Last weekend, I offered to help retired OCW staffer Kenny Buttolph remove roof supports for his pole building now that the snow is melting. The work didn’t take long with the help of another friend, Josh, and before long, I found myself in the backseat of a baby-blue 1978 Olds 98 on a road trip across central Wisconsin in search of a salvage yard.

With Kenny piloting, we criss-crossed little-traveled roads in the center of the state. We took so many turns, Kenny might as well have been blindfolded me and spun me around. After a few hours, we finally found an old salvage yard Kenny once frequented.

Time had not been kind to the yard, or its owner. It was early afternoon when we arrived, but Josh took a chance and knocked the door of the abandoned-looking house just off the road that fronted the yard. Lo and behold, a man matching a description of the house answered the door, complete with crooked and broken glasses and drool from Copenhagen running down his chin. After Josh told the owner he was looking for truck parts, we were allowed to walk in the yard. However, the owner was adamant that we didn’t enter a trailer filled with his “personal belongings.”

Kenny remained in his car, and I was glad he did. Upon opening the gate after Josh crossed in, I nearly stepped on a freshly severed cow leg lying on the ground. A few feet later, I found another cow leg, complete with hoof. A new fear took me over and I wondered what, or who, was hiding in the mysterious trailers we were warned not to enter. But I proceeded knowing Kenny stayed behind in case the next severed limbs lying on the ground were mine. Besides, the thought of entering a hidden yard was worth any horror movie script I might soon find myself living.

Soon after we entered, it became clear many of the cars had been crushed, but there were an abundance of old trucks. Sedan delivery, panel truck and half-ton truck carcasses abounded (as did the carcasses of two recently slaughtered cows lying on car hoods).

Josh and I began scouting the yard for parts, and eventually, the owner joined us. He turned out to be a harmless gentleman, and appeared happy to have someone to talk to. He even helped Josh and I hunt down 1946-‘47 Chevrolet truck parts for Josh’s project at home.

While Josh was searching out truck parts, I scouted out the rest of the inventory. A 1959 Edsel sedan here, a 1967 Impala sedan there. I also spotted 1937 Chevrolet and 1946 Hudson two-door sedans, as well as a 1971 Buick Skylark and 1967 Mustang two-door hardtops. There were also signs of cool but long-gone cars with: three 1957 Chevrolet hoods scattered about; piles of 1940s through ‘60s hubcaps heaped throughout the yard like hiking path markers; and stray front clips and other sheet metal strewn everywhere else.

I found a 1961-’62 Cadillac fender skirt lying in a pile of parts, but it was too rusty to drag home. The greatest find of the day (in my opinion) came from a lone 1941 Willys hubcap Josh pulled out of a pile of wheel covers. I was certainly more interested in it than Josh was, so it became my prize.

By dark, we left the yard with a good lesson: It’s worth knocking on the scary doors every once in a while to find some parts, even if it looks as though you might need to say a prayer before entering. But always leave someone behind in a running car in case you need to make a quick escape.

Last week, I featured some neat photos from reader Coy Thomas, which appeared in the "Reader Photos" section of Old Cars Weekly. This week, I feature a few photos from my own collection, so I'll call this "Editor's Photos."
The images below were taken on Jan 31, 1957, during the Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco's Chinatown. There are a few celebrities, including former Duesenberg owner Ben Blue, as well as the parade's royalty, but the real stars are the cars, of course.
Enjoy the pics!

Check out this slick lineup: a modified 1955 Cadillac Eldorado convertible (check out the hideously hogged-out wheel openings, exaggerated tailfins and round parking lamps), the MG-TF, the 1955 Cadillac Series 62 convert (more on this car below) and a 1956 Lincoln convert at the back. Parade big wigs certainly rode in class!






Wow! Check out this sharp 1955 Caddy drop top! It's like brand-new, even though it's a two-year-old car. Oh, yeah, the Chinese New Year parade princess and comedian Ben Blue are pictured in the Cadillac, too.



More sweet convertibles worth drooling over. Pictured here is a 1955 Chrysler convertible, a 1953 Packard Caribbean and a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible behind it. The sedan behind the Chebby is harder to identify. Any thoughts?




That's a brand-new Ford being hauled on a flatbed behind a trolley. No explanation is given for the Ford's royal behavior. Perhaps it's a prize during the festivities? Or maybe officials are being making an example out of the Ford, whose owner parked in a tow-away zone during the parade's set up.

