We spend lots of time (and dollars) at auctions, and we don’t always know exactly what we are buying. That was the case with this old grille. Do you recognize it?
You could still see the shape of the radiator badge, which allowed me to quickly narrow the search. It soon became apparent that this grille originally belonged to a 1935 Dodge DU.
Dodge was restyled for ’35 and called the “New Value” line:
Offered in eight body styles, the ’35 Dodge was powered by the 87-hp Red Ram engine with 3-1/4″ bore and 4-3/8″ stroke. It also featured improved hydraulic brakes, synchro-shift transmission, and a new synchromatic front suspension that incorporated a rigid front axle, soft, thin-leaf springs, double-acting hydraulic shock-absorbers and a rubber-cushioned synchronizing mechanism called the “ride levelator.” The “levelator” was described this way:
“The action of the Dodge “levelator” does away with the tendency of the car to sway or roll and makes possible the use of very flexible front springs. As the front wheel on one side passes over an obstruction, the soft spring on that side compresses. The swaying motion of the body that would result is promptly counteracted by the “levelator” which, connected to both sides of the car frame, causes disturbances occurring to one wheel to be “leveled out” not merely by the spring action on the affected side, but by the combined spring action, rubber-cushioned “levelator” action and shock absorber action – on both sides.”
The result, according to Dodge engineers, was an ideally soft ride, the Dodge “Airglide Ride”:
Now I’ve got a grille, and I’m pretty sure I have a hood ornament somewhere, but I do wish I had the rest of the car to go with it. I am rather partial to Dodges, after all!
I get lots of questions regarding the very complicated world of Packard hood ornaments, so a while back I attempted to put together a list (by year). I started with the 1950s, which you can find here. Below you will find my stab at the Packard heraldry of the 1940s. If you see any mistakes, feel free to email me at americancarhistorian@gmail.com.
1949
Goddess design patent 149,601 (no apron) – Packard EightSuper, CustomOptional Golden Anniversary “Egyptian” hood ornament
1948
Goddess design patent 149,601 (no apron) – Super EightDeluxe Eight, Standard EightCustom Eight
One-Sixty (available with a plain, ungrooved wing in 1940, also produced in a “California” model without the donut)Bail Cap – One-Ten, One-TwentyOne-Eighty
The Stearns Automobile was THE performance car during the first decade of the 1900s and was piloted by the likes of Barney Oldfield as it was used to rack up wins in speed, endurance and hill-climbing competitions.
However, there was another driver setting records in a Stearns; a woman by the name of Kathryn Otis. In 1908, Otis lived in Cleveland and was the wife of a millionaire named Kenneth Otis. In July of 1908, a week after winning a hill-climbing contest in her Stearns Four, she set out to break the record for driving from Cleveland to Buffalo. She was well-equipped with the Stearns, powered by a massive 536-ci 60-hp T-head engine, and a terrific memory; Otis was said to have the ability to remember all the twists and turns of a route after being taken over it one time. She opted to make the trek on a Monday because farmers filled the roads with market wagons on most other days of the week. She also carried two big revolvers that she reportedly slammed down before the clerk at the Lafayette Hotel while remarking, “I guess they won’t hold me up when I carry these.”
1908 photo of Mrs. Otis behind the wheel of her Stearns roadster
The Cleveland to Buffalo trip was 204 miles, and Stearns reached speeds of 60 mph over what must have been wretched dirt roads. In addition to the timing of the trip and the weapons to deal with highwaymen, Otis did one more smart thing to prepare for her trip. She announced her route ahead of time and then took a different route with worse roads, but no constables, because all of the lawmen were posted along the route she had made public.
When the dust settled, Otis rolled into Boston with a new record of six hours and 10 minutes, beating the previous record by 26 minutes. When one reporter asked if she had been scared, she replied, “Scared! Why, it was perfectly glorious!”
The following September she attempted to break the Cleveland-Toledo record but fell short by five minutes. In February of 1909, during severe weather, she set what was described as a women’s endurance record by making the trip from New York to Boston and back during severe and snowy weather. As a matter of fact, her trusty Stearns was the only vehicle that had passed over the roads since the snowfall. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported: “Every kind of rough going was encountered. At many points on the route Mrs. Otis had to plow through mud with treacherous holes, slush and ice, snow that seemed impenetrable and ruts that menaced the plucky driver at many points.”
Outside of Boston, she was arrested for violating an ordinance prohibiting the use of skidding chains on the Metropolitan Parkway at Watertown. She was finally allowed to make bail and barely missed having to spend the night in jail. She paid her fine at 10 o’clock the next morning and headed back to New York where she was greeted with great fanfare.
I don’t know when she tired of competing as I couldn’t find any mention of her beyond 1921. That was the year she was charged with smuggling liquor. At the time she was living in Montreal but had a summer home at Rouse’s Point in New York. It was alleged that customs officials found “a large quantity of liquor in the seat which Mrs. Otis occupied in the Pullman Car.” Bail was set at $500 on this occasion. I am not sure whether the aforementioned Pullman Car is referring to the train or the automobile by the same name. Either way, her mistake was not driving herself. She should have just backed the old Stearns out of the garage, loaded it up with booze and outran the coppers.
I was strolling along at an outdoor antiques market the other day when the Mercury Man caught my eye:
This particular cap is correct for a 1951 Mercury. It measures around eleven inches in diameter and marked the Mercury Man’s return from hubcap hiatus. I grabbed it quick because I just never find them at the flea markets where I live. You know where else you rarely find them? On ’51 Mercs.
This ’51 Merc is sporting ’57 Cadillac caps with chrome bullets . . . . . . . and this one has spinners.
This ’59 Ford is being auctioned off by Rhynalds in Minden, Nebraska. Seventeen days to go! Click on the photo to see more pictures and/or place your bid:
The caption reads: “Capt. H. S. Kelsey of the 143rd field artillery, one of the pride outfits of the Pacific coast, is shown here jumping his mount, “El Capitan,” over the hoods of two Chevrolets parked nose to nose. Although the motor car has replaced the horse to a great extent in the army, the noble beast still plays an important part in military training and maneuvers.”
