Old Home Week

One neat thing about the internet is the way it can put you in touch with friends you haven't seen for many years. Not too long ago I heard from Midge Frueh Cortesi, whose father I used to work for in my Farmall era. We were able to share our memories of Falls Village, the northwest Connecticut hamlet where we grew up. Her sister, Lauriann Cardinali alerted me to a Falls Village automotive artifact on eBay, the photo that heads this feature.

Many of you will recognize it from its headlights as a Pierce-Arrow Model 33 from the early 1920s. It has been converted to a wrecker - you can see how it was cut down from a sedan in order to mount the wrecker boom. This was the fate of many old prestige cars in the 1930s - they were cheap, sturdy and powerful, well-suited to towing disabled cars or disentangling wrecks.

I remember Schreiber's Garage. We used to buy gas there, and have our car repaired. The Pierce wrecker was gone by the time we moved to town, replaced by a purpose-built 1935 Ford. I wondered, then, just when the photo was taken, so I began to look at it carefully.

The wrecker is parked in front of a small store on Main Street. The garage can be seen at the extreme right. The windows are open, so it must be a warm summer day. We can just see a car behind the wrecker, and on the car is a dealer plate (plates for new car dealers in Connecticut, then and now, start with X). Schreiber's was a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer, so not surprisingly the car is a Plymouth, a 1938 model, judging by the bumper guards. It looks pretty new and shiny, so perhaps the photo was taken that summer.

But there are other clues, in the shop window behind. The most obvious isn't much help. It advertises dry cleaning. But on the other side is a movie poster, from the Stuart Theater in nearby Lakeville. There's another one from the Colonial Theater in Canaan, the next town to the north. The Stuart burned on Christmas Day in 1958, but the Colonial is still standing - and operating.

On the posters, we can just make out the titles of two coming attractions, Lady of the Tropics and The Wizard of Oz. The extremely helpful Internet Movie Data Base tells us that Lady, starring Robert Taylor and Hedy Lamarr, opened on August 11, 1939. Wizard, starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger and Bert Lahr, came two weeks later, on the 25th. So it is indeed a summer picture, taken at the end of July or beginning of August 1939.

Schreiber's closed around 1955. The owner had died, and his widow sold up and moved away. The building was later occupied by John Fitch & Co., headed by the renowned racing driver who built his Sprint conversions for Corvairs there, and developed the stillborn Phoenix by Fitch in 1966. It was later a grocery store. The building survives as 100 Main Street, home to Flying West Music, the studio of composer Joshua Stone.

So you can go home again, and the internet can take you there.

Hernando

I thought I knew all the cars of the 1930s, '40s and '50s - I'd been carspotting ever since I could remember. But the summer I turned 16 I came across one I'd not seen before. The grille was like that of the 1940 Pontiac, but different, in an attractive sort of way. A look at the nameplate showed me it was a DeSoto, a 1940 Custom sedan. It was parked at a gas station, for sale, and the price was a moderate (even then) $30. I had to have it.

So have it I did. I paid my $30 to the owner, who worked at the station and had traded up to a newer Studebaker Commander, borrowed a set of dealer plates, and my friend Gene, who was six months older and already had a license, drove it home for me.

I was elated. I named it "Hernando" for reasons that will be obvious to most CarPorters. The black paint was in fairly good shape, and both it and the chrome polished up well. On the other hand, the fact that we had to tow it to get it started was not encouraging, nor was the fact that the engine's casting plugs were weeping water, which the owner had tried to fix by filling them with window putty...

One of the rear wheel cylinders leaked, which I repaired without much trouble. The engine did not run evenly, though, and a compression check showed the rear two cylinders had none. "It needs a valve job," I decided (it was my valve job period, when all ills could be cured with a valve job). When I got the head off, I found the gasket was blown through between the two cylinders, which had also caused a water leak, which in turn had rusted a head bolt that broke when I tried to remove it.

There was also a burned exhaust valve on the front cylinder, so I bought a new valve, along with a head gasket, from the local DeSoto dealer. "Gawd," said the parts man, "that's 20 years old!" I thanked him for his wisdom.

More ominous than the burned valve was a chunk missing from the front piston. It hadn't scored the cylinder and I didn't relish dropping the pan to change it, so I put things back as best I could, drilled out the broken bolt, retapped the hole and buttoned it up. The engine ran better than before, though not as well as I'd hoped, and seemed to run a little hot.

Hernando looked good, though, all polished up. I painted the wheels red, imitating a treatment on 1950 Buicks that I liked, and bought a set of Port-o-Walls. I also attempted to dye the brown cloth seats red, not successfully as they came out a shade of purple. Still, I thought Hernando was handsome and got him properly registered for the road.

The first time I drove Hernando some distance, he blew out the weeping casting plug, and I had to retreat home while losing most of the water, which didn't seem to cause permanent damage. I replaced the plug with a bolt-in type. The car bounced badly - the shocks were shot - but the radio made lovely music, with deep booming bass notes and the Safety Signal speedometer changed color as the car went faster. After a few weeks, though, the engine began to make suspicious noises. I retreated to the Nash Rambler convertible that had been handed down by my mother, and left Hernando to sit outside the barn. We put the Port-o-Walls on my friend Tod's 1936 Plymouth, and the radio went into his Crosley. Over time, I parted Hernando out, fenders and bumpers to Texas, hubcaps to Massachusetts - and I've still got a few bits left.

It could be argued that I'd made a bad choice, thrown my money away because Hernando gave me so few miles for my investment. But I'd learned a lot, spent little more than $100 and had a good time doing it. Besides, Hernando had helped restore a number of other 1940 DeSotos. After all, that's what it's all about.

