Category: Featured Article

Jim Shover Always Wanted a Show Pickup. He Found This One in a Field in 1973.

Jim Shover has family all around him and they are very special to him. However, it does not take long to find another type of family in Jim’s life, and we believe if he could add the Shover surname to his Dodge, he would.

Jim’s “other” family member is a 1941, half ton, Dodge pickup WC. He found the truck, in a field, at the end of the drag strip in Milton 50 years ago. Jim paid $25 for the truck and paid someone $40 to haul it to his home in Burlington. He said the tires still held air, but mother earth was slowly reclaiming it with a tree growing through the frame. The frame was shot along with many other items on the truck, and years were spent collecting what he needed to bring the Dodge back, including the replacement frame.

Jim has “brought” this truck back in very fine fashion. A quick count of trophies over the years was in the neighborhood of 46 and counting. The person who sold the truck to Jim all those years ago was Claude Racine. We wonder how he would react to seeing the Dodge today.

Jim started his mechanical training in the automotive program at Burlington High School for part of his school day, with the other part at his home school at Rice for his academics. After graduation he decided to continue his automotive track at Franklin Institute in Boston. He was amazed at the level of detail that was taught there. He speaks of having to learn the amount of oil flow for each gear of an automatic transmission, as an example. This training lead to a career with the phone companies, New England Tel & Verzon, as a mechanic. You wonder what Jim could teach us shade-tree mechanics.

So what is this Dodge WC all about?

WC might mean something totally different to a non-old-car person who might have traveled Europe a bit. Dodge had another idea. They made over 380,000 truck and called them WCs, VCs and VFs for the military. Another category of the same truck was “job rated” for the civilian market.

These trucks ranged from Jim’s Dodge, a 2-wheel drive, 92 HP pickup to the one & a half ton 6X6 vehicles the military needed. All the trucks shared many common parts that could be easily interchanged.

Some say the WC stands for “weapons carrier”. Others say the W simply is Dodge code for 1941 and the C for the 1/2 ton rating. Books on the subject are still disagreeing on these designations It might have to do with the confusion of WWII.

The military use for Jim’s 2-wheel drive version of the WC Dodge varied. Some had bench seats for carrying troops, and others were simply called a “Carry All”. Some were set up as a panel van, while other were used for telephone installation and repair trucks.

The sweep of those fenders, however, lets us know the truck did it with class.

Rita Codling and Alden Chapman owned this beauty, a 1930 Plymouth Roadster

Our 1930 Plymouth Roadster
By Alden Chapman (Written in 1980)

Having had three roadsters previously and selling them for various reasons, we decided it was time to find another one, this time to restore and enjoy. At the 1974 Gypson Tour, mention was made of a Plymouth Roadster up for bid in an estate sale. Asking a few questions, it turned out that another member of VAE, Steve Stepheson, had been trying to purchase the car for a number of years from the original owner, but had been put off each time.

Steve would visit the owner several times a year, and the owner would have a different reason each time for not selling. I called Steve and related what I had learned. Steve said that he had enough cars and to go ahead and bid on it. A few minutes later, I called and made a bid of what I thought I could afford. I was told there were other bids from folks who had high hopes, but empty pockets. I was then told the car was mine, but that I had to get it off the property by 8 the next Saturday morning.

Having purchased the car, sight unseen, and wondering what I had bought Steve suggested that we go down Wednesday night and see the car. It turned out the car was basically complete and in not too bad shape. Some rust, but all wood was very good. The administrator had repeated that he wanted the car gone by Saturday morning with nothing fishy, make the check out to the estate and be gone by 8 AM. Saturday morning, Stephenson, Del Saben and I left Barre with Steve’s truck and a borrowed trailer long before sane people were awake and headed for West Rutland, arriving at the farm around 7. We loaded the Plymouth with no trouble and headed home, well before the deadline.

Back home again, we had a close look at the car in daylight. It would need a new engine, water had been left in and froze. Parts of the head were at least 1/4 inch above the rest with cracks around each plug hole and bolt. The rear wheel seals were gone with no brake linings, just metal against metal. We wondered how old Sam stopped?

The next evening Del Sabens stopped by. He had found an engine for me. Did I want it before the junkman got it….I sure did!

