AACA Newsletter - April 2000
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ANTIQUE AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF AMERICA NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA REGION Gainesville, Florida Volume 18, Issue 04 |
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Club meets on the 3rd Monday of the month Next Meeting: April 18, 2000 7:00 PM at Semolina's Pasta, Oaks Mall Plaza, 6795 Newberry Road (Next to old Mill Rest.) Come early if you want to eat. Program starts promptly at 7:30 PM | |
President: Larry Galyean (352) 372-8661 Vice-Pres: Mike Whyte (352) 377-0390 Sec/Treas: Stuart Cullen (352) 375-8999 Editor: David L. Johnson (352) 378-7573 |
| Inside this Newsletter | |
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OCALA COMBINED AUTO AND CARRIAGE SHOW HAS PLENTY OF PAGEANTRY |
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A gala presentation of beautiful old cars and horse drawn carriages with fully costumed participants was held March 26 at the annual Live Oak Combined Driving Event. This is a major equestrian event which runs four days and culminates on Sunday with the inclusion of an auto show for cars meeting AACA requirements. Larry & Patty brought their '55 Ford, Frank brought his '34 Ford and Mike and Suzanne brought themselves (their old wheels are undergoing a little update). About 70 cars showed up, and Larry reports that this was a special event with a lot to see. (Just another one of the advantages of living near "horse country".) | |
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GATORNATIONAL SHOW |
| The annual night car show at SAM's sponsored by the Gainesville Hot Rod Club in conjunction with the renowned Gatornational Drag Racing Show was again a success. Sherwin Karsh who has been a long time active AACA member (and our past president) is currently the president of the Hot Rod Club. Sherwin reported that the show raised $1,900 for Stop Children's Cancer. 184 cars attended. With 10's of thousands of extra people in town for the Gatornationals, this show is always well attended. Good job! | |
| BABIES MUST BE IN SEASON GRANDPARENTS ABOUND! |  |
| The McCullen's are much too young to be Grandparent's...this must be an April Fool's joke. Well I'll be darned, it's no joke...it's unbelievable, but true. Don and Donna wish to proudly announce the birth of Marissa Kay Birmingham born April 10 to daughter Kimberly and her husband Corey. At 6 lbs. 6 oz with lots of blond hair, it's only a matter of time until those cute little words echo though the halls ... "hey gramps, can I borrow a car?" Congratulations to yet another set of grandparents. There seems to be a lot of that going around. | |
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KRUSE AUCTION IN FT. MYERS - PLENTY OF TALK BUT LIMITED SALES |
| This editor accompanied Phil Deems (a prominent Cape Coral realtor and full fledged car collector) and his lovely wife Sue to the Kruse auction in Ft. Myers on March 25. We spent several hours on Saturday looking over the lot and carefully watching the bidding. About 300 cars were available for the two day auction and most of the choice pieces ran through the bidding without a sale. Bids consistently fell well short of the reserves and most ended up for sale on the side lines, some with major markdowns, but still not many takers. Some of these cars had already been through other Kruse auctions this season with no better success. There were some rather nice and rare cars available, but it appeared that this crowd was interested in driver grade cars or quality only if it was at a 'steal' price. A cream puff 1957 T-Bird (a supercharged "F" model) was bid to $79,500, but the reserve stayed on at $110,000. A loaded 1958 Mercury Monterey 2 door hardtop that was touted as all original except for one re-paint was quite stunning, but brought a bid of $24,000 against a reserve of $34,000. This Mercury is the featured car on the cover of this newsletter. A rare 1924 Studebaker El Touring car that came from a museum and was quite an eye grabber was bid to $31,500 against a reserve of $39,500. A nice yellow 1940 Buick 2 door convertible did sell for $18,700 ...apparently a good buy for some lucky bidder. This was a good auction, but if you are looking for really old cars or a bunch of unique pieces, there are other auctions that might suit you better. If you want a 60's thru 80's driver, then maybe this is a place to try. At least the prices in Ft. Myers didn't seem to get out of hand. If you have an interest in how the Kruse auctions have gone over the last few years, go to their web site on the Internet. This site has all their auctions and includes car descriptions and the final sale prices. Those that didn't sell are also described. This is a great site to check on the specifics of an auction very shortly after it's completed. Sign on their web site at www.kruseinternational.com or they can be accessed through the ebay auction site. | |
| CAR COUNCIL SETS PICNIC |  |
