(convened to keep the LIMP alive in situ and in minds and museums).
LIMP-Vanderbilt Cup Race page:
Tractors page.
Road/Highway Schnabels (giant road loads/heavy haulers).
and other related pages, plus a place to put more auto apocrypha
including the ,
the ALCO,
and a HELP Section.
Moved (or new) to Automotive Continuation Page 1:
Automotive Apocrypha - continued.
Amphicar.
An Odd NY City Street (moved again, to Odd Streets page on 16 May 02),
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!, and
Old 16 Locomobile
Moved (or new) to this Automotive Continuation Page 2:
Gasoline Brands (moved from main
page 25 Jan 2003 and to Cont. Page 4 on 23 May 2007),
(23 May 07)
(see also Old Gas Stations on Cont.
Page 4.
(23 May 07)
Automotive Slogans.
Nomenclature - automotive terms (with British
practice).
Classic Cars.
(27 Aug 03)
Woodlites.
On Automotive Continuation Page 3:
K-R-I-T
(04 Aug 08)
Classic Cars Continued, with
Australian Phantom I with Mystery Body.
Porsche Patricide
On Automotive Continuation Page 4:
(23 May 07)
Gasoline Brands (moved from main page 25 Jan
2003 and to this Page 4 on 23 May 2007),
(23 May 07)
Old Gas Stations
(23 May 07)
Odd Streets - highways and byways.
An Odd NY City Street
Nassau Boulevard.
The Dudgeon is for real; it is an 1866
steam auto,
one of which survives in running condition!
Adtranz, formed Jan 1996, merging rail
transportation activities of ABB Ltd. and Daimler-Benz AG took
DaimlerChrysler into the railroad business and the sale of the venture to
Bombardier, announced 04 Aug 2000, apparently takes them right out again!
FIRST I.C. LOCO! - Gottlieb Daimler built an internal-combustion-
powered locomotive ca. 1890! For more information, click
HERE!
Also, Exxon and Mobil merged as of 01 Dec 98;
two of my most favo(u)rite gasolines (petrols)!*
There is also a lot of automotive material on my ORDNANCE
and HISTORY pages.
Also, if you like automotive history, see the links on the
Dudgeon page.
Other good places for automotive history are Kevin Walsh's
Forgotten NY site, Steve Anderson's excellent
NYC Area Roads, Crossings, and Exits site [where you will also find info on, and
links to, Web Rings (not my thing) for East Coast Roads, Interstate Highways, New
York City, and Long Island], Mike Natale's
The Road House, Dave Schul's
North American Auto Trails, and Jeff Saltzman's
Streetlight Site, each with all sorts of old highway information and more links.
A new automotive museum is just opening in the old Saratoga Bottling Plant
in historic Saratoga Springs, New York, the
Saratoga Automobile Museum, which bids fair to be quite a winner!
I said to put it high on your agenda for May, 2002 and after; I did (and forgot!).
Speaking of automotive history, how many of you even knew that Fred and Augie
Duesenberg's chief engineer went to Arthur and Louis Chevrolet's Chevrolet
Bros. Mfg. co. and helped Louis Chevrolet design and built the Frontenac
16-valve dual overhead cam head conversion for the Ford 4-cylinder Model T engines
that won at Indy many times? This little tidbit was sent to me by Dr. Mark
Desantis, a Long Island Motor Parkway Panel associate
who kindly also sent along this early ad for a SOHV head conversion for a side-cam
"T"-engined "Fronty Ford":
(ad courtesy of M. Desantis)
[thumbnail image; click on picture for larger image]
* - Gasoline Brands - moved from main page on 25 Jan 2003 and to
Cont. Page 4 on 23 May 2007)
(23 May 07)
(see also Old Gas Stations on Cont.
Page 4.
(23 May 07)
People interested in old oil companies should visit the Primarily Petroliana site.
Automotive Slogans
(Moved from main page 25 Jan 03)
While we're at it, how about automotive slogans? Oh, my achin' memory!
Bentley (a saying - not a slogan) - the car for those who are
diffident about owning a Rolls"
Buick - "When better automobiles are built, Buick will build them"
as well as "Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?"*, later on.
Cadillac - "Standard of the World" (adopted after 1912
Dewar award).
(03 Feb 05)
Chrysler - "Chrysler Corporation Cars - Chrysler Corporation
Cares."
