favorite cars of the golden era

[LordBest]

1932 Auburn Boattail Speedster

http://www.chicagoclassiccars.com/inventory_show.asp?stknum=P16&show=2
One of my favourites, a friend of mine in England just bought one. I have no connection to the seller of that particular automobile.

 

[Wooster]

I would like to share the 1921 "Rumpler Tropfenwagen" (Rumpler Dropcar) with W6 engine.

I am baffled by this beauty everytime I look at the pictures, only 100 were made, most were used as taxis... I guess the styling was too extreme for 1921. Production stopped in 1925 because of the poor sales.

Currently only two are left.

 

[John in Covina]

I would like to share the 1921 "Rumpler Tropfenwagen" (Rumpler Dropcar) with W6 engine.

I am baffled by this beauty everytime I look at the pictures, only 100 were made, most were used as taxis... I guess the styling was too extreme for 1921. Production stopped in 1925 because of the poor sales.
Currently only two are left.

********
It looks like a boat maybe a kayak or gondola in a way.

 

[Wooster]

I guess it does in a way, but to build a streamlined car in 1921 with a Drag coefficient of only 0.28 is incredible (a modern Aston Martin Vanquish has a Drag coefficient 0.35). Besides that, nobody had even thought about streamlining cars back then, and it wasn't a prototype either... it was actually produced.

 

[Diamondback]

Yeah, but (excuse the more modern technical digression) the Vanquish is still rather "draggy"--an '82 Firebird comes in at .299-.320 depending on spoiler and wheels, and the '70s Dodge Daytona/Plymouth Superbird (yes, the ones Richard Petty drove until they were banned from NASCAR--for anyone who had kids into Disney's CARS, this was what "The King" was modeled after) came in at the sub-.299 class as well.

Which tells you how far ahead of its time the Tropfenwagen was, even with the advantage of being a much smaller and lighter vehicle. (Doesn't look too big in that pic, and I figure it at maybe ~2250lbs. curbside.)

 

[Sean]

 

[Mike in Seattle]

http://www.chicagoclassiccars.com/inventory_show.asp?stknum=P16&show=2
One of my favourites, a friend of mine in England just bought one. I have no connection to the seller of that particular automobile.

Now that's a slick car just like what I always dream of. It's a few years older than the dovetail version used for Topper.

 

[Dinerman]

Walking down the street yesterday, I saw these, all stopped at a red light, and was lucky enough to have my camera with me.

 

[dhermann1]

Nice picture

You could have Halifaxed it to us.
(Sorry, so sorry. I get these attacks, you see. I can't help myself . . .)

 

[KilroyCD]

I posted this same vehicle on the wish list thread, but it also belongs here. The 1939 Aston Martin Type C Speed Model is one of my favourite cars of the golden era.

 

[Flivver]

Walking down the street yesterday, I saw these, all stopped at a red light, and was lucky enough to have my camera with me.

WOW!

That photo is almost like stepping back in time to the late 1960s.

Left to right there is a '67 Chevy Impala, a '54 Chevy Bel Air, a '67 Ford LTD and a '64 Ford Galaxie 500.

I'll take that '54 Chevy, please.

 

[JimInSoCalif]

1954 was the last year before Chevy had a V-8, so it would be the slowest of the bunch, but other than the sun shield over the windshield, I think it is the best looking of the four cars.

When I see those sun shields, I think of old people driving Buicks rather slowly. Of course, those 'old people' were younger than I am now and the whole World moved a lot slower back then.

If I remember right, the speed limit during the war was 45 mph, but I don't remember when that was changed nor when gas rationing ended.

I have had a few Chevies - a 49, a 55 black convertible, a 56, a 57, and a 58 - oh, and a 71 Camaro. They were all pretty good cars except for the 58 which had a terrible automatic transmission. It was not a Powerglide which I think they still had available. I don't recall what it was called nor why they had two different automatics.

Cheers, Jim.

 

[Flivver]

1954 was the last year before Chevy had a V-8, so it would be the slowest of the bunch, but other than the sun shield over the windshield, I think it is the best looking of the four cars.