| The North Central Florida Car Club Council picnic will be on Saturday, May 21 from 10 AM to 3 PM. The event will occur at the Silver River State Park in Ocala. This is a family event. Bring your special car, if you wish. Although not a formal show, you can informally display your auto. There are currently 14 car clubs. There will be a $2.00 charge per car. Bring your own picnic lunch, but no grilling is currently being permitted (due to the dry conditions I suppose.) | |
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MARCH AT SEMOLINA'S: |
| New member's Karl & Debi Weinert from Alachua were introduced. The Weinert's come with a 1931 Model A Coupe, a fun car for any collector. We are looking forward to the coming associations. Thanks for signing up! Bob Sholtes, a long time Gainesville environmental engineer, also attended as a prospective member. Bob has a Pierce-Arrow and a 1930 Model A. Bob was also a pilot for many years. About 25 years ago this editor built data-logging equipment for Bob, but although our paths have crossed periodically, I never knew he liked old cars. Wayne Mason has again invited members to the annual Florida Rock Barbeque at the South Main Street concrete plant on the evening of April 13th. Please bring your old car for display. The food is always terrific! There were a lot of birthdays in March, but many of the "lucky" people just happened to miss this meeting. Are we getting shy? The singing has been pretty good (at times), and most of us don't hear so good anyway. The City of Williston is looking for old cars to join their annual Independence Day celebration. This year it's on Monday, July 3 and begins with the parade at 5:30 PM. Call Crystal Silverstein at (352) 528-3060, as soon as possible, if you have an interest. | |
| AMELIA ISLAND SHOW: |  |
| Jim Schmidt's 1956 Lincoln gathered two trophies (two? How'd you do that?). Don McCullen got the Design Award for his 1953 Jaguar Coupe. (We didn't even know that Don had anything to do with Jaguar designs.) | |
| JAYCEES RUMMAGE SALE |  |
| AACA member Russell Lane, Studebaker aficionado and Jaycee leader, wishes to thank those AACA members that donated items for the Jaycees rummage sale. Thanks Russell ...the Jaycees continue to make a difference in this community. 1940 Hupmobile, which is obscure enough, but some research turns up a rather interesting story. When Hupmobile was having a lot of difficulties in the late 1930's, like so many other names that have disappeared, they were able to buy up the tools, dies & jigs for the defunct 1937 Cord 810/812. This really forward looking car died with the closure of the Cord plant, the last of the great Auburn Cord Duesenburg empire. Hupmobile bought the tooling for $45,000 and converted it to accommodate a rear wheel drive car (the Cord was a front wheel drive). The nose of the car was also changed from the Cord's original flat nose to make it more distinctive. The car was to be called the "Skylark" and prototypes were first made in 1938. Another 31 were built in 1939 for dealer display purposes. Before production could begin, Hupmobile ran out of money. In a last ditch effort, they contracted with the Graham-Paige Company to do the actual building. Graham-Paige, another old line car company, was also in deep trouble, but it agreed to manufacture in return for payment and the right to also use the tooling & dies to market their own version of the same car. Only 319 of these 1940 Skylarks were produced before the lines shut in July of that year. Since Hupmobile could only make partial payment, Graham-Paige sold the last 239 Skylarks directly to the Hupmobile dealers. Graham-Paige struggled on until September 1940 selling their version of the same car they called the "Hollywood", some of which came equipped with superchargers. (Note: After World War II, the Graham-Paige Company was sold and began making the Frazer. The car portion of the company was soon sold off and that part became the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation. Graham-Paige became an investment company and ultimately bought Madison Square Gardens and was merged into the Gulf & Western empire.) So goes the complicated world of automobile finance in the hectic 1930's and 40's. At any rate, the Cord, Skylark and Hollywood were all ahead of their time, but time and fortune ran out before anyone could succeed. Thanks to Lee Deschler of Wisconsin for providing the picture and data, and thanks to the Standard Catalog of American Cars for additional history. | |
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STUMP THE CAR BUFF: |
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| This is an intriguing story. The car in question is owned by Tom Hincz from Wisconsin and he bought it from an estate in 1997 after it had been stored since 1941. (Why can't I ever find that kind of treasure?) Answers | |
| FOR SALE: |
1957 FORD F-100 FLARE SIDE SHORT BASE PICK UP TRUCK. ORIGINAL OWNER. HE SAYS IT'S IN EXCELLENT CONDITION. ASKING $11,500. CALL: (352) 624-1274. |
| CRUISE-INS & SHOWS: |
| ACTIVITIES NEAR-BY: |
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Apr 14-16: Mt. Dora, FL MG festival with all vintages from Europe and throughout the States.
