J u l y 2 0 1 6 The Brass Lamp

Those Big Back Seats

We are reminded of the famous story about how the notoriously prudish Henry Ford tried to design the backseat of the Model T so that it would be too small for any—let’s just say—amorous indiscre- tions. We’re pretty sure young love prevailed on that one, though definitely not as easily as it did in the cavernous interiors and Photo courtesy of Wikimedia cargo areas of other favor- Photo courtesy of Rick Ridley ite classics. work every day but could Pretty much any full-size car Americans got bit by a se- also serve double-duty on from around 1956 through rious travel bug after vet- long weekend road trips the 1977 model year had erans returned home from and overnight camping more than space for getting World War II. Now consid- excursions. For many, the comfortable and cozy under ered by some to be the Frazer Vagabond of the the light of the silvery moon. “Golden Age of American late-1940s and early 1950s But the Nash Ambassador Road Travel,” it was still an (along with its brother the was arguably the first to ad- era largely dominated by Kaiser Traveler) fit their vertise the fact that their au- the one-car household. lifestyle perfectly. The tomobiles could be convert- Back then, many car buy- Vagabond never got the ed from a daily grocery- ers were content with au- “ultimate date car” reputa- getter into a venerable hotel tomobiles that looked styl- tion with Baby Boomers on wheels. As with the Nash ish enough to drive to that the Nash Ambassador , one of the key sell- and Rambler later did, but ing points for the Ambassa- the fold-down, uphol- dor was its roomy interior stered rear seats that ex- and the fact that every seat tended all the way to the in the thing had the ability end of the is the to flatten out with the sim- stuff of some legend ple pull of a lever. where backseat escapades are concerned. Continued on page 4 >>>

Joseph F Yochim The President’s (314) 602-9498 President Column… Mark Goldfeder By Joseph F Yochim (314) 878-2786 1st Vice President/Programs hattan on Fifth Avenue, they com- Sharon Mercer Greetings, everyone pleted the first road trip across the (636) 928-8672 continental . 2nd Vice President/Membership Mother Nature has cranked up the summertime furnace. Rose I found that most interesting. More Louis Allen bushes and the daylilies are now interesting automotive facts and (314) 741-4158 in full bloom. Oh how I love the trivia are located in Kanter advertis- Treasurer smell of summer, freshly mowed ing publications at grass and someone barbecuing www.Kanter.com Susan Ebert some pork steaks or other yum- (314-791-5461) my treats for dinner. Kids off Moving on. St. Louis Moon Club Recording Secretary school for summer vacation and was the host of the St. Louis made families heading out on the road automobile rendezvous that was Dr. Gerald Perschbacher trip vacation. held on June 9, 10, and 11, 2016. A (314) 849-5249 spectacular, well organized, very Corresponding Secretary The first road trip started on May well-orchestrated event, lots of 23rd 1903 from San Francisco, amazing St. Louis automotive inter- Directors California. Dr. Horatio Nelson ests, industry memorabilia and Bill Albertin(2016) Al Mercer(2016) Jackson, Sewall K. Crocker, and publications. (See photos, page 8) John Clark (2017) “Bud”, a goggle-wearing bull ter- Ron Nelson(2017) rier began their journey on that If you were unable to attend our Jackie Allen (2018) day. Horatio Nelson Jackson was HCCM general meeting held on Mike Ebert (2018) compelled to embark on this his- Friday, June 17, 2016, Hot Summer toric journey because of a $50 Nights car cruise, you missed a re- Ron Nelson bet that he made with his friends ally fun activity and a good time. 9826 Affton View Ct. at a bar. He recruited Crocker, a The general meeting was called to St. Louis, MO 63123 22-year-old bicycle racer and order at 6:33 PM. A motion to ad- (314) 638-7131 mechanic to help him along his journ and go for ice cream was Brass Lamp Editor journey. Mr. Jackson purchased a made at 7:08 PM. HCCM members Don Hoelscher used 20 hp Winton that he and friends gathered together in a (636) 939-9667 named “Vermont” after his home convoy format. We all disembarked Webmaster state. Starting out from San from the college and made our Francisco, along the way they way down to Culver’s in Chester- found themselves lost, broken field Valley. Approximately 10 ve- down, and stranded without gas hicles participated in our convoy or parts. This happened many we all had an awesome time cruis- times on their journey. Driving on ing the back roads and going for primitive roads proved to be ice cream. A wonderful time was treacherous and dangerous. had by all! However, somehow they inched their way across the country. Our Father’s Day cars-with-class car Word of their journey got out show held Sunday, June 19, at the and they became famous. Museum of Transportation in St. www.hccmo.com Crowds of people welcomed Louis County was a huge success. (314) 991-HONK them to their town for many of President emeritus Larry Hassel these people were seeing an au- went above and beyond all possi- tomobile for the very first time. bilities and expectations, and the They arrived at New York City, weather was spectacular. We had Celebrating 72 Years their destination, an entire month approximately 73 vehicles show up ahead of schedule – much to for that event. The Museum of In their delight. In downtown Man- Transportation drew the winning St. Louis!