Now that I had a car and an engine, I needed to finish my garage to make a place to work on it. My nephew, Charles Codling, installed the ceiling and insulation and added a heater. I was now ready to start the restoration.

Bill Werneke straightened the fenders while they were still on the car and made a new rear fender from a collection of new and old pieces. With the fender basically straight the car was then dismantled.

Although most Chrysler-built cars had black fenders and undercarriage, this Plymouth has a green undercarriage and fenders in body color. As my sister and I are the second owners and the car had never been in an accident, this would have to be a factory job.

As finances permitted, work went on. The upholstery material was selected to come close to the green leather and compliment the original colors. Romania Grenier of Washington thought it would be an interesting experience to upholster an antique car compared to antique furniture. Sure is, isn’t it?

The engine was pulled out of the car and stripped of all usable parts and the rest junked. The engine that was to be used was sent off to the rebuilders for a complete rebuild. More about this engine overhaul later.

After having been disassembled for two years, the parts were stored in the attic, the cellar, my bedroom and everywhere else that you would find old car parts. The frame was cleaned, sanded and painted.

Then assembly started and things went slowly but smoothly. The engine came back from the rebuilders, was installed and given a short run. A new clutch was installed, but proved defective. Another new clutch was obtained and worked fine although I think I can take out the transmission and clutch and replace them blindfolded by now.

By April ‘79 things had progressed far enough to register the car and get it inspected. Early one Saturday morning we started the Plymouth up and headed for the inspection station 3 miles away. We never made it. In less than a miles a knock developed. Not knowing what was wrong, and not wishing to do any more damage, we rode home on the back of a flatbed wrecker.

We put the car in the garage up on ramps and I started to tear into the engine. All of a sudden, the car rolled off the ramps, out of the garage, and into the back of my everyday transportation. Minor damage to the Plymouth (no dents or scratches– just one bent bolt and a broken bar), but the Chrysler almost collapsed into a pile of rust. Getting the Plymouth back into the garage and properly secured, the engine was pulled. Number one rod was burned out for no apparent reason. The engine was further disassembled and it was found that the oil channels in the main bearings had not been opened up. No other damage was done. The rebuilder supplied a new rod and the engine was reassembled, installed and started. Still a knock. Good oil pressure, but still a knock. We pulled the engine apart again and still found nothing wrong. The third time, it was discovered that the wrist pin bolts were only finger tight.

Replacing the old bolts and torquing them properly, the engine ran just like a four cylinder Plymouth should.

Editor notes…

In 1980, when Alden wrote this story about he and his sister buying and restoring their Plymouth, Alden and Chris Barbieri were the editors of Wheel Tracks. Alden had also served as VAE president in 1977. I met Alden for the first time in 2013, when I took this picture for Wheel Tracks. It seems a hundred years ago. He told me in a very positive way that he missed his old cars and driving them, and had found collecting diecast cars was the next best thing. One of his two cats insisted on attention from me, the second just stood and stared at me the whole time. Alden assured me, with that great grin of his, that I was safe that the cat would not attack. We had a great talk that day.

Alden Charles Chapman
June 8, 1927 – May 23, 2016

(Pictured above is our former Wheel Tracks editor, Gene Fodor, and his beloved unrestored 1953 MG TD, both ready for the 2011 costume event.)

The 66th VAE “Vermont Antique and Classic Car Meet” is on August 11, 12 & 13.

This 1914 Cadillac Touring car began its life in Iowa Park, Texas when Ernst Goetze needed transportation. 

Today, it is garaged in Ludlow, Vermont. Brian Wood is now the Cadillac’s owner/caretaker. 

Mr. Goetze, an immigrant from Saxony, Germany, was a cattleman in Iowa Park, Texas. He had seen the two neighbor girls with broken arms and decided that any car he bought must have electric starting and electric lights. 

He turned down Chevys, Fords and Oldsmobiles until June 5, 1914 when Mr. Claspy from the Munger Motor Company in Wichita Falls showed him this Brewster green Cadillac. After a trial ride, Mr. Goetze bought the car and presented it to his two daughters, Lina and Frieda, on condition that they care for it and drive him wherever he wished to go. He had lost the use of his left arm in an accident with a horse and could not drive himself. 

