Tag: hood ornament

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The Best Way to Start the Week: Project Cars, Vintage Parts, and a Little Bit of History

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
Story from the August 23, 1924, Kearney Daily Hub
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A PSA Involving Hood Ornaments

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.

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Fun ’49 Ford and Other Finds at Auction

We attended a live auction over the weekend and have started unpacking just a few of the phenomenal finds. Starting at the lower right and moving clockwise, we have a 1956 Pontiac hood ornament, an early fifties Plymouth trunk ornament/license plate light, a skull and bones license plate frame, an original 1938 Chevy grille emblem, and a radiator cap made with the top of a ceremonial masonic staff. The remaining two items in the upper right corner are my two favorite finds of the day; the first is a piece of advertising for a 1949 Ford:

This mirror features a picture of a ’49 Ford above the words, “IT’S THE CAR OF THE YEAR!” I wondered who named it so since 1949 was the first year Motor Trend issued its Car of the Year award, and that went to the Cadillac. This is what I found:

The Ford was actually named the “Fashion Car of the Year” by the New York Fashion Academy, and the award was presented in conjunction with the Academy’s selection of America’s “Best Dressed Women.” That isn’t quite so impressive, but it’s still a neat mirror, and the subject of design is a good segue way to this hood ornament:

The lower part of the ornament was originally found on that fashion icon, the ’49 Ford. The lucite insert has been replaced by a chrome bird that was manufactured by Ray Russell Industries. Ray Russell was a Detroit industrial designer and engineer who had some far-out ideas and experimented with making cars out of various materials including plywood, plastic and aluminum. Among his best-known designs was an automobile called the Gadabout:

This aerodynamic roadster was made largely of aluminum and magnesium on a welded steel frame that completely encircled the car. Notice how strange a car looks without a grille. It reportedly weighed 1,100 pounds, and designer Russell claimed it would go 40 miles on a gallon of gas. In regard to propulsion:

November 25, 1945, Bristol Herald Courier

Ford may have taken an interest and collaborated with Russell for a time as reported by Newsweek:

Ford officials apparently refused to comment when asked about it:

Appeared in the September 17, 1945, issue of Automotive News

Russell also experimented with hood ornaments and add-ons for hood ornaments like the one we just bought. Below is the design patent for Russell’s bird. Notice the application was file in July of 1948, so perhaps he did have some sort of inside track at Ford.

For comparison, here is a stock ’49 Ford hood ornament, which resembles the top of a Roman centurion’s helmet, above the Ray Russell version.

Of course, you could always make the decision to go with no hood ornament at all (but do keep the grille)!

Attribution: Reinhold Möller, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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The Tiger Man’s New Car

This 1930 photo shows famed heavyweight wrestler John Pesek, known as the Nebraska Tiger Man, purchasing a new car in Grand Island, Nebraska. Even though the publication was titled “Automobile Topics,” the editor committed the grievous error of failing to note the type of car being purchased. Luckily, those distinctive triangle shapes to the Tiger Man’s right make this car easily identifiable.

The triangles are actually pennon louvers, named as such because they are pennant shaped, and they graced the early 1930 models of the Chrysler Series 70 and 77.

1930 Chrysler Series 77 Roadster
Photo Credit: GPS 56 from New Zealand, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In addition to the pennon louvers, Chrysler proudly introduced a whole slew of innovations with descriptive terms to the motoring public in 1930. One interview with Chrysler distributor Carl H. Wallerich began with Wallerich quoting the philosopher Diogenes (who was quoting Myson): “Things are not made for the sake of words, but words for things.”

Wallerich explained that when a new thing comes into existence, it demands a new label. He then proceeded to give many examples of words associated with the First World War, words like dud, barrage, tank, flying pig, camouflage, dug out, whizz bang, and zero hour, that had been previously unknown, or at least unfamiliar, but quickly became part of the popular lexicon. Similarly, Chrysler’s mechanical innovations required new terms such as “multirange gear shift,” explained this way:

“It renders control of the car far more simple, more effective and safer than ever before. Starting Range has a top speed of more than 40 miles an hour. Acceleration Range has a pick-up at all speeds up to 60. A floating Speed Range is used for driving. In addition there is a Heavy Duty Range for deep mud, and sand or steep hill-climbing. Shifting back and forth between Acceleration and Speed ranges is accomplished without clashing or grinding of gears. Reverse Range is in the conventional position.”

