Remember this sticker?

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

I'll bet one or two of you might...

When I took this picture, I didn't even notice it--I was probably wishing Big Bertha would move her curvaceous self out of the frame so we wouldn't be distracted from the more subtle curves of the Ford but she was stuck there. In organizing some things later, it popped right out, though, that big "A" in the lower left of the windshield in the picture. I'm sure it's a repro, but still serves as a reminder of how things "could be" because of how they once WERE! Five gallons a week?

There's a family story that my grandparents had higher level stickers because of their jobs (and TWO cars. Wow!) My grandfather worked for the power company and my Granny was a nurse. She loved just driving around, especially to visit relatives in Western Kansas (they lived in Wichita during the war.) My grandfather, always a frugal man, seldom drove his own car, and walked to work, so the story has it he'd turn his unused coupons in, which would drive my Granny nuts! She thought she should be able to use his, too. He said she never did get the idea of "conserving" resources, whether in war time, or peace...

Rick C

 

[don44]

The license plate is the year I was born. Thanks for the pic.

 

[mistermills357]

Those are nice cars.

 

[Poco Oso]

Before my time, but I've seen a few on some of the restorations that went through my place. Beautiful truck, however, the curves that caught my eye in the background, is that fine looking Buick. Any more pictures of it?

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Speed limit was also 35MPH during the war to conserve gas.

 

[jlmtr6]

Beautiful truck and a really good story.

 

[CGDustDevil]

Rick - Great photo! I also love the Buick! I had a '52 with a straight-8 in it. What an animal!

Did you get close enough to see the serial number and date (if any) on the ration sticker? The "A" stickers were the most common. That COULD be an authentic sticker, but you'd have had to look carefully to see the revision and date stamp.

Best regards, Pete

 

[Bob Wright]

The gas rationing sticker and license plate don't match. The plate is dated 1938, and gas rationing didn't go into effect until after the U.S. entered the War.

My Dad had the most generous allotment for gasoline as he was involved in defense contract work. He was a sheet metal worker and his company had contracts with the Memphis Air Force Base and several other companies that had defense contracts.

But Tennessee never had any speed limits imposed during that time. Speed limit in Tennessee was "Reasonable and proper." And that was at the discretion of the state trooper.

Bob Wright

 

[737tdi]

Howdy Rick: I still have a couple of booklets of unused ration stamps that my grandmother gave me. On another note, I have my grandpa's WWI rifle range qualification book. I still pull them out every once in a while just to put myself back into order.


Karl

 

[Rick Courtright]

Before my time, but I've seen a few on some of the restorations that went through my place. Beautiful truck, however, the curves that caught my eye in the background, is that fine looking Buick. Any more pictures of it?

Hi,

Steve, I do have a couple of pictures of the Buick if you can bear with me a bit. It seemed like it took half a day fussing with Photobucket's latest "improved" version just to get it to take that one picture, so I'll try to get something up for you tonight or in the morning. And Pete, if your Straight-8 was an animal, you'll love the beast living in there today!

Bob's right, there's a disconnect in the plate's year and the sticker: to match, there should be a plate between what, '42 and '45? At this late date though, a lot of guys out here just like to locate appropriate "model year" plates for their vintage vehicles, so if the truck's a '38, it IS safe to assume it would have had a ration sticker when it wasn't that many years old. BTW, I didn't get close enough to check the sticker for authenticity--as I said, I didn't even catch it at first. Oops...

And I'd be willing to bet Karl can eyeball that tower and tell us how close he's walked to the very spot these pictures were taken: it's NAS North Island during Fleet Week, and they block off most of the north end of the base for static displays of the Navy and Marines' latest toys, the car show, and a nice sized road course for vintage racing.

The helicopters in the background were still active, though, which was a greater attraction to the nine year old in our group than the cars were! The Navy situated a couple of them where the kids could do supervised photo ops without interfering with regular operations. After Grandpa took some pictures of him aboard one, I think there may be a future helicopter driver in our midst!

ETA: the Buick. No gas rationing for this one, more like gas wars! I know there will be plenty of memories of those.

Sorry about the over exposure: gotta learn to stop things down a bit. How many people does it take to lift that bumper?:

Ok, a little better:

Always liked those fast backs:

If you were a good Straight-8, you might come back as a V-8 in your next life:

Tight fit, but he did it:

Rick C

 

[wizofwas]

Rick, you are right about the plate, it is the model year of the truck. And if you know how to read the plate, you'll probably know what county it is from and the type of vehicle it is. That is if it's the correct plate for the truck.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Love that Buick. That's the type of custom I appreciate . . . clean, proper for its period, at first glance almost "original" until you notice the wheels and low-rider aspect. Marvelous job.

