Display car art and gifts

Above is a photo of the original McDonalds (Brothers') drive-in
BAR-B-Q shop in San Bernardino, CA circa 1940.

I collect primarily pre-1960 automobile ornaments and emblems. My personal recollection of these items begins in the mid-1950s. For most others I have to rely on what others have posted on internet sites. I research as thoroughly as internet content allows at a given time. When I come across additional info I make corrections as warranted. If you believe that I have something misidentified as to make or year, please email me along with the basis of your ID.

MY SALES POINT: I sell on eBay as "boomerburt."

You can find my listings in eBay by clicking on Advanced in the upper-right corner of the eBay Home Page, then click on Seller on the upper left. Under Specific sellers, type boomerburt in the box and click Search.
Alternatively, you may click on the following link: www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sofindtype=0&_byseller=1&_nkw=&_in_kw=1&_ex_kw=&_sacat=0&_udlo=&_udhi=&_ftrt=901&_ftrv=1&_sabdlo=&_sabdhi=&_samilow=&_samihi=&_sadis=15&_stpos=76205&_sargn=-1%26saslc%3D1&_salic=1&_fss=1&_fsradio=%26LH_SpecificSeller%3D1&_saslop=1&_sasl=boomerburt&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_fosrp=1

MY DISPLAY : Automotive items I have created

Below are all of my car-related creations, both For Sale and Not For Sale. I also enjoy doing custom commissions - if you have a particular make/model that you wish to have a memorabilia of (for yourself or as a gift), please feel free to email me at [email protected] and tell me of your interest. I will get back to you to discuss it. If convenient, leave a phone number.

Hood Ornaments
+ Fender Ornaments

Alphabetically by Make

Small Ornaments

These small, stand-up hood ornaments are fun and quick to do mountings for. Some I turn on the lathe; others I shape with table saw, band saw, miter saw and belt sander.

Large Ornaments

These items can be complex and time consuming. Just fitting the base to the contour of the piece takes some time. I try to create a different and unique mounting for each one, hopefully suited to the design of the ornament.

Oldest Hood Ornament

Aftermarket

The U.S. automotive aftermarket includes replacement parts (tires, batteries, exhaust, etc.) and accessories (add-ons that do not come from the manufacturer as standard or optional equipment). One of earliest accessories was the dashboard clock. Around 1900, watch manufacturers of the time modified existing 8-day, wind-up clocks to be mounted on, in or under the dashboard or clove-box lid. Soon companies specialized in providing 6 and 12 volt electric clocks to the manufacturers as factory options. These became known as "original equipment manufacturers" (OEM) and this kind of industry continues to this day, along with a robust aftermarket industry.

AMC / Rambler

Austin (Brit)

Buick

David D Buick was born in Scotland in 1854 and moved with his parents to Detroit when he was two. He went to work for a plumbing manufacturer, proving his inventiveness early. He invented a process for enameling bathtubs that is still in use today. He formed a plumbing business with a partner, but his growing interest in the novel internal combustion engine proved too much of a distraction and the business was eventually dissolved. His focus on engine development resulted in development of the revolutionary “Valve in Head” engine but only one vehicle was built during Buick Manufacturing Co.’s first year. Buick borrowed money, formed Buick Motor Company and began producing cars with the new engine design in 1903. The Valve in Head engine was the forerunner of today’s OHV engines, used in virtually all modern automobiles. Buick Motor Company would eventually become the cornerstone of the General Motors empire.

1920s Buick

1926-1927-1928 Buick

1931-32 Buick

1931 & 33 Buick

1933 Buick

1937 Buick

1938 Buick

1939 Buick

1940 Buick

1941 Buick

1942 Buick

1946 & '47 Buick

1948 & '49 Buick

1950 Buick

1951 & '52 Buick

1953 Buick

1954 Buick

1955 Buick

1956 Buick

1957 Buick

1958 Buick

Late 1950s & beyond

Riviera ornaments

Some Buick pictures that I really like

Cadillac

Henry M. Leland, born in Vermont in 1843, gained experiences in toolmaking, metrology and manufacturing while employed by various manufacturers, including Colt Firearms and Olds Motor Vehicles. Leland created the Cadillac automobile from the remains of an early Henry Ford Company that was considering liquidation. Leland sold Cadillac to General Motors on July 29, 1909 for four and a half million dollars, but remained with GM as an executive.