Chevrolet - "Baseball, Hot Dogs {or something}, Apple Pie, and
Chevrolet"
(a song or a slogan?).
Dodge - "Dependable Dodge."
Duesenberg - "Built to outclass, outrun, and outlast any car
on the road!" (during the 1920's)
"The Worlds' Finest Motorcar!" during the 1930's)
(03 Feb 05)
Edsel - "Plymouth with an egg in its mouth!" (well, not
REALLY a slogan).
Ford - "There's a Ford in your future."
Hudson - "The car you step down into." (CG*)
Jaguar - "The poor man's Bentley" (also not REALLY
a slogan).
Jeep - "Jeep Tough".
La Salle - "the poor man's Cadillac" (hardly a slogan!}
(03 Feb 05)
Lincoln - "For the Connoiseur" {I'm not too sure of
this one}.
MG - "Safety Fast".
Oldsmobile - "Your merry Oldsmobile."
and GM will kill Olds, the oldest U.S. make ca. 2001-03!
(not to mention
"Come away with me, Lucille,
in my merry Oldsmobile" (song).
(03 Feb 05)
Packard - "Ask the man who owns one."
Pontiac - "The wide-track Pontiac" (post-WWII).
Rolls Royce - "The World's Finest Motorcars" {I'm
not too sure of this one, either}.
Studebaker - "first by far of the post war car" (post-WWII - CG*).
[* Sources noted: CG = Cliff Gustafson. Seattle
Thanks to Robt. Vonheck of San Diego for Caddy and Duesy (03 Feb 05)]
Wasn't one of them, "Put a little fun in your life!"?
That's all I remember; O.K., folks, help me out, here!
NOMENCLATURE
- automotive terms
(Moved from continuation page 1 on 25 Jan 03)
Many old classic car terms have long-since been perverted, subverted, and just plain bowdlerized!
Chief among(st) these are the definitions of body styles; here are a random few:
SEDAN - a passenger car with a front seat and a full back seat; sedans can have two or four doors.
COUPÉ (COUPE) - a two-door passenger car with a shortened passenger compartment with a front seat and a more-cramped back seat; coupés can have two or four doors.
Coupés often have shorter frames, as well.
CONVERTIBLE - any car with a top that folds or otherwise drops down. Strictly speaking, a convertible has a padded top and wind-up glass side windows (vis-à-vis "roadster", q.v.).
Coupés, Sedans, and even Limousines can be convertibles.
ROADSTER - a coupé with a soft, disappearing top and demountable side curtains; in modern practice, roadsters have wind-up windows.
RUMBLE SEAT - an enclosed seat in place of (or over) the trunk in the rear of some roadsters and convertible coupés, unfolding from a rearward-opening deck lid and with outside step plates alongside (a very few models had sideward-opening doors).
The 1950's Triumph TR-1800/2000 had a windscreen built into a forward-opening secondary deck lid.
TOURING CAR - a four-door version of a roadster.
PHAETON - a more elegant term for a Touring Car.
DUAL-COWL PHAETON - a Phaeton with a cowl between the front and rear compartments.
Some Dual-Cowl Phaetons had a wind-up window in the intermediate cowl to serve as a windscreen for the rear seat.
LIMOUSINE - a sedan with a partition window between the driver's compartment (front seat) and the passenger compartment [rear seat(s)].
GOLF CLUB LOCKER - some elegant motorcars (usually roadsters or convertible coupés) had a small door on the side behind the passenger door opening into a tranverse compartment under and behind the front seat (often opening also into the rumble seat) which could hold a set of golf clubs.
LANDAU IRON - the shallow-S-shaped bars that locked the top in the "up" position on convertibles.
LANDAULET - a Limousine (or Sedan) with a convertible rear quarter. Also, a position for a regular convertible top in which the rear is held up in place (often by Landau Irons) while the front is folded or rolled back (see my own old 1948 Jaguar drophead on the SS and Jaguar page and see Cant Rail).
CANT RAIL - logitudinal stiffeners that provided support over the side windows of Landaulet tops on convertible coupés when the top was fully closed; they were stowed separately on some cars and folded inward on others (as on my Jag)..
See the SS Jaguar page for a conundrum (the Jaguar XK-150 roadster with wind-up windows).
