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WE ARE NOT DEALERS, we are COLLECTORS who understand and promote the hobby of collecting
and restoring antique cars of all types and eras!
We buy investment
cars for
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search for classics and rare automobiles that are uncommon and beautiful.
Our specialty is 1900-1940's.
A Classic
Car is Always in Style, and Hobbies
make Solid Investments!
Our Featured Car.....
ong the new autos rolling off the nation's assembly lines this
week are two sporty but little-known models with features that no
other U.S. cars can match. The cars: 1901 Oldsmobiles, enjoying a
jaunty revival in the era of the tail fin and the power brake. The
cars are manufactured a scant five miles apart in Ft. Lauderdale,
Fla. by American Air Products Corp. (whose slogan is "The Backward
Look") and by Starts Manufacturing Co. They began producing the cars
last year as specialty items and display models for auto dealers and
stores. But the antique Oldses caught on so well with merchants,
college boys and antique-car buffs that American Air has upped
production to a planned 2,200 this year, and Starts Manufacturing
plans to double present production to 100 cars per month.
American
Air's "Merry Olds" comes in two models (roadster and wagon), is an
almost exact duplicate of the 1901 model right down to its
bicycle-type wheels, chain drive, steering tiller and three elegant
brass lamps. It can reach speeds of 35 m.p.h. with its 4 h.p.
air-cooled engine, gets more than 60 miles to the gallon. Cost:
$1,495 f.o.b. Ft. Lauderdale.
Starts's Olds is a fancy product that is two-thirds the size of
the old Olds, comes in black, golden yellow, and fiesta red, has an
automatic gear shift. Speed and gas mileage are similar to its
rival. Cost: $1,195 f.o.b. Ft. Lauderdale.
Among the new autos rolling off the nation's assembly lines this
week are two sporty but little-known models with features that no
other U.S. cars can match. The cars: 1901 Oldsmobiles, enjoying a
jaunty revival in the era of the tail fin and the power brake. The
cars are manufactured a scant five miles apart in Ft. Lauderdale,
Fla. by American Air Products Corp. (whose slogan is "The Backward
Look") and by Starts Manufacturing Co. They began producing the cars
last year as specialty items and display models for auto dealers and
stores. But the antique Oldses caught on so well with merchants,
college boys and antique-car buffs that American Air has upped
production to a planned 2,200 this year, and Starts Manufacturing
plans to double present production to 100 cars per month.
American
Air's "Merry Olds" comes in two models (roadster and wagon), is an
almost exact duplicate of the 1901 model right down to its
bicycle-type wheels, chain drive, steering tiller and three elegant
brass lamps. It can reach speeds of 35 m.p.h. with its 4 h.p.
air-cooled engine, gets more than 60 miles to the gallon. Cost:
$1,495 f.o.b. Ft. Lauderdale.
Starts's Olds is a fancy product that is two-thirds the size of
the old Olds, comes in black, golden yellow, and fiesta red, has an
automatic gear shift. Speed and gas mileage are similar to its
rival. Cost: $1,195 f.o.b. Ft. Lauderdale.
"Best in Show" AACA Live Oak International Show-
March 28, 2010
Award winner at the CCCA
(Classic Car Club of America) Grand Classic, May 2010.
Recognized
by the Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) as a Full Classic
This car just
drove 4,000 miles in 23 days from Tampa to Montreal and back June/ July
2010!
Straight 8 Engine * 105 hp* 4 speed transmission * 2 Jump Seats * 2 Cigar Lighters * Newer
Upholstery * Interior in Excellent Condition * Rear Mounted Spare Wheel *
Tires in very good condition * 2 Clocks * Many
parts re-chromed recently * Chromed Stone Guard * Rear-mounted Trunk *
27,087 original miles
Packard was founded by brothers
James Ward Packard , William Doud Packard and his partner George Lewis
Weiss in the city of Warren OH. James Ward believed that they could
build a better horseless carriage that the Winton cars owned by Weiss
(An important Winton stockholder) and James Ward, himself a mechanical
engineer, had some ideas how to improve on the designs of current
automobiles. By 1899, they were building vehicles. The company, which
they called the Ohio Automobile Company, quickly introduced a number of
innovations in its designs, including the modern steering wheel and
years later the first production 12-cylinder engine.
