large square pipe trimmed panel that popped off via a hidden clip in each corner. Made a perfect hiding place for booze when we took that thing out on party dates!

    2) My first car at 16 (also in the mid 70's), was a Hot Rodded 55 Chevy. I soon discovered that the trunk spare tire well made a great built in/hidden ice cooler for beer! The bottom of the well has 2 rubber plugs, so draining the melted ice water the next day was as easy as popping out a plug. I covered it by laying the spare flat on the trunk floor over the well and fashioned a J bolt and large spare hold down wing nut that I scrounged from another car.
    I was always getting harassed by the local suburban (El Cajon city) police. Chicken shit tickets, inspections, etc. One night at about 1:00 AM, 2 patrol cars pulled me over just as I pulled out of the local Drive-in theater. I stood on the sidewalk with my date and watched them TEAR through the car. They didn't find anything, but left us standing there with all my trunk contents (save for the spare), back seat cushions, floor mats, etc, tossed out on the sidewalk. That was alright though, cause I needed something to do while I waited for them to leave. During the inspection, I noticed water dripping from the trunk well, but they didn't see it!
     

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