12-31-2011 e.l. cord's baby deusenberg, 1936 the only gull i want around the house... mercedes 500k 500k again bird in flight, '34 hisso cord with compressor westergard '39 ford westergard '39 ford ii dual cowl chrysler thunderbird These were done with a 1925 Kodak 8X10 camera and some of that stuff we used to call 'film'. Plus a bunch of high dollar antique portrait lenses...... Don't try this with your digi
Thanks, yes, this is where the Harrah's collection ended up. Well worth a trip, and they're 'tripod friendly'.
I'll be out there in May. Looking forward to making the museum one of my first stops. Thanks for the great pictures.
Thanks guys. The Westergard car is, I believe, THIS car, that Rik Hoving talks about in his excellent post about Harry Westergard and Dick Bertolucci. I don't know the museum's history with the car but will love to hear if someone knows the rest of the story of this magnificent car. I was mesmerized by it and spent more time on it than any of the other cars there. 2 plymouth signs reflection
Gorgeous pics!!! With real film, too! Digital photography will NEVER replace the real thing. I have an old Brownie I still use on occasion. Simple, yet elegant. Need to see more!
That radiator inlet is...............different Thanks for the info! So Harrah must have bought the car then, not the current stewards.
Nice shots with your "traditional" camera. I love B&W photography. Looking forward to seeing more of the sheets.
Those wheels and tires look fucked on that car. Thanks for sharing the pictures though. I would love to own an early kustom such as this one.
The radiator is indeed "different". As i mentioned, this is a great example of an early custom...which means its all there to seen, the good, the bad, and the ugly. The museum did not buy the car. It was donated by the last owner. I forgot his name but I'll review the history and post more info in a few days, if anyone is interested. The display at the Golf Classic was a museum deal with the promoters of the event...meant to advertise the museum as another attraction for visitors to the Reno area. In all, 6 cars were driven or trailered accross town to be parked on the grass for the weekend. George is in AZ taking car of some business till around the 12th, so I may not be able to get re educated till then. I don't want to high jack or take away from Jim's thread....his photos are great and should be the focus of this thread anyway......so maybe a new thread about the car might be more appropriate The wheels are definitely the worst part of the car. There has been a lot of effort made to convince the museum to change them back to the correct WWWs with hubcaps but no luck yet. I'd volunteer in a heartbeat to do some long term maintanence and detailing on this car, but so far, the name of the game is to leave it as it is....
Thanks guys. Don't worry about hi-jacking. The discussion is fascinating and I've already learned a lot. This thread will dis-appear soon enough. Somebady needs to make a list of every time the folks have commented on those wheels and present it to the museum folk. It would be nice if museum's paid any attention to what the folks have to say. We asked repeatedly to get the Thomas Flyer trailered to Tonopah to do a re-enactment photo on it's 100th anniversary of coming through our town. The buildings it sat in front of are still in place, and the camera I was using could have done the photo the first time through. Dead ears.
I remember the Westerguard car being in the original museum at least 30 years ago. One thing to consider is that Bill Harrah liked it just the way it sits and that carries more wieght than my opinion. BTW I saw the display at the golf touney....pretty cool, except for the jack ass who opened the door and had his kids sitting in the Cord!!!! Got all pissy when the volunteer told them to get out!!!! The Thomas Flyer photo shoot in Tonopah sounds like a great idea!!
I understand what you're saying, Jim. It would be nice to see that happen but I couldn't say if it ever would or not. I'm not associated in any way with the museum other than just being friends with a few of the volunteers. Although I'm considering getting vetted to become a volunteer. Something I never stopped to realize is that there is NO money for the museum other than the admission and gift shop income and the ocassional donatIon. EVERYTHING is done by volunteers. There is only one guy that works in the shop full time keeping the cars maintained with a salary, the rest is just a bunch of passionate guys that work their butts off doing whatever needs to be done. That is, I'm sure, at least part of the reason your efforts have fallen on deaf years. Moving the Thomas Flyer that far would require a fair amount of money that just is not there. So outside excursions have to prioritized. I know this doesn't make a lot of sense when you consider that some of these cars are transported to pebble beach and Amelia island as well another shows and displays As far as modifying the Westergard car is concerned.... The museum has an official mission that is a commitment....part of the way the museum was structured when it was formed. That mission is based on preservation rather than restoration. The whole point was to preserve as much of Bill Harrahs collection as possible as it was when it was a complete collection. When the original museum was broken up the NAM was formed with a very generous donation by the Hilton of 175 vehicles from the collection. The rest were sold off outright or auctioned off. As frustrating as it might be to see those wheels on the Westergad car at least its there to be seen and enjoyed. Without the unimaginable efforts of a lot of dedicated people and the generosity of the Hilton, all of these cars would be located in the same place as the other 1200 or so vehicles that were in the collection...scattered to the winds. There is no restoration being done at the museum and no facilities to do anything other than maintain the cars. If paint or upholstery is necessary it has to be farmed out. Any mechanical work...engine rebuilds for example....are done in house by Jay and volunteers with any machine work being sent out.
We're lucky to have that car. Most of them saw much worse fates than chrome reverse wheels and moons. The Flyer idea came and went. We needed it in March of '08. John Campbell's 1910 Cadillac stood in for it instead.
Great photos and that is a collection not to be missed. We went through the museum on our way to Pebble Beach in 2010. Here is a link to the tour through the museum. http://www.hotrodsonline.com/articles/10_Harrah%27s/slides/DSC04754.html The museum also has the Phantom Corsair and the Beatnic Bandit.
Here are the final batch from the developing soup. Same cars mostly, but different lenses ~ effects. Hope you enjoy. 1931 Type 40A Cabriolet mad magazine view 500k sharp lens vss soft lens lines Hisso with a sharp lens Chrysler Newport
Neat pictures. Here's a bit of trivia.... Did you know the outside of the museum building is painted Heather Mist Poly, code 99 from a '69 Cad. Thanks for posting your pictures, Jim. Thye're a very interesting look through the lense of an antique camera.
The Jalopy Journal