While Ford was producing cars
that sold for $440, the Packards concentrated on more upscale cars that
started at $2,600. Packard automobiles developed a following not only in
the United States, but also abroad, with many heads of state owning
them.
In need of more capital, the
Packard brothers would find it when Henry Joy, a member of one of
Detroit's oldest and wealthiest families, bought a Packard. Impressed by
its reliability, he visited the Packards and soon enlisted a group of
investors that included his brother-in-law, Truman Newberry. In 1902,
Ohio Automobile Company became Packard Motor Car Company, with James as
president. Packard moved its automobile operation to Detroit soon after
and Joy became general manager and later chairman of the board. The
Packard's factory on East Grand Boulevard in Detroit was designed by
Albert Kahn, and included the first use of reinforced concrete for
industrial construction in Detroit. When opened in 1903, it was
considered the most modern automobile manufacturing facility in the
world and its skilled craftsmen practiced over eighty trades. The 3.5
million ft2 plant covered over 35 acres and straddled East Grand
Boulevard. It was later subdivided by eighty-seven different companies.
Kahn also designed The Packard Proving Grounds at Utica, MI.
Throughout the nineteen-tens
and twenties, Packard built vehicles consistently were among the elite
in luxury automobiles. The company was commonly referred to as being one
of the "Three P's" of American motordom royalty, along with Pierce and
Peerless. Packard's leadership of the luxury car field was supreme.
Entering into the 1930s Packard
attempted to beat the stock market crash and subsequent depression by
manufacturing ever more opulent and expensive cars than it had prior to
October 1929. The Packard Twin Six was introduced for 1932, and re-named
the Packard Twelve for the remainder of its run (through 1939). For one
year only, 1932, Packard tried fielding an upper-medium-priced car
called the Light Eight. As an independent automaker, Packard did not
have the luxury of a larger corporate structure absorbing its losses as
Cadillac did with GM and Lincoln with Ford. However, Packard did have a
better cash position than other independent luxury marques. Packard also
had one other advantage that some other luxury automakers did not; a
single production line. By maintaining a single line, and
inter-changeability between models, Packard was able to keep its costs
down. Packard did not change cars as often as other manufacturers did at
the time. Rather than introducing new models annually, Packard began
using its own "Series" formula for differentiating its model change-overs
in 1923. New model series did not debut on a strictly annual basis, with
some series lasting nearly two years, and others lasting as short a time
as seven months. In the long run, though, Packard did average
approximately one new series per year. By 1930, Packard automobiles were
considered part of the "Seventh Series". By 1942, Packard was in its
"Twentieth Series". There never was a "Thirteenth Series".
While the car sports an older
paint job now showing some age, it is sufficiently presentable as is.
The car is perfect as is for CARavans or touring. There is no purpose,
though, in turning this Packard into a trailer queen to be worshipped
and not used; all the hard, expensive work has been done, and now it
should be used and enjoyed.
Packard Autos 1899-1958
1937 Graham 4 door "Supercharger"
Straight 6 engine. All original
and well cared for. This is a unique car with an interesting
history; an eye catching car that everyone stops to ask you about!
Looks and runs great! 31,345 original miles. Tires in very good
condition.
$20,700
From Wikipedia:
The Graham brothers, Joseph B. (September 12, 1882 in
Indiana – July 1970 in Indiana), Robert C. (August 1885 in
Indiana – ?), and Ray Austin (May 28, 1887 in Indiana – August 13,
1932 in
Chatham, Ontario,
Canada),
were successful businessmen, with interests in several industries.
Their first business venture was in the manufacture of glass
bottles. It was the Graham brothers who developed the manufacture of
glass bottles upside down, which permitted molten glass to build up
around the crown. The strengthening of the crown in turn made the
bottle strong enough to use a cap instead of a cork. Their glass
company eventually became part of the Owens Glass Co., which was
itself later to become the "O" in
L-O-F.