With the car came the Dykes Visual Aids book, a creeper, trouble light, snow chains, tools and such accessories as the spring-loaded bumper and spare tire. It also had white tires. A garage was built for the Cadillac, and it was put inside on jacks after each outing. Miss Lina and Miss Frieda remember that usually Mr. Goetze would ask if they had set the jacks back under the car and admitted that sometimes they fibbed. 

Miss Lina told of returning from town and outrunning a rainstorm. “I stepped on it and we were really flying. My father was in the rear and, as I glanced back, I saw he was holding the rail in both hands. We flew all the way home and just as we rolled into the garage, the biggest rain you ever did see burst out. I knew he didn’t like my speeding, but Father never said a word.” 

Around 1920, the Cadillac passed her 100,000 mile mark and the Goetzes joined the 100,000 Mile Club. The daughters remember their dad often wearing the club pin. 

In 1926, the speedometer gave out and was taken to town for repair. The mechanic shipped it off and died two days later. It was never heard of again. 

About 1930, Miss Frieda was driving the family home from a rodeo in Electra, a village sixteen miles away. She remembered shouting “Look out. That cop is going to hit us!” Blam! A drunken policeman, on his motorcycle, had careened into the left front side of the car so that he blew out the Cadillac’s tire, bent the rim, ruined the fender and bent the bumper. No one was hurt and a new fender and rim were replace along with fixing the other damage. This was its only wreck. 

The Cadillac was retired in 1934 having never been outside Texas and Oklahoma. 

Brian Wood estimates the car had about 150,000 miles on it when he purchased it in 2004. He is the 3rd owner. He has rebuilt the engine, transmission and rear end along with the many smaller needed tweakings. He was able to confirm many of the story’s details while working on the car. He found a bent front axel, most likely the result of the drunken policeman’s wreck. There were holes in the floor where the daughter’s heels rested while driving those many mile, and the back carpet was worn through from Mr. Goetze’s feet. He always sat in the back seat on the passenger side. 

Brian has been completely through the car mechanically without changing any of its appearance, including the 109-year old leather interior. He says it was pretty much worn out. It might be hard to see these two examples of worn bolts to the right. Brian says there were many more. 

The car is fantastic to be around and unbelievable when you hear the story. BUT, when you hear the engine start and the car backs out of its garage, it transports you to 1914. The sound and sight will stay with you forever if you are an old car buff. 

Editor’s notes…..
A document with the above words was certified by Lina and Frieda. 

Ernst Ehregott Goetze was born September 15, 1843 and died December 11, 1936. 

Daughters, Lina Rose (1/26/1883-6/21/1978) and Frieda Martha (5/28/1889-12/7/1986) are buried near their dad in nearby Highland Cemetery. 

I promise that this is the last time I’ll toot my family whistle in regards to the beginnings of the VAE. After all, Gary told me, “It’s about the car.” I’ve said in past Wheel Tracks that the Franklin was the car that inspired Anne Gypson to have Ken’s car friends over for his birthday and to form a club.

Oh yeah, the car. Dad spotted the Franklin in farmer Harold Green’s field on the west side of Route 22A in Addison, Vermont. Being a Franklin and a boattail roadster to boot (Franklin’s official model designation is 11A Sport Runabout), he couldn’t not stop! It was being used, of all things, as a chicken coop. (No, not coupe.) Dad had to really twist Harold’s arm and part with $50 so Harold could build another chicken coop.

Dad was able to drive the car home to Essex Junction. I’m guessing that there are Gypson, Rice, and Galbraith stories long lost on that trip. When he got the Franklin home it just needed tires and a tune up. As I’ve written in the past, Keith Marvin drove it to New York when we moved to the Albany area. The engine was rebuilt by the last living (and legally blind) Franklin mechanic from the Troy Franklin Motor Sales Co., Inc.

Dad drove the car very little and had intentions of restoring it. Midgets and sprint cars got in the way. After dad’s passing I inherited the car. All I’ve done is put new tires on it, had the top and side curtains redone, and installed an electric fuel pump as a backup to the vacuum system. The car is insured, NYS inspected, and driven about 100 miles a year.

Editor’s note…
I hope you can see why we chose May of this year to feature the Franklin; our 70th year as the Vermont Automobile Enthusiasts! The ideas, hopes and dreams of that small group in 1953 was the beginning of this world class auto club we have today.

