October - Queen City Model A Club

Distributor
October 2015
Volume 22 Issue 10
Ramblin’ ‘Reck...
President:
Bob Atterberry
[email protected]
704-860-1314
If you are from the Carolinas, or maybe a newcomer to this area, you may
not be able to complete this motto. But if you are a "Georgia Cracker",
Vice President:
Craig Stoll
[email protected]
704-845-5925
you no doubt can complete this motto as fluidly as water flows from a
pitcher. Look inside for our featured article this month….from Georgia
Tech. No offense, Clemson and N.C. State grads.
Secretary:
Jane Hyland
[email protected]
704-398-2674
Treasurer:
Virginia Faulkenberry
[email protected]
704-549-1525
Editor:
Danny Phillips
[email protected]
704-361-8337
www.queencitymodelaclub.com
Inside This Issue
2
3
4
Dean Floyd "Bob Cat" Field was
the proud owner of the first
"Ramblin’ ‘Reck" or also known
as "Floyd's Flivver".
President’s Message
Down the Road “A” Piece
Health and Happiness
What’s In A Name
From An Earlier Day
A Spiffy Ramblin’ Reck from
8
Editor’s Note
A Poem of Season
9
Embarrassed by Your Horn?
10
September Meeting Minutes
11
Father’s Day Special
Model A Ford in 21st Century
Ga Tech
6
World’s Oldest Running Car
12
Accessories with Shoe Clips
7
Murray’s Mill Tour
13
History of Car Radio - Part 1
Henry the Farmboy
14
Birthdays & Anniversaries
President’s Message
2
Good day fellow club members.
Once again it is that time to write the President's
message for the October newsletter. Fall is in the air and just
around the corner. The weather has definitely been an issue
with our planned events. For it being such a hot and dry
summer, we jumped head first into rain and cool weather. As
you know the Murray's Mill event scheduled for September 24th
was a washout. I would like to thank Carey & Glenn Swann for
hosting the event. It is a shame, that we were not able to attend,
due to the weather. Murray's Mill is always a fun day trip. Then the weekend of October
1st was again an unusual weather happening. I am glad that we had no scheduled event.
The Belmont Historical Society had a Living History Day scheduled, Elizabeth and her
group had worked so hard on the event, but again it was cancelled. I feel for the people in
Charleston and elsewhere for all the flooding that has happened. This has not been a good
time to drive our "A's". I am looking forward to the upcoming events, the Hayride at the
Bryant's on Friday, Oct. 16th and the tour to Forest City on Saturday, October 24th. Let's
hope that the weather will be good for these events. If you can help Ron and Joann in
preparing for the Hayride and Hot Dog roast, please contact them.
As you know the nominating committee has been working on officers for the
upcoming year. I am happy to report that Dwight Jackson has been nominated and has
agreed to serve as president if elected at the October meeting. Treasurer and Secretary
positions have been filled also, but the office of vice president is still open. Please consider
saying yes to this office, if you are contacted. Danny Phillips has also announced that he
will not be able to continue as the newsletter editor. This is a major concern. This is a very
important job that keeps the club membership informed. CAN YOU HELP!!!!!
I look forward to seeing you at Captain's Cap, Belmont on October 19th, and at this
time we will have the club elections. Jim & Laura Silver will our hosts.
Health and Happiness
Continue to keep these members
in your thoughts in the days
ahead:
Wil Vohs
Bruce Hyland
Ann Enos
Jim Townsend
So long till next month,
Pres. Bob
Down the Road “A” Piece
October 9-11th:
Cotton Ginning Days - Gastonia
October
16th:
Club's Fall Hayride & Hot Dog Roast,
Iron Station, NC
Hosts: Ron & Joanne Bryant
(more information to follow via email)
October 19th:
QCMAC meeting, Captain's Cap,
6:30pm, Belmont, NC
Hosts: Laura & Jim Silver
October 24th:
Bennett's Classic Car Museum Day
Tour, Forest City, NC
Hosts: Bob & Elizabeth Atterberry
November 16th:
December 14th:
QCMAC meeting, Azteca, 6:30pm
QCMAC Holiday Party, 6:30pm
Matthews, NC
Hickory Tavern
Host: Linda Molenaar
Charlotte, NC
What’s In A Name?
