Couldn't agree more Howard. In 1960, I bought a 39 Merc Coupe off a used car lot in Riverside for all of $95.00. Painted gun metal gray metallic, white naugahyde seats, 53 Merc flathead with 2-2's, dumps and baby moons. Had much fun with that car and am wishing about now that I had kept it instead of trading for what I thought was a better car (49 Ford Coupe, Royal Blue Metallic, Chrysler Grill, Buick side spears, etc. (typical custom rod of the times). Since then have had several cars but not of that ilk for several years (raising family and getting old). Sure would like to tool around in that 39!!






> Danville, CA, the town I live in(there are other events like in a nearby town, plus Reno has something similar but even bigger) has an event called "Hot Summer Nights" where you get the chance to see these cars up close. Occasionally, some new cars are showcased by dealerships but the vast majority of the cars are from the '60s and before. They are also in various stages of life, from completely original to the beginning stages of restoration to completely modified. I love the old Woodys, in particular, and the cars with the polished external turbine that acted as a vent fan. Last year, someone even brought a WWII half-track with the specs printed out and taped to a window. I think it got 1-2 mpg on the highway. Howard, you would love strolling down the street at one of these events. Check out the links below for some pictures.
>
> http://www.bdt.com/david/carshows.html
> http://www.valleysentinel.com/archive/July2001/frontpage/..%5Cimages%5Chotsummernights.gif
> http://www.valleysentinel.com/archive/200308/images/smfpmain.jpg
> http://www.valleysentinel.com/archive/200208/frontpage/..%5Cimages%5Chotsummer.gif
> http://www.stangnet.com/shows/hotnights/imagepage1.htm
>
> Ferrick
>
> > OK, it's not going to happen. Most people today have never seen a '39 Mercury club coupe, unless it was in a car show or at a museum. Even then it may have had a Chevy engine. Most car buyers now want one of those nice little cars that look like they all came from the same cookie cutter. They are quick and efficient, but you have to get close enough to read the name to tell them apart. It was not that way with those beautiful old cars from the 40's. I can identify a '41 Chevrolet or a '46 Hudson from two blocks away.
> >
> > A few people who have no idea what those old cars look like may have read this far. I would suggest that sometime when you have the time to spare, you might want to find a book on vintage cars at the library, or look some up on the internet. You will find that some cars produced before the middle of the 20th century are real works of art.
> > Howard