You regular (and Gentle) readers may have heard me crow about my favorite car from the past.
Even when I had to pump up a flat tire.
That was my little '71 MGB convertible, which I had for only one year.
I've been through a lot of cars during my driving days, from a 47 Chevy, through a Mercury Turnpike Cruiser, through a couple of Impalas, a VW Quantum station wagon, all the way to my 2013 Nissan Altima, which we bought new and still has less than 50,000 miles on it.
I've enjoyed them all, at various times.
But my favorite car of all time was one I didn't even own.
This one.
My uncle Zenas bought that 1948 Packard Super convertible coupe new for less than twenty-three hundred bucks.
It was black with white sidewall tires and, as I remember, a blood red interior.
It was swank!
But, I found in looking through some family pictures today, that I can go back even further than that.
That's my grandfather, B.W., sitting on the running board.
The raffish young man in the straw boater is my father, F.B.
My grandmother, Daisy Berry Taylor (I swear) is on the right and her mother, my great-grandmother Libby (Elizabeth) Howland Berry, is on the left.
I can't tell you what year the photo was taken or what kind of car it is.
Judging by my father's appearance I would guess it's in the mid-1920's.
But I'm at a loss for cars from that era.
So maybe one of you experts out there can tell me what it is.
Meantime, I sure wish I had that Packard stud-mobile!
I actually saw an exact match to the car of my youth parked at Sprouts last week! 1968 Mustang - white with baby blue interior! It looked so small! I guess I've gotten used to seeing so many monster trucks on the road as the norm.
ReplyDeleteLove those old autos. The Packard is beautiful. Probably drove like a tank and got 11 mpg, but still beautiful. The MG's were all great from the TC/TD/and TF's to the MGB. Mine was a '58 MGA. White walls, knock off wheel, tauna (sp) cover and detachable plastic side windows. Actually had a crank to start it up if the electric starter did not work...but you could just as easily push it in neutral, hop in put it in first and pop the clutch to start it if the battery let you down.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the photos and the old cars. I loved my parents' 56 Chevy Belair although they sold it before I got old enough to drive.
ReplyDeleteI love these old pics of the cars and your family. It is funny how cars fit into so many family memories - we always did road trips for holidays so you remember which car went to which location.
ReplyDeleteThat last car looks like the Ford Bonnie and Clyde were driving when the law caught up with them.
ReplyDeleteDear Bruce, I'm no expert, but the kid in my deep memory just said,"That's our Model A Ford. It has a rumble seat!" I loved the rumble seat, but it was reserved for my older siblings. I had to sit on my mother's lap on the passenger-side of its single sheltered seat. Sometimes my eldest sister's friend, Jess, would run up to our car and hop onto the running board, grip the open window and chat with us til he'd hop off at his destination --usually Sutterville Road or home. By 1956, the poor car's front end started to shimmy. It sold for $20, and we got a '49 Willys station wagon, which I liked because we shared a birth-year. You brought back fond memories. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteCool cars!
ReplyDeleteGeo is correct, it's a Model A...Henry's contribution to mass industry and mass production. Available only in black.
ReplyDeleteAndy bought an old Model T when he was a teen. He learned a lot by keeping it going.
ReplyDeleteNot a Model A. Google 1926 Model T Coupe and you'll find a match.
ReplyDeleteHow fun are those pictures. Looks like your experts have figured out the car, which is good since I would be no help at all.
ReplyDelete