More editor notes…

The Franklin auto company was located in Syracuse, NY and built cars from 1902 until 1934. Their total production was reported at 154,022 automobiles. It is also reported that about 3700 Franklins have survived to today.

The year our featured Franklin was built, a total of 7606 automobiles were built. The models included sedans, coupes, limos, cabriolets, and roadsters. A sixth model was a sport runabout, Nancy’ and Ken’s model.

The Franklin was a high-end automobile in its day. In 1926, a Chevy or a Dodge could be purchased for around $800, A Ford model T touring car sold for $290. The least expensive Franklin, according to the Lester-Steele Handbook, was the 5-passenger touring car that sold for $2635. Some say, this is the main reason the company did not surviving the depression.

The Franklin engine was the center of the brand’s importance, you see, they were allows air cooled. The 1903 engine, when the company began, was an air cooled, 4-cylinder, that produced 10 HP. By 1905, they were using 6-cylinder engines that produced 30HP.

From 1930 to 1934 their engines were producing 100HP. Nancy and Ken’s aluminum bodied car, weighs about 2500 pounds and is powered by a 25 HP air cooled engine. Franklin’s “very light” engines were also favorites for airplanes and helicopters and were used extensively during WWll. After the war, Preston Tucker purchased the Franklin engine patent, and added a water jacket for his line of automobiles. The air cooled engine lives on today, in Poland. The Polish government purchased the engine rights in 1975 and the design is used mainly in their helicopters.

Gary Fiske

Why a Ford Model T, Fred? 

Fred Gonet’s first experience driving a model T was in 2017. 

A friend in New Hampshire had asked him to come for a visit and work on some car projects he had. The friend also asked if he could tune up a couple of T’s that were to be in a 60-mile tour the next day. Unbeknownst to Fred, who had never driven a Model T, his friend’s plan was to have him drive one of them. Needless to say that Fred was “white knuckling” for a few of those first miles, especially in tight city spaces. Before the end of the tour, however, Fred had a smile on his face, and was having a hoot. He was ready for the 2nd 60-mile tour the next day. 

“Model T’s are a hoot to drive. 
Plus I can see now, 
why everyone driving them is smiling. 
They are lots of fun.” 

Fred Gonet

Fred came home from New Hampshire knowing that he needed a Model T in his garage. He had driven his 1908 Locomobile for many years and hundreds of miles, but the Loco now had to make room for a T. 

He remembered a friend in Massachusetts had a nice touring T, that he had seen many time since the 1980s. Larry Gould of Chelmsford had a 1914 touring and that would fit Fred fine. When asked, Larry said he had more touring plans and was not ready to sell. Larry was 99 years old at the time. Knowing that Fred was very interested, Larry’s family came to him in 2020, when Larry passed at 102 years old, and asked if he still wanted the car. The Locomobile moved over and the T came home to Proctorsville, Vermont! 

When Fred’s 1914 Model T was built, it was one of 308,162. 

More Ford History….. 

*In 1915, 394,788 vehicles were produced with a labor force of 18,892 employees. Over this six-year period, the production number of Model Ts per employee went from eight in 1909, to 14 in 1911, and to an astounding 20 in 1915. 

*When Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line in 1913, he loved it, but his employees didn’t. The work was boring and relentless, and worker turnover was high. He had to hire more than 52,000 workers that year to maintain his workforce of14,000. 

*So on January 1, 1914, Henry announced that he would double his workers’ pay from $2.34 per day to $5 per day, “as long as you were over 22 years of age and conformed to the company’s standard of clean living.” It was headline news in Detroit and around the country. 

*Detroit headlines January 6, 1914….. “Ten thousand anxious, determined men, some ragged and unkempt, others seemingly prosperous, this morning fought for places in the line that stretched from the employment window at the Ford Motor Co., in Highland Park, a line that continued for many blocks from the company’s factory.” 

When asked about the condition of the car when he purchased it, Fred said the it was “perfect”, but in some cases, “not correct”. Some of us have a friendly term for this type of person, but in Fred’s case that is how he has built such a successful restoration business over these many years. 

“Perfect, but not Correct.” 