3
by Danny Phillips & Hagerty Insurance
What is in a name? For many folks like you and me, we might have a unique name or nick name. I once knew a man
whose name was Wood Burns. Unique and true, wood does burn. One of our very own QCMAC members, Smokey
Dorsey, has a unique name. I’m not sure at birth, if his mother named him this but I would rather like to think he was
given this name by some of his fellow fire fighters. But who knows, perhaps when born, he popped out so fast it seems as
if he was smoking! My middle name is Woodrow, named after President Woodrow Wilson; not so unique or funny but
when I was born I think a lot of parents gave names to their children for Presidents they felt made a significant
contribution to history….up to that time period. Just recently, I met a black gentleman named Ivory Rose. He had a
name that is difficult to forget, especially for a black man.
Some automobiles also have unique names. Many are named for their founder’s…..Ford, Chevrolet, some for the town
they were built in like the Cleveland automobile for the city of Cleveland, Ohio. But some are “no-names” or better put,
“made up names”, names that have never existed or even been mentioned before. Here are 5 car names that are not
actually words; they are “Nonsense Names”.
This car company has a knack for made-up names: Carina, Previa and Yaris for example. Toyota would
not admit that the Camry was a nonsense name and when pressured by some in the automotive industry to admit it was a
not a real word, they made up a story that Camry is like the anglicized version of “kenmuri”, the Japanese word for
“crown”.
Toyota not only took the #1 spot but also claimed the #2 spot as well. Like Camry, Celica is another
made-up-in-Japan moniker. As with Camry, Toyota came up with a flimsy explanation such as, it sounding a little bit
like the Latin word for “celestial”. Clever, huh?
A list of 2000 words beginning with the letter “C” finally yielded
what the manufacturer claimed was an arcane French word for “pal”, just another
made-up name. But after 50 years and 6 generations, we conclude that Camaro
simply means
Toronado is one of those words that both sounds like it
means something and looks like a typo. A cross between a mobile home’s worst
nightmare and a fancy beef dish with an extra vowel thrown in, in fact means
absolutely nothing.
Nope, it’s not a misspelling of Stallion----it has no meaning in
any language.
Chevrolet Camaro
Reflections from an Earlier Day
In June 2012, 23 members of the QCMAC gathered for lunch at Punchy’s Diner and then drove over for a visit with Dallas and
Helen Talbert of Concord, to enjoy their “museum and collections”
A Spiffy “Ramblin’ Wreck” …from Georgia Tech
4
This Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech is the 1930 Ford
Model A Sport Coupe that serves as the official mascot of the
student body at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. The Wreck is present at all major sporting events and student body functions. Its most noticeable role is leading the
football team into Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant
Field, a duty which the Wreck has performed since 1961. The
Ramblin’ Wreck is mechanically and financially maintained on
campus by students in the Ramblin’ ‘Reck Club.
The first mechanical Wreck was a 1914 Model T, owned by
Dean Floyd Field (photo on front page). Until the current
Wreck was donated to the school in 1961, most of the early Ramblin’ Wrecks were owned by students, faculty or
alumni. Today’s Wreck has donned a number of different paint jobs and has had several restorations and modifications made to it. These changes were made by various individuals and organizations over the years, including Bobby
Dodd and the Georgia Tech Alum at the Ford plant in Hapeville, Ga. The upkeep of the Wreck has been the sole responsibility of the Ramblin’ ‘Reck Club and the car’s driver since 1987.
The Ramblin’ Wreck has been the target of several pranks perpetrated by rival schools; the University of Tennessee
once provided the Wreck with an unsolicited new paint job, and the University of Georgia has stolen the Wreck on at
least two occasions. This official Ramblin’ Wreck is considered the only “true” Wreck, and no backups or replacements exist.
A Spiffy “Ramblin’ Wreck” …from Georgia Tech
5
The 1916 Cumberland vs. Georgia
Tech football game was the most
lopsided in the history of college
football, with Georgia Tech winning
222–0. The game was played on
October 7, 1916, between the
Georgia Tech Engineers and
Cumberland College Bulldogs at
Grant Field (now a part of Bobby
Dodd Stadium) in Atlanta, Georgia.
World’s Oldest Car Fetches $4.62 Million
6
The 1884 De Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam Runabout (from hence referred to as “The Car”) is the
oldest motor vehicle car in the world that still runs. It was built one year before Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler invented
the internal combustion engine.
On October 10, 2011 “The Car” was sold at auction for $4.62 million, more than double the pre-sale estimate. Two
bidders chased the price up in a 3-minute bidding war. To prove this 127-year-old car really does run, it was driven up
onto the stage as a $500,000.00 bid was made, and immediately followed with a 1-million-dollar bid. The bidding
continued swiftly until the hammer finally fell to an unnamed buyer at $4.62 million.