1932 Graham Bluestreak 4-door sedan
From there, the Graham brothers began building kits to modify
Ford
Model Ts and
TTs into trucks. That led to the brothers building their trucks
using engines of various manufacturers. Eventually they settled on
Dodge engines, and soon the trucks were sold by Dodge dealers.
The Grahams expanded from beginnings in
Evansville, Indiana, opening plants in 1922 on Meldrum Avenue in
Detroit, Michigan of 13,000 square feet, and in 1925 in
Stockton, California. The Canadian market was supplied by the
Canadian Dodge plant. Dodge purchased the Graham Brothers truck firm
in 1925, and the three Graham brothers took on executive positions
at Dodge.
In 1927, with the banking syndicate controlling Dodge trying to
sell the company, the Graham brothers decided to enter the
automobile business on their own. In 1927, they purchased the
Paige-Detroit Motor Company, makers of Paige and
Jewett automobiles, for $4 million. Joseph became president,
Robert vice-president and Ray secretary-treasurer of the company.
The company's initial offering included a line of Graham-Paige
cars with six- and eight-cylinder engines. For a while a line of
light trucks was offered under the Paige name, soon discontinued
when Dodge reminded the Grahams about the non-competition agreement
they had signed as part of the sale of the Graham Brothers Company.
Steering column of a Model 613. One lever in the
steering wheel center is used to turn on the headlights.
The other lever was the hand throttle.
Grahams earned a reputation for quality and sales quickly rose.
Graham also had some success in
racing, which helped boost sales. The Graham company logo
included profiles of the three brothers and was used in insignia on
the cars including badges and taillight lens.
Initially, Graham-Paige withstood the onset of the
depression well, but sales fell as the decade wore on. The 1932
models were designed by
Amos Northup. This particular design has been noted as the
"single most influential design in automotive history." The new
8-cylinder engine was called the "Blue Streak." However, the press
and public quickly adopted the name "Blue Streak" for the cars
themselves. The design introduced a number of innovative ideas. The
most copied was the enclosed fenders, thus covering the mud and
grime built up on the underside. The
radiator cap was moved under the hood, which itself was later
modified to cover the cowl, and end at the base of the windshield.
For engineering, the rear kickup on the chassis frame was
eliminated by the adoption of a 'banjo' frame. Unlike contemporary
practice, the rear axle was placed through large openings on both
sides of the frame, with rubber snubbers to absorb any shock if the
car axle should make contact. This in turn permitted a wider body.
To help lower the car, the rear springs were mounted on the outer
sides of the chassis frame and not under the frame. This idea was
eventually copied by other manufacturers - Chrysler, for example, in
1957.
For 1934, Graham introduced a crankshaft-driven
supercharger. At first offered only in the top eight-cylinder
models, when the eights were dropped for 1936, the supercharger was
adapted to the six. The unit was designed in-house by Graham
Assistant Chief Engineer Floyd F. Kishline.[1]
It was an original design, not a Switzer-Cummins or
Duesenberg design. Through the years, Graham would produce more
supercharged cars than any other automobile manufacturer until
Buick
surpassed them in the 1990s.
Graham Model 97 Supercharger 4-door Sedan 1939 "Spirit
of Motion", later nicknamed the "Sharknose"
Another (1938) "Sharknosed" Graham as a bomb
lowrider.
By 1935, the "Blue Streak" styling was getting rather dated. A
restyling of the front and rear ends for 1935 proved to be a
disaster, making the cars appear higher and narrower. Having no
money for a new body, Graham signed an agreement with
Reo, paying Reo $7.50 in royalties for each Hayes-built body.
These were the basis of the 1936 and 1937 Graham cars.
