Category: Wheel Tracks

  • A Full Grid

    A Full Grid

    Thank you to Bill Josler and his many friends for a great race car turnout in Waterbury! There were 35 race cars at the show. Read more from Bill… As Carrol Shelby said in the movie Ford V Ferrari, “If you are fortunate enough to do that which you love, you will never have to work”;…

  • The Generator Generation

    The Generator Generation

    The power for a car’s electrical system comes from the battery, but it must be constantly replenished by a generator. Up until the early 1960s, a DC generator, which is technically called a dynamo, was the standard. The physical principle by which any electrical generator works is called the Lorentz force. You’ll probably never need to…

  • Memories of Kit

    Memories of Kit

    I was going through another pile of photographs recently and came upon a photo of Kit Coddington. There probably aren’t any folks left who knew him. He passed in 1978 or 1979. Just another good old car fellow who loved flea markets. I have a photo of him at a Stowe car meet flea market on the fridge.…

  • Golden Wrench Awards – 2026

    Golden Wrench Awards – 2026

    PRESENTING THE 2026 GOLDEN WRENCH WINNERS  This award is presented annually in late May to early June to one junior in each of the sixteen automotive technical career centers in Vermont. The award consists primarily of a valuable tool set worth approximately $800 and a $500 scholarship for continued post-secondary education, plus a year’s membership…

  • The Ongoing Industrial Revolution

    The Ongoing Industrial Revolution

    Manufacturing the things and stuff needed for everyday life was once the job of artisans who used tools and skill to make things one at a time. This started to change abruptly in mid-18th Century Great Britain, kicking off what has come to be called the Industrial Revolution. It started in the textile industry with…

  • Reminiscing

    Reminiscing

    My grandfather was very proud to be a Vermonter, and he was especially proud to have a history in the Mad River Valley towns of Warren, Waitsfield, Fayston, and Moretown. His great-grandfather pioneered in Warren over two centuries ago. His father, who lived to over 99 years of age, was a farmer as well as…

  • Bob & Duane – The Vermont Antique and Classic Car Show

    Bob & Duane – The Vermont Antique and Classic Car Show

    This issue of Wheel Tracks is dedicated to Bob Chase and Duane Leach, two gentlemen who have made the Vermont Antique and Classic Car Show what  it is today.  The VAE honors Bob Chase and Duane Leach for their tireless work over these many years to continuously put on the best show in New England.…

  • Show Time

    I don’t recall exactly what year it was, but I was pretty new to the VAE and attended my first “Stowe Show” committee meeting. Bob Chase was chairing the meeting as usual and seated next to him was Duane Leach. Bob announced, with a big smile on his face, that Duane had agreed to become…

  • Cookin’ at the Car Show

    Cookin’ at the Car Show

    Occasionally, I realize that there is a good reason for not getting rid of stuff. I often start looking for something, and sometimes I get lucky. Today was one of those lucky days.  I have saved Wheel Tracks for years and still have the first issues. When I get them out to look for something, sometimes…

  • 1929 Plymouth Rumble Seat Roadster 

    1929 Plymouth Rumble Seat Roadster 

    Pictured here Wendell Noble’s 1929 Plymouth Rumble Seat Roadster as it looked when he bought it (above) and as it looks now after restoration (below). Wendell is still waiting for a ride in the rumble seat. I fondly recall, as a kid, the thrill of riding with my brother in the rumble seat of our…