“The Car” was built by George Bouton and Charles-Armand Trepardoux for the French entrepreneur Count de Dion.
In 1887, with De Dion at the tiller, it won the world’s first ever motor vehicle race.
Article Compliments of QCMAC member
Dr. Rion Rutledge
Henry the Farmboy (part 98)
7
Ford and the Great Depression
In the year since the stock market crash of October, 1929, some 5,000 banks had failed and 6 million men had lost their
jobs (the country's population was 125 million). In the beginning the success of the Model A enabled Ford Motor to initially
withstand the strain of the Depression better than many other businesses. In 1930, Ford had respectable profits of around
$40 million even though the previous year's profit had been over double that.
Detroit was in particularly bad shape. Nearly 750,000 workers were unemployed in Michigan, and those who had jobs frequently took up
to 40% cuts in pay. Detroit soup kitchens worked at full speed and men, women, and children stood in bead lines daily.
Henry was bound and determined to short circuit the depression by infusing optimism, determination, and his own personal solutions into
the American collective soul. His first reaction was to raise wages to $7/day while lowering the prices of his cars. He proclaimed that the
country's woes were caused by men who played games with money - the bankers - as opposed to real producers such as himself who created
wealth.
"These are really good times," he declared in March, 1931, "but only if you know it….The average man won't really do a day's work unless
he is caught and cannot get out of it."
In reality the average man could not wait to get caught. And as critics pointed out the $7.00 wage that Ford paid unskilled workers came
out of the hides of others. To maintain that level of pay for Henry's workers work was farmed out to vendors and sweatshop owners who paid
nothing that even sniffed the Ford wage. Notable among these was the Briggs Body Company who paid as little as 12 ½ cents per hour.
Walter Briggs, who supplied bodies to both Ford and Chrysler, was notorious for paying workers only when the assembly line was in actual
operation. They might be required to spend 10 hours at the plant while only getting paid tor two. Briggs purchased the Detroit Tigers baseball
team in 1935. GM bodies were made by Fisher.
Henry tried hard to guide his company through the Great Depression and to protect his workers. But it couldn't last. In 1931 the Model A
boom broke and sales started to suffer as badly as other car manufacturers. Several independent car makers went out of business. GM,
Nash, and Chrysler however did quite well. Chrysler's new Plymouth line helped their bottom line immensely. But Ford suffered from a familiar
old problem: too much dependence on a single model. Despite how very good a car as it was, the Model A had been overtaken by Knudsen's
six cylinder Chevrolet and Chrysler's "Free Wheeling" Plymouth. So in 1931, Ford Motor went into the red by $37 million. Since the traditional
Ford clientele was at the lower end of the income scale, and had been hit hardest by the depression, future prospects were not promising. In
1929 American farmers bought 650,000 new Fords. In 1932 they were to purchase only 55,000.
Ford was forced to yield to the inevitable. In 1931, the much vaunted seven-dollar-a-day wage quietly went down to $6.00, and then a year
later to $4.00. The company, for the short term, was even reduced to a form of barter. The company instituted a program whereby a purchaser
of a new car, after a down payment, could actually obtain a job at the Rouge plant to work off the balance.
Anne O'Hare McCormick of the New York Times wrote after a visit to the Rouge, "Something has happened to Ford, and perhaps through
him to the America he represents."
Ford was down, but not yet out. The V-8 was just around the corner.
Murray's Mill Tour
It was a rainy week and we were hoping for the weather to clear up. Not happening for Saturday!!
Glenn, Carrie and their friend Kathleen rode over to McD's to see if there were any die hard model A'er
that wanted to weather the rain, no one showed up. So onward to Hardee's. Nope no one there either.
So that the day was not a total waste, we rode down Hwy. 16 to Stacy's restaurant for breakfast. Which
was very enjoyable and filling. Although it was raining our ride around the country side was lots of fun
and NO car trouble.
Editor’s Note
8
A surprising revelation at our September meeting----no one
was able to lay claim to the prize I offered
. Not one person at that meeting
could identify the “dapper gentleman” in the photo published.
So, for those of you who missed the photo, I have included it
as part of this article; and to take it a step farther, for anyone
is Henry Donaghy.
not at the meeting, our “
Therefore, I am still in possession of my prize offering
for September, and I am anxious to give it away at our
October meeting. So, look at the article in this issue
featuring the autumn photos and the poem and tell me the
poem’s author. The first person who greets me at the
meeting with the correct answer will take home the prize.
