AACA Scranton Region

Period dress was worn by many in attendance. It was a great evening for all who were there.

The Region's members thank all participants, volunteers, sponsors, visitors,

July is here and show time is near. Planning has been underway for the last several months to insure that the show runs smoothly. Chairperson’s gave an updated report at the last meeting with a few loose ends that need to be addressed. T

The Ad Book is at press and special thanks to Ralph Bohn, George Langan Jr., and Jim Lyons for their dedication in putting the information together and to all the members who solicited for ads and sponsors. Bring your favorite covered dish on Jul 16 at 6 P.M. to the show grounds for all to enjoy. On 18 July, tents will be put up on the show grounds so that a layout can be done for the flea market area. Another work day is planned for 19 July at 7:30 so that those that need to leave early will be able to do so.

Once again our hope is that Mother Nature cooperates and gives us a beautiful day for the show. In closing, sure hope your 4^th was safe and a happy holiday spent with family and friends. See you soon !!!!!!!

Sincerely,

Walter Kreig, President

My first car was a 1949 Tan Oldsmobile Coupe. It started as a project car for my brother and I. My brother Guy was 27 and I was 15. The car had a worn out 6 cylinder when we got it.. The first thing we did was to replace the old 6 with a V8 we got from a 54. Of course the present clutch wouldn’t work with the V8 so Guy went and purchased a new Corvette 4 speed, clutch and adapter plate. We went to work shortening the drive shaft, drilling holes, changing mounts and exchanged the seats with some we got from a delivery truck. After we were done with that, we painted the body black and put on red wheels with beauty rings.

During the building of the car, I attended a military school in Florida. My brother and I were close, so we communicated regularly. I made plans for Guy to pick me up 2 days before Christmas in the Olds and we would drive to Scranton. Of course in those days there were no interstate highways. We held on to fond memories for years of the drive trough the Carolinas, the high speed runs through the swamps and back country, early morning breakfasts in small towns and a sandwiches at noon while we filled the tank with 15 cents per gallon gasoline.

After enduring the year in Florida, I attended Central High School in Scranton. The 49 Olds was my transportation. During the first winter, I hit a patch of ice in front of the Villa Capri on Moosic Street and bent the coupe around a pole. Now I had a great engine and transmission without a body.

Well while going by Gruber Auto on Main Street in Bulls Head I spotted the most beautiful 49 Olds Futuramic Convertible in the would. It was bright yellow with green upholstery, power windows, a green top and supposedly a bad engine. Imagine, all this for only $50. I purchased it and towed it home.

When I got it home, It started right up. I took it for a ride and it was great. What a summer I had with the top down, “great” couldn’t describe it! The car lasted a year before I had problems with the Hydromatic. I sold the car for $300 because I didn’t have the money to fix it. What I did have though was the bent 49 with the great engine and trans. So the search for an Olds to put it in got underway. Well, at Rinaldi Motors on Taylor Hill I found a salmon colored coupe with a white top. With the help of another tow truck and $50 from the sale of the 49, I was home again. I put a 6 volt battery in it, pressed the starter and it began to breath heavy trough the Rochester backdraft carburetor. After a cough, the 303cid V8 Rocket Engine roared into life, settled down, and idled away. Another lucky find! A decision was made by my brother and I to sell the engine and trans from the bent 49 coupe. I was just starting college in Rochester NY and needed a car. The Olds was it. I got a used set of tires from a place in South Side and an oil change at Victor’s garage. I painted the car blue dark blue with an electric spray gun. It ended up looking like a blue orange, but I was ready for college!

This Olds was dependable. It was the only one that started when it was hot. Most of the early V8’s with the 6 volt system wouldn’t . It would remain dependable through college and the rest of the time that I owned it.

After finishing college, I left for Florida to get away from the cold. I received a position teaching at Miami-Dade Jr. College. I sold the car in 1966 to one of my students for $300 and purchased a 1958 Corvette that needed the engine rebuilt for $800.