Regular OCW readers know we run a weekly "Reader Photos" section, in which we feature wicked-cool old photos from reader albums. It's certainly one of my favorite features each, and it always seems we don't have enough space to run every photo.
One of readers who regularly contributes is Coy Thomas, who is a big Ford fan (among other cars). Recently, Thomas sent in a photo of a 1934 Ford roadster in Honolulu in 1942 (pictured below at top). After we ran the photo Thomas sent in the March 26 "Reader Photos," another package arrived with several more scenes of the same Ford. Since it was too late to include them, and we probably would not have had the space, I have included them here. Enjoy!

March 26 Reader Photos:

The near-perfect, year-round climate of Hawaii and the perfect all-around good looks of Ford’s 1934 V-8 roadster make for a perfect combination. Proof that at least one of these ideal car-to-island relationships existed comes with this 1942 photograph captured in Honolulu and showing a friend of reader Tom Slaughter’s father.

Even cars in Hawaii need a bath once in a while, and this ’34 roadster looks fresh from the tub. As an ominous reminder to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, the clean Ford wears black-out covers on its headlamps and cowl lamps. Also check out the “919” license topper on the 1942 Hawaii license plate and the non-stock bumper guards fitted to the Ford. Unfortunately, those guards weren’t able to prevent a nick from forming in the driver’s front fender.

Does a cool ocean breeze still roll through the open cockpit of this Ford? Perhaps a Hawaiian reader will let us know.

The above is the original photo that appeared in Old Cars Weekly. Below are the additional photos Thomas submitted.







Thomas identified this gentleman in his second letter as Harry Rodin.



Here's Guy Slaughter, who supplied Thomas with the above '34 Ford photos, in Honolulu in 1943 with his own 1936 Ford three-window coupe. Note this car also carries black-outs on its headlamps.

Have $600,000 burning a hole in your pocket? Then have about $2 million (or more) to bring your initial investment up to show condition? Then have I got a deal for you!
This ad for one of the remaining Futurliners appeared in "Wheels of Time," publication of the American Truck Historical Society. (A great club and club pub, by the way.) While the attention a Futurliner gathers at a car show is comparable to bringing a sledge hammer into a Beverly Hills crystal shop, it takes a lot of money to bring one of these rigs up to tip-top shape. Of course, its worth every penny and every bead of sweat, I'm sure. Just as the volunteers who brought the NATMUS Futurliner to its awe-inspiring condition.

With spring approaching for many collectors, and it’s time to take the old truck or car out. And while it’s out and clean, why not take some nice photographs of it?
Taking good photographs isn’t very difficult, especially with today’s idiot-proof digital cameras. Thanks to these cameras, hobbyists capturing the image of their car or truck only have to look to the details to obtain a well-composed shot.
After years of taking photographs of my own cars and other people’s cars, and looking at other people’s photos, I’ve captured some “how-not-to” images. The images below show what to avoid when photographing a car, and use an immaculate, unrestored 1962 Ford Thunderbird that goes unflattered, thanks to the poor photography methods exhibited here. Don’t let your car end up like this poor Thunderbird!

No, the gap in the door isn’t due to poor build quality, it’s caused by an inattentive passenger who hasn’t figured out how to shut the door (without slamming it, of course). Make sure the hood, doors and deck lid are shut before doing the same with your camera’s shutter.




There are a lot of things wrong here. That’s sure a nice, orange plow truck in the background. And that light pole appears to have fresh paint, as do the yellow stripes in the parking lot. Oh, wait, this photograph is supposed to be centered on a 1962 Thunderbird. Also notice that, even from afar, the door is clearly not shut all the way.



What’s that growth coming out of the Thunderbird’s roof? Did a linear meteor fall from outer space and penetrate the T-Bird? Did Jack plant a bean between the ‘Bird’s bucket seats? Nope, it’s a light pole. Before snapping a picture, make sure there are no distractions behind the car, especially vertical signs, trees, poles, etc. Also, notice how the lines in the parking lot fight with the car, particularly because they are perpendicular to the car. Even avoid taking photos of the car while it’s parked parallel to such lines, as they remain distracting and often reflect in the car’s paint.




Who is that photographer? Oh, wait, who cares? The subject is the bumper end, not the person behind the camera. Few care what type of camera you are using, and those who might won’t be impressed enough to care since a composition that includes the photographer and their equipment is poor. Detail shots are great, and not enough people take them, but be sure to adjust your angle by moving side to side or crouching down to stay out of the shot.





Sins abound in this view. There’s the sumo wrestlers on the dash, the hat hanging from the rearview mirror and the partially open window, as well as the reflection of a light pole. Sure, this is a close-up view that few would take, but even with the car in full view, these distractions would show up.




See? I told you they would show up. Here’s a view from a step back. Notice that the reflection of the light pole can be seen in the windshield and how the condensation coming out of the tailpipe makes it appear this car burns enough oil to make the Saudis salivate. And does the window not go all the way down? Or all the way up? Button up the car’s windows, shut it off and take your picture, preferably in a location without those lame yellow stripes.