Good Luck!
Danny Phillips
O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they my form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst,
Slow, slow!
For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—
For the grapes’ sake along the wall.
Embarrassed By Your Horn
By Paul Koncak, Austin, Texas
Does the sound your Model A horn makes embarrass you
unless the engine is running? I have been around Model A's
since I was a very young boy and at that lime Model A's were
quite acceptable transportation. One thing that always puzzled
me about them was, with rare exception, the horn would only
blow properly when the engine was running. And it had to be
above idle so that the generator would be putting out a few
charging amps. The usual maintenance of armature cleaning
and oiling would make the horn work properly but only for a
short while. I wondered about that for years.
I rode to high school with my neighbor in his 1929 Tudor. I
tried many times to get the horn on that car to work properly,
but met with no success.
In 1972, I bought my first Model A and restored it completely
from the ground up including the horn. Special attention was
paid to the electrical system, grounding, etc. The same old
problem showed up on it. The engine had to be running for the
horn to sound correctly. So I bought one of those horn relays
and installed it. I was disappointed when it did not cure the
problem.
For many years I was a computer hardware engineer and
became familiar with small motors, so I put that experience to
use. I removed my horn and separated the motor assembly
from the horn bell. With the adjustment as it was on the car, l
turned the armature and found that there was considerable drag
on it. I reassembled it and backed off the adjustment until the
waffle disk would not rub against the diaphragm. Disassembled
it again and found that there was still considerable drag on the
armature. In other words, the armature would not spin when
turning it by hand. It appeared that there was too much friction
applied to the armature shaft by the springs. I bent the flat
spring turn runs on the front of the armature shaft toward the
front. This immediately freed up the armature so that it would
spin slightly when giving it a quick twist. The spring was bent
just enough to remove any end-play of the armature shaft
between the flat spring and the adjustment bar at the rear. I
9
reassembled it
and it gave out
that good old
ahooga sound.
I had been
trying for well over
10 years to get
one to do that so
you can imagine
the excitement I
enjoyed. I turned
the headlights on and tried the horn. It worked perfectly.
My theory of why this condition exists is that the flat spring,
being a larger surface area and a bit more hefty, overcomes
the tension of the small compression spring under the adjusting
bar. The small spring evidently loses its tension at a greater
rate than the flat spring. This will result in having to turn the
adjustment screw in too far to get a sound from the horn. The
end result is that the armature is too tight, thus requiring more
voltage/current to operate properly.
What we are striving for is (1) to have the brushes run centrally
on the commutator segments, (2) no armature end-play, (3) the
armature to spin freely and (4) lo make the proper sound by
turning the adjusting screw in only two or three clicks.
While the horns I have done this work on are Sparton's I feel
sure this procedure will work on the other makes as well.
Tiny Tips
From MAFCA Members
Submitted by Tony Topicz and previously published in the
AaaOOOgah newsletter, Ohio Valley Region.
Horn Lubrication
Lubricating their horn is one item some people overlook.
There are two felt pads at the armature area of your horn.
Put two (2) drops of “3-l” type oil on each felt oiler pad about
two times a year and this will help keep your horn working.
DO NOT OVER OIL.
Minutes: Queen City Model A Club
10
September 21, 2015
Longhorn Restaurant
The September meeting was held at Longhorn Restaurant in Pineville, hosted by Ed and Julie
Dickerson. There were 53 in attendance. Walter O’Neil said grace and President Atterberry called
the meeting to order.
MINUTES
– The August Minutes were approved as written; however, the July minutes were
corrected by a motion to indicate Jean Hood’s age to be 80 rather than 85. Motion seconded and
carried.
TREASURER’S REPORT- We currently have a balance of $5,118.93.
NEW BUSINESS – Events and Tours:
Abernathy Laurels (near Newton) – Friday, 9/25 – This is a car show that starts at 5pm. There is no registration fee.
Walter O’Neil encouraged everyone to come.
Murray’s Mill Fall Festival – Saturday, Sept. 26. This is headed up by the Swanns. Cars will depart from McDonalds
(Hwy.16 and Mt. Holly/Huntersville Rd.) at 8:30, driving to Hardees at Hwys. 16 and 150, departing from there at
9:00-9:15 to drive to the Mill.
Hayride at the Bryants – Friday, October 16, 6:30pm. A sign-up sheet was passed around. There is lots of parking
space available. Club members were asked to watch any children they bring. There will be a weiner roast. Help
needed to set up.
