http://www.oldcarsweekly.com August29, 2019 ❘ 9Sound Your Horn
Saved a ’31 Chevy from salvage
The article in the July 4 issue of Old Cars about the 1931
Chevrolet Independence Special four-door sedan inspired me
to send you information on my 1931 Chevrolet four-door se-
dan.
I was a junior in high school on Sept. 14, 1953, when I
bought my 1931 Chevy out of a junkyard for $39. I still have
the used car contract from University Auto Parts & Sales of
Spring Lake Park, Minn. My 1931 Chevrolet had the same
original blue body paint with black fenders just like the one
featured in Brian Earnest’s article. That’s me in the picture
about a year after I bought it. The house in the background
is the one I grew up in and is located in the St. Anthony Park
neighborhood of St Paul, Minn.
The car came with two things that required immediate at-
tention: it had no ignition key and the muffl er was shot. I took
the car to my friend’s house that evening and he installed a
hidden on/off switch behind the instrument cluster. He then
took a piece of exhaust from his pile of exhaust pipes and
welded it in place of the muffl er. This made the car a straight
pipe and I never got stopped by the cops for the extra noise, orspeeding for that matter. I eventually replaced this daily driver
with a 1937 Studebaker Dictator and made a Doodle Bug out
of the ’31 Chevy.
Dick Pederson, via e-mailHubcaps versus wheel covers
Angelo Van Bogart’s recent treatise advising against stray-
ing from established practices whilst browsing during swap
meets evoked from me a torrent of memories regarding the
use and value of hubcaps versus wheel covers.
Prior to the 1950s, full wheel covers were a rarity and man-
ufacturers went to great lengths to paint and decorate steel
wheels. Pinstriping was one of the more artistic embellish-
ments applied. To me, a black 1940 Ford coupe cannot be sur-
passed in appearance by utilizing correct period white walls,
painted red wheels, standard Ford-emblazoned hubcaps and
the pièce de résistance, “beauty bands!” Anyone considering
a different look for their ’50s cruiser should consider proper
hubcaps and factory beauty bands, and if not available, the JC
Whitney versions look period correct and just fi ne.
Advancing to the ’60s, I recall a Marina Blue 1963 Impala
in town that eschewed the 1957 Plymouth wheel cover then in
vogue for baby moons, beauty bands and narrow whites. It set
if off from all the others driving around town on cruise night.
As a last observation, I recall that in the late ’60s, Chevy
Novas came from the factory with baby moons that included
a stamped bowtie on them! And don’t get me started on how
“rallye wheels” of the big three were just plain slotted steel
rims painted silver with fancy — yes — hubcaps!
Thanks for publishing the number one old car magazine
for us devotees.
Charles H. Farley, Oak Island, N.C.Art Patstone is the proud
owner of this 1956 Jaguar XK-
140 Fixed Head Coupe. “The
car is driven regularly and
has won numerous awards
since being mechanically
refreshed over the past three
years,” he says. “One of only
two 1956 FHCs sold in France,
it has not been restored and
has several unique features,
including dimmable driving
lights.”A t 29 2019 ❘ 9Reader
Wheels