BobT-47P15

A fellow I know who owns a former filling station, now just a repair shop, has an older Checker with four doors on the right side sitting in front of his place. Don't know what year it is.

Yes.......there were factory and also aftermarket bumper "guards"......back in the day. Have you ever noticed all the scratches and dents on the front bumpers of 40s and 50s cars....... many from pushing some other vehicle whose battery had run down, or some other problem. Back in about 1959......I was driving my 1947 Chevy Fleetline two door fastback back to my home town of Aurora, MO from Springfield, MO.....a trip of about 35 miles. About 25 miles from home, the timing gear went out. So.....I was sitting on the shoulder of the road contemplating my next move. When along came a fellow from Aurora whom I knew from high school (was two or three years older than me). He stopped to see what was the problem......then he said he would push me back home. And he did. His car was a nice 1952 Olds two door hardtop. It was sort of a white knuckle deal -- as that Olds Rocket V8 would easily get us going 50 to 60 mph. At a certain point the rear end of my car would raise up and start to inch over to one side. When that happened, the pusher would let off his gas, and my car would coast on it's own for a ways and get straightened out. Then the Olds would speed up and gently make contact with my rear bumper again. We went through this routine all the way home -- it worked out fine with no problems. I don't think anyone would attempt that nowadays. My car eventually got a new timing gear. Here's the ol Fleetline.........

Just a squiggle on the FRISCO railroad, mentioned earlier. The St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, known as the Frisco, was a dominant railroad throughout the south central United States, primarily in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. It played an important role in the lives of people all along the rails. The Frisco had acquired rights of way through much of the region and had an interest in the development of that land, which would eventually bring people to an area, people who would use the services of the railroad. Many of the towns began initially as a result of a depot or station needed by the Frisco for fuel and water. The population also expanded along the railroad as a result of the opportunities for employment it provided

There was a T & C convertible which sat in one bay of a service station in Springfield, MO for many years. I always thought I should stop and look it over, but of course I never did. Now it's gone.....to who knows where. Would be interesting to know it's fate after all those years.

Apparently these folks drive this truck a lot. Some neat inventions attached..........

Best wishes to you for a speedy recovery

But, I thought I would post a pic or two anyway. Apparently the owner drives this lovely wherever he wants to go, and told me he is always looking to buy more of them.

O K......I was just guessing on the year. A beautiful car.

Hemmings Motor News magazine has quite a few ads.......placed by category such as "Plymouth Parts for Sale". You can subscribe to the monthly publication, or find them online. Although prices sometimes are kinda high, eBay is usually a good source to watch. You could probably compile your own list of vendors with parts that interest you. There is a for sale section on this forum which you can check too.

That is a 1950 or 1951 Desoto coupe

might try looking them up on eBay in some European country.

Yes......that is definitely the Mrs. She is a volunteer at the Wildcat Glades wildlife area and Audubon Society facility just south of town. This past weekend they held their annual Shoal Creek water festival on the small river running through the place. It was a little warm, but a fun event. They have races of canoes made from cardboard and other similar fun events, plus numerous informative booths from various organizations. Our job was to simply walk around, greet people, and pose for pictures if requested. The pay was a free lunch (hot dog or hamburger). We did the same thing two years ago.

Yes.....it said LaSalle on the rear bumper. That grille is kinda odd, allright. It is sitting next to a metal building containing 5 or so other old cars, including a model T and a Model A and one of those kit "Gazelle" style roadsters.

Nice car.......and in my favorite color, yellow. I see this car has rollup windows and wing windows. As you may know, the early Sportabouts had plastic, removable door windows and no wing windows.......and were called a "roadster". After a while, they decided those windows were not the best idea they ever had, and switched to the system you have. Now, the car is referred to as a "convertible". I had a 1950 convertible back in the 1970s, and initially called it a roadster, but the old timers eventually corrected me. Mine had a back seat that had been invented by a previous owner. a real roadster........ Google 1949 Dodge Wayfarer roadster (or convertible) and you should find pics of other ones.

The only negative thing about my battery cutoff switch as pictured........was that at some point in the past three years (while the car was being repaired from tornado damage and was sitting), the switch went bad somehow. When I got the car home, it would not start and run. I finally tried bypassing that switch, and the car started right up. So I eventually found a replacement switch of the same style - and all will be good again. What Mr Coatney said is true.........if your battery is constantly draining down, then you have some electrical problem. Which is not too hard to believe given all the old, brittle and cracked wiring in these cars. There was no drain when all this stuff was new............

On our old cars with pushbutton starters, the thief would probably break off the key in the ignition switch trying to turn it so it will start. Most would not know about the pushbutton or the pedal you step on.

I see you did not receive any replies to your question. So, did you find any salvage places there during your stay? I usually try to look stuff like that up on my computer..........or use the public computer at the hotel.

It's sometimes difficult to keep up with the doings of other forum members. I hadn't noticed any recent posts from Rodney either. But I'm not on here as much as I used to be. Still a good place.

Cool story......no matter what sort of building it was stored in. In watching American Pickers sometime back, they found several cars stored in the basement garage of a house. My car was sort of a "garage find"......as it was at a small salvage yard, and the owner had parked it inside a 1 1/2 ti 2 car size garage with a dirt floor. It had sat in there long enough, he had both filled the car and also surrounded it with other "valuable junk" items. The tires had sunk into the dirt and were rotted. Had to take a set of tires on wheels to use so I could bring it home using a tow bar.

We have a family operated, long time shop here in Joplin. The original owner's grandson in running it now. I have taken them starter or generators in the past.......they always did good work in a timely fashion.

Saw this car in an area town last week...........just thought I'd post the pic and see how many can I D it.

I see Don has not lost his knack for B.S. in his retirement years...........................

There are also these style......you have to open the hood, but you just turn the knob and do not have to disconnect the two parts of the cable as shown above. (or maybe it does come apart.....I can't recall) Some of these things can be found at auto supply stores, or on the internet, or on eBay. I would check them out to see which you like best.

I have used this style of switch........but lately they have become very hard to find. I had to order this one from someone on eBay. I put it on the firewall because there was already a hole of the right diameter there due to having a driver's side heater which I did not replace. A person could drill a hole in any spot they deem handy. That way, you can operate the switch from inside the car instead of having to open the hood each time. Being under the dash, it is somewhat hidden from view........might act as a theft deterrent if the thief did not have much time to look things over on the car. I had to buy an extra, short section of battery cable for this installation.

Looks good. Your Mrs. did a nice job.