Fred Gonet

The car’s dash was perfect, but not correct, so enter the correct dash. That has led to the steering column that was also perfect, and the coil box, and the side light brackets. Then there is that slight vibration at 40mph, since the dash is off, we might as well tear the engine and transmission apart to see if we can’t find that perfect vibration! 

I am having fun with Fred here; I hope he forgives me. When I grow up, I want to be just like Fred Gonet. 

From your editor, G. Fiske 

Uncle French’s 45-year-old 1977 Buick Electra Limited is now in Eric Osgood’s garage. With only 11,000 miles on the odometer, this auto has a very long life ahead. 

Originally purchased by my uncle Ernest French, it was an ordered-to-spec, new purchase in 1977. It is a red-on-red car with red velour interior, and all of the whistles and bells of the day. My uncle only drove the car a few miles per year, never in the winter, and usually only on nice summer days. A couple of years ago my uncle was requiring senior living accommodations, so I purchased the Buick from him, with all of it’s 11,000 plus miles and its originality. This originality included even the original tires still on the car, however while the tread was still fine, I have replaced them due to their 45-year-old weath-er cracking. It is basically immaculate inside and out. 

I have come to calling the car the “Princess” due to the pampered and pristine life it has lived, however my wife not a fan of the 70’s gawdy look refers to the car as the “Bitch”. Whether the car is known as the “P” or the “B” she has won a couple of trophies since coming into my possession. I am also trying to drive and enjoy the car a little more then my uncle did, as he told me that was the great regret that he had. RIP uncle Ernie, your car is being enjoyed! 

The “delivery price page” quotes $9385.85 and includes polishing and winterizing. General Motors was also pleased to publish the Buick’s gas economy as 18MPG. They add that based on the 1977 gas price of $.65 per gallon, the owner would pay $542.00 to drive 15,000 miles. 

The car has a 350 CI engine with a 4 barrel carburator. The seventeen special order items includes a 6-way power seat and climate control AC. Additionally, the F40 option of “firm ride & handling suspension” and WB4, a $235 stereo radio. 

GM built 51,067 Electra Limited Buicks in 1977. 

The Electra replaced the Roadmaster in 1959 and continued the line through 1991 when one Electra line became the Roadmaster Estate. 

The Electra was built as a six-passenger four-door sedan like Eric’s. You could also buy it as a two-door sedan, a two-door convertible, and a five-door station wagon. 

Buick has announced the Electra nameplate will return in 2024. Do you think we will be able to drive that same 15,000 miles for $542? We at Wheel Tracks did the math and today the price would be $3075. Maybe if we added few Eveready batteries, do you think? 

I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move. 
– Robert Louis Stevenson

Travel……..[trav-el] verb 
To move from one place to another: seeking places to discover. A journey to a distant or unfamiliar place; a slow and steady pace can be done by train, plane, ship and especially an automobile; a one way or round trip. 
To uncover cultures and open the mind; to grow and yourself find, makes you pine for places never known; makes you not want to go home. 

 

The 2022 VAE President’s Restoration Award Goes to……
Mike Felix & His 1939 Plymouth

During the summer of 1998, I attended a car cruise in Highland, NY and struck up a conversation with an attendee in an all original, low mileage 1937 Dodge. At the time, I was looking for parts for my ‘37 Dodge ½ ton and thought this gent may be aware of some part sources I was not familiar with. Turns out he did not. But he did point me to the widow he bought the Dodge from and said she had some parts for sale. 

Later that summer my Uncle William and I arranged to meet the widow at her house to see the cars and parts she had for sale. Turns out her recently deceased husband restored cars for a hobby and had 10 or more cars in various stages of restoration when he passed away. She had sold all of them and their parts but one. She was unable to sell this last one. None of the buyers were interested in it. You guessed it, the unwanted leftover was a ‘39 Plymouth. 

It was partially disassembled, had delaminated glass, a destroyed interior, a dented trunk, missing running boards and who knows where all the parts were…and it was a four door. 

Well, we looked the car and parts over and determined there were no parts that could be interchanged between that ‘39 Plymouth and my list of parts needed for my ‘37 Dodge. We thanked the widow for her time and began to walk away. She stopped us and asked me if I would buy the car. I explained I had no interest in it and I could ask around and determine if I can find a buyer for her. We thanked her again and walked away. 