When I see those sun shields, I think of old people driving Buicks rather slowly. Of course, those 'old people' were younger than I am now and the whole World moved a lot slower back then.

If I remember right, the speed limit during the war was 45 mph, but I don't remember when that was changed nor when gas rationing ended.

I have had a few Chevies - a 49, a 55 black convertible, a 56, a 57, and a 58 - oh, and a 71 Camaro. They were all pretty good cars except for the 58 which had a terrible automatic transmission. It was not a Powerglide which I think they still had available. I don't recall what it was called nor why they had two different automatics.

Cheers, Jim.

Chevrolet's "other" automatic transmission was called Turboglide. It was a stepless automatic similar in concept to Buick's Variable Pitch Dynaflow. It was available from 1957-1961, but only on V8s. The advertising feature for the stepless Turboglide was smoothness...there were no jerks as the transmission shifted...just a smooth flow of power.

Compared to Powerglide, Turboglide was expensive to manufacture. So Chevy kept Powerglide available for budget-minded consumers.

The easy way to tell if a Chevy of this vintage has Turboglide is to look at the shift quadrant. If the car has the common Powerglide, the quadrant reads P-R-N-D-L. With Turboglide, the quadrant reads P-R-N-D-Gr. The Gr stands for Grade Retarder and is useful for going down steep hills.

While Powerglides of this era were quite bullet-proof, Turboglides quickly developed a reputation as unreliable. As I understand it, the problems were fixed by '59, but the bad reputation stuck, so few Turboglides were sold in '59-'61.

It was so bad that our local Chevy dealer wouldn't order any Turboglide equipped cars...even though a neon advertising sign for Turboglide was proudly displayed in his showroom window right into the mid 60s!

 

[benstephens]

I posted this same vehicle on the wish list thread, but it also belongs here. The 1939 Aston Martin Type C Speed Model is one of my favourite cars of the golden era.

Pure Style!

 

[JimInSoCalif]

Chevrolet's "other" automatic transmission was called Turboglide. It was a stepless automatic similar in concept to Buick's Variable Pitch Dynaflow. It was available from 1957-1961, but only on V8s. The advertising feature for the stepless Turboglide was smoothness...there were no jerks as the transmission shifted...just a smooth flow of power.

Compared to Powerglide, Turboglide was expensive to manufacture. So Chevy kept Powerglide available for budget-minded consumers.

The easy way to tell if a Chevy of this vintage has Turboglide is to look at the shift quadrant. If the car has the common Powerglide, the quadrant reads P-R-N-D-L. With Turboglide, the quadrant reads P-R-N-D-Gr. The Gr stands for Grade Retarder and is useful for going down steep hills.

While Powerglides of this era were quite bullet-proof, Turboglides quickly developed a reputation as unreliable. As I understand it, the problems were fixed by '59, but the bad reputation stuck, so few Turboglides were sold in '59-'61.

It was so bad that our local Chevy dealer wouldn't order any Turboglide equipped cars...even though a neon advertising sign for Turboglide was proudly displayed in his showroom window right into the mid 60s!

Oh, yes, Turboglide. I didn't keep that turkey long enough to suffer any reliability problems. The problem was a smooth flow of not very much power. It took forever to get hooked up and moving. Maybe the stall speed of the trans or adjusting the idle speed of the engine might have helped a tad, but from a dead stop it was really a stone.

All of my Chevies except the 49 and 58 were Powerglide and I don't recall rough shifting, but perhaps my memory is bad. I do recall some rough downshifts on late 40's Hydromatics and in the early 50's the Army changed the 2 1/2 ton truck. They eliminated four tires and added an automatic trans - probably a GM Hydromatic - that could give one whiplash.

Thanks for the very informative reply. I don't think I have asked an auto related question that you did not know the answer to yet.

Cheers, Jim.

 

[Forgotten Man]

1954 was the last year before Chevy had a V-8, so it would be the slowest of the bunch, but other than the sun shield over the windshield, I think it is the best looking of the four cars.

