The fascinating history of American cars . . .one story at a time.
The bidding is already over $236K, but if you have that kind of cash to spend you can check it out at BigIron: Butch Siebenaler Muscle Car Collection
Some other good stuff in the collection:
Walter P. Chrysler was born in 1875 in Wamego, Kansas and grew up in Ellis. If you venture to that town, just west of Hays, you will find the Walter P. Chrysler Boyhood Home and Museum:
We were there on a very rainy day, but it was definitely worth the effort to see this well-maintained little museum. It is well known that Chrysler worked for Union Pacific before joining General Motors as works manager at the Buick plant, but Chrysler’s father, Henry, also worked for the then-Kansas Pacific Railroad as an engineer on wood-burning locomotives. As a teenager, Henry served as a drummer boy for the Kansas 12th Infantry during the Civil War, and the museum has a display of medals earned by him in that service.
Walter Chrysler developed his famous work ethic in Ellis where he worked as a delivery boy for the grocery store, pushing around a heavy two-wheeled cart after school and on weekends. Not surprisingly, he was also a good student and, apparently, a crack shot. A newspaper story from 1889 about the local Fourth of July celebration describes how the local gun club took part in a shooting tournament and suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of children. The “Kids” club won by a score of 62 to 51 with the high score, nine out of ten shots, earned by Walter Chrysler.
Chrysler married his childhood sweetheart, and, by all accounts, it was a lifelong romance. Her name was Della Forker. They had four children together and remained married until her death in 1938, two years before Walter Chrysler’s death.
There is only one car on display at the museum, a gorgeous 1924 Chrysler Six:
The Chrysler automobile debuted in 1924, making its widely heralded first appearance at the New York Automobile Show in January of that year. Papers reported that its reception “was probably the greatest and most enthusiastic ever given an automobile. ” The show was held in the Bronx, and “thousands upon thousands” of people swarmed to the armory to view the new reasonably priced Chrysler line-up:
Newspapers reported that the excitement was so intense the NYPD assigned motorcycle policemen to act as bodyguards for the demonstration cars giving rides to the clamoring public. Speed restrictions were also withdrawn so that the quickness and control of the cars could be showcased without fear of traffic citations. Chrysler engineers described the new car as one that improved upon automobile design in the following ways:
“Elimination of practically all friction at the junction of moving parts; rapid, efficient and full power development through thermodynamics (the science of heat distribution in relation to power development)-a tremendously important engineering achievement; absolutely vibrationless power at any speed; achievement of 68 horsepower and a maximum speed of more than 70 miles per hour from an engine of only 201 cubic-inch displacement.
An entirely new spring arrangement, insuring riding comfort in a light-weight car; heavier crankshaft than in most cars of twice the weight, totally eliminating crankshaft whip and vibration; seven bearing crankshaft with shimless bearings; tremendous flexibility, both in the engine and throughout the car; more than 20 miles per gallon of gasoline; novel and improved methods of lighting control; filters through which both oil and air must pass, by which impurities in each are removed.”
The new automobile was a triumph for Walter Chrysler, and it was enthusiastically embraced by the car-buying public with sales records shattered in the process. Chrysler went on to take over Dodge Brothers in 1926 and Chrysler Corporation was soon part of the “Big 3.”
Walter P. Chrysler was a capable and hard-working executive known for his leadership abilities, good judgment and brilliant mechanical mind. Ellis, Kansas is right to be proud of its native son, and I appreciate their efforts to preserve history with the maintenance of this humble little home on the prairie.
A while back I wrote a post about a woman named Kathryn Otis, an endearing character who was setting records in her 1908 Stearns in the early years of the last century. You can read that story here: A Gutsy Broad and a 1908 Stearns.
