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Rockabilly Buick Girl

October 19, 2011, 3:30 am
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Pony tail, saddle shoes, car coat, half moon headlight shields, Maybelline on the radio. She must be somebody's baby.
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1957 Spartan Imperial Mansion Motorhome Conversion

October 19, 2011, 4:56 am
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J. Paul Getty bought Spartan Aircraft of Tulsa, Oklahoma from fellow oil tycoon William G. Skelly in 1935. Their greatest hit was Skelly's pet project for well-heeled gentleman pilots like himself, the Spartan Executive, 34 of which were built between 1936 and 1940 for the likes of Howard Hughes and King Ghazi of Iraq. This Duesenberg of the air was powered by a 450hp 9-cylinder Pratt & Whitney radial that gave it a top speed of 257mph, fast enough to secure fifth place in the 1939 Bendix Cup for pilot Arlene Davis. After WWII Spartan built high quality travel trailers and mobile homes, but these Cadillacs of trailerdom came with prices to match, and the abundance of cheaper alternatives as the fifties progressed eventually put Spartan out of business. The startling glazed end-wall, curved floor plan Crescendos and Carousels introduced in 1959 took them out in singular style.

Spartan Executive photo from Young Eagles.org.
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Ghost On The Highway

October 26, 2011, 11:05 pm
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Mystery Hot Iron Custom Phaeton w/ Desoto Airflow

October 26, 2011, 11:05 pm
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Beautiful customized something or other somewhere in California w/ 1934 Desoto Airflow behind. Wayne Graefen has kindly identified the jewelry attached to the grille mesh as a National Automobile Club badge. Print dated Sept. 17, 1936.
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1940 Seagrave Fire Engine vs. Bottle Truck

November 17, 2011, 3:14 am
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Circa 1940 Seagrave fire truck of the Santa Ana Fire Department south of Los Angeles, with top of fire hydrant where the bumper pushed it.
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Circa 1905 Straight Dash Oldsmobile @ 26

November 17, 2011, 3:31 am
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Haulin' Ford Pinto Girl

November 17, 2011, 3:40 am
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Pole's Beer Mexican Chili Hot Dogs Coca-Cola in Bottles

November 17, 2011, 3:42 am
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1950 Chevy convertible sporting Miami rental plates (thanks, anonymous) on another sunny day in postwar Florida.
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Country Picnic

November 17, 2011, 3:59 am
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A perfect summer afternoon, with at least one Model T among the touring cars resting up for the journey home.
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Sports Car Racing in Finland c.1954

December 21, 2011, 2:08 am
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c.1953 Ferrari 212 by Giovanni Michelotti for Vignale.


c.1953 Ferrari 250 MM Berlinetta by Pininfarina.


c.1953 Ferrari 250 MM Berlinetta by Pininfarina w/ Vignale 212 up ahead.


1953 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider by Pininfarina.


1951-3 Jaguar C-Type.



1953 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider by Pininfarina at speed.
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1920-1 Kissel Gold Bug

December 22, 2011, 12:32 am
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1920-1 Kissel Gold Bug Model 6-45 (thanks to R. Hausmann for the ID), jump seat drawers removed for possible rifle stowage, on the hunt for jack rabbits or some such in the Southern California desert.
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Don't Blow My Cover

December 23, 2011, 2:48 am
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Flintstonian 1960 Chevy w/ Florida plates & extras.
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Flathead Ford V8 Skeleton RFD Hot Rod

December 29, 2011, 1:11 am
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Salisbury Motor Scooter Dealer Tempe Arizona

December 29, 2011, 1:38 am
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Postwar Salisbury Motor Scooter Dealership @ Tempe Garage, Tempe, Arizona, with Baker's Body Shop scooter alongside '39 Chrysler in background and Salisbury poster in shop window.
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c.1930 ACF Bus Eight Mile Road & Livernois Detroit

December 29, 2011, 1:55 am
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Raymond Jones 1947 Studebaker Convertible

December 29, 2011, 2:30 am
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Raymond Jones Studebaker 1950. Although signs, posts and pennants reflecting off the car's exotic bulges and curves create funhouse mirror effects, it almost looks like filets of Jag XK120 over the South Bend sheet metal along the sides, with curious fin humps suggesting retractable landing gear or training wheels. Kustomrama has the lowdown on Jones' postwar customs as well as his later adventures with cruise missiles and Bugattis. Read all about it.
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Training Wheels

January 11, 2012, 4:02 am
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1941 Steelcraft or postwar Murray Navy Patrol, pressed steel, rubber tires, 45' long, 34' wingspan.