2 ticket that afternoon in their car First Use of the Automatic in raffle. Robert Norris won the vintage 1953 Mercedes 180D. A a Production Automobile special thanks to all members Joseph F Yochim who participated in any and all capacities to make this event a huge success. Starting in the 1930s, GM thought it would be a good idea to reduce the need to shift gears. At that time manual transmissions were To our members and friends, standard equipment that required much effort on the part of the family and neighbors, you are driver. cordially invited to an exclusive back stage tour of the Fabulous A Cadillac engineer by the name of Earl A. Thompson began work Fox Theater. HCCM club mem- on a shiftless transmission in 1932, and with that, a new department ber David Stephens has been was formed within the Cadillac engineering division. able to arrange an exclusive backstage tour of the Fox Thea- Thompson oversaw the department which included the likes of Ern- ter. Along with a personal guid- est Seaholm, Owen Nacker, and Oliver Kelley. In 1934 the group had ed tour, immediately after the developed a step-ratio gearbox that would shift automatically under tour, Dave will give us a personal full torque. With their advancements in the project GM decided to demonstration of the Wurlitzer move the group to the GM Central research facility to further work pipe organ. How cool is that? on the development of the . Between 1935– 1936, the program was handed over to Oldsmobile for further test- This event will take place on Sat- ing and ultimately go into production. The first automatic transmis- urday, July 23, 2016 at 10 AM at sion that was introduced in 1937 was to the Oldsmobile line. the Fabulous Fox Theater, Grand Ave., St. Louis. This event is open This semi-automatic used a conventional clutch requiring the use of to all club members, friends, and the clutch to shift in and out of forward and reverse but not between family. RSVP and an admission the 2 forward gears. This transmission was offered from 1937 fee of seven dollars per person through 1939. In 1940, the is introduced and boasted 4 are required to participate. RSVP forward gears and a reverse gear allowing for much of the shifting along with your $7.00 per person to be automated. fee no later than July 15, 2016 at the close of our general meeting. offered the automatic transmission for two main reasons. First was the fact that Oldsmobile produced more vehicles Remember the HCCM club picnic than Cadillac, thus providing a larger market for testing. Second, will take place on Sunday, Au- GM executives wanted to protect the Cadillac name in case of a ma- gust 21, 2016. Location: Paul jor market failure. Schroeder Park in beautiful Ball- win, Missouri. All members are At its debut it was a $57 option and by 1941 it jumped to $100. That encouraged to bring a covered same year, Cadillac began offering the new automatic transmission dish and or a desert to this as a $125 option. Nearly 200,000 cars were sold prior to the halt of event. 11:00 until ???? production in 1942 in order to help the war efforts.

HCCM election committee: this is During World War II, many vehicles were equipped with Hydramatic an election year for the club. such as the M5 and the M24 tanks. Because of its use in military ser- Attention: Anyone wishing to run vice; the postwar engineering of the transmission was greatly im- for office or become a board proved and later would be used in advertising and marketing as the member. Nominations for office transmission that was “Battle Tested”! will be held at the October gen- eral meeting.

There are a lot more activities in the works. Looking forward to seeing all of you at the July 15 general meeting 7:30 PM Logan College.

Sincerely Joseph F. Yochim

3 <

carrying specialty car for families on the move? Fam- ilies that did buy the first- generation Barracuda later passed these cars along to their newly licensed kids who, in the freewheeling 1970s, definitely found the 7-foot, carpeted “anything space” good for more than just hauling luggage around.

