Art & Inspiration Do you ever look at it and wonder what it was like when it was new?

The inspiration for this post came from taking my 64 Marauder out for a cruise today and passing by an old deserted farm that I have passed by a zillion times since I moved here in 1976. She was old and abandon then. I have often thought about who built it and how they felt when they walked in the door for the first time An how many families called it home. I started thinking about the Marauder and who might have been the first proud owner and would he or she be suprised to know she still exists . I think of all the cars I have owned since 1971. My 31 Vicky,40 ford ,41 ford, 47 chevy, and what the original owners would have thought of their brand new babies being turned into hot rods and I wonder in what form they are in now. My current collection. the Marauder, my 51 Merc,55 Chevy,36 Plymouth and a hand full of off topic 60's Mustangs and what will happen to them once I have sold them or left them behind. My dad was born in 1932 , so that makes the beloved Deuce 88 years old this year. Next time you look at one of these old girls, think how much history and lives they have passed through. What we and the world are going through right now, really isn't much of anything. Enjoy life every moment you can. We are just passing through! I had better call my Dad, he does not remember a lot of the last 88 years anymore. But for now he remembers I love him. Larry

 

Many years ago I was at a "after hours" Chamber of Commerce meeting, just a social gathering. I was driving the 38 Chevy and a woman there that I had known for awhile asked about going for a ride. After we drove a block or two she said "do you wonder how many people have had sex in this car?" Old houses and old cars have all kinds of stories, most we will never know

 

I look at every old car like that.

 

Ok

 

Every time I wonder around my local old junkyard I get thinking about how someone was very happy driving them off the dealers lot for the first time and here they have been sitting for over 50 years in a junkyard.

 

I drive my Nomad and my '40 quite often, the '40 every day this year so far. And I wonder as I go down the road what they looked like new, what they smelled like new, who was the first owner, how happy they must have been, etc. I think every one of our old cars would have a story to tell if they could talk.

 

Schwing!

 

A while back, I was given a 1963 Valiant Signet 2 door hardtop. It came with the owner's manual and a blue credit card like card that was issued when the car was new. It was purchased new by my grade nine teacher! Thinking back, yes, I remembered her driving it, but it was a lot newer then.

 

I would have liked to have seen my sixty four on day one but I saw it just short of thirty six years later with 50K on the clock. Out side of a pair of very cobbled rear spring shackles, a few old person finding the garage door dents and the standard silver dollar rust holes in the front fenders it was as Ford built it. It had never had a water or fuel pump, radiator or heater hose replaced, the car looked like it was ten years old.
Hopefully later this year I will have it back on the road after an extended mechanical rebuild at that point the body with frame connectors added along with most of the front suspension and interior will be the only thing stockish. Now I would like to see how the man that bought it new fifty six years ago would think of a mid 11 second ride in his Fairlane?

 

My Studie was ordered with a V/8 and 5 speed overdrive which was an option in the 1/2 ton pick up's that year. Have heard the new/previous owner hauled roundy round or dirt track cars with it - the remains of the hitch are still with it along with the original seat cover I sit in......always wanted to track him down.........

 

Somewhat related. Ive sat in some beautiful new cars. The interior so lush and comfortable, the paint immaculate (for factory paint), the shine of the wheels etc. Then I think about how in 10-15 years they're gonna be just another crappy car in the junkyard with forgotten love, and also think of how that 100,000 dollar car will be worthless.

 

No

 

My 48 Plymouth coupe was originally a Police car for one of the Chicago suburbs, I've seen a picture of all that city's police cars in a line, and I think maybe my car was the 3rd car from the front. I've also heard the story of its life after the Police were done with it, and that picture wasn't very pretty. Then, this hack got a hold of it and changed everything. Before me, the poor car probably thought it was going to be able to rust away in peace.