British Practice - the Brits have their own version of automotive English; here are just a few random variations:
petrol = gasoline (German = benzin)
parrafin = kerosene
head = top
bonnet = hood
boot = trunk
wing = fender
carburettor = carburetor
near side = kerb (curb) side in Britain (NOT necessarily driver's side) @
off side = away-from-kerb side in Britain (NOT necessarily passenger side) @
screen = windshield
tyre = tire
sparking plug = sparkplug
squab = seat
trafficator = those funny illuminated arrows that flew out of the body to signal a turn
spanner = wrench
kerb = curb
valve = radio vacuum tube (remember them?)
breakers = junkyard (wreckers)
@ - I am advised (02 Sep 02), by a member of the Society of Automotive Historians, that the terms "near" and "far" side refer to the kerb (curb) side (left and right, respectively) in the U.K. and Japan and other areas on Right Hand rule; knock-off hub spinners were simply not relettered when exported. O.K., but what about the Virgin Islands, where L.H. drive cars are driven under R.H. rules?
Classic Cars
I define "classic" elsewhere but basically reserve it for elegant cars of the late '20s
and the '30s and early '40s. Here are some old photos I turned up of what I
consider unquestioned classics. Let's start with a superb 1920s Rolls Royce
Phantom I roadster I shot on 20 May 1956 at a car meet when the CCCA went to
Macungie, Pennsylvania, with the AACA, to visit the old Wendling Brothers plant (as I
recall):
(20 May 56 photo by and © 1956/2003 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[Thumbnail image - click on photo for larger image]
That car is technically a hardtop, NOT a roadster (whether original or not).
A Rolls is a bit of a "sissy" car, though; for all-out sexy old sports car racing, few cars
beat the Rolls's "baby sister", the "Blower Bentley" of the 20s and 30s.
Here's one shot at the at the nostalgia running of antique cars at the Vanderbilt Cup
race at Roosevelt Raceway on 19 Jun 1960, a blown 4½-litre monster (note the
huge Roots blower hung on the front of the engine, between the dumb irons):
(19 Jun 60 photo by and © 1960/2003 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
Next, we come to the engine of a '33 Cadillac V-16 of some significance; it's the
maroon Fleetwood-bodied Aerodynamic Coupé built for the Chicago World's Fair:
(20 May 56 photo by and © 1956/2003 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
[Thumbnail image - click on photo for larger image]
This shot is unfortunately light-struck; the car had red trim and a red engine and I
also caught it at the Macungie meet that same 20 May 1956 (where's a photo of the
whole car?).
This is NOT that car, but it is a Caddy V-16 convertible limousine, taken most likely at
Skytop, Pennsylvania, ca. 1961, and apparently an earlier '31 or '32 (by the vertical
grille and bumper):
(ca. 61 photos by and © 2003 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
Max Obie was an early classic enthusiast who drove a Duesenberg and who rescued
a remarkably-disastrous flat-head 1930 or '31 V-16 Caddy from a barn with my help;
pictures of that will follow. I think this might be his Duesie, pictured at speed
(very, very high!) and at rest at a CCCA run out at the old Bridgehampton course ca.
Aug '61:
(ca. 61 photos by and © 2003 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
{I can't quite read that spare-tire banner.}
There is a"classic era" Padco auto trunk detailed on the
next page.
(11 Apr 05)
Let us turn to a great classic sports car marque, the Lagonda, languishing at Bob
Said's North Shore Sports Car lot (somewhere on Long Island - Flushing?) in the
Fall of 1959:
(Fall 59 photo by and © 1959/2003 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
This roll is unfortunately light-struck; I have absolutely no more information on this
grand car.
Another great "modern" marque was the Spanish Pegaso, suppposedly
hand-made by engineering students at the university in Barcelona, but actually built
by ENASA (Empresa Nacional de Autocamiones, S.A.), the direct successor to
Hispano-Suiza; Wilfredo Ricart was Managing Director and Head of Projects. A
neighbor had one all taken apart in his garage and selective thieves broke in and
stole it and all the parts strewn across the floor and workbench but NOTHING ELSE!
A knowledgeable police officer spotteed the car in the basement garage of
Washington's renowned Watergate complex and apprehended the "owner"
(possesor of stolen goods), who cooly told them that if the real owner ever wanted
to see the transmission again, he'd have to withdraw charges. That was
speedily done and the car, complete with tranny, was returned. The allegèd
poipetrator got off scot-free.
(27 Oct 03)
[I could have sworn this yarn was on these pages before.]