How many noticed the BUICK EIGHT lettering in the top grille bar?

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Great pictures.
When I was in Uncle Sam's Flying Club my roommate bought a 48 Buick for $50.00. What a dog with the straight 8 and the DynaFLUSH
My Dad had a 55 4 door hardtop three holer/Special a Dog.
I bought a VERY nice 57 Roadmaster/four holer convertible much better. Wish I still had the 57. It got traded in on a 64 Ford Galaxy 500 390ci 2 door hardtop in Nov. 63. Paid $750 for the rag top in 1962 with 35K on it. Probably got $300 on trade maybe. Buy the way nice 57 two door hard top Chevys were going for $995 in 62

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Glad to see you're up on your "holer" distinctions.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Rick, you are right about the plate, it is the model year of the truck. And if you know how to read the plate, you'll probably know what county it is from and the type of vehicle it is. That is if it's the correct plate for the truck.

Hi,

Wiz, I did a little research last night on the plate situation, having only a nickel's worth of information from a friend who's got vintage plates on a '37-'38 Buick to start with. What I found is just California practice--dunno if other States do similar things. Probably? They call 'em YOM plates--year of manufacture. If there's a plate out there that's the proper year and style for your vehicle, has been inactive for something like 10 years (and not stolen?), and the vehicle you want to put the plate on is old enough, you can use it. And apparently there are enough guys who find and collect 'em it's becoming a nice cottage industry to buy, sell and restore 'em.

So the plate on that truck has a vertical P-C on it, which means "commercial" as virtually all pickups in CA have been registered as commercial vehicles since the get go regardless of their use (State gets a weight tax that way!) If the fellow found a period correct trailer to pull behind it, the trailer plate would bear a P-T. Regular autos had a different numbering sequence, just as they do today, and you can't put a car tag on a truck. So I guess everything's squared away on that Ford--it would be fantastic if that were the actual plate the vehicle had borne back then, but I'd vote for "period correct" and stop there.

I'm not sure how they figure the YOM thing, as there's reference to the State conferring with collector groups on this issue. Remember when the "new" models always came out in the Fall? Because of that, this truck could have been made in '38, or it could have been an early '38 model made in '37 back then, and I'm not sure how the State views it. The way I read it I believe they follow the "model year" the vehicle was sold as but that could be wrong.

As for reading the county, a number of States I've seen do have a county reference on the plate or in their numbering sequence, but I don't recall CA ever doing that. With 58 counties, half of which probably had "Population--1000" kinds of densities back then, I guess maybe it didn't seem cost effective to have those inmates pounding out county specific plates?

Rick C

 

[Rick Courtright]

I bought a VERY nice 57 Roadmaster/four holer convertible much better. Wish I still had the 57... Buy the way nice 57 two door hard top Chevys were going for $995 in 62

Hi,

Speaking of '57s, a college roommate had a '57 Buick he got from his grandmother when she quit driving. Don't recall the model, but it was the car that led to the question about the weight of the bumper on the one in the picture. It took three of us lying on the ground in front of the apartment to get that thing off and on the ground without injuring property or people! R-M wanted to lighten the front end a bit: it was quite a large bit!

Earlier, a high school buddy had picked up a nice '57 Chevy 2DHT for $1000, and we questioned his sanity, as the price was a bit much for the area and time. "I'm not worried. A '57 Chevy will always be worth at least $1000" he told us. If only he'd kept it! Might have doubled his money, eh?

Rick C

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Glad to see you're up on your "holer" distinctions.

Yep the one in the picture is a 3 holer Super

 

[Poco Oso]

Thanks for those pictures of the Buick, Rick. That's done very nicely. Just enough changes to make it interesting without destroying the integrity of the original lines. I'd be hard-pressed to decide between a '57 Super Riviera and a '54 Skylark convertible, if I was going to buy GM.
I was just thinking back to what all has passed through my hands, and don't recall ever owning a Buick.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Love me some nailheads.

I put the 322 V-8, Dynaflow, and rear end from a '56 "four-holer" into my '47 Ford Tudoor. Yup, it was "interesting".

 

[Wyandot Jim]

IMHO Go for the 57. Sooooooooooooooooo much better enjine and quality of the car. I loved my 57 RoadBLASTER ragtop.

 

[Poco Oso]

Love me some nailheads.

I put the 322 V-8, Dynaflow, and rear end from a '56 "four-holer" into my '47 Ford Tudoor. Yup, it was "interesting".

A guy that rented a room from us in the mid '60's, had a '36Ford coupe with a nailhead in it. It ran like a scalded cat...when it ran. There was some pretty shoddy work on the engine/tranny swap.

