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It’s a pity that Gerald Schimke of WA is no longer a member; he would bite into this tempest in a teapot with relish (if I may use multiple metaphors). His 1932 Model 52 CLUB BERLINE won the Vanderveer (now Weis) Award in 1991.

The various body styles are what the manufacturers call them, with little or no commonality. For example, the 1939 Cadillac 75 (V8) and 90 (V-16) club sedans are called Town Sedans (with no division) and have the identifying suffix of 39 (e.g., 7539, 9039). Add a division glass to the same car and it becomes a Formal Sedan (7559 and 9059). The current owner of my 1939 75 also has a project 7559 (with leather roof, division glass, small rear window) that I hauled back from Beatty NV along with so many Cad parts that I rivaled one of Ed’s overloaded hauling exercises.

That car is a 48K mile car originally delivered to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. And Cadillac offered two different divisions–“formal” and “imperial,” essentially framed and unframed. That car has a cloth front seat but in conventional broadcloth as opposed to the embossed cloth in the rear compartment.

The term “berline” was PRINCIPALLY used by custom body companies. I know Cadillac did not use it, and I don’t think Packard did.

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Kenneth said it far better than I; agree completely.

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To answer the original question, a BERLINE is usually a club sedan as described above but with a division glass, implying that a chauffeur is the driver,

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I agree that talc should be used rather than baby powder except in urgent circumstances…

For re-seating (closing) the rim, I prefer to use a bottle jack with two short pieces of 4 x 4 lumber rather than reversing the rim tool.

Of course, opinions are like belly buttons….

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Peter, no the ex-Tom Williams car is a Convertible Victoria in a butterscotch color, and it sold last year (again) for $415,000 hammer = $456,500 after buyer’s premium was added.

IMHO, John Porbeck’s cars would have brought more at a venue other than Scottsdale, where most of the money is spent on 1950s and 1960s iron.

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Usually the offer runs March 1-31 and is announced in late February. Peter is The Man for setting up this excellent annual offer.

By the way, do not believe the urban legend that once an Optima goes quite dead, it cannot be successfully charged. The Optima CAN be recharged from flat by charging it in parallel with any other 6V battery which has a fair degree of charge. I recommend using a trickle charger, “smart” charger or “maintainer” is best, over a couple of days.

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https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/5947267464.html

It’s in Willows, ~130 miles north of SF. 8 photos but none of engine compartment, although the water manifold plate is in the front seat. Appears to have been a coach series 7-passenger sedan. From the photos, it’s a parts car unless there’s a significant stash of small bits. Looks like a ’49-50 Ford steering wheel…

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Jim, my 1930 crank has no counterweights.

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On the other hand…there’s a process I can’t recount for you of getting oil out of the pores of the crankcase, but it’s not perfect.

*IF* you decide to paint the exterior of the crankcase, Eastwood’s Aluma-blast (sold in both quarts and rattle-cans) is the best in my experience.

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Pierce favored the Yale Junior lock series. For blanks, try eBay seller autonut2 who is in OH if I recall.

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OR, as when I finally was able last January to acquire my 1918 48 touring (92″ tall with top up, and that top will STAY up), make Other Arrangements:

1. Traded a space in one of my garages with a good friend Packard collector for one in his garage with 9.5-foot doors–1.5 miles away, AND

2. Had to buy another, taller, enclosed trailer–used of course

First things first–the cars, that is!

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First, profound apologies to Ed for hijacking his thread on S36 robe rails! We’re off on at least three different topics…

Dave, thanks very much for the NER tour info–I’ll call John tomorrow. Enjoy New Zealand!

Ken, I have the same handles as you but mine are placed differently: My rear handles are on the same angle as yours but are much closer to the hinge side to permit a person fully seated in the rear to reach the handle and close the door from his seated position. My front handles are horizontal, about 1.5-2.0 inches below and parallel to the molding at the bottom of the front windows. Both of our cars have been reupholstered, so we may need to search catalog and other period illustrations to see what’s right. There was a running change in the placement of the vanities. Early ones such as mine had them on the rear doors near the hinge; later they were placed below the quarter window after an entirely different rear arm rest was used to permit the (second) more logical placement. This is documented in the first two (of three) Salesmens’ Data Books for the S80.