How many things wrong can you spot in this photo? There’s that green swap meet sign poking up from behind the car. That background has many different depths, which only make the viewer want to walk past the car. The worst sin of all, at least to someone such as myself, is that the car is parked on grass when there’s a path nearby. Cars are driven on roads, driveways and other established paths, not on your crabby neighbor’s well-manicured lawn. Therefore, your car should be pictured on an established path for a more realistic shot. When a car is pictured next to a path or a road, but not on it, the viewer is given the impression the car was pulled over due to a malfunction. If that’s not what you’re trying to portray, stay off the grass!




This one is simple: Get your car or truck in the middle of the camera viewer! Also, unless you’re selling the car, no one cares if you remembered to set the date on your camera or when you took the photo.



Clean, non-distracting backgrounds are great, but get too bland and it doesn’t help the car. In this spot, the T-Bird looks like it’s parked in a dark alley while its owner is off to conduct some illegal activity that may or may not put the French Connection to shame.




Don’t be afraid of your car – unless it’s Christine, it won’t bite. Get your car square in the center of the view finder with a little space around the edges.




There are many other tips, such as avoiding taking photos on sunny days to avoid shadows and making sure the wheels are not turned towards the camera. This will only help you get started towards better photographs that emphasize your car’s beauty. If captured correctly, photographs of your car should appeal to the senses and make you feel like hopping in for a long cruise. If not, take another picture until you do!

Club publications are an excellent resource for their articles, photos and networking resources. Equally as importantly, club pubs often provide excellent sources through display and classified ads for the small bits and parts that keep old cars like yours on the road.

As a dreamer who loves many different types of cars, I often find myself paging through the club publications of many different clubs. Among those is Woodie Times, the publication of the National Woodie Club. This magazine-format club publication is edited by Old Cars Weekly columnist John Lee, who does a fantastic job. However, it wasn't just Lee's editorial skills that caught my attention in the February issue of Woodie Times, it was a classified listing for a picnic table. "A picnic table?," you ask? It's not just any old picnic table, but one actually used by Ford Motor Co. employees at the Iron Moutnain plant where the bodies for Ford woodies were constructed.

According to the ad, the maple picnic table was constructed of the same solid maple used to build Ford wagon bodies and came in to posession of an Iron Mountain Ford employee upon the plant's closing in 1951 (In 1952, Ford went to steel wagons).

What's interesting about the table is its proof of provenance. The table features two tags on its leg: one simply gives a number (perhaps some type of property number), and a second tag that states "Property of Ford Motor Co." and "If detatched, forward to tag dept." There is a also number on this tag that reads much like an automotive serial number.

If you're a collector of all things Ford, a cooler collectible you will not find! Plus, you can eat your hickory-smoked barbecue off it the next time you have fellow woodie members over for dinner.

To learn more about the National Woodie Club, write to: John Lee, PO Box Lincoln, NE 68506, or e-mail johnlee@neb.rr.com, or go to www.nationalwoodieclub.com.

To give dues-paying club members a fair chance at responding to this classified ad, I will post the seller's contact info in the next week.

All right, Camaro owners and fans -- I can’t take it anymore. If you misspell the name of your car one more time, I am going to internally combust like a 302 running premium, except it won’t sound as pretty. And then I am going to take your keys away until you respect your car enough to spell its name correctly.

With the new Camaro getting ready to hit the streets, it’s a problem we need to nip in the bud now: There is no “e” in Camaro. Not one. Not two. None. In fact, the name is written in several places on the car to help you spell it correctly: on the door panels, on the front fenders, on the header panel, on the instrument panel and on the deck lid, depending on the year. In fact, the common misspelling of Camaro is not even a word, and if it weren’t for the Chevrolet pony car, Camaro would not even be a word at all.

I won’t give you the satisfaction of misspelling “Camaro” here, but you know the spelling I am talking about. The one with that “e” where the second “a” should go. And it’s a widespread problem. If you type the misspelling of Camaro into “Google,” you’ll get more than 17 million web pages. That’s ridiculous, but that’s not what got my blood boiling most recently. It was when I received a letter from a retired GM employee who worked at the company during the muscle car era and even he misspelled Camaro, finally sending me over the edge.

The pressure has been building for decades, since I started reading auto shopper-type publications as a kid. Frequently, the Camaro name was misspelled, and it always drove me nuts, even though I was ten. And if a ten year old is annoyed, there’s no reason that a 20 year old (or older person) should be misspelling the name of their car.

So, let’s join together and start spelling Camaro correctly. The Camaro is a legend worthy of this small honor, and the new model is poised to continue that legend. It’s the least we can do for a car that brings smiles to so many, including me.