1931-32 Lasalle

1946-48 Cadillac

1950 Cadillac

1955 Cadillac

1956 Cadillac

Chevrolet

Louis Chevrolet was born in France in 1878. In his early years he worked as a machinist and had an interest in bicycle racing. In 1900 he moved to Montreal, Quebec, working as a mechanic, then moved to New York the following year. He obtained more and more work as a race car driver, including racing Buicks for William Durant, owner of Buick and founder of General Motors. In 1911, Chevrolet and Durant co-founded Chevrolet Motor Car Co. in Detroit. Chevrolet had design differences with Durant and sold his interest in Chevrolet Motors to Durant in 1915. Chevrolet Motors was merged with GM in 1917-18. Chevrolet himself continued a career in car racing and died of a heart attack in Detroit 1941.

1929-32 Chevrolet

1931-32 Chevrolet

1933-34 Chevrolet

1934 Chevrolet

1935 Chevrolet

1936 Chevrolet DeLuxe

1936 Chevrolet Standard

1937 Chevrolet

1937 Chev Pickup-Suburban-Panel Truck

1939 Chevrolet

1939 standard hood ornament

1939 deluxe accessory hood ornament

1941 Chevrolet

1941 standard hood ornament

1941 deluxe accessory hood ornament

1941 fender ornament

1942 Chevrolet

1946 Chevrolet

1947 Chevrolet

1947-48 Chevrolet Truck

1949-50 Chevrolet

1950 Chevrolet

1951 Chevrolet

1952 Chevrolet

1953 Chevrolet

1954 Chevrolet

1955 Chevrolet

1956 Chevrolet

1958 Chevrolet

1959 Chevrolet

1960 Chevrolet

1961 Chevrolet

Chrysler

Walter P. Chrysler was born in 1875 in Kansas, a first generation American. He worked as a railroad mechanic and earned a mechanical degree through correspondence courses. A local banker introduced him to Charles Nash, then president of Buick Motor Co. in Flint, MI. Nash hired Chrysler as works manager where he found many ways to reduce the costs of production. When William Durant wrested control of General Motors in 1916, Chrysler turned in his resignation to Durant who was then located in New York City, but Durant was able to keep Chrysler as head of Buick with the unheard-of offer of ten thousand dollars a year. Chrysler stayed on for three years, but in 1919 he did leave Buick due to policy disagreements with Durant. Chrysler’s stock in GM was bought out for ten million dollars, making him one of the richest men in America. After a well-payed stint at Willys-Overland Motor Co in Toledo, OH, in 1921 Chrysler acquired a controlling interest in ailing Maxwell Motor Co. and absorbed it into his new firm, Chrysler Corp, which manufactured cars under the name Chrysler and soon created brands Plymouth and DeSoto as well as purchasing Dodge Brothers, dropping “Brothers” from the brand name. In 1928 he financed the construction of the Chrysler Building in NYC and was named Time Mag’s Man of the Year.

1934 Chrysler AirFlow

1941 Chrysler

1946-48 Chrysler

1949-50 Chrysler (except Imperial)

1949-50 Chrysler Imperial

1951 Chrysler (except Imperial)

1951 Chrysler Imperial

1952 Chrysler

1953 Chrysler

1954 Chrysler

1955-56 Chrysler

DeSoto

As the Roaring Twenties approached its end, the car market was doing well and automakers wanted to capitalize on the healthy market by having model offerings in all segments. In 1928 Chrysler purchased Dodge Brothers and also launched two new brands named Plymouth and DeSoto (both names harkening back to America’s exploration and development). DeSoto was initially intended to compete with mid-priced brands such as Ford and Chevy. The Great Depression hit the following year. Mid-priced cars suffered the worst, but DeSoto was kept alive with market-shifting strategies. Fast forward to the post-WWII 1950s, car sales were rising and DeSoto brought some popular designs to market. Designer Virgil Exner created some iconic designs featuring tail fins and lots of chrome that were well received by the US consumer. Several factors brought about DeSoto’s demise at the end of the decade. The 1958 recession and the overcrowding of the mid-priced market by new models (brought out by Chrysler itself as well as other makers) left DeSoto with sharply declining sales. The closing of DeSoto was announced in 1960, with 1961 it’s last model year; a thirty-two year run.

