My 1952 Ford

               I remember the  second car that I owned was a 1952 Ford V8 sedan, green in colour.I bought it in 1958.I was told it was a one owner car the previous owner being a nurse.It was in perfect condition and very powerful.I remember the bench seats,the dashboard with the many round knobs.The speedometer needle had a little circle at the end of  it  which would circle the numbers on the speedometer as you increased speed.It would sit steady at 50 miles per hour at the straight upright position. You could darken all the lights on the dashboard or turn them up full. I put the radio from my first car a 1948 Studebaker Commander-in –Chief in it. Radios did not come automatically in cars in those days, it was an added luxury to have one.

                I drove on a lot of gravel farm roads in those days and one had to use a light foot on the gas pedal or you were jumping forward,gravel flying out from under the rear wheels in all directions. The gear shift was on the steering column. It was a thin chrome stick with a round knob on the end and it was so easy to switch gears.The car would just leap forward. This car had a boxy design,plenty of chrome with solid big bumpers.The windshield was divided down the centre and the wipers were small compared to today’s design.

                These were the days when everyone put snow tires on in the winter.I bought retreads then drove them all summer until the tread was completely worn away.The car had a manual choke and it was a pleasure to start up on a very cold winter morning. Everything was stiff and solid but all you had to do was pull out that choke,turn the key and the car roared right into life first try.That engine had a solid sound to it.The car was fairly light and as I said peppy. I remember telling my friends I didn’t think cars manufacturers  could ever make a better car. Well surprise, surprise ! I even had to roll the windows up by hand on this one.I had to buy my own side view mirror and there still weren’t any turn signal indicators on the cars.Still it was a very good car.The engine never wore out the body did.

                But my next car a 1955 Meteor with the long fins and pointed fenders had many more places for dirt to collect and rust to show up. Still if I could drive my boxy 1952 Ford V8 to-day I would be a happy man.

My 1955 Meteor

 

                It is 54 years since my 1955 Meteor was manufactured.I bought it in 1958.It was a big heavy car with lots of chrome on the large shiny bumpers.It was two tone with a sun visor,a reddish brown colour at the bottom and a cream on the top.It had a factory built radio with shiny push buttons.The aerial  was on the right front fender.I put new tires on it, black because whitewalls cost another five dollars.In winter time I used retread snowtires. I don’t remember doing any work on the V8 engine other than the yearly fall tune up,new spark plugs and points,then the car would start well all winter long.Over the years though I did a lot of body work myself.I used fibre glass kits and spray bombs from Canadian Tire.It didn’t look like a professional job but it was solid and I got some satisfaction in keeping my car looking pretty good with a small outlay of cash.The front fenders rusted out badly with large holes appearing. When I was finished with the fibre glass that was the strongest metal on the car.I used to wax the car to bring out the shine.The water would bead off the finish.

                Looking back over the the cars of this era now they  seemed to be so big powerful and heavy. The bench seats  were wide and you could curl up and sleep comfortably on them.I put seat covers on them.This Meteor was a fast car and I enjoyed its performance. My next car  a 1962 Ford Galaxie V8 was slightly smaller,seemed lower to the ground but was every bit as powerful. Such are the memories of my old cars.

The 1948 Commander-in–Chief Studebaker

It was 1955.I was nineteen and had just graduated from Teacher’s College.I had been hired to teach at a one room country school at Brodhagen Ontario 15 miles from the farm.I would be needing a car.

I looked around on my own and found this lovely sleek black shiny 1948 Commander-in-Chief Studebaker with wire wheels and a radio! It had lots of chrome,the steering wheel looked fancy and special and the dash board was better than any I had seen.This car’s style was ahead of its time!The lines were smooth not boxy like other cars of its day.I wanted it.It cost $500.00.I thought I could manage it.I bought it.

Well the car had been over the roads and had more miles on it than I knew.The body sure looked good though and I was proud of that fancy car.I did a motor job on it then decided to drive it up to Copper Cliff Ontario just past Sudbury to visit my sister who was teaching there.It was a long drive in those days about 300 miles. I probably shouldn’t have driven the car so hard just after a motor job because when I got to Copper Cliff I was nearly out of oil! Ever after that the car used oil.It ran well and ticked along like a sewing machine.A couple years later I was still driving it but in the hot summer weather I was pouring axel grease in for oil.The oil gage would spring right over to top pressure when you started the car then after a lot of driving it would fall lower and lower. The car had bench seats which were very comfortable.It steered and held the road nicely.It was a pleasure to drive.This Studebaker had one feature which I never found on any other car.It was a hill hugger.When you pressed in the clutch when the car was on a hill a brake came on and the car would not roll backwards. I loved that car.

Now the next car I got about 1958 was a 1952 Ford V8 sedan. Boy did that car have power!

DREAMING OF OLD CARS

Dear Bill Sherk



While reading the article about Art Fishenden’s 1933 Dodge Brothers Model DP Deluxe sedan in today’s March 5 2009 Hamilton Spectator it got me dreaming about some of the old cars in our family.

The year was 1944 and as farmers could buy new rubber tires for their cars dad decided to buy a 1935 Cheverolet sedan from a man in Listowel Ontario. This car was going to replace dad’s old 1928 Cheverolet sedan with wooden spoked wheels which he had driven all the way back from Saskatchewan with his wife and 2 year old son in 1930 when he quit farming there and bought his father’s farm near Atwood Ontario.

I rode to Listowel with dad in 1944 to pick up his new car .I was all excited.We had 4 flat tires driving the car home to the farm that day and I was pretty tired and weary when we finally got there.Dad took the car to our mechanic in Atwood to do a motor job and general overhaul.He had a push button starter installed on the dashboard as the starter switch which was below the gas pedal was giving a lot of trouble.I remember the brakes would freeze up in the winter time and the heater didn’t give much heat. He had a suction cup glass with electrical wires in it put on the windshield for the winter and when that was plugged in the frost was quickly cleared off the windshield. The car had a canvas roof whick leaked.He had a new one put on. He installed a trailer hitch and we always pulled a trailer filled with bags of grain which we took to Atwood chopping mill to be made into chop for the cows.That car was a regular work horse ! I learned to drive in it when I could barely see out the window. I got my driver’s license when I was 15 as farm boys were able to do that as they were needed to work on the farm.Of course this car had no turning signals you just used your arm.I don’t remember having any more trouble with the car for all the years dad kept it. He got a brand new Pontiac in 1950.

In 1963 I was teaching in Kincardine Ontario.Everyday I would walk by this old 1936 Cheverolet sedan parked behind the woodshed of this home.I would often stand and stare at it.One day a man came out of the house and said. “Are you interested in the old car?.All it needs is a battery and it runs fine”

I said,” I don’t know.How much do you want for it?”

He said,” 25 dollars”

I said .” What !” I bought it and took it home to the farm.For 4 or 5 years whenever I dropped a battery into it, it started right up and I would take it for a ride down memory lane.

Now I remember the first car I bought with my own money in 1955. It was a shiny black Commander in Chief 1948 Studebaker with wire wheels and a radio! But this is another story another dream and another memory.





Jim Love

Grimsby Ontario