Posts

Posted on

4th of July Recap: A Boat for Sale, A Boat Back from a Watery Grave, and A Hubcap with a Historical Pedigree

We spent Independence Day in Nebraska’s 4th of July City, Seward, where the festivities always include a car show.

’47 Chevy Stylemaster

’57 Ford Fairlane 500

The line-up included a nice firecracker-red 1960 Buick with a “For Sale” sign in the window.

Seward is home to the Nebraska National Guard Museum, and that is where we saw a WWII Higgins Boat with an incredible backstory. It was revealed by receding waters in drought-stricken Lake Shasta in Northern California in 2021, and you can see video of that here. The Higgins boat, or Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) boat, played such a vital role that President Eisenhower described inventor Andrew Jackson Higgins as “the man that won the war for us.” There are less than twenty known to survive, so this was an incredible find, and I am so appreciative of everyone who played a role in its rescue.

Finally, Seward is home to a terrific antique store called Antiques on 34, and I found this amazing hubcap there:

It is in beautiful condition and looks like an old replacement cap for a 1941 Ford. This is what the cap looks like next to an original ’41.

I assume the replacement cap was made by Lyon, but I have not been able to confirm that fact. Lyon made lots of wheel covers, both original and replacement, but there is not a comprehensive source for identifying these Lyon products that I am aware of. This particular ’41 replacement cap is special because the same type of cap was used on Regg Schlemmer’s famous ’27 Roadster. The Hot Rod Foundation has a photo of that roadster posted here.

If this roadster seems familiar to you, it is likely because it appeared on the very first cover of Hot Rod Magazine in January of 1948. I recently purchased a reprint in hopes that there would be a good photo of my hub cap (there was not), but I had fun reading it anyway. Finally, in case you are wondering if your January 1948 issue of HRM is an original or a reprint, MotorTrend has a good explanation posted here.

Posted on

A Trio of Nash Twin-Ignition Advertisements

The Nash Twin-Ignition motor was first introduced in June of 1928 for the company’s OHV engines, and I really like this 1929 Nash advertisement for its drawing and description of that particular innovation:

For 1930, Nash introduced its first eight, an OHV straight-eight with Twin-Ignition. With engine displacement of 298.6ci, it developed 100 bhp at 3200 rpm and was advertised as making 80 miles an hour in just three blocks:

The final one is from 1928, and it makes an airplane comparison by invoking the historic flights of Lindbergh, Goebel, and Byrd:

1930 Nash

Photo credit:
Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Posted on

Firestone Non-Skid and Other Interesting Treads from the Early 1900s

This is another picture of the Fawick Flyer discussed in a recent post. These Firestone tires with “NON-SKID” embossed in the tread are reproduced today, but these advertisements for the originals were published in 1913:

While looking for information on the original Firestones, I found many early advertisements for different brands of tires with interesting treads. Here are just a few:

Posted on

Kearney Cruise Nite Auction 2023

The annual Cruise Nite auction will take place on July 14th with both live in-person and live internet bidding, and it will include this absolutely stunning 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser:

Go to Rhynalds Auction for more information on this car and others going on the auction block during Kearney Cruise Nite festivities.

Posted on

The Fawick Flyer

While visiting Sioux Falls a few weeks ago, I learned about one of that city’s native sons, a mechanical genius by the name of Thomas Fawick.

Fawick was born in 1889 and grew up in Sioux Falls. Bored with books, he quit school when he was 14 years old. By the time he was 18, he had designed and built his own automobile, a 2-cylinder called the “Silent Sioux.” He founded the Silent Sioux Auto Manufacturing Company in 1909, and that business became the Fawick Motor Car Company in 1910. A new automobile called the Fawick Flyer was produced, and Fawick would often boast that it was the first four-door American car.

The Fawick Flyer had a 124-inch wheelbase and was powered by a 40-hp 4-cylinder Waukesha engine.  It had both electric and gas headlights, and the body was made of aluminum sheeting instead of steel. Only a handful of these cars were produced, no two exactly alike, but they do have another historical claim to fame:

This photo depicts former President Theodore Roosevelt enjoying a ride in a Fawick Flyer while visiting Sioux Falls during his “western tour” in 1910. Sitting next to Teddy in the back seat is fellow Rough Rider Seth Bullock of Deadwood, South Dakota, fame.

Fawick went on to big things.  He held hundreds of patents and developed rubber mounts for engines, an idea purchased by Chrysler in the 1920s. His Cleveland-based Fawick Corporation manufactured clutches, brakes, and hydraulic equipment, and he sold that business in 1967 for $42 million.

There is a surviving example of the Fawick Flyer on display at the Courthouse Museum in Sioux Falls. It is a beautiful building, so make time to stop and see them if you are in the area!

Posted on

Maxwell Radiator Cap

We went to a flea market over Memorial Day weekend, and, amid a pile of modern radiator caps, this worn beauty was barely visible. Needless to say, I couldn’t grab it up fast enough.