Despite a boring, family-car image, the iconic Rambler gained a reputation among teens as the ultimate da- ting mobile throughout the late ’50s, ‘60s and even into the ’70s. The reasons: a huge, three-passenger backseat and a fabulous reclining front seat, which basically transformed the interior into a giant bed on wheels. Marketing material

targeted families with small And what about the origi- How about the Buick Elec- children who liked car nal 1964 1/2 through 1966 tra? The Imperial camping and long road Barracuda? Early Crown? And what about trips. But young adults of ads suggested - those behemoth 1960s-era the era who had the chance Plymouth didn’t know ex- American station wagons to fully utilize the spacious actly how to market the car. and the custom-upholstered interior will probably attest Was it a just a more power- “sin bin” that were that when the front seat ful version of the Valiant or popular with the younger reclined at the drive-in or an alternative to the Ford set in the 1970s? local lookout there wasn’t a Mustang? Or was it some- lot of sleeping going on. thing else—a cargo-

4 Underwater Nash Graveyard

“The world’s largest collec- in person. Her collection protected area of ship- tion of 1929 and 1930 Nash of vintage autos once wrecks within the Great Motors automobiles exists bound for Detroit join Lakes. not in a museum,” the pantheon of ships, writes MLive reporter, Garret airplanes, submarines, The ship sank on Hallow- Ellison, “but rather en- train cars and other vehi- een, Oct. 31, 1929; mere tombed in the frigid depths cles of yesteryear that days after the infamous of Lake Michigan.” This in- populate the bottom of Black Thursday stock mar- triguing article looks at the Lake Michigan. ket crash that threw the sinking of the Senator, country into an economic which went own in 450 feet "Those cars on the inside spiral. off water off the coast of are in pretty good condi- The Senator left Kenosha Wisconsin in 1929. tion," said Tamara Thom- two days later, laden with sen, a maritime archeolo- $251,000 worth of brand Onboard were 268 brand- gist and shipwreck diver new cars from Nash Mo- new Nash vehicles bound with the Wisconsin His- tors. The company had just for dealerships in Michigan torical Society who sur- begun offering a new 8- and across the Midwest. Ac- veyed the Senator wreck cylinder engine model that cording to the handful of in November 2015. month and the 1930 mod- underwater explorers who els incorporated a 133- have actually studied the In April, the wreck was inch — the wreck, reports Ellison, many added to the National longest Nashes built to of the cars are all very much Register of Historic Plac- date. preserved and still lined up “in neat little rows” inside the ships crumpled hold.

The cars are lashed in rows inside and crumpled in a heap next to the wreck of the SS Senator, a Great Lakes steamship that rests for eternity in an uncharted sinkhole about 15 miles east of Port Washington, Wis.

The Senator, which sank es; one of nearly 150 U.S. The cars were bound for during the final days of the shipwrecks on the histor- dealerships across Michi- Roaring Twenties as the ic list. Coincidentally, the gan and the Midwest. country was plunging into Senator sits within the Nash filled a niche be- the Great Depression, sits boundary of a pend- tween luxury cars like a upright nearly 450 feet ing National Marine and economy down; so deep that few, if Sanctuary that will be- models like a Ford. any, divers will ever see her come the second such >>>

5 <<< only a few hundred feet immediately after impact. The cars would likely have from the Senator's port A nearby tugboat that sold for $1,000 to $2,000 side. Despite Captain heard the crash plucked to professionals like a Kinch's frantic attempt to another 15 from the icy doctor, lawyer or bank avoid the inevitable colli- waters. Ten men died. manager looking for a sion by throwing over William Dorsch, 19, was practical, higher-end ride. the rudder, the Mar- the youngest survivor. quette struck the Senator "You kind of had to want a just aft of amidships on "I was down in the stoke Nash," said Jay Follis, mar- her port side. As the hole when the warning keting director at the Gil- Marquette pulled free, came," Dorsch told the more Car Museum in water began rushing into Milwaukee Journal. "I ran Hickory Corners, Mich. the stricken ship, causing up the stairs, found a life "Other companies sold an immediate port side preserver and then similar vehicles for less, list. jumped off. Man, there but Nash had a great rep- wasn't much time to do utation." "SOS; collided with SS anything else. It's a big Marquette 20 miles east thing for us that tug came It was foggy the night the of Port Washington; along when it did or we Senator steamed north- ward. About 10:20 p.m., the ship's crew heard the fog signal of another steel bulk carrier, the 420-foot Marquette, bound for Indi- ana Harbor with 7,000 tons of iron ore from Es- canaba.