Amos Northup of Murray Body was hired to design a new model for
1938. Unfortunately, he died before the design was complete. It is
believed the final design was completed by Graham engineers.[2]
The new 1938 Graham was introduced with the slogan "Spirit of
Motion". The fenders, wheel openings and grille all appeared to be
moving forward. The design was widely praised in the American press
and by American designers. It also won the prestigious Concours
D'Elegance in Paris, France. Wins were also recorded in the Prix
d'Avant-Garde at Lyon, the Prix d'Elegance at Bordeaux, and the
Grand Prix d'Honneur at Deauville, France.[3]
Its cut-back grille later gained the car the name "sharknose", which
appears to have origins in the 1950s. The styling was a complete
flop in sales, and Graham limped through 1939 and 1940.
Desperate for a winning offering and unable to retool, Graham
made a deal with Hupp Motor Co. in late 1939. According to the deal,
the faltering company entered into an arrangement with
Hupmobile to build cars based on the body dies of the stunning
Gordon Buehrig-designed
Cord 810/812. In an effort to remain in business, Hupp had
acquired the Cord dies, but lacked the financial resources to build
the car.
Graham agreed to build the
Hupp Skylark on a contract basis, while receiving the rights to
use the distinctive Cord dies to produce a similar car of its own,
to be called the Hollywood. The striking Skylark/Hollywood differed
from the Cord from the cowl forward with a redesigned hood, front
fenders and conventional headlights, achieved by automotive designer
John Tjaarda of
Lincoln Zephyr fame. The Cord's longer hood was not needed, as
the Hupp and Graham versions were rear-wheel drive. This also
necessitated modifying the floor to accept a driveshaft.
Instrument panel of a Model 613.
However, the Hollywood did not stop the company's slide. It
actually was a worse flop in the sales department for both Graham
and Hupmobile than either firm's respective preceding models. The
company suspended manufacturing in September, 1940, only to reopen
its plant for military production for World War II.
The company resumed automobile production in 1946 producing a new
car, the Frazer, named for Graham-Paige President
Joseph Frazer, in partnership with
Henry J. Kaiser. It also began production of farm equipment
under the
Rototiller name. In August 1945, Graham-Paige announced plans to
resume production under the Graham name, but the plan never
materialized. On February 5, 1947, Graham-Paige stockholders
approved the transfer of all their automotive assets to
Kaiser-Frazer, an automobile company formed by Frazer and
Kaiser, in return for 750,000 shares of Kaiser-Frazer stock and
other considerations. Graham's manufacturing facilities on Warren
Avenue were sold to Chrysler, who used the plants first for
DeSoto body and engine production, and finally for assembly of
the
Imperial for the 1959, 1960, and 1961 model years.
Graham-Paige dropped the "Motors" from its name and went into
real estate, buying up such properties as the
Roosevelt Raceway in New York and
Madison Square Gardens. In 1962, the firm changed its name to
the Madison Square Garden Corporation, which was later absorbed by
Gulf & Western Industries. Currently Madison Square Garden is part
of
Madison Square Garden, L.P., of which a majority interest is
owned by
Cablevision Systems Corporation.
Graham-Paige Model 610 4-door Sedan 1928
Graham-Paige Model 827 Roadster 1929
Graham Paige 612 Tourer, 1929
A fully restored 1929 Graham-Paige Model 612
Graham Convertible Coupé 1930
Graham Model 80A Crusader 4-door Touring Sedan 1936
1937 Graham Cavalier
1904
Oldsmobile Gypsy Runabout
Replica
created in 1950's and on display at
Walt
Disney World's Epcot "World of Motion" Pavilion
The Curved Dash Oldsmobile is credited as the first
high-volume mass-produced gasoline
automobile. It was introduced by the
Oldsmobile company in 1901 and produced through 1907.
