The Highway Creepers car show took place in Kearney last weekend and it was, as usual, a feast for the eyes. You never know what you are going to see there, like, for instance, this absolute beast:
It started out as a 1948 Oldsmobile before someone let their imagination run wild. It is branded with the name of a local car lot, so this must be one eye-catching rolling advertisement. Those fins are likely a point of contention with most people either loving or hating them.
Speaking of fins, the ones on this 1959 Buick are fantastic.
Buicks were restyled in wild fashion for ’59, and the overall body length ranged from 217.4 to 225.4 inches. For comparison purposes, a new Chevy Suburban has a body length of 226.3 inches. Buick also implemented new series names, replacing the Special, Century, and Roadmaster with the LeSabre, Invicta, and Electra.
The Electra, like the one pictured at the car show, was the new Roadmaster. It was powered by the Wildcat 445 engine with 4-barrel downdraft carburetor and automatic Twin Turbine Transmission. The Triple Turbine Transmission was available as an option. The Electra had additional brightwork, like rocker and wheelhouse moldings, and other standard features included power steering, power brakes, two-speed electric wipers, and dual exhaust. The distinctive grille, made with rectangular squares, was one of the few holdovers from the previous year. A Buick Electra was also chosen as the pace car for the 1959 Indy 500.
March 19, 1959, Terra Haute Tribune.
On the subject of land yachts, this 1973 Lincoln Continental (body length of 229.9 inches) is gorgeous in metallic green. Notice the curb feelers installed to keep those wide white walls pristine.
A few more highlights:
1955 Mercury1929 Ford Model A Pickup1934 Chevy Sedan
1956 Ford F100
1946 Chevy rat rod with tequila bottle coolant reservoir
1967 Chevy C-10
1956 Chevy Bel Air Gasser
Finally, this photo of kids playing on a lifted Ford F250 is pretty funny:
Early 2000s Ford F250
For the record, no children were harmed in the making of this blog post (not even the one wrapped around the rear tire)!
Brockway had long been in the business of making carriages when, like many similar concerns, it transitioned into making self-propelled vehicles in the early 1900s. After a few years of dabbling in the truck-making business, Brockway Motor Truck Company was formed in 1912. Here is the notice in a list of new incorporations that appeared in the August 23rd edition of the New York Times:
This advertisement appeared the following year:
The climb, reported at the time to be the most difficult in the Connecticut city of Meriden, was made from a “standing start.” The truck carried three prominent local businessmen, in addition to the driver, and it had no problems tackling the 12-14% grade. The new Brockway had driven to Meriden directly from the factory in Courtland, New York, and had made the one-hundred-mile trip in nine hours and fifteen minutes using ten gallons of gas and two quarts of oil.
This wonderful photo of a 3-1/2-ton Brockway Truck appeared six years later in a 1919 edition of the Baltimore Sun:
It was owned by Arillo Construction company of Baltimore, and you can just make out that company’s name on the box of the truck. The caption stated that it was equipped with a Rodenhausen power hoist and had a “short wheelbase” for loading and unloading in narrow areas. The 3-1/2-ton Brockway was available in multiple wheelbases at this time, 120″ to 164″, according to B. F. Goodrich’s 1918 edition of Motor Trucks of America, a source that provides a wealth of information about early trucks. Here is the excerpt on Brockway Trucks:
The Brockway pictured below was one of a fleet of twelve owned by H. D. Bahr Trucking Company of New York City. This photo appeared in a 1920 publication. Notice the sign on the building advertising Bahr as the Bronx Agency for Indian Tires.
Finally, in January of 1920, a large truck show was held in New York City, and Brockway was there along with International, Dodge Brothers, Reo, and something like sixty-two other makes. The show was held in the enormous armory at the corner of Jerome Avenue and Kingsbridge Road in the Bronx and, fortunately, the occasion was documented with this photo in a publication called Highway Transportation:
We spent an enjoyable morning at a local shop digging through dust-covered inventory in search of desirable parts. Adding to the ambience of the dig was this neat project in the middle of the shop:
Until recently, this ’52 Dodge Coronet Business Coupe had been in storage for decades. It originally had a 230-ci flathead six, but now it’s about to get a new bowtie in the form of a 327/300 hp Corvette engine. A Mopar with a Chevy engine is controversial to some, but there is no arguing that the result will be tons of fun to cruise around in.
