Tag: chevy

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Imposters!

Old, aftermarket hub caps keep finding me lately, and some of them are just hilarious. Inexpensive replacement caps were sold by companies like Western Auto and J.C. Whitney, but the logos had to be altered enough to avoid pesky trademark infringement laws. Some of them are pretty good facsimiles thereof, like this Cadillac replacement cap. It is heavy duty and looks like the Caddy emblem, but has lines instead of ducks:

This one has stars instead of ducks.

Frankly, they both look better than the modern Cadillac version that has been sanitized of its history and personality. For Chevy replacements, a dash was commonly used in place of the bowtie:

This one is for a 1954 Chevy, and it is a pretty good copy, too. You have to look hard to see that it is a dash and all one piece (the real ones have a separate center insert).

The really entertaining versions are the ones with altered spelling. I have seen dog dishes that say “Dodoe” instead of Dodge, for instance. The Chrysler replacement cap pictured below says something like “Clrrfrlir, although the “i” is mysteriously undotted.

This is one of the famous “Bool” caps made for a Model A Ford:

I have heard that they also made a “Fool” version. I’m not sure who would want to drive around with those on their car (but I know of a few people who should).

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So many steering wheels . . . .

We recently had someone ask us if we would be interested in a bunch of old steering wheels hanging in their barn. We are always interested, so we went there to take a look and left with ALL the steering wheels. This is what 55 steering wheels look like crammed into the back of a van:

And this is what my dog looks like when she is not happy about being forced to share her van space with a mountain of steering wheels:

Some are not in the greatest of shape but have horn rings that can be salvaged like these 1955 Oldsmobile and 1959 Dodge horn rings:

A few of the others we have cleaned up so far:

1940s Chevy Fleetmaster
1953 Chevy
1955-56 Chevy
1960-66 Chevy Truck
1967 Dodge C Body

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1956 Corvette

My Dad has a shirt that says, “I may be old, but at least I got to drive all the cool cars,” and, boy, did he ever.  Not only did he drive them, he owned many of the very coolest cars.  One of his favorites was this 1956 Corvette.

He bought this ’56 Vette in 1958, while he was still in high school.  And no, he wasn’t some spoiled rich kid.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  My Dad was what was known as a “South Sider”.  The kids on the South Side had it a little tougher, so they had to be a little tougher.  My Dad was only able to afford this dream car in 1958 because he had been working as many as 60 hours a week since he was 15 years old at Charlie’s Mobil, a car lot and service station located right on the Lincoln Highway in Kearney, Nebraska.  Working at a car lot meant this Vette was just the latest in a long line of incredible horsepower he had already owned, cars like a 1936 Ford Tudor hot rod, a 1947 Merc, lowered and painted Bahama Blue, a 1949 Oldsmobile fastback and a 1933 Ford with suicide doors, 16 coats of black lacquer and a Cadillac engine, just to name a few.

This beautiful little Vette was painted white with red sides and a red interior.  It came with both tops, the hardtop and the fabric one, and a Wonderbar radio. The transmission was the optional Powerglide automatic transmission. Under the hood was a 265-cubic inch, 225-hp “Turbo-Fire” V8 with duel 4-barrel carbs and factory high power exhaust headers:

Keep in mind that all that power was really just a safety feature (at least according to the sales brochure):

I am not sure how much “safety” was being practiced the day Dad raced his Vette against a new 1958 Pontiac down the Lincoln Highway at 138 mph.  The Vette did come out the winner that day, albeit with a partially melted bumper from the heat of the exhaust. 

Dad worked for Charlie until he was 19 and wouldn’t trade those days for anything, especially because he was working when he met his future wife.  They have been married since 1961, and this is a picture of them taken around that time:

Two things stand out about this picture. First, my Dad is about 40 pounds lighter than usual because he had been dieting at Fort Leonard Wood boot camp, and second, he must have really loved her to let her sit on that 1957 Olds.

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Throwback Thursday: Grille Edition

This gorgeous sea-green 1947 Chevrolet graced us with an appearance at a local car show this summer:

1947 Chevy

Chevrolet did not have a true post-war car until 1949, so this ’47 is very similar to those produced in 1942, 1946 and 1948.  They all have good-looking grilles, and just look how this one shines:

1947 Chevy Grille

The grille used in 1948 was very similar to  1947’s with the main difference being a piece of center moulding.  The following diagrams are taken from the 1953 edition of Motor’s Flat Rate & Parts Manual:

Motor’s Flat Rate Diagram

Motor’s Flat Rate Diagram

I always pick up these old manuals when I see them because they contain a wealth of helpful knowledge, but I also like looking at them for the nostalgia value.  Just imagine, in 1953, you could purchase one of these very substantial grilles AND a bumper for around a hundred bucks!