Old Car Meet in 1939

[Richard Bartrop]

From the AACA Library via the Hemmings Blog.  Colour footage of the first meet of the Vintage Motor Car Club of America on September 23, 1939.

 

Edited June 2, 2018 by Richard Bartrop

[bbowser]

Thanks for sharing this Richard!  I just watched all the way through, what a great day that must have been.  No "trailer queens" in that bunch.  The skills competitions, the fire rescue, unusual bicycles, I really liked the race cars around the 14:30 mark.  Those guys had some stones!  I could not identify most of them but I'll bet my dad could.

[unclescott58]

Wow! That was cool. Just plain fun to watch. I loved mock fire drill. And then cringed, minutes later at the real fire. I was also surprised at how many of those cars I could identify. Maybe not exact model or year. But, by make quite a few. 

Thanks for sharing this with us Richard. It was quite a treat. 

[espo]

Talk about "Dubs and Low Profile Tires". This was great to see and everyone looks like they are enjoying themselves. Stop and think about these cars that are from approximately 30 too 20 years old at that time, this would be like us now going to a show for cars built in the '80's. Thank you for sharing this video.  

[Richard Bartrop]

It also shows just how quickly the state of the automotive art had advanced back then.   A 1939 car looks like it was built in another century.

[Lovefordgalaxie]

Cars change, but not my taste in cars.

I always say I'm not into old, or classic cars, I'm into the cars I like. It's not because it's old that it appeals to me. 

The oldest car I would consider owning is a '32 Ford 18. A Victoria, maybe a Tudor.

In 1939 I wouldn't be into old cars at all. The '32 was just a regular used car. Would take a brand spanking new 1939 Ford Deluxe Tudor home in place of any of those vintage cars.

In 2018, I would still take home the 1939 Ford V8, only this time, I'll take it instead of any brand new car in the world. 

 

[DumpyDan]

Great show, thanks Richard

[Maindrian Pace]

Wow, how cool! Love the Mercer Raceabout, (there were possibly two) and I bet they were affordable back then.

[wku88]

58 minutes ago, Maindrian Pace said:

Wow, how cool! Love the Mercer Raceabout, (there were possibly two) and I bet they were affordable back then.

Not only a Mercer, but at least one Stutz K series Bearcat, and a Jordan Playboy.

Several Hudsons, and everyone recognized the Buicks and Model Ts, but did you also catch the Model A Ford (the first model As, not Henry's Lady), a model K Ford, and the International Harvester Motorwagons?

Not to mention the Fiat Mephistophole, and the racing Benz.  Strangely absent, although they would have been relatively contemporary then, were any Duesenberg, or Cadillac.

Edited June 4, 2018 by wku88
Incorrectly ID'd the Benz as Blitzen.

[fredo84]

Thanks for the video !!

Look's like it was good to live this Era 

[Richard Bartrop]

3 minutes ago, fredo84 said:

Thanks for the video !!

Look's like it was good to live this Era 

Some people weren't hurting, that's for sure.

[peteski]

5 hours ago, fredo84 said:

Thanks for the video !!

Look's like it was good to live this Era 

Your statement reminds me of one of the original Twilight Zone episodes, the one with Buster Keaton.  Especially the 2nd half of that episode. The episode's title is "Once Upon a Time". You can watch it on Youtube.

[ZTony8]

I noticed the Buick Bug racing car in the film.  I believe it's the one now owned by G.M.

[ismaelg]

Wow! Just took a curious peek and ended up watching it completely. Really enjoyed it!  They were having a great time with lots of fun. Reminded me of a field day at school.

 At  4:15 and 5:40 you can see where the Escalades with big rims come from. Thanks for sharing!

[Richard Bartrop]

On 6/3/2018 at 11:10 AM, espo said:

Talk about "Dubs and Low Profile Tires". This was great to see and everyone looks like they are enjoying themselves. Stop and think about these cars that are from approximately 30 too 20 years old at that time, this would be like us now going to a show for cars built in the '80's. Thank you for sharing this video.  

And it looks like dressing up in period costume and having fun with 30 year old cars is still a thing.  Good for them  https://jalopnik.com/radwood-is-joining-forces-with-gridlife-to-bring-the-ra-1828116935

[ChrisBcritter]

Hmm. Something looks familiar...

Oh yeah.

Kitbashers: Lay out your Evergreen plastic, sharpen your knives, and... GO!