Jack was a good friend of my father whom he had worked with for a number of years and knew of our interest in old cars. He approached dad about an old car he had in his barn that he was considering selling. Jack's uncle had purchased the 1937 Chrysler Royal new for his wife just before he passed away. The wife did not drive the car very often, with only an occasional trip into town before Christmas to purchase a new hat for the season. The rest of the year she found other means of transportation. When dad purchased the car in 1979 the car had only 21,000 original miles.
The photos show Jack and his wife the day we picked up his aunt�s car up to trailer it home. As you will see the car was pretty dusty, but there had been no damage from rodents and the body was rust free. The interior was in immaculate condition since the dealership had installed seat covers when the car was purchased. Even they were in like new condition. The dash and all wood graining were like the day the car rolled off the showroom floor. The spare tire had never been on the ground it still had the painted Firestone emblem on the sidewall.
The trunk lid was far too heavy for Jack�s aunt to lift because the original tool kit, jack, and wheel block were still in the factory cardboard box. Later on when I was dusting out the trunk, I came across left over trim screws and sandpaper left over from the factory assembly line.
The only bodywork that had been done on the car was a very minor scrape on the driver�s side rear fender where it met the side of the garage. After a simple clean up I carefully rubbed out the black lacquer finish to an almost mirror like finish that only a quality lacquer finish will give. It was really unbelievable for a car that was so old.
When I got the car home, I needed to install a new fuel pump and rebuild the carb. Luckily, there where few mechanical problems once the car was started after sitting for so long. You could barely hear the car idle when standing next to it. We found the Chrysler was a great car for touring. My father kept the car for about 6 years, taking may trophies at local shows before he sold it. |