I joined the US Navy for 4 years and forgot about the Oldsmobiles for awhile only to return to Scranton and start again.

The next Olds coupe was a 1975. I was working in Scranton making sales trips to Allentown when I spotted a coupe in a junk yard along the Lehigh River. I couldn’t tell if it was a Chevy, Olds, or Pontiac from a distance. So, as you probably guessed, I had to stop. It turned out to be a 50 Olds Coupe. The man would not sell it to me because he didn’t have a title. I returned to Scranton that night and went through my records. I found the title and keys from the 49 that was bent around a pole some 18 years earlier. I went out behind the house where the rusted remains of the bent 49 was and removed the VIN Plate from the door post. The next day I made a special trip to the junk yard in Lehighton. I presented the man with my title and VIN plate. We went to the car and inserted the door key and believe it or not, unlocked the door. I next tried the ignition key, that also worked! Well, $50 later the coupe was mine. I towed it to Scranton, put in a battery, filed the points, primed the Rochester carburetor, climbed in, hit the starter and the 303 Olds Rocket roared into life. A paint job, new wires, and points was all it needed. The car traveled with me for many years. I used it around town, on short sales trips and took it to car shows. It was always reliable, strong, and fast. Soon it got the attention of one of my customers. He kept after me for years to sell it to him. Finally I did sell it to him for a pricy sum of $5,000 in around 1985.

The car ended up in my customer’s building in south Jersey. I saw the car a few times at my customer’s place of business just sitting there. After about 10 years he wanted to sell it back to me. I told him no because I had other cars and interests. I knew that he would not be in business much longer and was concerned about the coupe’s future. One day when I came home from work, there sitting in my driveway was the Olds. The title was under the wiper, my name still on it. He had never titled the car. Again I put in a battery , primed the carb, and the Olds came to life. It ran, but the brakes were bad, electrical system was touchy and it needed to be repainted. I didn’t want to re-do the car, so I fixed the brakes and got it running the best I could and put an ad in Hemmings. I sold it for another $5,000 to a airline pilot from Texas. He insisted on driving the car home. When he arrived home he told me how great the trip was. The car just kept wanting to go faster and I would of opened it up if it wasn’t for the knock. He said people would wave and give him the high sign. As he arrived at his home town, he made it to the final block when the rod rapping got increasing louder. The engine blew as he pulled into the garage. The pilot wasn’t concerned because the trip was fantastic and he intended on replacing the engine anyway.

So that was the story of me and my many Oldsmobiles. What terrific cars the were. Recently I have been looking again but when found they are usually quite expensive. But the search goes on until another 50 Olds takes its place next to my 31 Packard, TR4, and TR6.

               2 JULY - Board Meeting

             12 JULY - 33rd Annual Antique Fire Apparatus Show, Riverfront Park, Harrisburg PA

             16 JULY - COVERED DISH Dinner Meeting at ABINGTON EXECUTIVE PARK 6PM

          JULY 20 - Scranton Region's 37^TH ANNUAL CAR SHOW

Click here for Show Flier and Registration Form

         28 JULY - Past President's Meeting, 7PM at the Clubhouse



              2 AUG- SPAMMFAA 50th Anniversary Muster & Convention,   Long Branch Park, Syracuse NY

                                                                           (antique fire apparatus)

             ? -AUG- YANKEE’S ARE BACK IN TOWN (DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED AT STADIUM)

                                             DON KAVULICH

             27 AUG - ICE CREAM SOCIAL & NOMINATION OF OFFICERS



             14 SEP - Coal Crackers 10th Annual Show At Carbondale High School



              24 SEP - ELECTION OF NEW OFFICERS

              28 SEP - Walk and Cruise for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) at McDade Park

              ?   OCT-INSTALLATION BANQUET (CHAIRED BY GLO LYONS AND DEBBIE SHEA)