September 26th, 2011

1938 Chevrolet Master 2 Door Sedan©2011antiquecarnut.com
This story goes back a long way!! Part of the history of us, Glyn and Belva Verzatt. This ’38 Chevy Master 2 door was my first car and was I ever proud of it!! It was set up to run!! The engine was rebuilt with .30 or .40 over bore, aluminum pistons, dual intake and exhaust, flywheel lightened by 18 or 22 pounds and it might have had 235 powerglide rocker arms. It had skirts and full chrome hubcaps to set off it’s appearance!! I owned it when Belva and I were married in December of 1952, not long after she had graduated from high school. I didn’t get to drive it very long at that time, because Uncle Sam invited me to visit Korea with a bunch of other young men!!
Posted in 1938, Life in the Past Lane | Comments Off on First Car
September 17th, 2011

1961 Chevrolet Impala convertible©2011antiquecarnut.com
Look at the lines of this automobile!! Are they not gorgeous?? The ’61 Impala convertible number built was 64,600. I didn’t realize until writing this article that the 1957 Bel Air convertible wasn’t the best selling Chevy convertible ever. Only 47,562 of them were produced. The owner of this ’61 must be very proud that it is his or hers possession. I took this picture at the Car de Lane car show in Cour de Alene, Idaho in June 2011.
Posted in 1961, Chevrolet | Comments Off on Beautiful at 50
September 17th, 2011

1930 Plymouth 4 Door Sedan©2011antiquecarnut.com
Would you believe this is a 1930 Plymouth-extended version!! I was watching a parade of antique cars in Cour de Alene, Idaho in June 2011. I yelled at the driver and asked him the make and year model of this monstrosity and the above was his reply. Really a weird looking automobile!!
Posted in 1930, Plymouth | Comments Off on Somewhat Longer
September 15th, 2011

1932 Rockne Sport Coupe©2011antiquecarnut.com
The Rockne was produced from 1931 to 1933 by the Studebaker Corporation in South Bend, Indiana having been named after the famous Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne. Prior to the Rockne introduction, Studebaker had produced the Erskine auto that due to price considerations as well as the crash of 1929 just couldn’t be taken seriously by the public and was dropped. The Rockne was developed to replace the slow selling Erskine. For the use of his name Studebaker made a deal with Knute to join the firm as Sales Promotion Manager effective March 19, 1931. Only 12 days later Knute perished in an airplane crash. The Rockne just couldn’t make it either in the U.S., so in 1933 all left over units were shipped to Norway where they were reassembled and sold. The picture included in this article was taken at a car show in Dallas, Texas in about 1978 by Jim O’Connor, the writer of this article.
Posted in 1932, Rockne | Comments Off on Short Tenure
September 15th, 2011

1939 Ford Deluxe 2 Door Sedan©2011antiquecarnut.com
A friend of mine owned this car and I knew at some point he was going to sell it and I wanted to be the buyer!! He decided to sell it at just the right time for me!! It would be my third college car and I wanted it to be really nice so I immediately had it painted the original Dartmouth Green[medium green], had beautiful seatcovers made and installed, and skirts as an added touch!! It was in great mechanical condition and served me well through the remainder of my college years. I sure wish I owned it now!!
Posted in 1939, Life in the Past Lane | Comments Off on Mine at Last
September 13th, 2011

1925 Franklin Doctors Coupe©2011antiquecarnut.com
The Franklin began production in 1902 and continued until 1934 in Syracuse, NY. In 1901, H.H. Franklin teamed up with engineer, John Wilkinson to come up with the air cooled engine. It just doesn’t seem possible that in 100 degree weather an engine running without water circulating could hang in there, but obviously it did until the company hit rough financial times due to the depression beginning in 1929! The Franklin was a competitor to it’s fiercest rivals, Cadillac and Packard.
Posted in 1925, Franklin | Comments Off on No Radiator
September 13th, 2011

1954 Pontiac Cheiftan 2 Door Hardtop©2011antiquecarnut.com
When my wife, Alice, was growing up her dad lost a great part of his eye sight due to cataracts and although he had a nice 1934 Lincoln 4 door sedan, he just could not see well enough to drive it. Alice’s Mother didn’t drive, so the car just sat for about 18 years and deteriorated. Hence , Alice never learned to drive. In 1959, after 6 years of marriage, I decided that one way or another, she was going to learn how to drive, so I bought her this car and told her it was just going to sit in front of the house until she learned to drive, which she eventually did. The car was a two tone lemon and off white color with a leather interior.
Posted in 1954, Life in the Past Lane | Comments Off on Starter Car
September 13th, 2011