Here are just a few of the parts we came away with. First, a horn button from a 1950 Crestliner, one of the most sought-after Ford steering wheels:
This illustration from the ’50 Crestliner brochure shows the horn button on the “ultramodern” steering wheel against the background of the two-tone Sportman’s Green and black dash (it was also available in Coronation Red Metallic and black):
We also found these and, to be honest, we didn’t know exactly what they were at the time:
The K stands for “Kaiser,” of course, and some online sellers had them listed as horn buttons, but that just didn’t seem right. A little time and research resulted in the realization that they are backup light deletes/covers for a Henry J, and they are exceedingly rare. It is somewhat hard to make out, but the ’53 Henry J in this photo is sporting a pair:
1953 Henry J Corsair Deluxe at 2015 AACA Eastern Regional Fall Meet Photo credit: CZmarlin — Christopher Ziemnowicz
We also found this 1949-1950 Frazer hood ornament in surprisingly good condition:
This ornament measures 17 inches long and features a knight’s head and an aerodynamic vertical fin, and it was the first official hood ornament for Kaiser-Frazer. The company didn’t make hood ornaments standard until 1951. Because cars were being sold without that extra touch of class gracing the hood, aftermarket companies seized the opportunity to produce hood ornaments specifically targeted to Kaiser-Frazer owners such as this buffalo sold by Gem:
These were made of cheaper materials that didn’t always survive the time and elements, so they are also difficult to find. We really hit the jackpot this week, however, and we walked away with one of those as well:
Sorry, this one is NFS. Both our county and our local school mascot are named for this majestic creature, so into the private collection it goes. Speaking of buffalo, I also found some old brochures that were published by the local Chamber of Commerce in 1922. These pamphlets touted the things Kearney, Nebraska, had to offer in the way of schools and industry, but this town was filled with hot rodders from the very beginning, and so the Chamber also felt compelled to mention that Buffalo County had the fastest dirt track in the state:
A selling point, to be sure.
Advertisement from the June 25, 1925, Kearney Daily Hub
Consider this something of a public service announcement. Truly, I wish I had a dollar for every time I saw this item listed as a hood ornament:
As a matter of fact, it happened again today while I was checking out an online auction:
It is not a hood ornament. It doesn’t even look like a hood ornament. It looks like what it is, which is the handle of an old standing ashtray:
It does have a good look; it just didn’t come off the hood of a Dodge. It is also rather common. I have a different antique ashtray handle that is even better looking and a little harder to come by:
It is probably a good thing this greyhound handle is somewhat rare, because people would likely be peddling them as Ford hood ornaments if they were not.
A company called Harvey Aluminum sponsored racing legend Mickey Thompson’s Indy cars in 1962 and 1963. For ’62, Thompson and British designer John Crosthwaite built three of the lightweight Harvey Aluminum Specials, all powered by Buick V-8 engines.
Mickey Thompson (in car), a Harvey representative (left), and John Crosthwaite (right). Credit: Raycrosthwaite, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
One of these, driven by Dan Gurney, qualified for eighth position at 147.886 mph. Gurney averaged 146 mph for nearly half the race before being forced out by a popped 35-cent oil seal in the rear end. That finish was still good enough for 20th place and $5,161 in prize money and, perhaps more importantly, Thompson also received the D-A Lubricant Mechanical Achievement Award.
For ’63, Thompson went to Indy with two of the ’62 cars plus three new cars that were built lower and wider. Thompson’s cars now had aluminum block Chevrolet engines mounted behind the driver, and two qualified. One of them blew an engine, and the other was driven to ninth place by Al Miller.
At this point in history, Harvey Aluminum was, of course, a big company. It was acquired a few years later by Martin Marietta, but the end of the Harvey Aluminum story is not near as interesting as the beginning. We uncovered a couple of relics from that beginning in a box of old parts purchased at auction:
Before the company was Harvey Aluminum, it was the Harvey Machine Company. Harvey Machine was started by Leo M. Harvey, a young man who had been born Leo Mayer Horowitz in Lithuania in 1887. He arrived in the United States in 1907 and changed his name to Harvey by randomly selecting it from a phone book during the immigration process. A few years later, he moved to California and started the machine shop on the main street of Los Angeles. Harvey was a go-getter and an inventor that owned the patent rights to something like two hundred items. The machine shop evolved to become the world’s largest independent producer of aluminum extrusion products for the automobile, airplane and building trades industries, and Harvey’s businesses made airplane parts during both World Wars. Originally a subsidiary of Harvey Machine, Harvey Aluminum became the corporate name in 1958.
We initially thought these parts were early windshield parts. They had some helpful markings, however, which indicated they were “Steadfast Wings,” made in Los Angeles by Harvey Machine Co.