1942-48 DeSoto

1955-56 DeSoto

Dodge

John Francis and Horace Dodge were born in 1864 and 1868 respectively in Michigan. The brothers started a bicycle manufacturing business with a third partner, which was highly successful thanks to a patented ball bearing that Horace had invented. After four years the brothers sold their interest in the bicycle business and started their own machine shop. They soon had lucrative contracts with Olds and Ford to supply automotive parts that were considered superior to most other suppliers. When Henry Ford Co. was in financial difficulties, its debt to Dodge Brothers was satisfied with a transfer of 10% of Ford stock to the brothers. When Ford could not meet demand for the Model T, the brothers produced some of the Ford cars. John eventually became a vice president at Ford. In 1913 they decided to produce their own eponymous automobiles to compete with the Model T. Their car set itself apart with all steel construction, 12 volt electrical and 35 horsepower. Their plant was the first to have its own on-site test track. In 1916 they produced an enclosed “winter” car and in 1917 an ambulance for the U.S. Army which evolved into the commercial truck.

1929-30 Dodge

1933-34 Dodge

1935 Dodge (?)

1936-37 Dodge

1936-38 Dodge large truck

1938-39 Dodge

1940-41 Dodge

1941-48 Dodge Truck

1946-47 Dodge

1948 Dodge

1949-50 Dodge

1951-54 Dodge

1957 & '58 Dodge

1980s Dodge truck

Edsel

Ford Motor Company introduced a new brand of automobile in the fall of 1957, after two years of planning, as a 1958 model. The Edsel was named after Henry Ford’s only child, the designer of the Model A and the Lincoln Continental. It was slated to fit between Mercury and top-of-the-line Lincoln. Two years of carefully scripted leaks to the press led the consumer to believe that the new make of car from Ford would be something totally new and futuristic. Although it was ostensibly its own brand, the cars were in fact assembled on Ford and Mercury assembly lines. The only things new were gear-shift buttons where the horn button belongs and an unattractive grill described by one journalist as an “Oldsmobile sucking a lemon.” Many people just called it the “Lemon Sucker.” It sold poorly from the start and declined from there. It was produced for three model years, with the plug pulled on the 1960 cars in November of 1959 – barely over two years of actual production. Ford CEO at the time, Henry Ford II, son of Edsel Ford, later said that allowing his father’s name to be used on the failed line was the worst mistake of his career.

1958 Edsel

1959 Edsel

1960 Edsel

Ford

Henry Ford was born in 1863 in Dearborn, MI, a first generation American. He apprenticed as a machinist, later he worked for Westinghouse and Edison. He also studied bookkeeping. In 1898, while working for Edison in Detroit, he developed a self-propelled “Quadricycle” on his own time but with Edison’s approval. With outside capital, Ford built a successfully raced automobile in 1901, which led to greater investments allowing the founding of the Henry Ford Co. which became the Cadillac Automobile Co. the following year. Ford formed a partnership with a Detroit coal dealer producing inexpensive cars with the Dodge brothers as major parts suppliers. In 1903, this partnership was incorporated as Ford Motor Co. The Model T debuted on October 1, 1903 and the rest is common knowledge.

1908-27 Ford Model-T

1929-32 Model-A

When the Model A replaced the Model T, Henry Ford himself chose the quail as the Model A mascot. He wanted to depict a quick getaway, the way he was advertising his cars. He suggested that a quail flushes out of the brush just like a firecracker going off. So, a quail it was, designed with wings down as though it was just starting to fly off. The quail was made by Ford supplier George Stant Machine Works in eastern Indiana at Connersville. It was Model A part number A-18385. It cost less than $1.00 to make and sold for $3.00. In one year over 250,000 were made. Do the math.

1933 Ford

1936 Ford

1937 Ford

1938 Ford truck

1939 Ford

1940 Ford

1946 Ford

1947-48 Ford

1949-50 Ford

1950 Ford - Illuminated

1951 Ford

1952 Ford

1952-53 Ford (aftermarket)

1953+54 Ford

1954 Ford

1955-56 Ford

1956 Ford

1957 Ford

1958 Ford

1959 Ford

1960 Ford

1963 Ford

Hudson

On February 20, 1909 the Hudson Motor Car Company was formed by eight Detroit businessmen, including Joseph L. Hudson, a department store entrepreneur. who provided the needed capital and allowed his name to be used. One of the chief “car men” of the group was Roy D. Chapin, Sr., an American industrialist who had worked with Ransom E. Olds and later served as United States Secretary of Commerce. In 1954 Hudson merged with Nash -Kelvinator to form American Motors Corporation (AMC). The Hudson name was used through the 1957 model year, then discontinued.

