Hot Rod

I know next to nothing about cars, hot rods, dragsters, &/or automobilia in general (let alone who Don Garlits is), but that doesn’t stop me from recognizing the value of vintage car part catalogs, like these two old (1959 & 1960) Almquist “Equipment of Champions” catalogs from Almquist Engineering Co., Inc. (Milford, PA), founded by Ed Almquist. So I included them in my ephemera pile & purchased them.

1959 Almquist Catalog

Any good collector knows that catalogs are keystones to completing collections — whether it’s cake decorating supplies or auto parts, the point is the same: Know what was made, when it was made, and it’s official name &/or stock number.

1960 Almquist Catalog

But you also don’t need to be an automobilia collector to appreciate some of the things in these vintage Almquist catalogs. Look at the fabulously stylish wheel covers…

Vintage Wheel Covers

Spiffy “bolt-on” custom sport bodies…

"Bolt-On" Custom Sport Bodies By Almquist

And cool accessories such as 3-D chrome emblems, classic flame decals, or KEM multicolor decals — everything from “Flames & Flying Eye-balls,” “Indians and Tomahawks,” “Pirates and Flags,” “Eagles and Ghouls,” to “Devils and Dice.” (Click on the images to see large scans.)

Vintage Hot Rod Decals & Accessories

Just paging through these old Almquist catalogs sort of inspires new collections… I might not be able to afford, in terms of money or space, hot rods, but I think I could squeeze in some decals.

Classic or Modified Hot Rods are a popular collectible, bringing bragging rights for the work involved, in finding, researching, restoring, showing and constantly tinkering to get each last detail to perfection. This we learned on our visit to the Holtz Motors 26^th Annual Classic Car Show, located near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Fouth of July gave us perfect weather for a great turnout of cars and spectators. Several owners we talked with worked extensively on their own vehicles, only requiring expert help on specialty projects like painting or upholstery.

Ford T-birds from the 1950s have long been our favorites and when we came across this powder-blue baby, we had to stop. We read over the description and were amazed to learn that this was still owned by the car’s original buyer! We were fortunate enough to have Bob nearby and he was eager to share information on this fine old car. He was the original owner, used it to drive back and forth to work, took it on vacations, and used it as his ‘driving car’ for a lot of years. He had it stored in his garage from 1971 – 1995, 24 years. He then made the decision to rebuild it and started his lengthy process.

He showed us original paperwork on the car, an invoice with the original price of $3,295 from McGuire Ford in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It showed it was used as a demo for about a year, then he bought it. He put a lot of blood, sweat, tears and money into it, probably close to $48,000. It was ‘appraised’ in 2005 at $60,000. It was a labor of love, not done for profit. The process of rebuilding took 3 years and 10 months, so even at a minimal wage rate, you can see that it would not be an ‘easy way’ to make money! Bob told us that he used Casco of Ohio for many of the parts. What he liked about them was the fact that they have a technician available who was a great help in the process.

Bob was proud of a letter he got from the President of Ford Motor Co. It seems his wife, Jeannie, had sent a letter to Ford, telling him of his accomplishment in restoring this T-bird and being the original owner. To his delight, Bill Ford’s secretary called him a short while after the letter was sent. They spent 40 minutes on the phone, and she took down a lot of information on Bob and the car itself. She promised that a letter from Mr. Ford was forthcoming and he received it just prior to the magical 50 year mark, October 19, 2007. He was so glad that Jeannie, who had been a teacher, had taken the time to put a nice letter together and very pleasantly surprised at the response.

He also shared with us the fact that when the car was ‘officially done’ in June of 1999, he and a man who had helped him with the restoration stood back, were all set to fire her up. But nothing happened. They tried again, checked the battery, gas lines, etc. No luck. Then they decided to disconnect the hose on the fuel line. And there they found the problem! A bug! It had somehow lodged into the hose, made a nest and fouled up the flow of gas. Once removed, they stood back, held their breaths and it started right up. An emotional time, we’d bet!

Bob belongs to the T-Bird Club, has been a member since 1994 and is currently the Vice President of the Club. He tells us he gets a lot of help from the group. It was a pleasure talking with him and we appreciated his sharing his experiences and his enthusiasm.

How could any vintage car show be complete without an Edsel being represented?

We also liked this 1957 Mercury with the ‘greased lightening’ motif.

Check out “Corvette Row” quite a gathering!

The Excaliber from SS Motors of Wisconsin was a Brooks Steven design.

We spoke with two people at the Registration Desk and learned that per Mr. Holz, there is no charge to enter the show. He also gives the first 400 car drivers to enter free food. The numbers were not totally in but they were expecting between 750-800 cars.

We were also fortunate enough to meet the graphic artist behind this year’s T-shirt which commemorates the 26^th year of this show, Joe Jozwowski. Joe is a web-designer and told us that he had been creating the show’s T-shirt designs for 10 years. This one was special. It has a 1958 Chevy in front of a drive-in that was once a favorite in Hales Corners, called Petroff’s. The car hop is ready to put the tray of food on the window. Unfortunately, the drive-in is long-gone, but this commemorative shirt lets it live on for all who have dined there.

This 1948 Indy Race car was a special treat at the show, # 91 was driven by Lee Wallard.

As you pass by a local Classic Car Show, take a few minutes to converse with the owners, and watch their eyes light up as they reveal their total love and devotion for the collectible car they own.