1946-7 Olds 98 Coupe?

Polaroid 47.

c.1930 American National Oakland.


1941 Cadillac

1948-50 Pontiac Model Murray, on the waterfront.

Spanish Harlem 2006, Polaroid 600.


Somewhere in Oklahoma.



1950s Garton Kidillac Deluxe w/ working headlights.


Unidentified early hybrid w/ '37 Pontiac and Super Suds box.


1932 Pontiac 6.

1953 Chevy convertible w/ Camaro prospect.


1973 Corvette Stingray.


Young Adelstein in his own sports car, an AMF Flash.



Mark in the Rambler.

Micro-midget hellcat, Polaroid 42 print.


Seattle.


Matthew 11 mos. March 18, 1988. Benz SL roadster, possibly a Young Master. Polaroid SX-70. Mercedes rule.



1910s Cyclomotor bicycle conversion.


Mobilgas C. Bubby '40 Ford Standard Modified #105 in Kokomo, Indiana or thereabouts.



Spark Plug at the controls.





1957-9 Austin-Healey 100-6.


Memorial Day 1986, Washington State.


DJ and her car. She has on a borrowed suit but wants one badly. Taken over in Floyd's yard. DJ's ride is a circa 1939 Gendron Pioneer Roadster designed by Brooks Stevens, seen here in the Glendale-Burbank area of LA's San Fernando Valley.

Typical 1940s scene but for the '57 Buick wagon across the street.


Veteran motor enthusiast and doting father in early '50s Penn-Yan runabout w/ Mercury outboard. Maybe Shafer Lake, maybe Ohio River.


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Backyard Special

February 17, 2012, 4:35 am
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Mystery roadster w/ early 30s Chrysler grille modified to match Woodlites, somewhere in California. Photos were found more than ten years apart.



Rocket car used by Wilford E. Danelz (1909-1999) of Benson, Minnesota to help sell that city's Monitor-News.


1949 De Franceschi micro-car born in Torrington, Connecticut, sharing field parking with Olds, Chevy, Jeep and Simca 8 Sports roadster.


The Leaning Tower of Niles, Illinois was built in 1934 by industrialist Robert Ilg on the grounds of a recreation area for employees of the Ilg Hot Air Electric Ventilating Company of Chicago. The gold speedster in the foreground is an atom age enigma.


Modified Model T w/ Houk wire wheels.




 
1942-8 Buick convertible w/ '46-8 Dodge teeth, possibly in Manhattan.


Circa 1927 Stutz w/ aerodynamic tweaks and fresh curtains, crossing the high desert on the Victory Highway.



Kustomrama has more on the the Honest Charley Speed Shop of Chattanooga, Tennessee and its mascots, with photos of a custom '34 Ford as well as a '39. This looks like the latter with the former's front end.


Crosley Hot Shot gives Southern California enthusiast with derelict Jag XK-120s a big idea.


Early 1920s Essex.


Possible Auburn Speedster shell on longer chassis w/ Cadillac nose and Packard wires, somewhere in sunny stylish California.





Europa opens weary eyes.


Postwar sports roadster wearing another 1946-8 Dodge grille.


1910s Model T skeleton.


I was recently contacted by the present owner, Christopher Lasley. I am in the process of rebuilding the car now. I have had the car for approximately 15 years. Before that my father had it and my grandfather before that. It was built in 1952 by my father and grandfather. The car has not been on the road in the last 35 or so years. It is a one-off car. I'm hopefully going to have it on the road in the next few years. The photo you have was taken at Flabob Airport Riverside California in the 70's. Grandfather John A. Lasley left Wisconsin for Southern California, where he worked as an aircraft engineer for Northrop. The chassis of the Lasley Sport, named after a much-modified biplane he used as a testbed in the 1930's, featured a '38 Packard front end and '52 Lincoln rear with Studebaker in between, powered by a '49 Caddy 331 OHV V8. John A. made the molds for the fiberglass roadster shell himself. These days, Christopher plans to refurbish and modernize the car as a carefree cruiser he can pass on to his son in turn, with a Mustang II front end and big block Chevy. I encouraged him to hold onto the original bits, just in case.


