Category: Wheel Tracks

  • The Vermont Antique & Classic Automobile Show – 1957 to 2019

    The Vermont Antique & Classic Automobile Show – 1957 to 2019

    Not a lot was written about 1957 other than a race up the Mt. Mansfield Toll Road by a Stanley Steamer and a Model T. In the 1958 VAE Show, there were eleven cars registered. This year, we expect over 600 registrations in 34 classes. We have grown-up!  The Stanley Steamer won the race in 1957. It turns…

  • Driveshaft Fail – Don’t Ignore the Warning Signs

    Driveshaft Fail – Don’t Ignore the Warning Signs

    Absent any questions this month, I will share a story about how costly it can be to ignore warning signs and delay needed maintenance.  A friend of mine has a towing and recovery business. He recently picked up a Subaru from out of state after it broke down on the interstate. The owner told him…

  • Been there, done it in a Probe

    Been there, done it in a Probe

    I admit it. I’m not that into cars. If it has 4 tires and a steering wheel and can get me to where I want to go safely, I’m happy. My husband, on the other hand, is what you’d all call “a car guy.” Over the years he’s purchased antique (I say old) cars and…

  • Saab 900

    Saab 900

    Absent any questions this month, I will briefly discuss some cars in my shop this month. Both of my sons now have cars. I wanted their first cars to be something durable, safe and inexpensive. Somehow, each of them ended up with a Saab 900 four door.  When I learned how to drive, people maintained…

  • 1926 Ford Model T Speedster

    1926 Ford Model T Speedster

    There is a new “muscle car” in town and hang-on Lucy if you want to race!  This Ford Model T Speedster is the creation of VAEer, Dennis Dodd of East Fairfield, Vermont. Dennis has the Patience of Jobe, as this #7 is his 2nd version of the same speedster and has just recently exited his garage, complete and ready to run.…

  • What Things Have Changed?

    What Things Have Changed?

    Every time I go to Williston and pass by Friendly’s restaurant, I remember my days in X-Ray school when we would collect our paychecks (second year students were paid $80/month plus call pay, usually amounted to about $160) and we would head out for Friendly’s for a cheeseburger deluxe and milkshake. The burger used bread…

  • The Classic Auto Festival at Shelburne Museum

    The Classic Auto Festival at Shelburne Museum

    A collaboration between the museum and our VAE, June 15 & 16. The first was in 1969 and it was called the “Shelburne Vintage Automobile Exposition”. Different name, same great fun.  June of 1995 was the 17th VAE Annual Vermont Auto Expo at the Essex Jct. fairgrounds and it’s last. From old Wheel Tracks archives, the weather…

  • Some Serious Cleaning!

    Some Serious Cleaning!

    Circumstances, here at home, have forced me to do some serious cleaning. I always said that Gael was the hoarder, but I have added my name to that list. When you live in a house for fifty years, things accumulate, especially if you have room in closets and spare rooms.  That’s the case here. I…

  • The 12,806 Mile Quest for Old Cars by a couple of VAEers….

    The 12,806 Mile Quest for Old Cars by a couple of VAEers….

    Gary Olney and Vin Cassidy have “the old car syndrome” that most of us have. Our level might be called a “melody”, theirs might be called a “fever level”….just an opinion, mind you.  Here is an attempt to track their travels that took place in about a period of one month. Please excuse us if…

  • A Celebration of Family

    A Celebration of Family

    For eighteen years, the Austin extended family have toured the Northeast U.S in their old cars. Above is part of their 2006 tour that included the Champlain Transportation Museum in Plattsburg. The young-ones are “trying out” the museum’s pedal car collection.There is something always planned for everyone, young and older.   A Celebration of Family, from…