Carl Fritz (our MG expert) has the answers. Apr 14-16: Ft. White, FL Camp & Cruz by Cresent Community Cruisers. Call Larry Osten (904) 454-9434. Apr 22: Gainesville, FL At Gator Hobby, 5000 NW 34th St, across from Northwood Shopping Center. 4-9PM. $5 fee, door prizes, raffle, etc. Call Mike Whyte at 377-0390 for information. Also radio controlled car & helicopter demonstrations. May 6: High Springs, FL Annual Pioneer Days. May 6: Orange Park (Moosehaven), FL AACA Northeast Region 27th Annual show & swap meet. US17 8am - 4:30pm. Top 40 & Best of Show. $12 before April 12, then $15. Call (904) 282-2184. May 20: Trenton, FL Suwannee River Early Ford Club Antique Car Show at Ayers Health Center 10-2pm. May 20: Palatka, FL AACA Azalea Region car show at the Palatka Mall from 10am - 3pm. 2nd Sat each month: Gainesville Street Rods Cruise in of customs & antiques at Butler Plaza, by the Texas Road and Gainesville Ale Houses. The 2nd Sat. of the month from 6-9 PM. Call Sherwin at (352) 473-2268. |
| SPECIAL AACA EVENTS: |
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May 19-20: Winchester, VA Eastern National Spring Meet. Jun 3: Hershey, PA 5th annual AACA Museum Exposition. Jul 14-15: Mountoursville, PA Grand National Meet. Jul 20-22: Charlotte, NC Special Southeastern Division Fall Meet. Aug 4-6: Macungie, PA 37th Das Awkscht Fescht Show Aug 17-19: Waukesha, WI Central Division National Fall Meet. Oct 4-7: Hershey, PA Eastern Div. National Fall Meet (THE SHOW!) Nov 16-18: Cape Canaveral, FL Southeastern Div. National Fall Meet. |
| Other U.S. Events for 2000 |
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May 5-7: Kruse-Volo, IL May 12-14: Kruse-Auburn (spring) Aug 30-Sep 5: Kruse-Auburn (fall) |
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DRINKING DRIVERS NOTHING WORSE THEY PUT THE QUART BEFORE THE HEARSE |
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| "Stump" answers: |
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Note: Dues Time
Pay your $26 National dues directly,
see form with your Antique Automobile Magazine.
Pay Stuart $26 for your local dues.
We still have some stragglers!
See You Monday!
FOR THIS MONTH
1958 MERCURY MONTEREY
TWO DOOR HARDTOP
(nearly original)
Shown at FT. MYERS, FL
Photo by Editor
ANTIQUE AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF AMERICA NORTH CENTRAL FLORIDA REGION
[ APRIL 2000 ] [ MAY 2000 ] [ JUNE 2000 ] [ JULY 2000 ]
c/o David L. Johnson
3752 NW 21st Place
Gainesville, FL 32605
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