(John A) Lasley Tool & Machine Co., Beloit WI
Sport 1931 = 1pOB; Velie M-5, later 90hp Lambert and 65hp Continental; span: 20'0" length: 18'0" load: 300# v: 110/100/45 range: 300 ceiling (est): 11,000'. [N819N] is one of the original Roza creations of the early '30s. It was acquired by Franklin Aircraft Co., who modified it as a prototype for their Sport 90.Purchased by Lasley c.1935, who built and installed Peyton Autry-designed wings, then sold it to Lloyd Gabriel. After a crash, it was rebuilt in 1953, reportedly with 125hp Continental, then crashed to destruction in 1957 while buzzing a house. Lasley Sport biplane photo and text from Aerofiles.


Built in the early 1930s by Minnesota teenager Bob Shotwell, this rear-engined tricycle coupe is powered by an inline four from a 1931 Indian motorcycle, with bodywork hand hammered from sheet steel at his dad's radiator shop. Bob and his brother Edward made local headlines with a 6000 mile grand tour, the car eventually racking up some 150,000 miles before its retirement. Fearing little Philbert would be plundered by bike restorers for its mill, Shotwell offered the car to Jay Leno, who restored it to a semblance of its former glory, minus the twin sidemounts and punk graffiti on the fender valance.


Buckeye State farmer behind the wheel of what I believe is a stripped down '23-4 Nash w/ wire wheels from a circa '28 Dodge Senior Six. Cornfield in background.


Phantom Turbo Jet from Hydra Marine of Loda, Illinois.
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1950 Olds 88 Troy Special

March 16, 2012, 3:38 am
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Kustomrama has the story on this postwar Olds 88 sports roadster built by Springfield, Illinois garage owner Wally Troy for the 3rd Annual Indianapolis Custom Auto Show held at the state fairgrounds on June 1, 1952, where it won a fine “Special Award for Outstanding Design” trophy. The Troy Special subsequently appeared in Hot Rod, Hop Up and Motor Trend and was named one of 1952's ten best customs in Trend Book 105 - Restyle Your Car. When I first saw the Gil Elvgren Coca-Cola ad, I assumed it referred to this car, but adbranch dates the ad at 1950, two years too soon. The fellow pictured does not appear to be builder Wally Troy, whose family has been searching for the car.
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The Week In Pictures

April 26, 2012, 2:14 am
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Woodward Sand Co. soap box derby car w/ '51 Ford F1 pickup sponsor vehicle.



'39 Plymouth convertible.


Somebody's bad experience with a '54 Hudson Hornet, despite the factory wires.


Old soldier 1928-9 Auburn w/ Pilot-Ray, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest.


1957 Chrysler Windsor w/ single headlights, for those nine states that ran late in legalizing duals. The Flite-Sweep color insert panel was added to Windsors with duo-tone roofs shortly after introduction to help move these plain Janes out the door. Similar styling cues on Studebaker's '57 President make me wonder if Chrysler lifted the dart panel from Studebaker after South Bend borrowed Highland Park's front end? Photo below from a ClassicCars.comlisting, incorrectly labeled a '58.


Early twenties Dodge w/ crawler track conversion.


I seem to remember this sports racer as a Brooks Stevens project from an early 60s Road & Track or Car and Driver. The script just ahead of the red/white/blue badge borrowed from Stevens' '63-4 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk appears to spell Excalibur and the badge on the hood looks like crossed swords in a circle, but I can't find the original article and Google inquiries all lead to the Mercedes SS replicar. Red coupe to the rear is a '48-9 Maserati A6/1500 Berlinetta by Pininfarina like one imported by R&T staff photographer Jerry Chesebrough in days of yore and lovingly captured by him in front of Bullock's Pasadena.

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