1935 Hudson Terraplane

1946 Hudson

1949-50 Hudson

1951-52 Hudson Hornet

1951-52 Hudson Wasp

1955-57 Hudson

Humber (British)

International Harvester

International Harvester was established in 1902 and turned into Navistar International Corp. in 1986.

Jaguar (British)

1963-69 Jaguar S-Type

2002-08 Jaguar S-Type & X-Type

Jaguar XJ Series (1968-2019)

Aftermarket imitation leaping cat

Kaiser-Frazer

Frazer was the premium line of Kaiser-Frazer. There were two models produced for model years 1947-1951: Standard and Manhattan. Kaiser also had a Manhattan model, which was considerably less expensive than the Frazer and outsold it two-to-one. In spite of their near-Cadillac price and trim, all Frazers came with a six-cylinder engine, manual transmission and the hood ornament was an option. Frazer ended production in 1951 with a warmed-over 1950 model. The Henry J was a small car named after its chairman, Henry J. Kaiser. It was introduced 1n 1950 and marketed through 1954. The car could achieve 25 mpg and in 1953 won the Mobil Economy Run. The Kaiser name soldiered on until 1955 before being dropped to concentrate on Willys Jeeps, which Kaiser had purchased in 1953 when the Henry J was discontinued..

1950 Kaiser Virginian

1951 Frazer Manhattan

1951 Henry J

1953 Kaiser Dragon

Lincoln

Henry M. Leland formed the Lincoln Motor Company with a ten million dollar contract from the Federal Government to build the V12 Liberty engine for use in WWI. After the war, the Lincoln Motor Company plant was retooled to manufacture luxury automobiles. In 1922, Lincoln became insolvent and was bought out by Ford Motor Company, whose eight million dollar bid was the only one submitted, in spite of Lincoln being valued at twice that amount. Leland chose the company name because he was a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln.

1934 Lincoln

1946 Lincoln

1949-50 Lincoln

1951 Lincoln

1953 Lincoln

1956-69 Lincoln

1965-66 Lincoln Star presentation award

1970-79 Lincoln

Mack Truck

In 1893 brothers Jack and Gus Mack purchased the Fallesen and Berry Carriage Company in Brooklyn, NY. In 1900 they established the firm name “Mack Brothers Company” which produced its first successful motorized vehicle that year. The company's trademark Bulldog was earned in 1917, during World War I, when the British government purchased the Mack AC model to supply its front lines with troops, food and equipment. British soldiers dubbed the truck the Bulldog Mack. Its pugnacious, blunt-nosed hood, coupled with its durability, reminded soldiers of the tenacious qualities of their country's mascot, the British Bulldog. In 1922 the company adopted its present name, Mack Trucks, Inc., and established the now-famous bulldog logo.

Mercedes-Benz (German)

Karl Benz developed a carriage with an internal combustion engine, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, which he financed with Bertha Benz's dowry and patented in January 1886. This is generally acknowledged as the world’s first self-propelled vehicle. In 1899 a European entrepreneur named Emil Jellinek successfully raced an automobile in Nice, France built by Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. He raced under his daughter’s first name, Mercedes, to conceal the identity of the competitor (a common practice of the time). In 1901 the trademark “Mercedes” was registered by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) and Jellinek proceeded to successfully sell the cars to the wealthy of Europe and the US.

Mercury

The Mercury Division of Ford Motor Company was created in 1938 by Edsel Ford as an entry level premium brand positioned between Ford and Lincoln to compete with such other marques as Buick and Chrysler. In 1945 it was combined with Lincoln as the Lincoln-Mercury Division of Ford. In 2010 Ford announced the closing of Mercury and the last “Merc” left the plant in January, 2011. “Mercury” remains an active trademark of Ford.

