Monday, August 21, 2017

Our Antique Cars

After seeing the Studebaker Museum, I decided to list all the cars we have owned. Some are antiques but of course we don't own them now. Some of the later photos are original but many others I had to locate photos, some are the same colors while others are just the model we owned. I don't believe I missed any but memory can slip. My description of model year may also be off but close to actual.

1964 Nash Rambler. My first car belonged to my parents but I was allowed to drive it to Milan High School school in 1967.
My first real car was a 1967 Pontiac Tempest. I had that car about two years. I bought it with my own money while I worked at the local Mobile Station in Milan, Indiana.
1967 Mustang. I should have stored it somewhere but who knew then? I had added a few engine modifications to the 289 engine. It rumbled and roared quite a bit. Police did not like the loud exhaust. I finally gave up on it, costing me too much money so I bought my first new car after this one.
1971 Ford Torino. Purchased new in 1971. I was working at the GM dealer in Milan Indiana at the time. The owner at the dealership was not happy about it. It was parked right in front of the dealership every day. The only red car I ever owned because red is a target for other drivers. A driver came over the center line and hit me head on a week after I purchased it. It was repaired but the paint never matched well. It was hit a couple more times before I sold it to another mechanic at the GM dealership. His sister drove it and guess what, another accident. I believe every body panel on that car had been replaced. 
1961 Ford Pickup. My first truck,  I had this in 1969 for a short time and sold it for a profit.


1973 Chevrolet C10. Purchased new after the Torino. Our truck was tan, not real great looking.We added a custom shell on it, used as our first "camper". It also pulled our first travel trailer, a 16 foot Intrepid. We made our first vacation trip to South Carolina in it.


1961 Chevrolet, Mary's first car. Purchased used from a friend in Milan.

1973 Chevrolet Vega. Purchased new for my ride while I was a Prudential Insurance agent. OK car but we did not keep it very long. The aluminum engine was not great.

1977 Ford Van. Purchased new in 1977 for $5500.00. Ours was actually solid bright blue. We had it repainted once because the paint that year was very poor. I drove it to many fires in Moores Hill when I was Fire Chief. 
1971 Dodge Dart Swinger. Mary drove this for a while when we lived in Moores Hill. It was a rust bucket but everything worked well. Our young daughter was embarrassed to ride in it since it was rusted all over. We purchased it for $500.00 from a neighbor.


1976 Olds Cutlass. Bought it used from someone near Moores Hill. The engine started hammering a couple weeks later. Bad valve lifters were the problem so we got taken on this one. Bought cheap and sold cheaper.


1973 Chevrolet S10. Bought used in Cincinnati because we needed a pickup truck. We had just moved to Lawrenceburg in 1990. It was a good truck, cost us almost nothing to operate. A fellow I worked with bought it and he drove it for several years.

1983 Ford Grand Victoria. A big boat. We decided we wanted a better car so we purchased this used in Lawrenceburg. It had bad brakes but the dealer made it good after raising hell with them. It turned out to be a good car for a few years.

1993 Chevrolet Astro Van. Purchased new in Lawrenceburg to replace the Ford Grand Victoria. We had it until we sold it in 1999 and purchased the 1999 Ford Explorer.

1984 Explorer. Purchased used with lots of miles on it from a friend. It was a great vehicle and finally sold it to purchase the 1999 Ford Explorer.


1999 Ford Explorer, purchased new in Lawrenceburg. It was an OK vehicle but not as good as the white Explorer.  The V6 engine was a problem. My extended warranty replaced on cracked engine head. The engine always had spark knock unless premium gas was used. Gas prices were rising and we decided to get something smaller.
2003 Pontiac Vibe. My best car ever owned. It was small but very universal. I drove that car to work for 13 years, never costing anything but gas, tires and regular service. We gave this car to my grandson Zach when we retired.
2004 Pontiac Vibe. We liked our 2003 so well that we purchased another one. Mary drove this one and it was silver so we could tell which was hers. We gave this car to my sister when we retired.


2000 Jeep Wrangler stick shift. We purchased this used in 2006 when we purchased our Class C motorhome. It towed behind the motorhome and went everywhere with us. Another good vehicle, never cost us much to operate. We sold it because Mary could not drive the stick shift, then purchased our 2004 Wrangler. Drove it seven years, purchased for $8,000.00 and sold for $8000.00. Wranglers really do hold their value. Can't do that on any other vehicle!
2004 Jeep Wrangler. Purchased used to pull behind our 2012 motorhome. Here it is on a beach in St. Augustine, Florida. Mary drove this one with an automatic. Great vehicle, cost very little to operate. Drove it four years, purchased for $12,500.00 and guess what, sold it for $12,500.00.