Despite visibility about 100 feet, Captain George H. Kinch sailed the Senator at full speed, sounding fog signals as the 33-year-old ship cut through the pea soup. According to period wouldn't have lasted news accounts, the Sena- sinking fast," was the first much longer." tor sounded a passing sig- distress message over nal of one short blast — the radio at 10:30 p.m. Although the Marquette indicating a port-to-port The ship settled quickly was badly damaged, the passage — and the Mar- at the stern, the bow lift- ore boat limped to Port quette acknowledged this ing high into the air. The Washington, where its signal by returning one Senator slipped beneath captain met jeers for not short blast of her own. the waves just 8 minutes doing more to help the after the impact. Several Senator's crew. No life Suddenly, the Marquette of the 28 crew members rings were thrown, ladders appeared out of the fog leapt onto the Marquette lowered or lifeboats launched.

6 An investigation report lat- its death throes. The cars Corporation in 1954 with er found both captains stored on deck lay in a George W. Romney, who equally at fault for steam- crumpled pile off the star- later was elected gover- ing at high speed in dense board stern. Inside, the nor of Michigan, as fog. Ship owner Nicholson ROV found autos lined in chairman. Chrysler ac- Universal Steamship Com- neat rows of three in one quired the company in pany of Delaware later hon- of the holds. 1987 and rebranded its ored Captain Earl Godersky models as -Eagle. of the tug Delos H. Smith Historical records available and his three-man crew for don't say whether the Sen- "I think a lot of other their fog-enveloped rescue. ator carried 1929 or 1930 companies, had they lost model Nash coupes or se- 260 cars and had the In 2005, Paul Ehorn and dans. Thomsen and re- stock market crash in the Rob Polich claimed to have searchers hope to answer same month, they would discovered the wreck of the that and other questions have locked the doors," Senator, but it wasn't until about early Wisconsin au- said Follis. "It was only November that Thomsen tomobile manufacturing as through the reputation was able to wrangle to- well as gain insights into of management Nash gether an ROV (remotely Great Lakes historical ves- was able to keep going." operated vehicle) from Du- sel construction and ship- luth, Minn., and survey the board life. "I doubt, if you looked at their books, they made much of anything that year," he said. "I think a lesser company would have been done."

Garret Ellison covers government, environ- ment & the Great Lakes for MLive Media Group. Email him at [email protected] or follow on Twitter & Instagram

wreck using coordinates As for , the from the Wisconsin Depart- company went on to make ment of Natural Resources. the popular Nash-Healey The team found the Sena- and Rambler tor's pilothouse and bow compact. Nash merged cabins in great shape, not with Corp. in blasted off by the force of 1937 before restructuring air escaping the ship during into the American Motors

7 HCCM Members Take Part in National Moon Meet in St. Louis

+ Melba Nolan proudly brought her new acqui- sition, a 1925 Gardner, to the recent national Moon meet held in St. Louis. The display was open to the public at the History Museum in Forest Park, June 10. About 100 interested par- ties attended. + Wayne Nolan had this magnificent Traffic on display--made in St. Louis, of course. + Fred Guyton, a good friend of the HCCM, took to the wheel of his 1930 Ruxton, supported by Dave Groerich, a former HCCM board mem- ber. All St. Louis makes made prior to 1932 were saluted at the meet. + Judy Wolters (shown) felt comfortable posing in the seat of the Dyke automobile sold by her grandfather, A.L. Dyke. The car’s owners brought the vehicle from California. At a meet- ing of the HCCM several years ago, Judy shared recollections on the impact of the Dyke business and of her grandfather. + Dr. Gerald and Sharmon Perschbacher debut- ed their 1920 Gardner at the Museum of Trans- portation at the concluding display of the meet, June 12 (which happened to be their 40th wedding anniversary). The car is acclaimed as the oldest surviving Gardner car. Posing with it is Rusty Gardner, descendant of Russell Gard- ner, Sr., who started the company. + Terry McBee, and Clark Deeken of the HCCM joined in one of the banquets. + Ron Nelson, Marty and Sue Luepker, and a handful of other HCCM members including Pres- ident Joe Yochim attended some meet events. Special display items ringed the crowd.

Photos by Dr. Gerald Perschbacher, all rights reserved; not to be used without permission.