1949-50 Mercury

1952-53 Mercury

1955-56 Mercury

1957 Mercury

1958 Mercury

Morris (British)

1956 to 1971 Minor 1000

Nash

Charles W. Nash was born in 1864 to a farming family in DeKalb, IL. His parents moved to a farm near Flint, MI when he was two, but divorced when he was six and abandoned him. A court “bound him out” as a farm hand until he turned 21, but he ran away at age twelve. He worked his way up from farm hand to shepherd to owner of hay bailing machinery and managed to acquire a fair education along the way, learning the trade of mechanic. In 1890 Nash was hired by William C. Durant as an upholstery stuffer for $1/day at Durant’s carriage manufacturing company. As the automobile industry grew, Durant’s carriage company transitioned to building auto bodies. In 1910 Durant bought Buick Motors in Flint and Nash was made vice president. When Durant was fired from General Motors in 1912, Nash became its 5th president. Nash made many improvements at Buick and GM, improving efficiency and profits. In 1916, when the heirs of the Jeffery Motor Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin, (makers of the Rambler automobile) were anxious to retire, Nash bought the company with a down payment of a half million dollars. He renamed it Nash Motors a year later. By 1929 Nash was the fourth largest automaker after the Big Three. During its production from 1916 to 1956, Nash Motors pioneered such improvements as the modern heating and ventilation system, unibody construction (1941), seat belts (1950) and one of the first successful compact cars, Metropolitan (1950). Mr. Nash retired and moved to Southern California in 1936 and died in Beverly Hills in 1948, leaving an estate valued at $50 million. Later acquisitions and mergers with Packard, Studebaker, Willys-Overland and Hudson led to the creation of American Motors Corp. which was purchased by Chrysler in 1987, evidently for the sole purpose of acquiring the Jeep brand because all other brand names were dropped.

1928-29 Nash

Pre-War Nash

1939 Nash

1947-48 Nash

1950-51 Nash

1952 Nash

1953-55 Nash

1956 Nash

Oldsmobile

Ransom Eli Olds was born in Geneva, Ohio on June 3, 1864 but eventually settled in Lansing, Michigan, where he married Metta Ursula Woodward on June 5, 1889. He founded the Olds Motor Vehicle Company in Lansing on August 21, 1897. The modern assembly line and its basic concept is credited to Olds, who used it to build the first mass-produced automobile, the Oldsmobile Curved Dash. (Henry Ford developed the first moving assembly line) In 1899 the company was bought by copper and lumber magnate Samuel L. Smith and renamed Olds Motor Works with Olds as vice president and general manager. Olds left the company in 1904 because of a dispute and formed the REO Motor Car Company. General Motors purchased the company in 1908 but discontinued the Oldsmobile brand in 2004, after a production run of 96 years. At that time Oldsmobile was the oldest surviving American automobile marque and one of the oldest in the world.

1933 Oldsmobile

1940 Oldsmobile

1941 Oldsmobile

1946 Oldsmobile

1947 Oldsmobile

1948 Oldsmobile

1949 Oldsmobile

1950 Oldsmobile

1951 Oldsmobile

1952 Oldsmobile

1953-54 Oldsmobile

1955 Oldsmobile

1956 Oldsmobile

1957 Oldsmobile

1958 Oldsmobile

Packard

James W. Packard was born in 1863 in Warren, OH, attended Lehigh University, graduating in 1884 with a degree in mechanical engineering. In 1899 he, his older brother William and their partner George L. Weiss, formed Packard Motors after James Packard was rebuffed in his approach to Alexander Winton with suggestions on how to improve the Winton automobiles. Packard automobiles were produced in Warren, Ohio for the first three years, then relocated to Detroit, MI after an infusion of money by new investors. Packard rapidly moved from cars with a single-cylinder engine to twelve cylinders by the mid-teens. By the twenties, Packards were selling for as much as four times the price of an Oldsmobile Runabout. Packard soon became an established and admired luxury car manufacturer, on a par with Piece-Arrow of Buffalo, NY and Peerless of Cleveland, OH. They sold world-wide in competition with Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz. In 1928, gross income for the company was almost $22 million. Packard became famous for their slogan, “Ask the man who owns one.”