The design forms the letter “M,” which stands for Maxwell. In regard to the year, it looks like this radiator cap is the one featured on this page from the 1915 brochure:

Named for engineer Jonathan D. Maxwell, this early automobile resulted from a partnership between Maxwell and sheet metal manufacturer Benjamin Briscoe and was funded in large part with J.P. Morgan’s money. It was a successful little car, at one time ranking third in the industry behind only Ford and Buick. The Maxwell eventually became the Chrysler Four, and you can read that whole story here:

The Inception of One-Third of the Big Three

Posted on

Happy Father’s Day!

This picture of my dad was taken in 1962 at Fort Leonard Wood where he had just lost many pounds completing basic training in the hot and humid Missouri summer. Notice he is standing in front of his mom’s Mercury Medalist. The Merc was a 1956, the only year the entry-level Medalist was produced. Love you, Dad, and thank you for your service!

Posted on

Oldsmobile’s “Winged Spur” Crest

By 1929, Oldsmobile had already been in existence for more than three decades, and the company decided it was time for a new crest that was symbolic of Oldsmobile and the important place it occupied in the automotive industry.

According to the story that went with this 1929 headline, each element of the crest depicted, in the language of heraldry, some characteristic of the company:

“Centered in the shield is a winged spur. This symbol of fleetness represents the harnessing of horsepower and the development of transportation to its present efficiency. The role of the Oldsmobile in this development has been so outstanding that the prominence of the winged spur is well deserved.

Under the spur and superimposed on the gold field are three acorns. These represent the historical position of Oldsmobile, the first company to introduce quantity production methods and from which the automotive industry branched out and grew to its present foremost position.

Oak leaves form a decorative background around the top of the shield. These symbols of strength and sturdiness are symbolic of the industry as well as of the strength of Oldsmobile and its parent corporation, General Motors.

Centered above all is the lamp of knowledge, depicting the brain and research power at the command of this veteran company. The flame of this lamp represents the continuous research work being conducted by Oldsmobile engineers and the additional facilities afforded them by the General Motors’ proving ground, General Motors’ research laboratories and their staffs of experts.

At each side of the lamp of knowledge are a micrometer and a triangle. This modern touch tells the story of exactness and precision methods. They also represent the spirit of craftsmanship which impelled the Oldsmobile workmen to originate and take as their creed, the motto, ‘Anything short of my best is not acceptable.'”

Some examples of Oldsmobiles sporting a variation of the “Winged Spur” crest in 1958, 1948 and 1937, respectively:

Posted on

Mystery Heater Knob

This knob drove me crazy for a day or two as I tried to remember where I had seen one. Do you recognize it?

Here’s a clue:

And this is what it looks like on the dashboard:

The answer:

It is marked with an “H,” which makes it a heater knob, and it can be found on the dash of a 1947-48 Kaiser-Frazer.

Posted on

Get Your Car Ready for that Decoration Day Trip

I have been dealing in classic car parts for many years, but I recently found something I have never seen before: a vintage “car awning” that dates to the 1940s.

I have a pair of them, and they are in remarkably good condition for their age. They are made of blue “plastic-coated canvas” over a metal frame, and the brand “WEATHER MASTER” is marked on the inside of the canvas:

This advertisement from 1942 points out that the awnings will keep out both sun and rain:

It also indicates that occupants will still be able to move the windows up and down, and this is because the awnings attach to the door frame in the same manner that a peep mirror does:

Here are two more advertisements from 1947 and 1948 that showcase the car awnings next to other ways to keep cool, namely the Cool-O-Matic Car Cooler and steel Venetian blinds for the rear window. The bottom ad also points out that the awnings can be folded up when not in use.

My awnings do collapse to an easily stored size:

This 1942 advertisement recommends utilizing these user-friendly awnings to get your car ready for a Decoration Day trip.

Decoration Day originated after the Civil War and eventually became Memorial Day. Can’t you just picture a family using the awnings to keep the kids cool as they head out to the cemetery or a parade and picnic, complete with patriotic speeches?

Decoration Day was first observed on May 30, 1868, and James Garfield was the one giving a speech that day at Arlington Cemetery. If you have never read it, you should look it up because it is beautiful. This is the conclusion:

“Hither our children’s children shall come to pay their tribute of grateful homage. For this are we met to-day. By the happy suggestion of a great society, assemblies like this are gathering at this hour in every State in the Union. Thousands of soldiers are to-day turning aside in the march of life to visit the silent encampments of dead comrades who once fought by their side. From many thousand homes, whose light was put out when a soldier fell, there go forth to-day to join these solemn processions loving kindred and friends, from whose heart the shadow of grief will never be lifted till the light of the eternal world dawns upon them. And here are children, little children, to whom the war left no father but the Father above. By the most sacred right, theirs is the chief place to-day. They come with garlands to crown their victor fathers. I will delay the coronation no longer.”