Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

vitanola

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,254
Location
Gopher Prairie, MI
Ford also commissioned more than 1000 buildings by Jewish architect Albert Kahn including some of the biggest factory buildings in the world. Ford was a strange quirky character. It is impossible to sum him up in a single garish political poster.

My study of Ford's life and work has led me to the opposite conclusion, that Ford was far from a mechanical genius but had considerable talent for dealing with people. He was also an uneducated man who had a taste for new ideas that were novel and even radical. Sometimes they led to great new innovations, sometimes they ended in the biggest mess you ever saw. His great talent was for sticking with ideas that worked, and abandoning ideas that didn't.

You keep harping on the way Ford fought the unions but fail to mention that he eventually capitulated and gave them what they wanted.

Yes, but remember his explanation of that contract, which ended up being the most generous in the industry; "Never underestimate the power of a woman". His beloved wife, Clara, threatened to leave him if he did not settle.
 

Stanley Doble

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,808
Location
Cobourg
I also remember Ford introduced the $5 day when average wages in the auto industry were half that, and that he started a Sociology Department to gather information on working conditions and living conditions, in an effort to improve his employees' lives.

Or that he built hundreds of small factories in towns and villages, to supply parts for Ford, in an effort to disperse the jobs he created and allow workers to take advantage of better jobs without leaving their home towns.

Or his immense investment in farms and farming methods, his attempt to improve the lives of farmers and keep them on their farms.

I know it is easy and fun to reduce complex people to cartoons. But the truth can be more interesting if difficult to understand.
 
I also remember Ford introduced the $5 day when average wages in the auto industry were half that, and that he started a Sociology Department to gather information on working conditions and living conditions, in an effort to improve his employees' lives.

Or that he built hundreds of small factories in towns and villages, to supply parts for Ford, in an effort to disperse the jobs he created and allow workers to take advantage of better jobs without leaving their home towns.

Or his immense investment in farms and farming methods, his attempt to improve the lives of farmers and keep them on their farms.

I know it is easy and fun to reduce complex people to cartoons. But the truth can be more interesting if difficult to understand.

Ford certainly wasn't Rockefeller but some people like to keep the all businessmen are evil thing going.[huh]
 

vitanola

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,254
Location
Gopher Prairie, MI
I also remember Ford introduced the $5 day when average wages in the auto industry were half that, and that he started a Sociology Department to gather information on working conditions and living conditions, in an effort to improve his employees' lives.

Or that he built hundreds of small factories in towns and villages, to supply parts for Ford, in an effort to disperse the jobs he created and allow workers to take advantage of better jobs without leaving their home towns.

Or his immense investment in farms and farming methods, his attempt to improve the lives of farmers and keep them on their farms.

I know it is easy and fun to reduce complex people to cartoons. But the truth can be more interesting if difficult to understand.

He was indeed a complex man, a man of many contradictions in the Whitman sense. Once he found his success he seemed to decide to do everything in a big way. He really did believe that in all things he was doing good works. Of course this opens one to colossal mistake as well as great successes. Part of the trouble appears to have been a lack of tolerance for contradiction. After a sufficient number of folks who disagreed with him were cashiered he never again appeared to have had to brook serious contradiction,, except for that notable incident with Clara Ford. She must have been at wit's end, and I would suspect that the effect of her ultimatum on him would have been devastating. It is a terrible pity that his grand failures have come to overshadow his immense successes in popular culture.
 

Stanley Doble

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,808
Location
Cobourg
It's called revisionism. Henry Ford was a master at publicity and was probably interviewed and quoted more than any other industrialist. He built up a generally pro Ford mythology (except for the anti semitism thing).

Only in recent years have revisionists come along to emphasize his mistakes and shortcomings while ignoring his positive contributions.
 

Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
Yes, but remember his explanation of that contract, which ended up being the most generous in the industry; "Never underestimate the power of a woman". His beloved wife, Clara, threatened to leave him if he did not settle.

Don't forget Edsel! He was responsible for getting old Henry to shift from the T to the A. Edsel has really got the short shift in history, a real two dimensional carrictor, that gets blame for the car bearing his name, even though he had nothing to do with it!
 

Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
It's called revisionism. Henry Ford was a master at publicity and was probably interviewed and quoted more than any other industrialist. He built up a generally pro Ford mythology (except for the anti semitism thing).

Only in recent years have revisionists come along to emphasize his mistakes and shortcomings while ignoring his positive contributions.

Setting the record straight is not revisionist history! I am tired of people that can't take the truth. Henry did not invent the assembly line, or the moving car assembly line, all done by others before him. Does this some how make him irrelevant? No it does not, he took those process and streamlined it like no one else, and gave us the modern factory!
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,766
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Edsel narrowly escaped being indicted under the Trading With The Enemy Act during WW2, in his capacity as Ford Motor Co. president -- he was continuing to oversee the operations of Ford-Werke in Germany via neutral Switzerland even after Germany declared war on the US. The only thing that kept him from going to trial was his death.