Having been exclusively a luxury brand almost since its inception, the Great Depression forced Packard to add a “Junior” line of affordable models, which dimmed their image in the eyes of their elite clientele. Packard converted to 100% war production during WWII and by war’s end had some 33 million in assets, but they began to struggle to keep abreast of other US car manufacturers with updated designs. In spite of continuing innovations in automotive engineering (air conditioning in the 1930s) they fell behind competing marques in the marketplace. They tried to economize and produce lower priced cars, but their reputation suffered further. By the mid-fifties, Packard purchased Studebaker hoping to broaden their customer base, but had failed to recognize the financial pit that Studebaker itself was in. Trying to resuscitate the two troubled brands, the result was rebadged Studebaker cars, termed “Packardbakers” by some. The last cars bearing the Packard nameplate were produced for the 1958 model year. Studebaker struggled on, but dropped the Packard name from its register when the Avanti model was introduced in 1962.

1929 Packard

1930-31 Packard

1936-40 Packard

1937 Packard

1941 Packard

1942 Packard

1942-50 Packard

1946-48 Packard

1947-50 Packard

1948-50 Packard

1948-50 Packard - illuminated

1953 Packard

1954 Packard

1955 Packard

1956 Packard

Peterbilt

In the 1930s, Tacoma, WA lumberman T.A. Peterman needed a faster way to transport timber to his mill than rafting them down the river. He began purchasing military surplus trucks and rebuilding them for the job of hauling logs by road. The scheme was successful and by 1939 he began selling his log trucks to the public. The original Peterbilt plant was in Oakland, CA.

After Peterman’s death in 1944 the manufacturing business was bought by seven company employees, but the property remained with his widow. In 1958 Mrs. Peterman decided to sell the property for development of a shopping center, so the company was sold to Pacific Car and Foundry (later Paccar) which had already acquired the Kenworth brand. The bird in flight hood ornament was introduced in 1958 with the introduction of the tilt-hood Model 358.

In 1980 Peterbilt manufacturing was relocated to a state-of-the-art plant in Denton, TX, followed in 1992 by their corporate head office. Both Pete and KW use Paccar power trains and are considered premium big-rig brands.

1967-87 Peterbilt Model 359

Plymouth

1929-30 Plymouth

1931-33 Plymouth

1934-35 Plymouth

1936-37 Plymouth

1938 Plymouth

1939-40 Plymouth

1941 Plymouth

1942 Plymouth

1949 Plymouth

1950 Plymouth

1951 Plymouth

1953 Plymouth

1954 Plymouth

1955 Plymouth

1956 Plymouth

1964 Plymouth Fury

Pontiac

The history of Pontiac Motors precedes that of General Motors. Oakland Motor Car was founded in 1907 in Pontiac, Michigan by Edward Murphy, a horse-drawn carriage manufacturer. Oakland Motors was purchased by the nascent GM in 1909, with the first Pontiac model introduced in 1926 as a part of the Oakland line. The new Pontiac featured a six-cylinder engine which soon became so popular that GM dropped the Oakland name in favor of popular Pontiac by 1933. (Incidentally, the Pontiac town name was derived from an actual Native American leader of the same name) Soon the advertising slogan “Chief of the Sixes” was in use. The Pontiac image evolved over its 100+ year run from a sedate and practical sedan in the '30s to that of a sporty, V-8 muscle car in the '60s, due largely to the vision of John DeLorean. Pontiac models were featured cast members in such movies as “Smokey and the Bandit” and the TV series “Knight Rider.” The 2008 international recession forced GM to cut costs, so that Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer and Swedish Saab were closed. Oldsmobile had been shuttered five years previously due to unprofitability.