Those markings led to a 1925 patent and the discovery that these parts are actually the brackets for an accessory wind deflector that would have held a pane of glass between them. They were mounted on the doors of closed cars as seen in these drawings from the patent:
The name “Steadfast Wings” is wonderful, but in advertising they were called by the generic, but less poetic, name of wind wings.
There were actually many manufacturers of wind wings of diverse designs, and they were a wildly popular accessory. This 1925 Chevy is sporting a different version:
They were valued for their looks as much as their utilitarian worth, and they even made a handy place to attach a couple of mirrors as seen on this 1927 Dodge Brothers Roadster:
As my husband frequently reminds me, I can’t keep ALL the old car parts, but I am keeping these, at least for now, because I like their name, their look, and the true American success story behind them.
Wind wings on a 1929 Graham Paige Touring Car Attribution: This photograph was taken with a Canon PowerShot A520 by User:Jed, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At the 1940 special preview of the new 1941 Willys automobile, the fact that Theodore F. MacManus had emerged from retirement to name and introduce the new Willys Americar was “apparently the most significant development of the season.”
Many today have likely never heard of MacManus, but he was a well-known adman in the early days of the American automobile industry. Called both “the dean” and “the father” of national automobile advertising,” he created many of the most iconic tag lines for automobiles used in the first half of the twentieth century. For instance, he was the first to apply the term “dependability” to Dodge Brothers:
He also created the familiar Fisher Bodies Napoleonic coach trademark with the phrase “Body by Fisher.”
MacManus also penned the Pontiac slogan, “the most beautiful thing on wheels.”
The most appreciated and recognizable work created by MacManus was likely the one first used by Cadillac in January of 1915 titled “The Penalty of Leadership.”
1915 Cadillac Model 51
Cadillac published this legendary essay again in 1929, at which time it was called “the most widely disseminated piece of business literature ever written.” W. W. Lewis, Cadillac advertising director at that time, said that the re-publication had again brought in requests for copies from nearly every state with those requests varying from one copy to 30,000.
Even Elvis was an enthusiastic fan of not only the Cadillac itself, but also the Penalty of Leadership essay. There even exists a transcription of the essay, made by Elvis from memory on the notepaper of the Las Vegas Hilton during his last stay there in 1976. It has been auctioned several times, and you can see a copy here.
1955 Cadillac Fleetwood
MacManus also authored books including “The Sword-Arm of Business” which was published in 1927 and describes the qualities necessary to make a successful businessperson. He co-authored “Men, Money, and Motors: The Drama of the Automobile,” and I am reading that one right now. It is an excellent book, a witty and not at all stodgy review of the earliest days of the automobile industry. In it, MacManus addresses how some have attempted to put halos about the heads of certain players in the early automobile industry, and how some of those halos have been disturbed in time:
“Some romanticists have attempted to canonize them. That is attempting too much. Business then, as now, was business – not the salvation of the soul nor the saving of the body politic. Those men were frost-bitten, ugly at times, rough-tongued, and heavy-fisted. Age has made them – some of them – philosophical; in youth they were on fire. Hard and heroic they were but human, always. Intensely so.”
The entire book is this well written, and it is available for free from multiple online sources if you are interested.
For all of his involvement in the automobile industry, MacManus famously never learned to drive. He once tried to learn and relayed the following: “The car stopped in traffic, and I tried to start it until my irritation led along the road to profanity. Then I left it in the middle of the street and never tried to drive again.” I don’t know about you, but if I gave up activities that led me along the road to profanity, I would not get much accomplished.
1930 Cadillac V16
Sources:
“1941 Willys Line Named Americar; Will Bow at N.Y.” Automotive News [Detroit], 30 Sept 1940, p. 1.
Advertisement. Cadillac. Newark Evening Star, 2 Jan. 1915, p. 5.
We were out digging through an old shop the other day when I caught a glimpse of this piece peeking out from a pile of dusty parts:
I don’t know about you, but when I see that distinctive engine turned finish, I can’t move fast enough. I figured the provenance of this panel would be easy enough to determine, but it did take some time because I was looking in the wrong decade. It turns out this part is slightly newer than I first thought; do you recognize it?
I was looking in the thirties, but this is an under-dash control panel for a 1946-1948 DeSoto. Here is what it looks like installed underneath that gorgeous dash:
The two upper openings are for the starter button and cigar lighter. The lower openings, left to right, are for ignition, map light, headlight, heater temp, heat defroster, and heater fan switches. DeSoto called the knobs for these switches “crystal plastic.”
Here is an up-close look at the heater fan switch knob:
This was not the first time DeSoto had utilized engine turning to create beautiful finishes. In 1937, this brochure described the instrument panel as having “a soft, engine turned finish like the breech of a gun, set off by walnut graining.”