Morgan's Birthday Bash

Few automakers are celebrating these days. General Motors virtually ignored the corporate the corporate centenary in 2008, and not a whimper has been heard of a 75th anniversary observance for Chrysler, be it Corporation or LLC. Ironically, the biggest bash has been reserved for what might be the least of them: the Morgan Motor Company of Malvern Link, Worcestershire, England.

It is fitting that Morgan should celebrate, not only the company's survival under family management but also its status as the last vestige of the indiginous British motor industry. To that end, the company and the several Morgan clubs mounted a huge centenary celebration comprising more than a week of activities. In addition to the church service held in the Morgans' home village of Stoke Lacy, Jill and I attended the final event, a convocation of thousands of Morgans at Cheltenham Race Course on Sunday, August 2nd.

Throughout the morning Morgans queued for entry, and by early afternoon there were Morgans as far as the eye could see. They came from nearby France and Belgium, from Norway, Austria and Spain. They came across the seas from Canada, British Columbia, in fact, and from Victoria in Australia. Satoru Araki, of the Morgan Enthusiasts Club Japan, brought his Morgan home to Britain for the first time in 30 years.

Perhaps most interesting were the three-wheel Morgans on display. Their owners are some of the least pretentious of enthusiasts, their cars lovingly preserved, not restored, and frequently driven. This 1924 Standard Popular, owned by Brian Betts, is considered a National Treasure, never restored but simply "sympathetically maintained." Other venerable three-wheelers included an Aero model, Ford-engine F-Type and a nifty little van.

Of particular note was the one-off Plus 4 saloon, built by Cooper Bodies of London in 1952. There were also two examples of the much-maligned Plus 4 Plus, the late Peter Morgan's unsuccessful 1960s attempt at updated Morgan styling. Poorly received by purists, just 26 of the fiberglass bodies were built before a fire destroyed the molds. Considering the current Aeromax coupe, it just may have been a car ahead of its time.

The Morgan Motor Company had a showroom tent with current models and other concepts, including a replica of the original 1909 prototype, a fuel cell LIFEcar, a bright orange Aeromax and some toy three-wheelers. Outside were some significant Morgans like Peter Morgan's Plus 8 AB16, and his late wife's Plus 8 convertible coupe, the only such model and probably the only Morgan with an automatic transmission.

Specialty Morgans included one in German police colors (but right-hand drive and with British registration) and a "Morgan" golf car. Concours judging had taken place on Saturday, and winning cars were proudly wearing their ribbons.

Throughout the day, enthusiasts were competing in AutoSolo events, a British form of Autocross, while family members had the option of amusement rides, slot car racing (with Morgan slot cars, of course) and various types of music. Clowns on stilts and riding bicycles wandered through the grounds and the obligatory steam traction engine did its thing. One could purchase Morgan art work, or meet and join some of the Morgan clubs. Some folks, however, were content just to picnic among all the Morgans.

We left before the evening entertainments, which included the English Symphony Orchestra, but counted the day a success. Not only had we seen thousands of Morgans, including many rare ones, but I had figured out why the Aero 8 design has finally grown on me. The first models had an unattractive cross-eyed look. With a new headlamp design, the strabismus has been largely corrected.

Taking Your Morgan to Church

The apocryphal low-mileage car that was "driven only to church on Sundays" is unlikely to be a sports car. It might, however, be a Morgan, for Morgans have a long history with the church. The marque's founder, H.F.S. Morgan, was the son and grandson of clergymen, and he religiously returned to his birthplace each week for church and Sunday dinner. On the way home he tested each car on a steep hill leading out of the village.

Last week, Morgan, the sole remaining British-owned automaker, observed its centenary, so it was fitting that the village of Stoke Lacy, Herefordshire, where H.F.S. was raised, celebrated with the company and enthusiasts from all over the world with a service at the village church.

The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul has special significance for Jill and me, as we were married there 35 years ago this June. It is special to Morgans, for the Reverend Henry Morgan was rector there for 16 years and his son Henry George for another 50. H.F.S., his parents, siblings and son are all buried in the churchyard, and over the years the Morgans have been consistent benefactors - one only has to look at the windows to realize it. Some years ago, a memorial window was dedicated to Morgan enthusiasts from California, and in 2005 another window was dedicated to Peter Morgan, H.F.S.'s son and successor, the Plus 8 and the Morgan factory in nearby Malvern Link.

This year's service, held on 30th July, drew many Morgans, in town for the celebrations, owners from all over the world, and villagers who value their Morgan connections. Charles Morgan (at right), Peter's son and the current managing director, delivered one of the readings, and the Reverend Michael Smith, retired rector of Stoke Lacy and himself the spouse of a Morgan owner, gave an inspired address about the contributions of the Morgan Motor Company and the Morgan car to the development of transportation. The congregation sang four hymns in spirited fashion, and parishioners delighted in meeting enthusiasts who regard Stoke Lacy as doubly hallowed ground.

The church and lychgate were specially decorated, and Morgans clogged the lane. Attending were such notables as Harry Out, head of the Dutch Morgan club and his wife Helga, driving their Morgan 4/4, and Andrew Duncan, solicitor for the Morgan Motor Company and current custodian of Peter Morgan's last car, the Plus 8 registered AB16.

Across the road, in the driveway of The Old Rectory where H.F.S. grew up, were Charles Morgan's own Aeromax coupe and a Morgan Plus Four that had made the pilgrimage from Massachusetts. The people of Stoke Lacy are proud of their Morgan heritage. It was good to see so many Morgan enthusiasts enjoy it with them.