Consolidated and moved from old YW site:
gschwertley
Not on the front lines, but on the home front.
I have a 1940 Ford that my grandfather Fritz Schwertley bought in that year. He drove it all through WW2 when he worked at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in California. During the war, car pooling was encouraged strongly to conserve fuel and tires. Unlike today, not everybody had a car to begin with, and gas rationing restricted the driving of some people who did have cars. In a pooling arrangement, the owner of the car who provided rides to others could get gasoline coupons from the riders and extend his gasoline supply, and of course some gas money.
My 40 Ford has an "A" gas rationing sticker in the right front corner of the windshield. There is a little folder containing gas rationing coupons in the glove compartment.
I took the following pictures around 1984, but the car still looks the same today. It doesn't get driven much and spends most of the time in the garage. The first three pictures in the series were taken in the old oil fields in Signal Hill, Calif.
I restored this car in 1983 and at present it has 102,000 original miles on it. The frame, engine, and transmission all have matching serial numbers on them which I understand is not common on old flathead engined Fords. Of those that have survived to this time, many have had engine swaps that caused the original serially numbered parts to get lost.
In this picture are the two oldest of my children. It looks like Robbie is being a good brother and is turning his sister's head around for the camera. Probably all she wanted to do was hug. Robbie is now 25, working in the business world, and is a real estate investor. My daughter Bonnie is 23, a leukemia survivor, a registered nurse, and married. My youngest daughter Annie hadn't even been born when this was taken. How time gets away from us.
I was thinking, this car actually was used in "para-military" activities during the war, as my granddad was a member of the Civil Defense Auxiliary Police. I've got his certificate in the glove compartment. My other granddad, John, was a block warden in the Civil Defense program in Los Angeles. I still have his white helmet out in the garage. They resemble WW1 Doughboy helmets, but are not exact copies. They are styled kind of like a metal construction worker's helmet of the 1940's.
TNGunsmoke
Man I love those old cars.
yockey5
Am I to understand that you still have this car? It is cherry!
Rifleman2
That is one great looking car. I see it has a place for a crank handle. Have you ever started it that way?
gschwertley
Don:
Yes, I still have it but it is rarely driven. I could go out there right now, put the battery charger on the old 6 volt battery and get it going fairly quickly. It has a manual 3 speed transmission with the shift lever on the steering column; I'm the only one who knows how this device works in my immediate family. Guess I'd better show someone else before I croak.
Rifleman:
Yes, these still had a crank-hole through the grille and a ratchet on the front of the crankshaft damper inside. Under a couple of plywood boards in the luggage compartment is a tool compartment containing all the Ford tools that came with the car. Included along with jack, tire iron, wrenches, screw driver, pliers, etc, is a crank and shaft (two pieces) for crank starting. I have never done this; my dad told me if you aren't careful and the thing kicks back on you, it could break your wrist. So, if that 6 volt battery won't do the job, I could crank away. I keep 40 weight oil in it, so it might be a hefty crank after sitting for over a year since it last ran. 1941 was the last year with this feature.
HerrMario
...that is TRULY a museum piece-bet you could get top dollar for it-but I wouldn't wanna part with it unless I absolutely had to for the survival of my family... ...if you're plannin' on croakin,you can always will it to me -I PROMISE to take excellent care of it....
gschwertley
Mario:
I used to wonder who of my three children would wind up with this thing, but I don't worry about it any more. That decision will be made after I'm dead, I'm not getting involved in it while I'm still here. Still, someone ought to learn something about what makes it tick, what to do if..., etc. None of my children share my interest in old cars or old guns.
yockey5
Saddle Soap, I am reasonably sure that we can find someone here on the board for you to adopt! I guess the younger folks haven't taken the time to slow down yet to appreciate the finer things in life!
mikmarjon
The finer things is right Don. I super enjoyed those pic's GS I wish I had the space for the kinds of toys that some of you folks have. Don saw just how cramped My space is for my guns and reloading equipment. I have plans to expand but it may be a while. Until them you folks can continue to nic name me Attic Man.
Jr1259
That is one minty looking relic. I'm enjoying the photos very much.
Thanks for sharing them.
A square 10
what a great car, i can only dream,
riceone
GS, the secret of using the crank is putting your thumb on the same side with your fingers, that way it it kicks it kicks out of your hand instead of taking your hand back with your thumb.
That is a nice car and it brings back a lot of memories. Daddy had a 1941 Ford and was a dark green. I always like those flat heads. But they were short life engines. If I remember correctly that car had an 85 HP engine. Do you remember the small 60 HP engines that were put in some of the coups? I put rings and bearings in a 60 for a friend one time. Pistons were about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2" in diameter.
That is a darling picture of Robbie and Bonnie. Don't sell them short, I bet before its over all three will want it. That is a heirloom. Thanks for showing us. Roy
gschwertley
Well Roy, the thumb trick is one piece of advice my dad didn't give me. I'll file that one away in case I ever have to use the crank.
Yes, I have seen those 60 hp engines before. They made one version from 1937 to 1939, and a slightly modified different version for 1940, which was the last year they were offered. My dad called them "60 Mousepower" which he felt more accurately described their output. To add a little history, the 60 hp was replaced in 1941 by a 6 cylinder option, which Edsel Ford had been trying to get his dad to put in the line for many years. Henry had built some sixes back in nineteen-oh-something, and they were not successful. He kept that in mind and didn't make any more until finally giving in to Edsel in 1941. Edsel's position was, that no matter how bad his father felt the six to be (even if it wasn't) some buyers would buy only a six and nothing else. Chevrolet used an overhead valve six very successfully for about 25 years without much change. Henry Ford's opinion of sixes wasn't much changed by the Ford offering of 1941. They were flathead and not all that good.
Oddly enough, in 1940-42, you could also get a 4 cylinder flathead in certain Ford cars and light trucks as a real economy measure. This was knocked straight off the Ford Tractor line; a few of the parts were interchangeable with the Mercury 95 hp engine.
Yes, the Ford flathead engines were not long of life. They were popular for speed while they lasted, but the Chevy stovebolt six would last longer (but wasn't as peppy). The car in the picture is on its third engine in a little over 100,000 miles. The original wore out, a used replacement out of a 37 Ford was put in for a while. When it then wore out, the original, which fortunately had been saved, was rebuilt and put back in and that's what's in there now.
After returning from the war, my dad went to work in the automobile business. After working for a short time on the Ford assembly line (another story for another time), he went to work in the parts room of a local Ford dealer. After doing this for several years, he went into service management. Even after being out of the parts room for 30 years, my dad could still recite basic and complete part numbers from memory. If we were to go to an antique auto swap meet and happen upon a box of mixed flathead-era parts, he could look at them and tell you the part number, model range, and function of nearly each part.
gforceone1
What a great car,Gary, and great looking kids,too!Really enjoy these car pics, being a mechanic by trade...
gschwertley
Well GForce, they surely don't look like that anymore. They all grown up and moved away. I think we worry about them more now, however, or at least as much.
Here is a recent picture of that little girl, Bonnie, who is getting her head turned around in the one pic.
She is now married and is an RN working for the local blood center.
TNGunsmoke
How did all of us wind up with such good looking daughters??
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