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Hi Dave,

Yes I know. A week ago I emailed the head of the Nickel Era Registry (I am a HCCA member) asking for an application if he had one (not on its website) but no reply received. I’ll mail him my $10 check and see if that helps! Then I heard that as of 10 days ago 29 of the 30 available slots were already spoken for.

I’m trying to convince Greg Long to come out and run his 1932 conv coupe, which lives at my house, on the tour. Although the Registry has 1929 as its upper limit, I think John allows cars thru 1932. I’m planning on driving my 1918.

Pity the two tours are simultaneous. Yes, I’m definitely willing to go early or stay late to link up. Let’s discuss in Tucson.

George

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Ken, my Deluxw 5-p sedan identical to yours has no handles on the seatback of the front seat as on Peter’s 7-p sedan. I do have smaller handles, chased/engraved, as door pulls on the rear doors, mounted at an angle near the hinged end of the door.

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Ken, I’ll try to get your way. FYI, AACA is holding a 4-day Western National Tour out of Sonora in late April 2017, and I’ll likely participate in that.

I should put some of my previous remarks, perhaps harsh, in context. When the first Japanese national purchased the car in 1998, super-original cars were appreciated by far fewer people than those who appreciate them today. Bill Harrah had a keen eye for super-original low mileage cars. One of them is owned by our member Warren Martin–a 1926 Franklin touring. Previous owner of your car Wayne Sheldon was an advocate for originality. So my characterization of the 1998 buyer as a “twit” reflects my own prejudice in favor of such low mileage originals. I believed the, and still do, that such cars should not be restored–but that’s my own perspective.

At the 1998 auction, I restrained myself from bidding, as I already had two Series 80 cars (a coupe I sold earlier this year and a twin to yours, which I still have), and didn’t need another, but I would have bought it to keep it from going “too cheap” or to a street rodder.

Come to think of it, your car may have had 14,xxx miles on it at the time of the 1998 auction, so you have a truly low mileage chassis!

Bests, George

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Ken, that’s the right hardware; the interior has been redone, and I don’t remember the style of the original “cord” AKA rope. If you turn the metal loop 1/4 turn (clockwise on the right side, CCW on the left side, the decorative metal comes loose from the base and the assembly comes off–don’t know why you’d do that, though.

I was present at the auction at Claar’s in Oakland, CA in April 1998 when the all-original car sold for about $15K. An agent of the original Japanese purchaser was there and we spoke; he wanted to hire me to go to LA to teach his boss how to drive it. I’d retired a few weeks earlier but had a consulting gig starting shortly, so I declined.

I heard that the Japanese guy had it restored–and if you saw it as I did, you’d never have restored it. I’d previously seen it at the 1996 Silverado Concours when Wayne Sheldon owned it, and at that time, and at the auction, it wore dangerously ancient if not original red radiator hoses and fan belt.

Some years later it was on eBay with a starting bid of $125K. At the time I messaged the lister, who was the agent for a second Japanese national resident in LA.

I don’t recall the numbers on your car but it’s a very early S80 and a wonderful machine,

Hope we can get together so I can meet you and see that car again. If your travels take you to the Bay Area, please let me know.

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Ken, a rope, not a rail, is correct for the S80 5-passenger sedan. If you can post a photo, I’ll tell you if it’s right. Your car was a 15,000-original-mile Harrah’s Collection car when I saw it in 1998 and before. Although some twit “restored” it, if they left the hardware in place and just re-covered the rope, you should be fine.

George

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Thanks very much, Jim!

George

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Richard, a period Dyke’s Manual is probably the only place today you’ll find info on the generator’s internal wiring.

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The second…

Greg Long may well know the car and its owner.

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