Hot Rods 32 cabriolet that was in same Spokane family 75 years now DRIVING with 425 GS Buick engine!!

...or you could invite some really fat guys to ride shot-gun with you...that would eventually lower the seat

 

Indecently AL, that's Yankee engineering...kinda like yardstick gas gauges

 

......I'm just too nice a guy to ask if you are volunteering.

 

What are you insinuating Don?

 

...if the show fits...

 

Above are the TWO yard stick gas gauges Jack furnished me when I got his sedan delivery... note the green wheels.
Also note that he numbered the calibrated stick in case a driver forgot!
I'm learning more about Jack's yankee engineering!! Surely Jack didn't need the numbers... I hope!
After I replaced the gas tank and added a regular gas sending unit. with a gas gauge on the dash and everything; I retired both of Jack's "gas gauges". I'm saving them for him to return them when he and Bonnie come for some ice cream!

 

Gee Al... be careful what you wish for. All of Bonnie's family is from New Market Va. and we're due for a visit.
Actually, I could use the yardsticks...been pretty wet up here...they'd make great rain guages. Of course, to be fair, I would be willing to trade you some more green paint for them... I've noticed that you have a bad habit of loosing it

 

On the previous page, I pointed out from the tribute to Doug Turnwall by Dusty and Gael Rhodes that Dusty found the body in 1952 in a barn that was originally purchased from Minzel Motor Company in Colville, WA.
I thought I'd do a computer lookup of the company on the long shot that I might find something.
I found an old yardstick that the company apparently used for advertising.


Well, kept messing on the computer from the initial info about the yardstick that was apparently sold some time ago and found some more detailed images which was kinda neat but were basically just some closeups of the yardstick.
On neat thing did show that the yardsticks were actually produced in Spokane... right where Doug Turnwall lived at the J E Devlin Co.

The real prize from all this patience in searching is that I came across this picture of the old building!!

Now, ain't that cool?!
Just think; one day long ago somebody went into that very building and bought a new 1932 Ford cabriolet BODY and took it home and apparently never used it and ultimately it ended up in a barn where Dusty ran across it in 1952, with a title, and bought it for $10.00. That's twenty years after the body was produced and apparently never used!
How's that for being "NOS"?!!
Still no results on the picture hunting in Spokane but I'm more concerned, and hopeful, that their area fires are gone and the air has cleared.
Pretty cool that the body was purchased at a Ford dealer where:

Hope y'all don't mind me sharing my discoveries along the trail of tracking the history of this old Ford.

By the way, I went to pickup the new boot for the car and the upholstery guy, Keith, was kind enough to sew the old boot back together for me as I'm thinking of mailing it back to the builder's daughter to have as a momento... along with the complete rumble seat I already sent to her!! I'm hoping the freight bill might be a bit less!!

Keith also quickly put together a small upholstered wrap to make the column drop much more presentable.
He even tweaked the driver's side floormat I'd bought to better fit around the steering column and even added some velcro to keep it in place. Yep, Kirk's Upholstery is another place to go where:


I'll get a picture later in memory of 3WLarry.

 

Man oh man, I love a great story like this.

 

That's some amazing detective work Al..
I'll bet you would never have guessed that "yardsticks" would play such a big role in your life

 

Here are pictures related to the above wrap for the steering drop and also tweaking the floormat:


And just to show that I'm not just a one dimensional guy(ice cream!); here's another of my favorite indulgences.

This is actually a bourban and chocolate pecan pie. I have cut it in half and separated it to take half to my older daughter in exchange for half of a peaches and pecan pie... mixing the two is divine!!
I'm carefully researching to find the best flavorful combination of mixing the two!
Now if I only had access to some deep dish apple pie ice cream!!
Opportunities!

 

^^^^That looks DELICIOUS!!!^^^

 

The last pecan pie was delicious, Don.
Today we have a fresh pecan pie that we are going to work on after we have our black eyed peas!
72 degrees today! Had to take it for a spin!
Thought I'd share the moment.
Happy New Year!

 

Damn Al, I thought I was the only person in this state that knew about eating black eyed peas on New Years Day! My mother was from East Texas and that was a ritual when I was growing up. I still do to this day. Old habits are hard to break.

 

Black eyed peas, stewed tomatoes, collard greens. Every new years day for decades. Still here.

 

...........Should be a little Pork in there as well.......Fat back, smoked neck bones or Bacon in the greens counts....My choice is Pork Chops with A-1 on them......Yummmm.

 

I love this car! You must have eaten a lot of black eyes.

 

Black eyed peas on New Years Day?
I'll never figure out you "damn Southerners"

 

Al, you're not alone. We had black eyes, greens and ham for New Years. Hope You and Your Family are doing Great!

 

Jack, it's a good luck thing. Eating black-eyed peas on New Years Day brings you good luck in the New Year. And if you didn't have the Christmas tree down before New Years Day that was bad luck!

 

LOL Oh crap, I'm in for a year of bad Ju-Ju...the wife likes the Christmas tree up all thru January.

 

....You may need two helpings of Black Eyes to counter all of that bad luck.

 

Ok, going WAY off topic...but what do black eyed peas taste like? Pinto beans? Lentils? Chick peas?....????

 

Got this out to enjoy the weather.

Another angle. The goal was to test the new speedometer that I finally installed recently.

Also rode it over to see it's "cousin," the 29 RPU with a Nailhead as well but we didn't get it out to play, too.
Maybe next time!
I thought about putting the cabriolet in with the 29... but then I'd have to walk home!!

 

Al, did you stop for ice cream?

 

Actually, I was thinking about ice cream earlier today!!

 

I didn't have time to go yesterday but I just got back!! That coconut chocolate almond ice cream tastes just like eating an Almond Joy.

As to the speedometer test. the speedometer works great as to reporting the speed and I think it is pretty close.
But, neither the trip odometer nor the regular odometer moves at all!
Opportunities!!
Looks like I'm gonna have to try the other speedometer I bought. The good news, if you can call it that, is that I'm cleaning up the lighting and the wiring with each iteration.
I'll keep ya posted.
Thanks for the interest,
Perplexed Al

 

I assume you have an original '32 speedometer. If I remember correctly there is a pin sticking out of the back of the speedometer. It is about 1/8 diameter and 3/8 long. You pull it out and twist it to set the trip meter. When finished you push it back in. If you don't push it back in the trip meter won't work (and maybe the odometer).

Charlie Stephens

 

The ice cream flavor sounds good. I wish I had been there.

 

Charlie, thanks for the tip but my car has a dash from a 1940 Ford deluxe in it.
Those speedometers have a similar feature to the 32s but for some reason this one just will not engage to move the odometers. I don't think they are frozen together as the trip odometer can be turned via the reset rod but it doesn't move either when going down the road... baffles me.
Just another "opportunity."
I tried to test the third speedometer a short while ago and I'm doubtful it will work either... guess I'm figuring out why they were for sale!
I'm tempted to just buy a whole new gauge cluster and be done with it but I really want to preserve the car's 75 plus year history as much as possible. I'm guessing this dash was installed when they switched from the 3 window body to the new cabriolet body that had been sitting in an old Ford dealership since the early 30s. The switch was made in the early 50s according to my research.
Opportunities!!
Thanks to all for the continued interest and help,
Al