Woodlites
(image cropped from Bill Vance photo - full credit below;
© 1999-2003 Bill Vance and CanadianDriver - all rights reserved]
Many classic cars were retrofitted with strange-looking teardrop-shaped headlights
known as Woodlights; a few were even fitted with them as standard
equipment. The only make that had them on nearly all models, and there were
few enough of those, was (apparently) the Ruxton, an underslung front-wheel-drive
jobbie not unlike the Cord L-29. At least one model of the Jordan, the 1930
Speedway series was so equipped. One Cadillac, William (Hopalong Cassidy)
Boyd's car, was a Series 353 Cadillac "Fleetway" All Weather Phaeton by Fleetwood,
customized by the addition of a pair of distinctive Woodlite headlights. Tony
Blue's fabulous Dutch site, The Cadillac
Story (the History of the Cadillac) has a picture of this car and he was kind
enough to allow me to post it; because it is of such low resolution, rather than blow
the whole picture up, I also made an enlargement of the headlight area:
(image courtesy "A. Blue" - all rights reserved)
Perhaps the most luxurious of cars often equipped with Woodlites was the
duPont manufactured oh-so-briefly by E. I. duPont de Nemours.
I am hoping that the Hagley Museum can provide photos.
It is possible that some L-29 Cords had matching Woodlite tailights, as well;
I don't remember any such and would welcome any input (especially with
photos, please).
Woodlites were "supposed" to concentrate the light cast on the road but I
always thought them woefully inadequate.
I have asked several people for permission to post pictures from the Web, all
of which are covered by copyright (as are the ones in my old classic car
magazines).
CanadianDriver.com - Canada's
Online Auto Magazine responded magnificently with specific, written permission to
reproduce for you this fabulous picture of a 1930 Ruxton from Bill Vance's article on
the Ruxton, in Motoring Memories from the 28 Sep 2003 edition:
[image (cropped) reproduced from Bill Vance photo from 28Sep03 CanadianDriver by specific written permission;
© 1999-2003 Bill Vance and CanadianDriver - all rights reserved]
[Thumbnail image - click on photo for larger image]
As you can clearly see from the thumbnail, the full image, or the closeup above, both
the headlights AND the wing (side) lights are Woods; the tailights are not.
Bill Vance has written a book,
Reflections on Automotive History, Vols. I, II, and III, available from Eramosa
Valley Publishing, Box 370, Rockwood, ON, Canada, N0B 2K0. My sincere thanks
to Bill and CanadianDriver!
For pure automotive fun, it's hard to beat the double-ended Plymouth ('40 or '41? - I
just can't place those ribbed fender skirts) I spotted out on Commack Road ca.
Aug '61 (Plymouth, NOT Dodge as originally noted):
(Fall 59 photo by and © 1959/2003 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
That gem was a real eye-cacher, parked out in front of a service station on the east
side of the road about a mile south of Northern Sate Parkway, and had two of
everything mounted properly. As I recall, there were two sets of headlights
and tailights and two steering wheels and the only way to really tell which end was
which was by the steering gear, differential, and other details underneath.
We were finishing up for the day gutting the old Long Island RR
station in Oyster Bay when who should drive up but my RRing buddy and famous and
prolific LIRR author and publisher (Weekend Chief), John Scala, in, of all things, his
beautifully-restored 1969 GMC TDH3301A bus; now that's a classic:
(Oct 02 photo by J. J. Scala - all rights reserved)
The picture was taken at Cantiague Rock Park in Hicksville in Oct 2002. The bus
seats 33 and sports a 8.2L Detroit Diesel 8 cylinder 4-stroke "fuel pincher" engine.
It bears serial number 048, meaning it was the 48th bus built of this model (that
usually trails the TDH designation); GM's designations tell it all: T-transit, D-diesel,
H-Hydramatic transmission, 33-passengers, 01- series and A for air conditioned
(thanks, John).
Gigantic rail cars for carrying enormous loads like nuclear reactor vessels and
transformers (800 tons worth!) are covered on my
Schnabel page, et seq.; roadable versions of these monsters now have their
own Road Loads page, et seq.
Please visit the main Automotive page.
THUMBS UP!
THUMBS UP! - Support your local police, fire, and emergency personnel!
S. Berliner, III
To contact S. Berliner, III, please click here.
© Copyright S. Berliner, III -
2003, 2005,
2007
- All rights reserved.
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