When I see those sun shields, I think of old people driving Buicks rather slowly. Of course, those 'old people' were younger than I am now and the whole World moved a lot slower back then.

If I remember right, the speed limit during the war was 45 mph, but I don't remember when that was changed nor when gas rationing ended.

I have had a few Chevies - a 49, a 55 black convertible, a 56, a 57, and a 58 - oh, and a 71 Camaro. They were all pretty good cars except for the 58 which had a terrible automatic transmission. It was not a Powerglide which I think they still had available. I don't recall what it was called nor why they had two different automatics.

Cheers, Jim.

My self, I love the sun shade! Bless those who owned them because it has served as a real dash saver over years of exposure to the sun!

During the war on most interstates, it was 35-45. Rationing of gas ended soon after WWII ended in 1945.

Cars pre 50's were not designed for speed. They were built for a comfortable ride on large soft bench seats. Since the speed limits were so low, why would they need to make cars that went fast? Nothing like cruising on a rainy day in a dark colored four door with a Fulton sun visor... oooh, they look mean!

I used to be all about the fancy stuff... but, now I'm into 20s to 40s cars, with black wall tires just as we mostly see them in old photos and movies. At night I'll go for a drive and pass by a store with large windows and see the reflection of my car... dark, sleek, shiny car with just a glint off the hub caps... looks tough!

 

[JimInSoCalif]

My self, I love the sun shade! Bless those who owned them because it has served as a real dash saver over years of exposure to the sun!

During the war on most interstates, it was 35-45. Rationing of gas ended soon after WWII ended in 1945.

Cars pre 50's were not designed for speed. They were built for a comfortable ride on large soft bench seats. Since the speed limits were so low, why would they need to make cars that went fast? Nothing like cruising on a rainy day in a dark colored four door with a Fulton sun visor... oooh, they look mean!

I used to be all about the fancy stuff... but, now I'm into 20s to 40s cars, with black wall tires just as we mostly see them in old photos and movies. At night I'll go for a drive and pass by a store with large windows and see the reflection of my car... dark, sleek, shiny car with just a glint off the hub caps... looks tough!

Back in the day, young people would think those shades along with curb feelers (remember those?) were most uncool along with hood ornaments and most chrome that cars came with. Amazing there was not a lead shortage from filling up the holes left after removing factory trim. Actually the holes were brazed or soldered (which is a combination of lead and tin), but the popular name for customs was 'lead sleds'.

The dashes that really needed protection were the padded ones - Detroit's great contribution toward safer cars. LOL
Safety was never much of a selling point. People really resisted using seat belts even after cars had them as standard equipment.

White wall tires were a popular option for high priced cars. For lower priced cars, it depends on the time period. I have a framed cut-away drawing of a 1931 Cadillac V-16 dual cowl phaeton on my wall near my computer and is amazing how wide the white walls were. Over the years the style was that the white portion became narrower and narrower until tires were all black. White walls on a modern car would really look weird. Strange how these styles change.

Remember the raised white lettered tires that were popular around the 70's, especially on cars like the Camaro and Mustang. On my other wall, I have a drawing of a 1926 Miller Indy Car with tires that have white lettering that says 'Firestone Balloon'. I guess as with clothing some current fashions of other items are old ones
that are recycled.

As to speed, if one wanted a high performance stock car they had to buy an expensive car. The same applies to luxury items - a Chevy had rubber floor mats and a Cadillac had carpets. Things like turn signals, emergency flashers, heaters, air conditioning, and automatic transmissions were first available as options on high priced cars and later on lower priced cars until they finally became standard equipment. In the 1940's I think there was a much bigger difference between, say, a Caddy and a Chevy then there is today.

I have used GM cars in my examples, but the same thing applies to the Ford and Mopar families of cars.

One last note on speed. There were after market suppliers of 'hop up' speed equipment going way back to the Model T days.

Hey, Flivver why did Ford make a Model T for 25 years or however long it was and then a Model A. It is not a trick question and I don't know the answer.