1928-29 Pontiac

1930-31 Pontiac

1937 Pontiac Six

1939 Pontiac

1942 Pontiac Lucite

1947 Pontiac

1948 Pontiac

1949 Pontiac - standard

1950 Pontiac - standard

1950 Pontiac - illuminated

1951 Pontiac - standard

1952 Pontiac - standard

1953 Pontiac - illuminated

Commissioned pieces

1954 Pontiac - standard

1954 Pontiac - illuminated

1955 Pontiac - standard

1955 Pontiac - illuminated

1956 Pontiac - standard

1956 Pontiac - illuminated

1957 Pontiac - standard

1958 Pontiac

1959 Pontiac

Rolls-Royce

Studebaker

The German ancestors of the Studebaker family first arrived in America at the port of Philadelphia on September 1, 1736. The origin of the Studebaker Corporation dates back to 1852, when brothers Henry and Clement Studebaker opened a blacksmith shop in South Bend, IN, first producing iron parts for wagons, then entire wagons and carriages. There were five brothers, each of whom was an industrious entrepreneur. John M. produced wheelbarrows in Placerville, CA during the Gold Rush. Peter E. ran a successful general store in Goshen, IN. Youngest brother Jacob took charge of the carriage factory in 1875 at age 30. The Studebakers supplied wagons to the Union Army during the Civil War, incorporated as Studebaker Brothers and eventually became the leading manufacturer of horse-drawn wagons and carriages, with the largest production facility in the world. As the automobile industry developed around the turn of the twentieth century, Studebaker entered into agreements with two separate gas-powered vehicle manufacturers and produced their own electric vehicle. The relationships with the other car manufacturers proved unsuccessful, so by 1911 Studebaker had dropped their electric vehicle production and began producing their own gas-powered car under the Studebaker badge in South Bend, IN. They continued horse-drawn carriage production through WWI and received large orders from England, France and Russia, as well as orders for gas-powered, six-cylinder vehicles. It was not yet foreseen that cars would so thoroughly replace the horse-drawn wagon.

Studebaker was hit hard by the Great Depression, going into receivership in March 1933, but was back on its feet by year’s end with over $5 million working capital. In 1938 a factory was built in Vernon, CA that produced cars until 1956. Following WWII war production, Studebaker planned ahead for a return to private car production, promoting with the slogan, “First by far with a post-war car.” This was followed by innovative styling that continued into the fifties. However, automotive leaders Ford and GM were committed to expansion and had the resources to be competitive. Although a merger of Studebaker, Packard, Hudson and Nash was considered, Studebaker’s South Bend location and its high cost of production was prohibitive for this merger. A strategic takeover by Packard was unsuccessful in restoring either marque to profitability, producing cars under both names until 1958 at a loss. Studebaker soldiered on with the compact Lark and sport model Avanti into the 1960s but competition with the Big Three was impossible to overcome and Studebaker closed the South Bend plant in 1963 and the Hamilton, Canada plant in 1966. The last Studebakers produced were equipped with Chevrolet six- and eight-cylinder engines, as the Studebaker foundry was already closed.

1935 Studebaker

1936 Studebaker

1937 Studebaker car & truck

1938 Studebaker car & truck

1941-48 Studebaker car & truck

1947 Studebaker Champion

1948-49 Studebaker Champion & 1949-53 Studebaker Truck

1947-49 Studebaker Land Cruiser & Champion

1950 Studebaker Commander

1950 Studebaker Champion

1951 Studebaker

1953 Studebaker Champion & Starliner

1954 Studebaker Land Cruiser & Commander

1955 Studebaker President

1955 Studebaker Pick-up

1957 Studebaker Champion Commander

1960-61 Studebaker Lark

1962 Studebaker Lark

1964-66 Studebaker Lark

Willys-Overland

John North Willys was born on October 25, 1873 in Canandaigua, New York. A born salesman, he began his career selling bicycles in his hometown and within a few years began manufacturing his own line of bicycles. He purchased the financially-ailing Overland Automotive division from the Standard Wheel Company in 1908 and the following year moved the company into a new factory in Toledo, Ohio. By 1912 it was the second-largest automobile manufacturer in the United States. In 1915 Willys built a seven-story headquarters in Toledo, Ohio, that was the most modern of its day. Before the end of the decade, one-third of the city of Toledo's workforce was employed either by Willys-Overland or at one of the numerous small businesses providing parts and supplies. The company produced three lines: Overland, Willys and Willys-Knight vehicles, each relative to a specific type of engine or price range. All Overland models produced before 1915 were right-hand drive. In 1919, Willys hired General Motors vice-president Walter Chrysler to run the Willys-Overland operation at the then astonishing salary of $1 million a year. However, in 1921 Chrysler tried to oust John Willys with an attempted takeover bid that backfired when the shareholders resisted his move and Chrysler left Willys to go into business for himself. The Great Depression of the 1930s saw numerous carmakers go out of business and the Willys enterprises went into bankruptcy reorganization in 1933. John Willys died in 1935 of a stroke, but the company went on to be a major contributor of the WWII effort by manufacturing the GP vehicle, a lightweight truck based on a design by American Bantam, which later received the nickname “Jeep.” During the war, they were manufactured by American Bantam, Willys and Ford, but Willys-Overland won a patent for the name “Jeep” in 1950 and thus an American automotive icon was established.