Forest City Day Tour – Saturday, October 24. Elizabeth Atterberry is organizing this event, which leaves at 8am from
Hardees in Gastonia on Hwy. 321 South, traveling to the Bennett Antique Auto Museum in Forest City, NC. Lunch
will be at a local Ryan Steak House, and there will be a winery stop on the way home.
Operation Christmas Child – Carrie Swann will be collecting shoeboxes or monetary donations ($7 per shoebox) at the
11/16 meeting.
2016 Officer Nominations – Nominations were opened to the floor. None were received.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Health & Happiness
Jim Townsend (present) – Recovering from his second carpel tunnel surgery. Also, Jim is almost completely recovered
from a successful shoulder surgery.
Will Vohs – (not present) Will be having knee surgery the first week of October, with surgery on the other knee a few
weeks later.
Bruce Hyland (present) – Recovering from his second surgery this summer; this one involving a hernia. Plans to have a
shoulder replacement later in the fall.
Ann Enos (present) – Is having chemo treatments every other week and has had her third (12 total treatments over a 6
month period).
Phone Tree/Tool Crib – Ron Bryant said the phone tree is working well and a few tools are currently out.
Newsletter – Danny Phillips gave a challenge to identify a “Dapper Guy” in a photo in the newsletter. No one could do so, and
we learned it was Henry Donahee.
Seminar – Lou (Bernouski) put out some tentative dates (Oct. 17, 31, or any November Saturday) for the seminar on the
steering box adjustment. Will get back on an exact date and other details.
Clothing – Carrie had the clothing catalog on hand.
OTHER:
Eric Peterson has a friend, Dennis, whose wife just died. He is interested in getting a car and joining the club. Eric also talked
about doing a day trip to the Carolina’s Aviation Museum. Sonny Sain shared about a trip to a Model A National Meet in Milwaukee
years ago.
NEXT MEETING: This will be held on Monday, October 19, at Captain’s Cap in Belmont, hosted by Jim and Laura Silver.
TWO OLD TIMERS on the ROAD for FATHER'S DAY
11
Mr. Richard Blankenship, 85, of Troutman was the star of the day for Father's Day on June 21, 2015, when Walter and Joyce
O'Neal "came a'callin."
His son, Rick Blankenship, owns Melson Enterprises in Troutman and has helped with Model A parts and advice since Walter
bought the '29 in March of 2014. On one visit in late spring, Rick requested a surprise present for his dad-a ride in the Model
A-and the O'Neal's were happy to oblige.
One reason that the occasion was so special was that the truck and Mr. Blankenship, Sr., were the same age! Born on
December 2, 1929, the elderly gentleman had many memories of the autos of his youth and beamed with delight when he
saw the A pull in.
Dressed for the occasion in tuxedos, wingtips and fedoras, the
O'Neal's presented Mrs. Blankenship, Sr., with a loaf of fresh-baked
bread and Joyce produced a step-stool to help Mr. Blankenship into
the truck. As you can see from the photos however, his long legs
and excitement made the step totally unnecessary. Despite the
afternoon temps reaching near 100?, he and Walter left the
driveway with "no sweat," amid an audience busy shooting video
and snapping pictures.
A mile or so down the road one of the tires blew out, and Walter
made the change in record time with no grease on his white shirt
and with Mr. Blankenship in the shade of a nearby tree. When they
returned to the house, it was time for more pictures and one or two
more OOGA'S, then the A and its owners waved goodbye to the
family. Rick told Walter later that his father was still regaling
anyone who would listen about his Father's Day ride.
The Model A Ford in the 21st Century
One item on our Model A's that everyone eventually will address is the question of
running an "air filter". It would stand to reason that back in the 1930's you would
want to run something on the carburetor because the bulk of the roads were dirt
roads, extremely dusty and prone to throwing up all kinds of debris. Today, even with
the great roads (blacktop / cement ), every car manufactured has an air cleaner and
the position of the air cleaner is generally on the very top of the engine. Compare
this to the Model A whose air cleaner is down on the very side of the motor where
there is much more chance of picking up debris.
So, what are the options in today's market? Model A suppliers have for years
supplied an "Air Maze" cleaner which leaves a lot to be desired (i.e. a wire mesh
filter. When I first started to run a Model A, I would put a paper filter (probably from a
Wisconsin 4cyl engine) and did that for a while but was always concerned about the
restriction from the paper and the fuel leaking and setting in the bottom of the filter).
Well, then came K & N filters which you could wash out and re-spray with a fine oil.
