Author: Gary Fiske

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.

(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. 

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 

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.

From life in a steel Quonset hut in Tennessee to Charlie Thompson’s loving garage in Colchester, VT. This 1925 Overland has many new adventures ahead.

Charlie Thompson has been without an old car ride for a while now. His beloved 1930 Whippet has some engine problems and he needs to have it rebuilt.

Most of our old car problems are caused from lying around, in a barn, doing nothing. Not Charlie’s Whippet. He has worn the heck out of it, traveling to most of the states east of the Mississippi. There are many famous on-the-road stories from his traveling adventures. It is too bad he is so modest, most of us would have the stories plastered everywhere, but not Charlie.

Wendell Noble remembers telling Charlie some ideas for fixing the holes in the running boards of his Whippet. Wendell says Charlie patiently listening to every one of his suggestions and at the end simply replied by saying, “Why would I do that?”.

Another of Charlie’s replies when asked if he was ever going to restore his Whippet….. He would reply by saying he had just finished the restoration a few weeks earlier.

A few months ago, Charlie was attending the WOKR car club International Meet in Huntsville, Alabama. WOKR stands for Willys, Overland, Knight Registry. During a club visit about 40 miles north of Huntsville, in Tennessee, he spotted the Overland pickup among many old vehicles owned by Ed Hanish.

He also found it was for sale.

After talking it over with his wife, Marion, he decided he would travel back to Tennessee with his trailer to bring it home to Vermont. Not everyone has a neat wife like Marion!

He is doing a few “fixes” on the Overland, with hopes of getting it registered and on the road soon.

The ring gear has an issue and there is a plan to replace it with a spare. The carburator has been cleaned and tuned and the starter has received a “green-light” from Smitty’s Starter Shop in Sheldon.

Asked when he will be heading out on a multi-state journey in his new Overland, his only reply was to wait until he and the car gets more acquainted. He has had 55 years to get acquainted with his Whippet and look at the adventures they have had!

The twentieth century was the century of the automobile in which this machine went from the plaything of the wealthy to an important part of everyday life for most people.

During the first part of the twentieth century, many entrepreneurs began to design, manufacture, and market automobiles. Most of these early manufacturers failed to survive the Great Depression of the 1930s. One of these early companies was the Overland Automobile Company.

When Claude Cox was in his senior year of Rose Polytechnic Institute, a small private college with a program in engineering, he made a three wheel vehicle for his senior year thesis. In 1902, Cox met with Charles Minshall, the owner of Standard Wheel Company of Terre Haute, Indiana. Minshall was interested in building an automobile, but didn’t know how to. Cox seemed to have the knowledge so Minshall hired him to head Standard Wheel’s new automobile department and design the car.

In 1903, Cox designed and built a car much advanced for the time. The new car was named the Overland and featured a two-cylinder water-cooled engine that was mounted up front under the hood. The car also featured a removable switch plug so that it could not be driven without it.

The first Overland was a runabout. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the runabout was a common open-car body style, small, and inexpensive.

According to “The Standard Catalog of American Cars” there were 154,292 Overland automobiles built between 1903 and 1914 when the brand name changed to Willys-Overland. The last vehicle built with the Overland name was in 1927.

Gary Sassi’s life was really good before he was infected by the “old-car-bug”.

His Dad, Gino, was a lifelong stone carver in Barre, Vermont and Gary grew up in his Dad’s shop, learning the trade. When the time came, Gary decided he wanted to go back to his family’s old country to further his training, where he speaks the language fluently. After four years he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Cararra, Italy. Today, he will have been in the trade for fifty–five years. His family’s work can be found in many parts of the world, but you can easily find Sassi masterpieces here in Vermont, especially at Hope Cemetery in Barre.

And then life got really good, when someone in his shop showed Gary a picture of a restored old car in a magazine, and the old car bug infection happened!

It was not long before the space age Studebaker caught his eye and any self restraint that remained was toast. The unrestored 1955 Studebaker President Speedster (pictured below) was soon parked at his shop, one of 2215, built that he found in Los Angeles. Eighteen months later, Gary had finished his restoration.

One big difference in this perfect factory restoration and others that you see in magazines, is the owner had his hand in much of it. Friend, Gary Scott, has a collision repair shop in the area and he worked his magic on the body and paint, while Sassi covered the country retrieving needed parts and spent every free minute of the 18 months doing his part.

The project was completed about 22 years ago and Gary decided to see what others thought of his Studebaker. He decided to enter the car in the VAE Shelburne Show to be judged. That iswhen he met VAE Judge Gene Napoliello. Gene looked the car over and found only one item “not factory”, a tailpipe clamp on the dual exhaust system. When Gary produced the correct clamp, Gene proceeded to crawl under the car and install it; he then proclaimed the President Speedster “Best of Show”. With his background in stone carving and the need for exacting detail, Gary knew he was proficient there, but he says he had not realized how that trait influenced the Studebaker project until the day Gene presented that award. In fact what Gary thought was just a normal restoration turned out to be one of the best. Some of the awards pictured right are just part of the total impact the President has made over the past 22 years.

There was still an old car virus problem the President did not cure, when a Studebaker cousin showed up in Barre along with 50 boxes of parts and pieces. A new beginning for a 1957 Golden Hawk, and a hopeful cure for Mr. Sassi. He had rebuilt the 4-barreled 259 engine in the Speedster, so he had no problem diving into the Hawk’s 289 engine, until he got to the McCullough supercharger…. that was new territory! Friend Gary Scott did his magic on the body while Sassi did his on the rest, and soon there was a very gold vehicle traveling the streets of Barre.

The latest quest for the cure is a 1965 Fastback Mustang. The engine is sitting on a stand at the Sassi shop, being rebuilt. The body resides in Gary Scott’s garage.

A discussion came about when the Mustang color needed to be decided upon. Mr. Sassi does not like silver, the correct color for the car, and Mr. Scott does not like going “non-factory”. The winner is, says Mr. Sassi with a grin………….Mr. Scott!

Gary Scott’s involvement with his first complete restoration was the Speedster, twenty-two years ago. Since then, he has become very well known in the auto restoration business.

Pictured left is the famous “Gene Napoliello exhaust clamp”. The impact he has made at our annual August show with our judging program is undeniable. Gary Sassi will also tell you of the impact Gene has had on him for restoration correctness. Mr. Sassi has been a VAE judge for the past 22 years.

We lost Gene when he passed away this last April. Mark Bennett has now taken Gene’s place as Chief Judge.

The Studebaker Company began in 1852 where they built wagons in South Bend, Indiana. Their first automobile was an ‘electric’ in 1902 then a ‘gasoline vehicle’ in 1904. In the beginning they partnered with the Garford Company, then EMF and then Flanders. In 1912, Studebaker dropped all affiliations and produced its first fully-built automobile. The last Studebaker rolled off the assembly line in Hamilton, Ontario on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, 1966