Another feature, “down-draft carburetion,” took its name from the fact that the gas was drawn down into the carburetor, aided by the force of gravity, rather than sucked up. The carburetor was mounted above the intake manifold instead of below it, and both a carburetor with a larger throat and larger intake passages were used, giving the engine greatly increased breathing capacity and increasing the volumetric efficiency of the engine.

“Architonic body” was used by Chrysler to describe the car that was “the essence of master craftsmanship,” and the term “chromium architraves” was borrowed from architectural phraseology to describe the molding around the windows. “Synchronized power” was used to tell the story of the new Chrysler power plant, engineered as a single unit, not a group of connected parts but one smoothly operating and carefully synchronized whole, and the parking lights were called “sconce-type” due to their similarity to a bracket candlestick attached to a wall. Finally, “paraflex spring suspension” was used to refer to springs mounted parallel to the wheels to eliminate side sway, absorb tortional strains and stresses, and control rebounds by checking the impulses and shocks. Many of these new descriptors are found in this advertisement:

Maybe the pennant-shaped louvers made the car popular with figures of the sports world, because Pesek was not the only one seen driving the new Chrysler. Pictured below is Coach Ralph Coleman, the “Silver Fox” who led the Oregon State University baseball team for 35 years.

Interestingly, the Nebraska Tiger Man, John Pesek, was also known for raising greyhounds, which is why dogs of that breed are included in this sculpture of Pesek located in Ravenna, Nebraska.

Considering his penchant for greyhounds, one does have to wonder if Pesek switched his automobile allegiance to Ford a couple of years down the road.

Photo credit: AlfvanBeem
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1955-56 Dodge

The cars of the 1950s were long, wide, covered in chrome and topped off with an exotic hood ornament. It was the golden era of colossal hood ornaments, but the largest of the large has to be those found on the 1955-56 Dodges. The one pictured above is off a ’56, and here it is sitting in front of an average Border Collie for a size comparison:

The doggie model is my lovely Lily (and her size is the ONLY thing about her that is average). The hood ornament measures an exceptional 36 inches in width, big even by the standards of the Fifties. Here is a ’55 Dodge with a slightly different but equally imposing front end:

The hood ornament wasn’t the only impressive aspect of these Dodges; they were also powered by hemi engines. The hemi had debuted a few years earlier with the 1951 Chrysler Firepower engine, and for both the ’55 and ’56 Dodge, the Super Powered Super Red Ram V8 engine was available as optional equipment on all V8 models. It was a 315ci engine (3.63 bore and 3.80 stroke) and the “special power equipment” included single or dual 4-barrel carbs and dual exhaust. I think the hood ornament resembles a hammerhead shark, and that is probably no coincidence because that hemi would eat your lunch.

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1956 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer
1956 Dodge Royal
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Henry J Hood Ornament

I was positively ecstatic to find this hood ornament while out bird-dogging car parts the other day:

It is an extremely rare one, originally found on a 1952 Henry J Corsair (or Corsair Deluxe). The Kaiser-made Henry J was introduced in 1950, and this hood ornament was one of many appearance and mechanical changes for the economically-priced sedan in 1952. It was described as “a new lance-style chrome and plastic hood ornament” and survivors this nice are not common.

The Henry J was really quirky. It had washable vinyl upholstery in “authentic Scotch tartan plaids” in 1952. Also, to save on production costs, early versions didn’t have glove boxes or even trunk lids. The trunk was accessed by folding down the back seats!

The introduction of the Henry J was poorly timed. The war and its accompanying gas-rationing was over and the public was looking for large and luxurious automobiles, not smaller, cheaply-made ones. The last of the Henry Js were sold in 1954.

I haven’t taken any pictures of a Henry J lately, but I do have this one of an Allstate and that’s almost the same thing (but that’s a story for another day)!


Sources:

“New Look For 1952 Henry J Sedans.” The West Schuykil Press and Pine Grove Herald, 29 February 1952, Sec. 2 p. 1.

Henry J. Advertisement. The Times Recorder, Zanesville, Ohio, 29 February 1952, p. 16.