I love year-of-manufacture (YOM) license plates. Nothing tops off a fine restoration or a good original better than a pair of license plates from the year the car was built.

Fortunately, I was able to run YOM plates in Minnesota, and took advantage of it by running them on both '55 Cadillacs. (I never added them to my '62 Caddy, since the 1962 Minnesota plate is almost identical to the black-and-white collector plate.)

I received a note from a fellow Caddy collector in Wisconsin who said he's working with a representative who may write a bill allowing YOM plates in Wisconsin, and all I can say is "It’s about time." Because YOM plates are not permitted on cars in this state, I still register most of my old cars to Minnesota under my parent’s name so I can run year of manufacture (YOM) plates. (In Minnesota, you also do not have to run a front license plate on a pre-1968 car, which I also like to take advantage of. This may also be part of the Wisconsin bill.)

They tried passing a bill to allow YOM plates before in Wisconsin, and just a few years ago, but they were not successful. As I understand it, people who helped draft the original collector license plate policy in Wisconsin had a hand in drafting the YOM plate bill that did not pass. When working on the previous YOM bill, these hobbyists were trying to make it so every collector had to have their car registered to a collector license plate, even if they displayed a YOM plate. The problem would be, when an officer pulls up the number for a YOM plate displayed on the car, it would not be in the system since the car was actually registered to a collector plate stored in the car. The officer would have to have the owner pull out their collector plate from the trunk or glove box in order to find its record. Of course, such a process is ridiculous and the bill didn’t get anywhere.

In Minnesota, and in many other states, owners can register their car to the YOM plate or a collector plate. The state collects the same fee for YOM plates as it does the collector plate, but the owner gets to choose which one to register their car under. If the owner wants to register their car with a YOM plate, they must bring the plate to the DMV, which checks to make sure the number is not already taken and the plates are in good condition (and are dated to the year of the car).

The only problem is, when buying a used YOM plate, the purchaser doesn’t know if the number on the plate is taken until they get to the DMV, but I have heard very few people grumble about this or even encounter a problem. Also, if the owner of a 1955 Chevy runs collector plates, they can change to YOM plates at a later date and back again, though they have to pay a processing fee of some kind.

If Wisconsin follows policies enacted by Minnesota and other states, Wisconsin hobbyists with low numbers can keep and continue to use their collector plates, or they can register their car to YOM plates. Just not both.

I also think that, if we're going to start messing with collector plates in Wisconsin, the DMV should change the color of the collector plates to something legible. I don’t know the color wheel very well, but I do know red and blue do not mix. And whey the colors are mixed on a license plate, making out the numbers is impossible. Why not the old yellow-and-black again? Nothing says "dairyland" like yellow. Am I right?

If I learn of any traction to YOM plates in Wisconsin, I'll keep you posted right here on my blog.

Not too long ago, I told you about the trailer exhibit leaving the Petersen Automotive Museum. Well, officials at the museum came through with some wild photos of a mid-air Airstream and a hanging Hunt House Car.
Enjoy!

Trailers Take Flight After Museum Closes Exhibit

(Los Angeles, CA February 13, 2009) Eight pre-1940 camping vehicles took a road less traveled on Tuesday during the move out of the From Autocamps to Airstreams: The Early Road to Vacationland exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum. This six-month exhibition was one of many themed temporary exhibits that the museum uses to capture the imagination of its visitors in order to educate them. These vehicles were arranged in chronological order in an illustrative campsite setting.

To get these large recreational vehicles in and out of the Grand Salon on the second floor was no easy feat. The spiral ramps at the ends of the attached parking structure are too confined to use for anything that large, so a crane from Specialty Crane and Rigging was brought in to assist. One by one, the vehicles were loaded on to an adjustable purpose-built platform and gently took a 30-second flight down to Fairfax Avenue where they were off loaded.

Ironically, one of the campers that took flight was custom-built for Charles Lindberg, who was the first person to fly non-stop from New York to Paris in 1927, and another was a 1935 Curtiss Aerocar built by the company of the same name founded by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss.

The Grand Salon is currently being prepared for the next exhibit, What Were They Thinking? The Misfits of Motordom, which opens February 28th. This new exhibit will explore vehicle ideas where "thinking outside of the box" didn't live up to the success that it may have promised.

The Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity. The Museum is located at 6060 Wilshire Boulevard (at Fairfax) in Los Angeles.  Admission prices are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students with ID, and $3 for children ages 5 to 12. Museum members and children under five are admitted free. Covered parking is available for $8.00 per car. Museum hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 6pm. For general Museum information, call 323/930-CARS or visit the Museum’s Web site address at www.petersen.org.