Jim:
You're probably right, on the '57. I've kinda been leaning that way too. I really like the lines on these cars and Momma likes the smooth ride. Now the question is, Buick or Olds? :wink:
This is all pipe dreams at this point for me. I have a '54 Ford Crestline and '67 T-Bird yet to finish. I'm 67, and a little beat up now. Sooo..... :wink:

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Steve,
Nothing wrong with the Olds. I almost bought a 57 Supper 88 red and white rag top with Tri-Power when I bought my 57 Roadblaster.
The Olds was $995 and my 4 holer was $750. Both beautiful cars. I would still take either one over a 57 Chevy.
In 1982 I bought a 1954 35K Ford Victoria $3000. I was the third owner and it had original great interior except for the seats which were redone in NOS material along with new paint and new chrome and stainless. My first car was a 53 Vic and the 54 was the same color as my 53. I sold the 54 back to the second owner.

 

[Poco Oso]

Jim:
I have to agree with you on the '57 Chevy. I had a '55 and a '56, but never have had any desire for a '57. I guess I just don't see what others sees in them. Thats pretty funny, about your first car. My first was a '53 Victoria too. The previous owner had put a '57 312 in it .The body was almost perfect, with a half dollar sized primer spot, where someone covered a small ding, being the only paint flaw. Three on the tree, with overdrive. I paid $110.00 for it, and had to have Mom sign the title, because I was too young to have a driver's license for ID. A-a-a-h, the good times. :mrgreen:

 

[RSIno1]

Wasn't around for the war years gas limits - but survived the Carter fiasco. We had odd-even here in CA depending of your license plate. My gas hog 440 Dodge Charger was registered in NV due to lack of smog equip so I got to fill up any day that helped since I was driving 150-200 miles a day for work.

 

[WAYNO]

The ration sticker, and these ration stamps are a couple years before my time. But, in the remaining boxes of my parents and grandparents things, I've found ration stamps, Raleigh coupons, and S&H Green Stamps.





WAYNO.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Love me some nailheads.

I put the 322 V-8, Dynaflow, and rear end from a '56 "four-holer" into my '47 Ford Tudoor. Yup, it was "interesting".

A guy that rented a room from us in the mid '60's, had a '36Ford coupe with a nailhead in it. It ran like a scalded cat...when it ran. There was some pretty shoddy work on the engine/tranny swap.

Well, initially I adapted the 322 to the Ford tranny, actually using a '39 gearbox because it was a "top shifter" that eliminated the column shift arrangement. Discovered that the old Ford gears simply weren't up to the torque of the Buick engine after several rebuilds, and that led to the installation of the Dynaslide and matching rear end. Wasn't as quick, but it was bulletproof.

:mrgreen:

 

[protoolman]

I had a 57 Buick special (3 holer) 2 doors pearl grey and white. Had a 364 V-8 and a 3 on the tree. No slushomatic gear box for me.

 

[opos]

Thought I'd add a little "oddity" of interest to the rationing discussion....other things changed a great deal...anyone recall the red color inner tubes? Synthetic rubber as the natural rubber all went to the war effort..made terrible inner tubes and far worse sling shot rubbers....yep...I'm of the generation. My Grandad had a 39 Buick that I used to steal as a pre teen and go joy riding in it..it was the car he and my Dad drove to their office at the Denver Stockyards daily and parked it on the street at night...where we would sneak out and take it for a ride....it had the red rubber tubes in the tires and had more flats that it should have...just bad rubber.

 

[sfhogman]

I was hoping for a Fireball straight 8 under the hood. Darn it!

Jeff

 

[Poco Oso]

Love me some nailheads.

I put the 322 V-8, Dynaflow, and rear end from a '56 "four-holer" into my '47 Ford Tudoor. Yup, it was "interesting".

A guy that rented a room from us in the mid '60's, had a '36Ford coupe with a nailhead in it. It ran like a scalded cat...when it ran. There was some pretty shoddy work on the engine/tranny swap.

Well, initially I adapted the 322 to the Ford tranny, actually using a '39 gearbox because it was a "top shifter" that eliminated the column shift arrangement. Discovered that the old Ford gears simply weren't up to the torque of the Buick engine after several rebuilds, and that led to the installation of the Dynaslide and matching rear end. Wasn't as quick, but it was bulletproof.

:mrgreen:

Bullet proof is always good. :mrgreen: We were both kids at the time (I believe Tom was 18 or 19. I was 16) and someone else had done the swap. The funny coincidence about this is, he sold a decent '57 Roadmaster to buy it. He bought it because it had a Buick motor and tranny in it. :mrgreen: