Student Jalopies of the 1940s

[BellyTank]

Austin Sevens still aren't exactly rare- they were produced in great numbers, from 1922-1939. They were also the basis for other "marques" product-
JAguar, BMW, Nissan, etc. Specials were being made in the '30s and were very popular even through the '60s and '70s. where they remained popular and cheap. Thee has, for a long time, been a racing formula based on the Autin Seven, which is still popular to this day. The first Lotus was Austin Seven based- Lotus MkI. It's funny to think of Lotuses having a 750cc sidevalve engine. The Lotus 6(not MkVI) had a bigger engine, the Ford sidevalve, 1172cc. The guy who is building the car I pictured, built a Lotus 6, a few years back, a very cool car, with a Lotus "works" engine.

There were "kit cars" available and small auto engineering companies offering
alternative bodywork and unique bodies, from the late '40s, all the way through the '60s. Same goes for Ford 10 based specials and sports cars-
the Buckler being a famous example.

An Austin Seven Special can be a lot of fun to drive- 60mph seems pretty fast and it's pretty much the speed limit anyway. They are so small, 6" odd
and the chassis is actually about the same- the heaviest part of the rolling chassis, the engine, even with gearbox attached, can be lifted comfortably by one person due to the aluminium crank case and gearbox(the front beam axle, with one hand!). A special can be built very cheaply and the bodywork is up to one's imagination. A very affordable and achievable "hot rod" project, which takes up very little space. Much of the science and logic for safety- steering, suspension and handling can go out the window, in a car of extreme low weight and "limited" power. Lightness is the point. Parts and running costs are affordable- fuel consumpion neglible.

I have distant plans for an Austin* Seven Special(not SUCH an inexpensive one); A7 chassis, lengthened/strengthened, in order to achieve a more balanced body style, equipped with a *Riley twin cam engine, lengthened bonnet/cowl and unique, hand formed aluminium coachwork on a wooden frame. A lot more power available with the Riley engine- still a classic, '30s, British engine. The idea is to make a totaly viable '30s style special, with '30s parts but a bit more performance than an A7 and a bit longer.
A could-have-been car.

Enough of my rambling-


B
T

 

[reetpleat]

Perhaps it is a play on words using heil, We will never know.

I wonder if there are any people out there trying to restore any of these, as is. I am afraid the rockabilly crowd is too cool to do something like this, as opposed to cool primered hot rods with flames on the side. I would love to see someon build or restore an honest to goodness 30s style one with writing on it, etc.

Interestingly, not sure if it was revived, or had continued to exist, but the hippy kids were prone to painting old cars in peace signs and psychedelic colors, but also with slogans, such as "don't laugh. Your girlfriend might be in here." "Frodo lives" or popular phrases of the time.

While there may well be multiple explanations, one popular story of the origin for the name was that many cars were shipped and fixed up in the town of Jalapa in Mexico. So cars destined for Jalapa were called Jalopies.

 

[Talbot]

That, via the 1960s "Music With Von Drake", was one of my major inspirations for my love of big band music, 1940s fashion, Model T touring cars, and hot rods. I think I first saw it when I was 4 or 5 and nearly wore the VHS tape out over the years.

I think Monogram even released a model kit in the 1950s of a graffiti-covered Archie-style jalopy.

-Dave

That cartoon, and "The Three Little Bops" would have to rate as my all time favourites. Stan Freberg and Shorty Rogers together, wow!

"Suzy the Blue Coupe" is a great watch as well.

 

[vitanola]

"don't laugh. Your girlfriend might be in here."

"Don't laugh, Mister. Your daughter may be in here." was a popular jalopy slogan in the late 'twenties and early 'thirties. When I went away to school, I took a decrepit 1919 Ford coupe which in my sophomore year was adorned with snappy slogans, to wit: "The TIN you love to touch." "The Mayflower (many a little Puritan has come across in her)" "Four wheels. NO brakes", "legal capacity 4 hommes, 20 cheveaux". and so forth. The machine was so much fun that one of my fraternity brothers wheedled a 1926 Ford touring car out of HIS father.

At the end of my junior year, a successful speculative flyer provided me with the wherewithall to supplement the flivver with an immense 1928 Graham-Paige seven passenger sedan, in apple green, cream and "invisible green", complete with mohair upholstery, juice brakes, and a big Lycoming straight eight.

These three ancient machines in convoy made for some interesting weekend road trips, in central Ohio back in the late 1970's, I can assure you!

 

[David Conwill]

I believe this was taken in Australia.

-Dave

 

[David Conwill]

Anudder:

 

[Stanley Doble]

Haha, I’m so square, I read that as “Capacity: Five Gallons.” Yes, I agree that 5+1 in the front seat of any Model T is certainly optimistic. I’m not sure that three would fit and still allow operation!

-Dave

The 5 gals pun was a popular joke, it would have made better sense if the back seat was still there!

Seig Heil might have seemed funny before the war. You need to remember that the US was not involved in the war at that time, and many facts about the Nazi regime had not come out.

 

[HOP UP]

Awesome thread - keep the pix coming !

 

[TomS]

I'm going to be heckled for this, but I've been a cop for almost thirty years, and all I can envision is someone being ejected from one of those things.

 

[David Conwill]

These three ancient machines in convoy made for some interesting weekend road trips, in central Ohio back in the late 1970's, I can assure you!

That sounds like a delightful way to spend college. I was thinking about just how ancient those cars seemed when it occurred to me that in 1979, a '28 was only 51. Still, auto technology had come a long way (for good or for bad) in those 51 years than it has since 1962.