425[citation
needed] examples were produced the first year,
2500 in 1902, with over 19000 built in all.[1]
It was a
runabout model, could seat two passengers, and sold for
US $650 ($16,000 in 2007). While competitive, due to
high volume, and below the
Ford US $850 ($20,100 in 2007) "Doctor's Car",[2]
Western in 1905 produced the Gale Model A, an
open roadster, for sale at US $500 ($12,300 in 2007), the
Black went as low as $375 ($9,230 in 2007),[3]
and the
Success hit the amazingly low US $250 ($6,150 in 2007).[4]
The flat-mounted water-cooled single-cylinder engine,
situated at the center of the car, produced 4 hp (3 kW),
relying on a brass
gravity feed
carburetor. The transmission was a semi-automatic design
with two forward speeds and one reverse. The low speed
forward and reverse gear system are a
planetary type (epicyclic). The car weighed 850 lb
(386 kg) and used Concord springs.
The car’s success was partially by accident - in 1901 a
fire destroyed a number of other models before they were
approved for production, leaving the Curved Dash the only
one intact.[5]
(Wikipedia)
In 1904 Olds sold his interest in the company and started
the Reo Motor Company. The Olds Motor Company became part of General Motors
in 1908. The runabout was the most popular car of the era.
This car was a "Merry Olds" produced by American Air
Products, Ft. Lauderdale, FL Serial Number 481157 and has the initials on
the side plaque of T.O.
Disney sent inventory to auction when they close Epcot's
World of Motion January 2, 1996. This car may be the
red one pictured to the left, in the center, in front of the policeman. Much
more research is being done!
TIME MAGAZINE November 3, 1958: "Among the new
autos rolling off the nation's assembly lines this week are two sporty but
little-known models with features that no other U.S. cars can match. The
cars: 1901 Oldsmobile, enjoying a jaunty revival in the era of the tail fin
and the power brake. The cars are manufactured a scant five miles apart in
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. by American Air Products Corp. (whose slogan is "The
Backward Look") and by Starts Manufacturing Co. They began producing the
cars last year as specialty items and display models for auto dealers and
stores. But the antique Oldses caught on so well with merchants, college
boys and antique-car buffs that American Air has upped production to a
planned 2,200 this year, and Starts Manufacturing plans to double present
production to 100 cars per month.
American Air's "Merry Olds" comes in two models (roadster and wagon), is an
almost exact duplicate of the 1901 model right down to its bicycle-type
wheels, chain drive, steering tiller and three elegant brass lamps. It can
reach speeds of 35 m.p.h. with its 4 h.p. air-cooled engine, gets more than
60 miles to the gallon. Cost: $1,495 f.o.b. Ft. Lauderdale.
Starts's Olds is a fancy product that is two-thirds the size of the old
Olds, comes in black, golden yellow, and fiesta red, has an automatic gear
shift. Speed and gas mileage are similar to its rival. Cost: $1,195 f.o.b.
Ft. Lauderdale."
American Air Products Corp. was
dissolved in 1963, only 5 years after creating these beautiful replica cars.
A
few of our past projects :
WE PROTECT OUR CASH –
WE BUY ANTIQUE & CLASSIC CARS FOR A MORE SOLID INVESTMENT!
We are always looking for a good TRADE!
Collectible Autos
Buy*Restore*Sell*Trade
Hobbies
make great investments as well!
An
Investment for the Future that we can Enjoy TODAY!
We can see where our money is...
right in our garage, safe and sound!
Call and
let us know what you are looking for.
We
travel to most major car shows and can sniff
out those great deals!
(813) 880-9580
Members of:
Classic
Car Club of America
Antique, Classic, and Historic
Automobile World Fellowship of Rotarians
(Wikipedia)
The
cars: 1901 Oldsmobile, enjoying a jaunty revival in the era of the tail fin
and the power brake. The cars are manufactured a scant five miles apart in
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. by American Air Products Corp. (whose slogan is "The
Backward Look") and by Starts Manufacturing Co. They began producing the
cars last year as specialty items and display models for auto dealers and
stores. But the antique Oldses caught on so well with merchants, college
boys and antique-car buffs that American Air has upped production to a
planned 2,200 this year, and Starts Manufacturing plans to double present
production to 100 cars per month.
.jpg "1930 LaSalle")
Hobbies
make great investments as well!
Rotary Club of Tampa - Hyde
Park