Most of the vehicles I've owned were in pretty bad shape when I became the owner, those were the only kind of cars I could afford for many years, and by the time I could afford a better class of cars, old habits were already formed.
I don't think much about what they have been through before me, because most were near death or already considered dead and I believed I was more or less prolonging their agony. I've had a lot of very good vehicles through the years, probably because of the level of effort I've put into prolonging their time on earth. I believe a car can have a soul like people, and most just want to be useful during our time here. Gene

 

Every once in a while I think of every car & truck that was running 1941-1945. Everyone in some way or another helped win WWII. Just think of the daily use they went through getting things done. Bob

 

I often think about things like that. It helps me to keep thing in perspective. My 55 Chevy came out of McAllen,Texas and has never been restored. You can easily tell where the original owner used to touch the glove box, rest his ellbow on the window sill or his hand on the quarter panel because of how the paint is worn through. I was wondering how there could be a 10" long bare spot of metal shining through on the quarter until I realized that I was resting my hand there aswell during a fill up. How many years of careful use would it take to wear paint through by just touching it? These are my favourite kind of cars- well maintained and rustfree, but proudly showing their age. My 40 Ford is similar, but in a lot better condition than the 55. It used to be a movie prop car at MGM until the mid 60s and bought by a friend who owned it since and kept it nice. I´ve had owned it for 2 years now and still have Jay sitting at my side and telling me how to drive that car, to avoid gravel roads just like he did. To slow shift the trans until the gear lube is warm enough, thing like that.
My 56 Chevy was a full resto, I have to admit that I restored quite some history off of this car. That was 20 years ago and I can´t tell if I´d do that again today or just fix it and leave it alone.

I grew up in an old farm house of unkown age, but it is documented that it has been sold in 1754 , so it must be older than that. My great-grandpa bought it from his brother in law in 1908 and we are still living there. My house is behind my parent´s old farm house just up the hill. Our village church and the parish are just across the street and this church has been documented back to 891, but during restoration they found older building beneath this church. Shoveling a hole in our backyard is always interesting, you never know what you will find.

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time in 100 year´s steps just to see how this place has evolved...
I have a few photos from our family album. First one shows how my grandpa rebbuilt it after WW2. Before the whole house was wooden , but the 200 year old wood had just rotten away. My grandpa said, mice and rats could walk in without using the front door. He rode his bicycle to Munich every weekend to clean out bricks from bombed out buildings. They were free and that´s what they used to rebuild the ground floor of our house. He bribed truck drivers with booze and free haircuts to bring his bricks home...he was a barber and my grandma opened a little general store after ww2.

the second photo is viewing west up the street. Our next door neighbor was a blacksmith and a "Wagner", building horse wagons.The road remained unpaved to the mid 50s.
Main street being paved in the mid 50s. Our house is in the far end on the upper left corner behind the trailer.



A recent photo, maybe 5 years old. The blacksmithery has been torn down and our neighbor built a new house, he has his front yard where the carriages or wagons used to be parked. And my parents rebuilt their farm house a couple of times again over the years and made attachments. The street is wider and obviously paved now... and I guess there weren´t much Rivieras and Impalas around here until a few years ago

 

The question being asked there might not be what you think it was.

 

My 37 Chevy p/u was bought new by a feed mill a few miles south of me and I wonder which employee was the first to drive it and how many other did until my great uncle bought it off them in the early 50s,I also wonder if anyone who drove it for that company are still alive.

 

A few cars I’ve owned had me ask that.

my 69 Lincoln was in great unrestored but aged shape when I got it, with gold on gold leather interior and every option available in ‘69.
I think the owner “finally made it” and bought the biggest n best car available that year.


My 55 Buick was a clean car that looked like it was restored in the 70’s or 80’s then just parked. Always wonder why?


My merc is one is like to know who bought it new as it’s a pretty flashy car.

 

All I can say with my 46 Olds is that it will be aesthetically as close to original as possible. A resto-mod with OEM 2 tone paint scheme and trim, woodgrained interior trim, column auto (700R in lieu of hydramatic), OEM gauges with modern movements and miscellaneous NOS bits and pieces, emblems and hubcaps etc. I however digress with a pearled steering wheel. Bumpers and grill were rechromed with SS repolished. Apart from unseen OT suspension and brakes the SBC will be 50s - 60s with X-ram intake and 6x97s. Everything modern will be hidden and out of sight. Technically I could put an original frame with running gear underneath and it'd be a restored car!