1952 Chevroler Styline 2 Door Sedan©2011antiquecarnut.com
I got the bug to own a new car in March of 1952 and one day while enroute from my hometown, Enid, Oklahoma, to Sheppard AFB, Texas, I spotted this medium gray beauty on the showroom floor of the Chevy dealer in Chickasha, Oklahoma. Other than whitewalls, full wheel discs and a deluxe hood ornament, it was loaded with accessories! It took Alice and I on our honeymoon through Colorado and also a trip out to and up the west coast and home to Oklahoma. The original tires had 46,000 miles on them when I sold it in 1953. My Dad, Ted O’Connor, is shown in this picture taken in Yellowstone National Park.
Posted in 1952, Life in the Past Lane | Comments Off on First New Car
September 13th, 2011

1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster 4 Door Sedan©2011antiquecarnut.com
Immediately after college graduation, along with 10 other graduates, I became an air force officer stationed at Sheppard Air Force base, Texas. All my buddies were buying new cars, but I just was not comfortable with buying a new one, so I bought this 3 year old beauty from a long time friend who happened to be a used car salesman. It only had 32,000 miles on it and looked and ran like right off the showroom floor.
Posted in 1948, Life in the Past Lane | Comments Off on Getting There
September 8th, 2011

1938 Plymouth©2011antiquecarnut.com
This was the second car I purchased. I bought it the second semester I was in college at Oklahoma A & M College. It never required any mechanical maintenance even after making many trips around Oklahoma for one reason or another and I owned it about 2 years eventually selling it to my Grandfather as he had totaled his car. As I remember I paid $450.00 for it and sold it to him for $350.00 to give him a good deal. The car was tan with red wheels.
Posted in 1938, Life in the Past Lane | Comments Off on Reliable Transportation
September 7th, 2011

1929 Ford Model A Sport Coupe©2011antiquecarnut.com
I bought a loaded 1929 Model A 4 Door Sedan when I was 14 years old. It was black and beautiful-really a nice looking and nice running car. Financially, times were not good for my Dad when I bought the car and sadly the engine in his car cratered shortly after I acquired the Model A. Dad just didn’t have the money to repair his car so one day he said, “Jim, I hate this, but I just have to commandeer your car”, I just have no choice!! Dad was a fairly rapid driver and one day on the 18 mile trek to his sand and gravel plant, he hydroplaned the car on a culvert and when it came down after being in the air, the body broke in two just behind the windshield. We wired it up with # 9 wire and drove it that way for a couple of months until Dad found a coupe body with a rumble seat. The body needed a paint job bad and that is what you see after painting was completed. Upon graduation from high school, myself and 3 of my buddies drove this baby out to California and back to our home in Waynoka, Oklahoma. I sold it in 1948 for $55.00 at an auction in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Posted in Life in the Past Lane | Comments Off on Little Jerry
September 5th, 2011

1952 Chevrolet Styleline 2 Door Sedan©2011antiquecarnut.com
Owners-Glyn and Belva Verzatt
Members of Capital Carriages Antique Car Club-Helena, Montana
Here’s our story as related by Glyn!! In the spring of 1997 [we think], Belva and I had been looking for a 1938 Chevrolet 2 door Master. It was this model I had when Belva and I married. Although we had looked for sometime, we had been unable to find a ’38 we liked. One day we started for Great Falls, Mt. and as we went by Mark Johnson’s used car lot on Cedar street, we saw a very nice looking ’52 Chevy. As we drove over the Cedar street overpass to find a place to do a 180, Belva said, “you just bought that car didn’t you”. I said I had to look at it first. Well, we did that and while I was in Mark’s office, he said,”Glyn, I think you just bought the car-your wife just moved over to the driver’s seat”!! Naturally, we had to think about it and took off for Great Falls. We stopped at a rest stop near Henry’s Creek and called the lot telling them that contingent on a drive, we would buy the car. It sure looked pretty, but we found out there were a few things wrong with it. Most of them have been corrected. 1952 was a major year in our lives. Belva had just graduated from high school. We were married in December of 1952 and the following week, I received a personal request from the President asking me to come join a bunch of other young guys in Korea!! I was gone in April!!
Posted in 1952, Crazy Car Corner | Comments Off on SAW IT-BOUGHT IT!!!