Railroaders' Nostalgia > SP East End... Colton/Yuma

Any of you guys remember this car, one like it, stored in the lumber yard just west of the West End of Mecca? Chester Olson tried like mad to buy it. The guy would not sell it.  I remember going by year after year and watching it just sit in the desert sun and rot for away. Man! That would be a real "Chick Magnet"car to have now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/15 19:14 by HardYellow.

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In about 1960 two of my high school buddies and I decided that we were going to find an old car and restore it.  It would be a 3-way partnership.  We went driving around the country roads and about 3 miles southeast of Olpe, Ks we saw something.  By the way, Olpe was the first station south of Emporia on the Eastern Division's Howard District.  Back to the story.......   We noticed an old vehicle by a farm house that sat about a third of a mile off the road.  We drove up to the farm house and an older gentleman greeted us.  The vehicle turned out to be a 1931 Pontiac coupe with a straight six cylinder engine.  He said it was running when he had parked it 3 years before.  He got some gas for it, hooked his tractor to it and we attempted to get it started to no avail.  I'm thinking the diaphragm in the updraft carburetor had dried up.

The farmer wanted $50. for it.  The interior was pretty much shot but the body was in fair shape.  As it turned out my buddies didn't have their $16.66 1/3.  We told the farmer we would get back to him.  I told my partners I would give them 2 weeks to produce their share or I was going to just buy it myself.  Amazingly I just so happened to have the entire $50. After two weeks they couldn't come up with their part so the partnership was disolved.  I immediately went down to the old farm house and guess what?  IT WAS GONE.  Two days prior to my appearance a Saturday Evening Post salesman called on the farmer for a subscription, saw the car and bought it.

You can't win them all....

Mark

My first car in 1958 was a 1955 Metropolitan like this - except it was Black and White.  Remember to start it, with the shift in neutral, you pulled the shift lever towards you. Thanks for the reminder.  Had lots of fun with that little car

There is a guy that lives in Rancho Santa Margarita here in Southern California that searches the US for these, buys them and restores them to pristine condition. I picked one up from the original owner in Corona about 6 months ago and delivered it to him.

The lady was sweetheart and really got emotional over selling it. They and some of their life long friends all were there taking pictures and such. She had such a thrill as she got to "drive" it one last time as I winched in onto the trailer. I had to load it on the street blocking one lane of traffic. A Corona PD motorcycle officer stopped behind me with the lights flashing. Turned out his parents had had one and he got in on the picture taking as well.

We has one of those, brakes didn't hold and it rolled down the hill cleared the bank
and landed in top of an apple tree.  

hollywood 

Seems as though I remember one being in a "Cheech and Chong" movie. 

IIRC, in the opening title sequence of the Superman TV series, one of these was putting past the camera, with the Metropolis (Los Angeles) City Hall the featured item in the shot. LA meter maids used the RH drive version for parking enforcement. The chalk stick for marking tires was clipped to the outside of the RH door.
...Lorenzo

Nice experience guys, I loved the part with the motercycle cop getting in the picture taking deal, I know that was cool!