@ FM - What kind of car do you have? It is likely that you have told us and I have forgotten.

Cheers, Jim.

 

[JimInSoCalif]

That 1939 Aston Martin is a great looking car. My favorite British car of that era was the SS 100 Jag, but I think the Aston is my new favorite.

Speaking of Aston here is a bit of trivia: they had a bit of a problem with the new James Bond movie as the actor that plays Bond (dern it, I can't think of his name) does not know how to drive a stick shift and it seems that Aston Martin does offer an automatic.

Cheers, Jim.

 

[vitanola]

White wall tires were a popular option for high priced cars. For lower priced cars, it depends on the time period. I have a framed cut-away drawing of a 1931 Cadillac V-16 dual cowl phaeton on my wall near my computer and is amazing how wide the white walls were. Over the years the style was that the white portion became narrower and narrower until tires were all black.
On my other wall, I have a drawing of a 1926 Miller Indy Car with tires that have white lettering that says 'Firestone Balloon'. I guess as with clothing some current fashions of other items are old ones
that are recycled..

Tires were originally grey or white, sometimes red. The tires in the early days were compounded using Zinc Oxide or Red Lead as fillers. During the Great War there was a shortage of zinc oxide, and some makers began using the newly available Texas Gas Black (Carbon Black) as a filler for tires. the hew b;lack tires were found to have a far longer life than the earlier tires. By the early 1920's, cerbon balck was in such great femand for tires that itsbecame prohibitively expensive. Cheap tires were still made with Zinc oxide or (now less commonly) red lead filler in the carcase and the tread. Rxpensive tires used the new cord construction, and used carbon black throughout. Medium-priced tires were made of cord construction, but with white carcases and black treads-the Wide white wall tire. This construction was common on factory equipment tires well into the 1930's, bu which time it developed into more of a style thing.

One last note on speed. There were after market suppliers of 'hop up' speed equipment going way back to the Model T days..

In college I had a Ford with an accessory PACO body, a silding gear transmission, heavy counterbalanced crank, and an overhead valve rig. the machine would scream.

Hey, Flivver why did Ford make a Model T for 25 years or however long it was and then a Model A. It is not a trick question and I don't know the answer.
Cheers, Jim.

Ford produced the Model A first, as a 1903 model:

Then came the big, four cylinder model B:

The Model C, in 1904 ( a restyled model A):

The model F (Yet another repackaging of the model A chassis):

The big, lumbering, and ultimately unsuccessful model K:

The N, R, and S:

and, in late 1908 (as a 1909 model) the great Model T!

Ford produced the Model T exclusively for 18 years, and when a new model was finally introduced, in December of 1927, the company hearalded the Model A as a clean break with the past, a fresh start, and so the model sequence was begun afresh. This was not mere advertising hype. Very few parts were interchangable betwixt the T and the A, and the few paets which could be used on either model were generally either fasteners, or accessories such as tali lamps. The Model A was designed form scratch.

 

[JimInSoCalif]

Wow - what a fountain of knowledge this place is - I love it.

I thought I had read someplace that the natural color for tires is white - now I understand.

I had never heard of the after market bodies for the Model T before. Using Google I found a Paco body armor and a face cream and then I found a good article with pictures of the body for the Ford. It is at :

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/p/paco/paco.htm

if anyone is interested.

I don't understand the reason for the staggered seating for driver and passenger. Did I miss it, or does anyone know?

For a short overview of the Model T, folks might find this page interesting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/automobiles/collectibles/20FORD.html

Ford made a Model A from 1903-1905 and then a Model T until 1927 and then a Model A through 1931. He must have had some logic to his system of nomenclature but it escapes me. Well, really not important.

EDIT: I missed the last part of your message with the great photos that explains all of this. I need to learn to read better.

I think a Model C was as far as Ford went with letter designations in the 30's. I believe it was a truck engine with a more robust bottom end.

I wonder what the price difference was in 1932 between the Model B and the V-8.

Thanks for all the info, Jim.