The stunning engine turned, or jeweled, finish had long been in use by the time this brochure was published. Here it is seen famously gracing the nose of The Spirit of St. Louis in this photo of Charles Lindbergh:
Credit: Photograph of Charles Lindbergh and The Spirit of St. Louis after Landing in Paris, National Archives Identifier 7580923.
Prior to its use on airplanes, engine turned finishes were also used on items like jewelry, watches, handheld mirrors, and cigarette cases. That’s all well and good, but those things cannot compare to the gleam of a dash with an engine turned finish:
Vintage Offenhauser sprint car – read about it here
Credit: Aerial View of a Christmas Display at Fort Lewis, Washington. US Army, December 22, 1959. National Archives Identifier: 348664131
In December of 1959, the 34th Armor Division at Fort Lewis created this display by placing a Santa figure in an M-48 Patton tank “sleigh” and utilizing six jeeps for reindeer. It appears they even gave the reindeer antlers using tree branches. The jeep in the foreground, decked out as Rudolph, carried a more animated Santa delivering gifts to children. Of all the versions of Santa’s sleigh we’ve ever seen, this is definitely one of our favorites!
It is surprising how many of these 1933 Colorado UR license plate tags have survived the passage of years, especially since the program that spawned them was itself around for such a short period of time. What is in short supply, however, is readily available information about the history of these tags.
Colorado began issuing these UR automobile tags on September 1, 1933, as a means of raising “unemployment relief” funds in the midst of the Great Depression. The tags were purchased at the county courthouse, and the cost was based upon the value of the automobile, ranging from $2 for a car valued at less than $50 to a fee of $60 for a car valued at more than $5,000. The money collected was to be credited to a county emergency relief fund and expended by county commissioners for direct relief of the unemployed. When the fee was paid, the taxpayer was given the metal tag with instructions to affix it to the rear license plate of his or her car.
Enforcement was left up to the counties. The plan was for police officers to enforce the tax law in the same manner as regular motor license laws, meaning they could prevent a car from operating on public roads if the metal tag was not present on the rear license plate. The state also had a club to encourage enforcement; unless the law was enforced and the tax collected, other relief funds would be withheld from the county. Many civic organizations also got involved by making collection of the tax a major project, urging fellow citizens to pay it as evidence of “patriotism and good citizenship.” There was only one problem with this approach: the law was unconstitutional, and the Colorado Supreme Court ruled it as such the very next month. In Walker v. Bedford, a decision the American Automobile Association called “truly epochal,” the court ruled that the law violated two sections of the state constitution, one that prohibited the creation of a tax for county purposes, and one that prohibited any tax that was not uniform on all classes of property.
Car owners who had already paid the tax were issued refunds, but they were apparently allowed to keep the tags because there are so many still around. There are currently at least six listed for sale on eBay, and they do not command much of a price, probably because of the less than illustrious history.
Finally, just for fun, this is an excerpt from the January 8, 1933, issue of the Omaha World Herald highlighting some of the new automobiles offered for 1933.
In 1942, a mobile recruiting unit called the “Leatherneck Cruiser” crisscrossed America’s heartland in search of recruits:
This mobile unit was outfitted with everything from office space to sleeping quarters for the four-man crew. Its tour of thirteen central states launched in Chicago on December 8, 1941, the day America declared war in response to the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor.
The trailer portion of the Leatherneck Cruiser was pulled by an International COE Metro delivery truck with distinctive split grille. Very little information is available on this International, or what became of it, but reproducing it, complete with USMC branding, would be a great project idea for someone.
Below is another neat photo related to Marine Corps recruiting efforts during World War II. The four trucks depicted in this 1942 photo operated out of the Kansas City Marine Corps recruiting office. Each truck was manned by a single recruiting officer who toured the smaller towns of Kansas and Northwest Missouri looking for young men who had lived “an outside life” because they “make the best fighting men.”
The article makes no mention of the types of trucks used, but the far two look like Chevrolets. The near two are Fords, and the recruiter standing closest to the camera was really traveling in style behind the wheel of a rare 1942 Ford Woody Station Wagon. This combination of beauty and utility came with either six or eight cylinders and center and rear seats that were removable to increase hauling capacity. Leather seats were also an option!
My husband is a former marine, so Marine Corps Birthday, November 10th, is always recognized in our household. This year is special, however, as 2025 is a milestone for the Corps that marks 250 years of honor, courage, and sacrifice. Thank you to all who serve, and happy birthday USMC!