2016 Jeep Cherokee. Purchased new last July, now our only vehicle. Tows behind our 2016 Tiffin motorhome. We wanted something more comfortable to drive, more cargo space and better gas mileage. The Wranglers got about 15 MPG, this one gets about 25 local, about 30 on the highway. Not bad for a 4WD vehicle.
Maybe this will be our last car???










Saturday, August 19, 2017

RV Hall of Fame


The RV Hall of Fame opened in 1972.  It is located in Elkhart near the I-80 toll road. They have quite a collection of antique campers. The camping gear from early times have the same basic features as the campers made today. Trailers, popup, tent, and motorized were usually hand built. Some early manufacturers are still in business today. The difference today is they build large, expensive RVs with everything you can have in a house.

I took lots of photos and here are a few of them. 
I hope my photos don't exceed my blog storage space.

1915 built in California on the back of a Model T Ford roadster.
An early idea with multiple slide-outs on this vintage model.
1946 Kit Teardrop.
The modern version seen on the road today
looks almost the same as this 1946 version.

Only one built, a 1955 Airstream prototype 

1928 Pierce Arrow Fleetcar.
Only three were built before the 1929 recession.

An early outdoor kitchen, just like modern RV/s with that feature.

You thought this was something new today?
No, It was invented many years ago.

1916 Cozy Camp pop up tent trailer

1932 Gilkie Camp King pop up tent trailer

1955 Ranger crank-up trailer built in California
1969 Pace Arrow first Fleetwood Motorhome.


1937 Hunt Housecar built by movie producer Roy Hunt.


1954 Holiday Rambler Travel Trailer


1967 Winnebago RV. The company started in 1958.

About 1962, a truck camper on a Studebaker pickup truck.

In 1972 I worked at the GM dealer in Milan, Indiana.
This is a 1974 GMC motorhome. The owners son bought one.

I was not a camper at that time but I remember it was a big deal.


1968 Jayco Jayhawk the 40th popup built that started Jayco.

1954 Shasta
1931 Mae West Housecar. She was a movie star in the 1930's.

1931 Tennessee Traveler on a Ford AA chassis

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Studebaker Auto Museum

  The old car manufacturer Studebaker has a great auto museum in South Bend Indiana. There are three floors of antique cars, wagons, buggies and military items, made by Studebaker. Never heard of Studebaker? The were in business as a blacksmith shop in 1852. They built wagons and buggies before they built cars. The collection features the Barouche that President Abraham Lincoln used the night of his assassination, President Grant’s Brewster Landau, President McKinley’s Studebaker Phaeton, and President Benjamin Harrision’s Studebaker Brougham. If you have an interest in antique automobiles, you need to see this collection. It's almost all Studebaker. Studebaker closed in March 1966. This link will provide more information: https://studebakermuseum.org/ 

I took plenty of photos and here are just a few of them. My dad talked a lot about Studebaker cars when I was a kid. He would have made a good tour guide in the museum. Now I know what he was talking about.

1853 Conestoga Wagon by Studebaker.

Later model with temporary driver but it won't start.

Horse drawn hearse

President Lincolns last ride to Ford Theater



Studebakers set a number of land records.
This is a 1927 "Commander'

1913 Model 25 Touring Model

1922 Big Six Childs Hearse

1935 President Convertible Sedan

1937 Coupe Express

This is NOT a 57 Chevrolet but it is a Studebaker

US Army wagon from WW I

1936 Ace truck




1963 Lark Sedan $2295.00

1961 Hawk $2695.00

1964 R4 engine Avanti V8 Dual 4-barrel 280 hp. 

1963 Avanti #9 recorder a speed of 170.81 MPH at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
The R3 engine was supercharger with 400 hp.

1963 Avanti. It set a speed record of 200.426 MPH in 1993 at the Salt Flats.
The V8 engine had 585 HP.

A 1928 fire truck.

1961 Studebaker Champ. Good looking pickup truck.

The last car built by Studebaker, a 1966 Cruiser built in Hamilton, Ontario plant.
It would have sold for $2405.00. I wonder what it's worth now.