1951-53 Willys Aero Lark & Eagle

Clocks, Lamps
+ Misc.

Commissioned Pieces

Dodge

Chevrolet

Porsche (German)

International

1967-69 Pontiac TransAm

Rambler / AMC

Personal Projects

Horn Ring Clocks

1948-49 Buick

1950-51 Buick

1955-57 Buick

1959 Buick

1955-56 Chevrolet

1949 Ford

1950 Ford

Late 1950s Ford

1964-66 Mustang

Early 1950s Packard

Packard reprise

Studebaker

From Top to Bottom: Packard horn ring clock; Stude horn ring clock; Stude horn ring clock; DeSoto horn ring clock; Stude horn ring clock.

Spotlight Clocks

Headlamp Clocks

Buick

1941 Buick

1953 Buick

1954 Buick

1955 Buick

Chevrolet

1957 Chevrolet

1958 Chevrolet

1958-61 Corvette

1969 Chevelle

Ford

Model A

1940 Ford

Studebaker

Misc. Trim Clocks

Buick

1941-42 Buick

1947-8 Buick

1951-52 Buick

1953 Buick

Chevrolet

1955-56 Chevrolet

Chrysler

1935-37 Chrysler

Ford

1908-27 Ford Model T

1929-31 Ford Model A

1964-66 Mustang

Harley-Davidson

MG (British)

Packard

1958 Packard Hawk

Plymouth

1937 Plymouth

1946-8 trunk brake-light housing with corded clock

1946-8 trunk brake-light housing with quartz clock

1952 hood emblem housing with quartz clock insert

Pontiac

1951 speaker grill with travel alarm clock

Studebaker

1957 Golden Hawk turn-signal housing with clock

Hubcap and Wheelcover Clocks

Buick

Chevrolet

Ford

Dodge

Mercedes-Benz

Mustang

Oldsmobile

Packard

Plymouth

Pontiac

Rambler

Studebaker

Lamps

Chevrolet

Big Block V-8 - SOLD

Small Block Corvette - NFS

Volkswagon

Stock Valve-Cover Desk Lamps

Aluminum Valve-Cover Lamps

Emblems + Threaded Hubcaps

Alphabetically by Make

Wall Plaques

DeSoto

Thunderbird

Belt Buckles

Pedestal Mountings

Acura

Alfa Romeo (Italian)

Buick

1916-25 Buick

1921-27 Buick

1928-29 Buick

1930-31 Buick

1932-33 Buick

Buick Aftermarket

1936 Buick

1937-38 Buick

1939 Buick

1940-41 Buick

1942+46 Buick

1947+48 Buick

1949 Buick

1950 Buick

1959 Buick

1960 Buick

1961 Buick

1971-73 Buick Riviera "Boattail"

Bavarian Motor Werks (German)

Late 1950s Isetta

Chevrolet

1928 Chevrolet

1931 Chevrolet

1930s Chevrolet

1935-37 Chevy truck

1930s Chevrolet

1946 Chevrolet

1947-53 Chevrolet Truck

1954 Chevrolet

1956 Chevrolet

1961 Chevrolet Impala

Corvette

C-1 1958-62 'Vette

C-2 1963-67 Stingray

C-3 1968-82

C-3 1975-76 Corvette

25th Anniv. 1978 'Vette

C-3 1982 'Vette

C-4 1983-96 'Vette

1960-61 Chevy Apache truck hood emblem + bus. card holder

Corvair

1960-69 Monza

Chrysler

1946-48 Chrysler

Dodge

1914-26 Dodge Radiator Badge

1914+ Dodge

1934-36 Dodge grille emblem

1937-38 Dodge trunk emblem

Durant

Durant Motors Inc. was established in 1921 by former General Motors founder and CEO, William "Billy" Durant, following his termination by the GM board of directors and their New York bankers. Durant motors produced cars from 1921 to 1932. Durant's Flint, Michigan, factory was bought by the Fisher Body Division of General Motors and built mostly Buick bodies until its 1987 closure.