Old Henry had a long and complex relationship with the Nazis, dating back even before Hitler came to power. His medal was given "for services rendered to the Reich," and those services are well documented. (To be perfectly fair, James Mooney of General Motors also got a Nazi decoration around the same time Henry did -- and as late as 1940 was still declaring his public admiration for Hitler and Mussolini. At least Henry had the sense to keep his mouth shut.)
 
Last edited:

fashion frank

One Too Many
Messages
1,173
Location
Woonsocket Rhode Island
Awesome Truck

Fashion Frank, very nice pictures and sounds like an outstanding day. The truck is fantastic - was that custom or could one order it from the factory that way?

That car came from the factory like that however that car in the picture ,all of the wood was done by the guy who owns the car he did it all himself in his work shop the guys very talented .

To see it in person and look at all of the detail would blow your mind.
Also not shown in the picture but in he back of the truck on the open tailgate he had a picnic basket that has ford china cups plates and silverware all with the ford logo on it and it all came from the Ford factory's cafeteria and he told me that he paid $50.00 a plate each for them .

All the Best, Fashion Frank
 
Messages
17,220
Location
New York City
Fashion Frank, so the truck originally came like that (which is fantastic that you could get it from the factory that way), but you are saying that the owner restored it (which is, as noted, incredibly impressive).

I love the Ford-labeled china you mentioned. I tried for awhile to find 20th Century Limited Train china (I periodically ride Amtrak on the 20th Century's old "water level route" and thought it would be fun to own some), but it is very hard to find and (no surprise), thus, very expensive when you do.
 

Big Man

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,781
Location
Nebo, NC


Well, the time has come for me to go ahead and have my old '65 Ford Custom 500 painted. I've made arrangements to have it done the end of August. I got a good price on re-painting to the original color and fixing a couple rust spots here and there.

One thing extra I'd like to do while I'm at it is to go ahead and replace the front and rear bumpers. The front bumper isn't that bad, except for a place where some idiot backed into me with the trailer hitch of their truck. The rear bumper has a lot of rust, and the chrome is shot. I've thought about re-chroming, but with the damage to the front bumper, the turn-around time for having it done, the shipping to and from, I am just about convinced it would be better in the long run to buy new (already re-chromed) bumpers outright.

What about the experts here? Any thoughts? Any leads on sources?
 
Messages
15,259
Location
Arlington, Virginia
Very cool, Big Man. It will be nice to see her shine again.
I have heard good things about both sites. http://www.dearbornclassics.com/ and http://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_mercury_passenger/

The Fall Carlisle swap meet in Carlisle, PA is also a great place to find parts, reproduction, NOS, and used. I go every year and always find something. It's a bit of a hike for you, but it is totally worth the trip.
http://www.carlisleevents.com/carlisle-events/carlisle-fall-swap-meet-corral-auction/default.aspx

dh66 has a 61 Ford, so he may have some better input.
 

Big Man

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,781
Location
Nebo, NC
Very cool, Big Man. It will be nice to see her shine again.
I have heard good things about both sites. http://www.dearbornclassics.com/ and http://www.macsautoparts.com/ford_mercury_passenger/

The Fall Carlisle swap meet in Carlisle, PA is also a great place to find parts, reproduction, NOS, and used. I go every year and always find something. It's a bit of a hike for you, but it is totally worth the trip.
http://www.carlisleevents.com/carlisle-events/carlisle-fall-swap-meet-corral-auction/default.aspx

dh66 has a 61 Ford, so he may have some better input.


Thanks for the information.
 
Messages
13,672
Location
down south
Yes...Dearborn Classics. They're good.
Also, if your pockets are particularly deep, you could try Dennis Carpenter. He probably has what you need, but he's proud of it. Consider yourself warned.
 

2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas


Well, the time has come for me to go ahead and have my old '65 Ford Custom 500 painted. I've made arrangements to have it done the end of August. I got a good price on re-painting to the original color and fixing a couple rust spots here and there.

One thing extra I'd like to do while I'm at it is to go ahead and replace the front and rear bumpers. The front bumper isn't that bad, except for a place where some idiot backed into me with the trailer hitch of their truck. The rear bumper has a lot of rust, and the chrome is shot. I've thought about re-chroming, but with the damage to the front bumper, the turn-around time for having it done, the shipping to and from, I am just about convinced it would be better in the long run to buy new (already re-chromed) bumpers outright.

What about the experts here? Any thoughts? Any leads on sources?

I’m not an expert but from my experience on a good deal on a repaint.
I have some questions.

Before applying the paint, what are they going to do as far as preparation of the metal ?

Will it be done to bare metal ?

If not, what type of paint do you have on your car ?

What type of paint will they be applying.

My paint job was excellent, but it only lasted for about over a year before signs of
peeling showed up in certain spots.
A well done paint job that last for a longer period takes good preparation before
applying the paint.

As far as the chrome on your bumpers.

I made the mistake of replacing my original front bumper with a new chromed bumper.
But the bumper came from overseas & began to tarnish over a year.

I found out that there are different levels of chrome & are priced accordingly.

Looking forward to seeing the finished product .

Good Luck !
 

Forum statistics

Threads
109,304
Messages
3,078,375
Members
54,244
Latest member
seeldoger47
Top