As I was researching Mrs. Otis, I discovered that her husband, Kenneth R. Otis, was one of the millions of brave servicemen felled during World War I. Kenneth Otis was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1881, and he tragically died in 1918 while serving as a combat engineer for the Canadian Overseas Railway Construction Corps. He has a Canadian Virtual War Memorial page and is buried in Auberchicourt British Cemetery at Nord, France:
This early brick building is situated in downtown Gothenburg, Nebraska:
If you examine it carefully, and maybe squint one eye, you can just make out the words “BUICK HUDSON”:
A little research revealed that there was a car dealer in this city by the name of Orrin Hamilton Cotton who entered the business in 1915 with a Buick dealership:
Cotton obtained the Hudson agency in 1917, and remained in the automobile business until his death in 1943.
“When American engineers brought the automobile within reach of the many, they gave humanity the most amazing opportunity for increasing the benefits and joys of life that history has yet recorded.”
O. H. Cotton
1924
Awhile back, I mentioned how the 1939 Dodge hubcap appears to be something of an “ink blot test.” Well, here is another car part that is similarly open to interpretation:
This one was included in a part lot we recently purchased, and it took me half the morning to figure out what it was. Do you see:
A) a bird sitting on top of a shield;
B) an eagle with head turned to the side and wings outstretched;
C) a phoenix, rising from the ashes; or
D) Hernando de Soto?
The answer is . . . . . . . . .
.
.
.
Apparently, D, some stylized version of Hernando de Soto, because this emblem is found on the hood of the 1958 DeSoto. In the parts manual, it is referred to only as a medallion:
The DeSoto automobile first appeared in 1928, and it was named for the famed Spanish explorer and conquistador credited with being the first European to cross the Mississippi River. It was not uncommon to honor early explorers in this fashion; names such as Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and Robert Cavelier de la Salle were also immortalized in the automobile industry. When the DeSoto was introduced in 1928, the explorer was represented by a crest, which was also used as the radiator badge:
Of course, the best depictions of the explorer are the hood ornaments of the early 1950s:
They are certainly more recognizable than whatever that 1958 medallion is supposed to be!
While passing through the tiny town of Lebanon, Kansas, we spotted this restored Standard Oil gas station. Complete with visible gas pumps, it functions as an attention-getting visitor center. What a great idea!
This nice-looking emblem is one of Mopar’s iconic double-boomerang “Forward Look” emblems that first appeared in late 1954 (in reference to the new 1955 models) and was used through 1961. The concept of the “Forward Look” encompassed the entirety of the motoring experience, all the style, performance and features not found elsewhere. It was all about new and daring styling and engineering for traveling on America’s modern super-highways. Chrysler described it this way in one 1955 advertisement:
“Cars that bring things to you other cars do not yet have. Cars that do things for you other cars are not yet able to do.”
Some of these “things” included the push-button PowerFlight transmission; power steering and brakes; powerful engines like the hemis and the ’56 Plymouth Hy-Fire V8 with PowerPak (special intake manifolds, 4-barrel carb and dual exhaust); swept back windshields; safety features like LifeGuard door latches and optional Safety Seat Belts that met official airline specifications; and the Flight-Sweep design of the bodies which wrapped “up the whole idea of motion with one, clean, aerodynamic sweep from headlight to upswept rear fender,” or, as the goofy “Forward Look” song commissioned by the Chrysler Corporation put it:
“Its beautiful lines are so low, low, low, even standing still, it looks like go.”
This great photo appeared in newspapers in March of 1934. The accompanying story noted the striking resemblance between the two aerodynamic “moderns” depicted, a 1934 Chrysler Airflow sedan and the “Union Pacific Railroad’s new lightweight, streamlined train.” It was noted that the train was powered by a 600hp distillate-burning engine that could attain speeds of 110 mph while the Chrysler engine had 130-hp and could reach speeds of 100 mph. The ultra-streamlined Airflow was innovative, but that didn’t translate into popularity with the car-buying public, and it was only produced through 1937.
These cars are part of an online auction that closes May 1, 2022:
