The AACA Central Spring Meet has extended the registration deadline to May 1!  Join the Central Division for this inaugural meet that will celebrate all things automotive!  Auctions America will be conducting their Spring Sale and you'll be their guest for free.  This meet promises to be filled with automotive excitement so register today by calling (717) 534-1910 and asking for Pat Buckley. Click here for the Central Spring Meet brochure. 

Auctions America just announced that they are going to give AACA members FREE, that's right, FREE bidder's passes. The normal $100 bidder pass is free to you!  In addition the Auctions America staff will all be joining AACA and they are showing cars on Saturday!  How's that for support!  Our Thanks to Donnie Gould and Ed Cepuran!  If you see them during the week please thank them for all they have done for us! 

June 14-16, 2013 � Hershey, Pennsylvania

I've always been crazy about Ford cars, especially the early years through the fifties and the Ford muscle cars of the sixties. The designs were simple, functional and always pleasing to the eye. A number of years ago a friend introduced me to the Mountain Moonshine Festival held in Dawsonville, Georgia, an annual gathering of Ford devotees who come from all over the State of Georgia and across the bible belt transforming the normally sleepy town into one of the largest Ford car shows in eastern central United States. If you like feasting on some scarce Fords, like 1939-40 coupes, 1957 Fairlanes, sixties-era 427's and other ultra-rare high-performance Fords, there is no place quite like the Moonshine Festival. The event reached yet another epic level when the Ford Galaxie Club of America recently began hosting their national meet there at the same time and now the two shows together have combined to propel this event into the stratosphere for Ford fanatics. I've been attending the event for the last twelve years. Click here for the entire story. 

Library & Research Center New Auction Items  

Are you looking for the perfect gift for your favorite motor head?  The Library's eBay store offers a wide variety to choose from, including our latest auction with 10 very hard to find items.  Read below to find out more!

Auction (Bidding Ends Sunday, April 28th at 9:00 PM EST):

• 1950s Pegaso sales literature
• A 1942 Mercury 8 catalog, featuring military aircraft
• Rolls-Royce Memories by H. Massac Buist (1926)
• Life in a Tank by Richard Haigh (1918)
• The Electric Automobile by C.E. Woods (1900)
• Cars of Canada by the Craven Foundation (1973)
• The American Rolls Royce by Arthur Soutter

• Reproduction Factory Photos - More than 2,000 different vehicles!
• Books:
• Pre-War
• Racing
• Biographies
• And much more!
• Sales Literature:
•  1948 Tucker Reprint Brochures
•  Vintage 1950s Pontiac and Chrysler catalogs and brochures

 Check back often, as we will continue to add new items throughout the year!

For more information, contact our Library Assistant,

Matthew Hocker, mhocker@aacalibrary.org or 717-534-2082.

A Letter from "the Man who Owned One"

By: Matthew Hocker

Here at the Library, unusual finds sometimes turn up in the most unlikely of places.  While going through donated books, I grabbed a small tour book from 1912.  Upon opening the book and briefly paging through its contents, I encountered an unassuming folded set of white papers.  Initially, I suspected these were merely the original owner's historical notes left behind for future reference.  As I began to slowly unfold the aging yellowed sheets, however, my eyes widened.

At the top of each sheet was the image of a regal looking gentleman, his bust floating behind a sea of sepia-colored clouds.  Below that, lay the return address of a Mr. O. A. Albright, a dentist from Toledo, Ohio.  Scrawled in the upper left-hand corner was the date, "Nov. 14th 1906."  This was a bona fide early 20th Century letter!

After scanning over the handwritten script, it became clear that Mr. Albright was trying to sell his then-relatively new car.  In response to a prospective buyer (whose letter we unfortunately do not have) he lamented, "My time is limited through the day.  Consequently it did not get much use as I only had evenings to take it out."  At that point and time, automobiles were regarded as little more than "playthings" for the more affluent.  It would take a drop in price and the construction of more accommodating roads before their practicality was realized. 

While Albright went to great lengths in describing his car, right down to the accessories, he never indicated the make in his correspondence.  He simply referred to a Model S with "...all of the 1906 improvements in the mechanical part, even to the tires which are the Goodyear detachable [type]."  According to Albright, the car featured a thirty to thirty-five horsepower engine, 34"x4" tires, as well as a tonneau.

It would have appeared that I had my work cut out for me.  Fortunately, the Model S label narrowed down the possibilities to a few manufacturers.  Although Ford made a Model S, theirs was introduced during the 1907 model year.  Strike one!

A look through the 1906 Handbook of Gasoline Automobiles revealed Olds Motor Works of Lansing, Michigan manufactured a Model S that year.  Could this have been the vehicle Albright was selling?  While the Handbook listed it was available in dark green, Olds' version sported slightly smaller tires and a twenty-six to twenty-eight horsepower engine.  Strike two!

None of the other manufacturers listed in the Handbook featured a Model S.  Determined, I searched Google for "1906 Model S," and one of the first results was for Packard.  Checking out the Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 confirmed Packard indeed introduced their Model S for 1906. Packard cars in the Handbook were listed as Model 24 (24 indicating horsepower), which is why they didn't stand out.  At some point in 1906, Packard ditched their lettering system in favor of numbers.

Although the 1906 Packard officially featured a four cylinder twenty-four horsepower engine, testing indicated it was capable of up to anywhere between forty and fifty.  Therefore, Albright's numbers, while lower, were within the realm of possibility.  Richlieu blue was the standard color, though other colors were available at extra cost, including green.

The most telling connection, however, was the indicated tire size of 34"x4".  According to the Standard Catalog, Packard's front tires were this size, while the rear tires were 34"x4.5".  Unfortunately, Albright's letter doesn't differentiate between the two sides.

Something wasn't adding up, so I reread the letter to see if I had missed anything.  Albright claimed to "have had the car since last May," indicating he owned the car since the spring of 1905.  The problem here was that Packard didn't begin production of the Model S until September 1905!  Another line read, "...in reply [I] will say that a Model 'S' is practically of the 1905 type."  Suddenly, the truth seemed closer.  Albright was not selling a Model S but, instead, was comparing it to his 1905 car made by the same manufacturer.

In 1905, Packard was selling the Model N and, while 1905 and 1906 cars were similar in appearance, the Model S wheelbase (with the exception of the runabout) was lengthened from 106" to 119".  More importantly, all tires on the Model N were 34"x4", thereby matching Albright's description.  Although Olds Motor Works also offered a Model S in 1906, tire sizes of 1905 models proved too small to measure up.

While the Model N appeared to be the most likely candidate, one troubling point remained in Albright's reference to the engine.  Model N specifications indicated a 28 brake horsepower engine, not the thirty to thirty-five indicated by Albright. 

There are a couple possible explanations for this inconsistency.  For one, Albright may have had a more powerful engine installed.  Alternatively, he may not have had his facts straight, as the general public had limited knowledge of cars in the early years of the automobile.  For example, Albright may have accidentally relied upon faulty memory in drafting his description, perhaps referencing the car's speed, as ads claimed the Model N was capable of reaching more than 33.5 MPH.       

In situations where you can't "ask the man who owned one," it is important to let the research guide you to the truth.  Some paths to the answers we seek are more clear-cut than others, and we must always be open to the possibility that another piece of the puzzle may lay hidden, waiting to fill out the big picture.  Whether you're interested in restoring your 1963 Corvette to original condition or want to know why the Edsel failed, the thrill of discovery awaits you here at the Library each and every day. 

Interested in Doing Research with the AACA Library?:

More info available on our website. Visit AACA Library or

contact our head librarian, Chris Ritter, critter@aaca.org or 717-534-2082.

http://aacalibrary.tumblr.com/

Join us for a trip down memory lane as we re-create popular culture items alongside popular cars of the 1950s-1970s.

What images do the 50s,60s and 70s conjure up for you?  Poodle Skirts, Elvis, Drive-In movies, diners, sock hops, The Beatles, Peace Signs, Jimi Hendrix, Black Lights, Smokey and the Bandit, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Game Shows, Disco Ball, Magic 8 Balls and much more!  

We're planning a grand opening party on Friday, May 17th from 6-10 PM to celebrate the opening of Pop Culture & Cars along with our recently opened British Invasion exhibit.    There will be fun themed foods, music from the 50s-70s, a game show competition and more!    

Two Superfly Cars courtesy of Les Dunham, the Father of Superfly cars -  a Cadillac El Dorado as seen in "Fort Apache, The Bronx" and a Corvorado (Corvette made to look like an El Dorado) as seen in "Live and Let Die" and "Superman - The Movie"    >> more on these cars  

Pricing:
$20 Adults, $19 Seniors, $10 for children 4-12 years of age.  

>> Order Tickets online

>> Order tickets via e-mail  tickets@AACAMuseum.org

>> Order tickets via telephone 717-566-7100 ext. 100

We're also looking for memorabilia, toys, etc. from the 50s-70s. Let use know if you have something you would like to loan or donate for this display.  Supporting the exhibit will be period motorcycle gear and collectables.

 We're currently looking for the following vehicles to be part of the upcoming Pop Culture & Cars display:

            60s era VW microbus

            Starsky & Hutch Torino

            GTO Judge

            Plymouth Superbird

            Dodge Charger Daytona

            1960-1962 Corvette

 For a full listing of exhibits and events at the AACA Museum visit www.AACAMuseum.org. 

Source: Automotive Milestones, Trivia of a Most Unique Machine, Edited by Clark Cassell and Charles Merritt, Braddock Publications.