Insofar as my 64 Fairlane [Thunderbolt clone] is concerned, I'm improving it with period correct parts for some authenticity. It's loud and runs hot as well as being hot inside with blanked off cowl vents so there's no floor ventilation. Plain Jane wimbledon white with OEM trim. No frills bucket seats, no radio etc etc. It's very basic and fun, close to OEM with a decent power to weight ratio and horrible fuel economy. Well adjusted 4-wheel drum brakes aren't too bad around town. It's close to OEM delivery and good in a straight line, definitely not a long distance car or something you'd drive up the mountains in. Then again these cars didn't meet exacting customer standards as per Ford disclaimer, they weren't meant to be street driven dailies. That's the appeal.

 

let me help you out here....That was an offer.

 

Sounds like an invitation to make it one more.

As for cars when they were new, some cars are just transportation to people, even back then. But the fact that the cars of this vintage still exist gives me the thought that most people thought of them as more than just transportation or they wouldn't have survived this long.

 

I tend to wonder how many jalopy races were won by my car. Locally it was old number 72...forget the owners name.
The only original part left of that body is the top and the rest of the body is comprised of parts from about 6-8 other bodies...some not even Ford parts! If I knew the history of all the ford and chevy parts [hood sides&dash] in just the body I could write a book.

 

I've had my Rambler since I was a teenager and it has Nash seats so I try not to think of how many OTHER people have had sex in my car.

 

I don't remember where I read it, but there's a story told by a truck about his life. It went something like this: Bought new by farmer (1930s), given to son when farmer got a new truck, son went to war and didn't return. Truck sold, big engine put in, wrecked, owner killed, sat in junk yard until bought to be "restored" and became a trailer queen. Truck wasn't happy. I won't spoil it by telling the ending.

I probably have the book it is in, I'll try to find it. In the meantime, if someone else finds or knows of it, please post. Really good story that could be true, or at least I believe the same thing has actually happened. It is definitely HAMB appropriate. Ron

 

I found the story. It's in the book "The Way It Was" by Chuck Klein. It's called 'The Pick-up' and it's the first story in the book. I don't know how to go about posting the story, too long to type and not sure about copyrights. Any ideas. Again, a very good story that fits this thread. Ron

I know the full story on my 1950 Ford Custom Tudor. Local Lady bought new at local dealership. Parked in 1962 when she quit working. Parked in Carport/garage. Many people including relatives tried to buy, but she wouldn't sell. Someone talked her out of it in 1992, it only had 32k miles. Flathead V8 was stuck, so another flathead put in and then body painted. When I first saw it for sale in '95 the price was $10k or $12k. Too much for me so I passed. In a month or so it was on a Used Car Lot. It had 37k miles on it when I picked it up for $4500 including the original engine. The second owner had supposedly driven it to Texas and back. I drove it everyday for a year and then rebuilt original engine (not stock). Drove it everyday for next two years, then bought OT Suburban. Still drove it a lot up until around 10 years ago. Put a total of 80k fun miles on it including 2 trips to Nebraska, 2 to Florida, 1 to Georgia and I to South Carolina. Tore out 12 transmissions and twisted 1 rear axle. It was actually on stage at a local university production of grease.

The following celebs have signed the dash: Don Garlits, Bunny Burkett, Dick Dale, Big Bopper Jr, Bowser from Sha-Na-Na, and a few more. Unfortunately the signatures have mostly faded away. The Shangrilas have sat in the back seat. I was back there too, and no, it wasn't the original group. One night, I had a blond in the front seat with me, She said "Peal out!" Her name was Debbie, no not that Debbie, and her husband was in the back seat.

One more thing, when I took the car by to show the original owner, she said, "It didn't have them big white walls when I bought it!" She also said she took it back to the dealer to have a radio put in.

I was trying to sell it, but after all this reminiscing, I might have to get it back going and do some driving. Ron

 

Well my car probably did not handle as well as it does now in 1964... And yes I know who was the owner back then - car had only 3 owners from new, the first one for 45 years, the 2nd for 10 - both in Oregon - I'm the third and the car is now in Europe. Have not contacted the 1st owner, I'm not sure he's still alive but may try and call him...

 

several old cars I have owned I did not have to wonder what they looked like new because they still looked that way when I had them.