My uncle and I were about to leave her long driveway when she yelled, “Wait!”. We turned around and she asked if I would take the car for free. I replied that the car and parts have value and I would help her try to find a buyer and that, again, I had no interest. She then explained to us that she no longer had the luxury of trying to find a buyer for the car and parts. She further explained the buyers of the house (we did not know the house was for sale) would not schedule a closing date until the “junk” car and boxes of “junk” were gone from the property. And she did not want to pay someone to take the car and boxes of parts away. 

At that point, my uncle and I opened our wallets and counted out somewhere just over 200 bucks between us. I offered her $200 for the car, which she refused at first because I would take the car and parts off her hands. After a few back and forths, the widow grudgingly accepted $200 for the car and parts. We wrote up a bill of sale and I returned a few days later and loaded the car and parts on a truck and off we went. 

That was twenty five years and five homes ago. 

Are there any guesses what this 2-wheeled vehicle is? Hint… it is now 100 years old.

In 1901, 20-year-old William S. Harley drew up plans for a small engine with a displacement of 7.07 cubic inches and a 4-inch flywheel designed for use in a regular pedal-bicycle frame. It didn’t work very well.

Over the next two years, he and his childhood friend Arthur Davidson worked on their motor-bicycle using the northside Milwaukee machine shop at the home of their friend Henry Melk. It was finished in 1903 with the help of Arthur’s brother, Walter Davidson. Upon testing their power-cycle, Harley and the Davidson brothers found it unable to climb the hills around Milwaukee without pedal assistance, and they wrote off their first motor-bicycle as a valuable learning experiment.

The three began work on a new and improved machine with an engine of 24.74 cubic inches with a 9.75 inch flywheel weighing 28 lb. Its advanced loop-frame pattern was similar to the 1903 Milwaukee Merkel motorcycle designed by Joseph Merkel, later of Flying Merkel fame. The bigger engine and loop-frame design took it out of the motorized bicycle category and marked the path to future motorcycle designs.

They also received help with their bigger engine from outboard motor pioneer, Ole Evinrude, who was then building gas engines of his own on Milwaukee’s Lake Street, designed for automotive use.

So, now to Fred’s silhouette. You have a better hint from the above paragraphs, plus, you know its 100 years old.

It is a 1922 Harley Davidson JA.

The ‘J’ means it has “intake over exhaust” with a 61 cubic inch V-twin 4-stroke engine. The ’A’ means it is a police model and more likely has a few more cubic inches of power.

It is chain-driven with a 3-speed side-shift transmission and brakes on the back only. The internet claims top speed is 85MPH and it weighs 319 pounds.

Fred found the Harley in Harmony New Jersey and bought it 31 years ago. He said the bike spent many of its earlier years, before he purchased it, in North Carolina.

Fred has done very little to it over the years he has had it. The nice paint job is from 1949, an indication the Harley has been someone’s treasure over much of its life. He had to remake the drive sprocket along with replacing the chain and a little electrical rewiring. That is it.

Fred and his wife BJ each have modern Harleys. When they go for a ride and he takes the ’22, they joke how Fred gets all the attention and BJ can expect none.

Fred did say that he has driven the old bike a lot over the years he has had it.

Can you see the hand control just behind the silver shift lever, in the picture to the right? It is a hand clutch. It was relocated to the handlebar in later years. If you watched Fred take off from a stop on a hill, you will witness some unusual moves. You will hear the engine rev up. Then you will watch what looks like him bending over to scratch the left cheek of his behind. That is not what he is doing!

Here is what you are seeing. He is holding the bike from moving backwards with his right foot on the brake while operating the throttle with his right hand. His left foot is on the ground to keep from falling over. The gear shift is in first ready for take off. When he is ready to move forward, he revs the engine a little and reaches below his left ‘cheek’ to release the hand clutch… all orderly and in good taste.

Asked why he wanted an early Harley Davidson motorcycle, Fred said his grandfather had a 1917. He has only seen a picture of his grandfather on the Harley, but at that moment many years ago, that was Fred’s dream.

Fred Gonet owns and operates his restoration shop in Proctersville, Vermont. G & G Restorations has been in business for many years and is known throughout the Eastern US for its high quality work.