Vintage Car Thread - Discussion and Parts Requests

[LizzieMaine]

It's "Regal Maroon," as offered on all 1941 Chrysler-built models. In 1942 they changed the name to "Military Maroon" or some such foolishness, but it was the same color.

I just rub it up with Simoniz or something when the bird poop gets out of control. I also have an official "Mopar Wax Impregnated Polishing Cloth" in the glove compartment which I use to take dust and bits of schmutz off.

The top button on my coat says "UNITE LABOR AGAINST REACTION -- UNITED MAY DAY 1937." The other says "Friends Of The Daily Worker."

 

[2jakes]

^^^^^
1942.
Besides the name being changed to "Military Maroon", was there other
changes like the chrome made
out of wood.
Not sure where I got that idea.
I'm guessing perhaps from a scene
from the "Godfather" where the guy
mentions that he'll be glad the war
is over and they can go back to
using steel bumpers.

 

[David Conwill]

Vehicles built after January 1, 1942 had painted trim instead of chrome. I've never heard of the total elimination of bumpers, though I've seen a period photo of a Hollywood actress posing with her now-bumperless car and a sign that says something to the effect of "Please drive careful, my bumpers are on the scrap heap!"

 

[2jakes]

www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/buying-cars-during-world-war-2.774203/

 

[LizzieMaine]

The biggest change for the Mopar line in 1942, other than the blacked-out "victory trim," was the introduction of concealed running boards on all models. An abomination of abominations.

 

[1955mercury]

In for a new tire today, and the local garage recognized the Plodge as its Car Of The Day.

View attachment 77071

I'm surprised you could buy a tire for your car at a local garage. I have a 1940 Chevy and the tires on it are 6.00 X 16 bias ply. There's no local tire dealer here that stocks tires like that anymore. Have to order them from Coker or some place like that.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I cheat a bit and get 6.50 x 16 "Specialty Tire of America" highway-tread light truck tires, available by special order. I've gotten about 12,000 miles out of my current set, and the only reason I'm replacing one is that the front end alignment got knocked around by a pothole this spring and one of the front tires developed some bad wear as a result.

Using 6.50s instead of 6.00s throws off the accuracy of the speedometer slightly, but otherwise they work fine -- plenty of room under the fenders, and they don't scrape on sharp turns.

When I got the car it was equipped with "portawall" fake whitewalls, so I just had them slapped onto the new tires, and they've held up quite well. I have no idea how old they are, but they're quite flexible yet, and even up close it's hard to tell they're mickey-mouse.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Vehicles built after January 1, 1942 had painted trim instead of chrome. I've never heard of the total elimination of bumpers, though I've seen a period photo of a Hollywood actress posing with her now-bumperless car and a sign that says something to the effect of "Please drive careful, my bumpers are on the scrap heap!"

It is possible someone donated their bumpers as a stunt. But, some cars actually came with wooden bumpers right after the war. The first cars made in late 1945 or early 1946 were delivered with wooden planks, painted black, for bumpers and no spare tire - just a bare wheel in the trunk. There were coupons in the glove compartment you could turn in at your dealer's. In due course, owners got a letter from the dealer that they could come in and have chrome bumpers and spare tire fitted.

This was only for a few months, and was an effort to get cars on the road as quickly as possible.

 

[David Conwill]

I did subsequently read about the postwar bumper shortage, but I didn't find anything in the context of the original suggestion that bumpers were part of the initial wartime material restrictions.

I also found more than one photo of donated bumpers, so it appears that it was a bit more than an isolated stunt, though the real impact on the material drives was, I'm sure, minimal. Much like no saucepans actually became Spitfires.

 

[Stearmen]

Much like no saucepans actually became Spitfires.

The worst atrocity of the scrap drive was the USS Oregon. Some idiot thought it would be a good idea to scrap her to make a new battleship. When someone finally realized this is stupid, it was to late, her entire superstructure had been removed. She could never be returned to her former glory. She spent the rest of the war as an ammunition barge, being towed around to different Pacific battles. Just after the war, she was moored off Guam, where she broke loose during a hurricane and disappeared. She was found 500 miles away, sailing, unmanned to join the ghost of her former comrades in the Philippines! Sadly, she was scrapped in Japan.

 

[Stearmen]

In 1942 they changed the name to "Military Maroon" or some such foolishness, but it was the same color.

/QUOTE]

There is the great military intelligence joke and a Bugs Bunny joke in that paint name!

 

[Stanley Doble]

Lizzie you NEED one of these for the PLODGE

 

[LizzieMaine]

Hah! I've got a Shell Share-the-Road topper and a Maine Automobile Association plaque on there now.

 

[GHT]

In for a new tire today, and the local garage recognized the Plodge as its Car Of The Day.
View attachment 77071

Well of course it would be Car of the Day, no competition. Something similar happened to mine last year when the garage plastered pictures of it all over their Facebook page. It was ages before I found out, even longer before I could get someone to print a copy off for me.
Your car had no competition, mine was in a photo shoot last Sunday, it was used as a prop, South Coast Gems modelling agency had a parade on The Quay. Just for the photo album, the photographer got all the models around the car. What do you think, did my old MG hold her own?

 

[1930artdeco]

GHT, your car did just fine. As a matter of fact I will ditch the calendar and take everything in the picture!

Mike

 

[GHT]

GHT, your car did just fine. As a matter of fact I will ditch the calendar and take everything in the picture!
Mike

Mike you're a man of taste, so just for you click here. (you may need to scroll down a little.)

 

[Talbot]

Refreshing to see a woman posing with a car without tattoos.....

 

[MikeKardec]

In for a new tire today, and the local garage recognized the Plodge as its Car Of The Day.

View attachment 77071

Those headlamp/indicator fairings are such a gorgeous detail!

 

[Benzadmiral]

Sad story: A Staunton, IL, classic car site (on Route 66, no less) has suffered a major fire.

TinyURL.com/yamj7c2n

Check out the multimedia video on the left, showing the cars he had. A lot of 'em were for sale, but I guess not now.

 

[GHT]

How to put this, I'm in shock. Do you remember this photo, taken during the summer of 2014?

I have just discovered that it has been reproduced onto the front page of the German MG car club's publication MG Kurier, the April 2017 edition. See here:
http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/imgytr/pdf/mgkurier0417.pdf
The photo is in the public domain, so permission to reproduce it isn't necessary, but a credit would have been most gratifying. What can I say?