These filters made their way into the "speed industry" for years and are still the go-to filter for any hopped-up care on
the street as well as your daily driver. They have much less resistance and yet still filter the air, making for a great filter
for anyone wanting added horse power and filtration. I have run the shorter K & N filter and see now they have a longer
version to use on the Model A.
Till next month, keep the wheels on the ground and moving forward,
Bruce Hyland
Accessorizing With Shoe Clips
By Dotti Shogren
Today, as well as in the Model A era and centuries prior, shoe clips are
a simple and effective way to add detail and character to a plain pair of
shoes. They were available in the Model A years in a variety of materials
such as plastics, faux and real gemstones, cut steel, shell, wood, ribbon,
and fabrics,
In the photo below right, the square, buckle-looking detail on top of the
shoes on the left are quite possible shoe clips. I found this photo on
Pinterest and based on the details of hem length, the barely visible hipline
detail on the left-hand dress, the fullness in the bodice and the cloche hats
covering the entire forehead area, I am judging that this photo depicts
fashions of the early Model A years, or just a couple of years earlier, 1926
or 1927.
As seen at the top right-hand photo, shoe slips have a metal tab with
fine ‘teeth’ and the tab simply bends around the vamp of a shoe to hold
them in place. Other attachment hardware may actually be hinged the
same way dress clips were made.
The vintage shoe clips shown here were labeled “1920’s” and I
purchased them about 12 years ago at a vintage clothing expo in San
Francisco. They are foil backed clear faux rhinestones set in white metal.
The pair on the right, has an Egyptian influenced Art Deco design.
The photo below left, is another pair I purchased from the same
vendor at the expo, and is of a bow design, again from the Art
Deco period.
Shoe slips are a fun item to keep an eye out for in antique
shops and second-hand stores, and of course they are available
online from sites such as Etsy and eBay.
12
History of the Car Radio......Part I
13
Seems like cars have always had radios, but they didn’t. Here’s the true story…..
One evening, in 1929, two young men named William
Lear and Elmer Wavering drove their girlfriends to a lookout
point high above the Mississippi River town of Quincy,
Illinois, to watch the sunset. It was a romantic night to be
sure, but one of the women observed that it would be even
nicer if they could listen to music in the car.
Lear and Wavering liked the idea. Both men had
tinkered with radios (Lear had served as a radio operator in
the U.S. Navy during World War I) and it wasn’t long before
they were taking apart a home radio and trying to get it to
work in a car. But it wasn’t as easy as it may sound.
Automobiles have ignition switches, generators, spark plugs
and other electrical equipment that generate noisy static
interference, making it nearly impossible to listen to the
radio when the engine was running.
One by one, Lear and Wavering identified and
eliminated each source of electrical interference. When they
finally got their radio to work, they took it to a convention in
Chicago. There they met Paul Galvin, owner of Galvin
Manufacturing Corp. He made a product called a “battery
eliminator”, a device that allowed battery-powered radios to
run on household AC current. But as more homes were
wired for electricity, more radio manufacturers made ACpowered radios.
Galvin needed a new product to
manufacture. When he met Lear and Wavering at the radio
convention, he found it. He believed that mass-produced,
affordable car radios had the potential to become a huge
business.
Lear and Wavering set up shop in Galvin’s factory,
and when they perfected their first radio, they installed it in
his Studebaker. Then Galvin went to a local banker to apply
for a loan. Thinking it might sweeten the deal, he had his
men install a radio in the banker’s Packard. It was a good
idea that backfired (no pun intended). Half an hour after
the installation, the banker’s Packard caught on fire. (they
didn’t get the loan.)
Galvin didn’t give up. He drove his Studebaker nearly
800 miles to Atlantic City to show off the radio at the 1930
Radio Manufacturers Association convention. Too broke to
afford a booth, he parked the car outside the convention hall
and cranked up the radio so that passing conventioneers
could hear it. That idea worked-----He got enough orders to
put the radio into production.
End of Part I………..Part II next month.
14
Queen City Model A Club
4620 Rozzelles Ferry Road
Charlotte, NC 28216
Birthdays
2
2
5
7
8
8
9
10
16
18
20
21
October
Margie DeView
Manual Enos
Susan Phillips
Randy Gajewski
Claude Palmer
Glenn Swann
Bob Atterberry
Harvey Hood
Barbara Helderman
Matt Mendy
Charlotte Culbreth
Sonny Sain
9
Anniversaries
Pam & Frank Burn
10 Gina & Don Hubbard
19 Ola Mae & Vann Matthews