8 A wide variety of vehicles were present for viewing at the HCCM Father’s Day Show at the Museum of Transportation.

Photos by Dr. Gerald Perschbacher, all rights reserved; not to be used without permission.

9

FOR SALE 3/4 size replica 1901 Ford >>> Contact Joe Weber 314-920-9210

*********

ABOUT 80 metal cars, scaled accurately, are be- ing offered by an estate. Some are rare and un- common, available through companies such as Snap-On. Models appear in excellent condition, although boxes may be dusty and shelf worn. For information and pricing, contact: Lovie Johnson, 314-556-3440 (email: [email protected]). Don’t wait--you may find that special model you have always wanted!

AUTOMOTIVE PIONEERS TRIVIA CHALLENGE “Hall of Fame” Every month we will feature a description of one or more automotive pioneers. Can you guess the identity of these inventive and creative people? Answers the following month.

Answers from last month’s trivia Pioneer #11: Herbert H. Franklin Sold the newspaper in 1893 to start the Franklin Mfg. Co to make cast- ings. His Franklin Automobile Company sold the first air-cooled cars the year 1902 and by 1930 he was building 15,000 cars a year. Pioneer #12: Henry Bourn Joy Originally only an investor he became president of Packard 1901. He re- tired in 1916 to become chairman of the board of Packard.

Pioneer #13 1861 – 1939 Started out in the bicycle business. And in 1891 gathered financial backing to try his own design of a car- riage-engine combination. Sept 22, 1893 was reported the debut of the vehicle. With his brother, Frank they stated a motor wagon company in1896. He left the wagons for another company where he produced a 3-cylinder car until 1914. Who was this great man? Answer next month.

Pioneer #14 1875 – 1940 This man left a job at a locomotive company to join Buick. He became acting president of Buick and on to president of GM. From GM he took a similar position with Willys. After he arranged a 50 million dollar loan from Chase Securities, a major automotive corporation was on its way to success. That company still exists today. Who was this great man? Answer next month

Submitted by Bill Tabor. Most info from CHILTONS COMPLETE BOOK OF AUTOMOTIVE FACTS, Editor: Craig T. Norback. Published 1979

10 The Brass Lamp

The Publication of the Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri, Inc. july 2016

Activities Calendar

Information in this calendar is summarized. See flyers for 2016 Club Events Calendar events —go to www.midwestswapmeets.com July 15 7:30 General meeting, Logan 2016 SWAP MEETS CAR SHOWS, ETC. July 23 10 AM Fox Theater Tour -RSVP August 19 Ozark Empire Fairgrounds, Springfield August 21 Picnic—11 AM Schroeder Park September 11 Wheels in Motion, Westport Plaza September 16 7:30 General Meeting, Logan September 16 My Car II, Sedalia MO, State Fairgrounds October 21 6:30 White Elephants, Logan September 18 HCCM Show & Swap Meet, Hlywd Casino North Wing RM156A September 25 St. Charles Main Street Car Show November 18 6:30 Chili Cook-off, Logan October 9 Brass & Nickel Show, Mus. Of Transport December 4 Holiday Party Noon-3PM

Alert! Please check the club web site monthly at Reminder for Volunteers HCCMO.com for notices of club event cancellations Volunteering to work at the Easter show and/or the or changes in time or location due to weather or other September Swap Meet events held by the club earns circumstances. credit toward free admission to the annual Christmas dinner and party. Your next opportunity is working at the Hollywood Casino Swap Meet and Show.

Gas up the car - the Missouri History Museum is getting its kicks with Route 66 from June 25, 2016---July 16, 2017 Just in time for summer, the Missouri History Museum is taking a road trip down Route 66 with a colorful new exhibit on the Mother Road.

The Brass Lamp is a monthly publication of The Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri ©2016 All Rights Reserved. Material from this 11 newsletter may be reprinted or shared by our club members with proper citation and written consent from the editor. Judy Wolters (shown) felt comfortable posing in the seat of the Dyke auto- mobile sold by her grandfather, A.L. Dyke. The car’s owners brought the vehicle from California for the Moon Club “made in St. Louis” Show. At a meeting of the HCCM several years ago, Judy shared recollections on the

impact of the Dyke business and of her grandfather.

The Brass The Lamp A Publication of the Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri, Inc. Carriage Missouri, of Club Horseless the of Publication A www.hccmo.com (314) 991-HONK