Three-Wheeler Thursday

[Originally posted at On The Nightstand on Tuesday, October 13, 2016]

A Tale of Two Motorettes

But not the 1901 – 1903 four-wheeled Motorette that became the Pierce-Arrow. Or the four-wheeled Motorette that the Holley Motor Company (today’s Holley Carburetor, sort of) made in 1902. This is Three-Wheeler Thursday, not Four-Wheeler Friday

The first is the Motorette as made by the C.W. Kelsey Manufacturing Company out of Hartford, Connecticut from 1910 to 1912.

From the September 15, 1910 edition of Motor Age magazine
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And the second is the one made by The Motorette Corporation of Buffalo, New York from 1946 to 1948.

Photo by Nina Leen for LIFE magazine, 1949

The Jagged Edge

[Originally posted at On The Nightstand on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 and titled Trailer Tuesday 10/11/16]

The late Joseph 'Bogie' Beaudoin's channeled 1930 Ford Roadster powered by a caddy engine. Nicknamed "The Jagged Edge" it, for some reason, had a cigarette lighter mounted to the underside of the chassis.

Joseph Beaudoin tucks "The Jagged Edge"—his 1930 Ford Roadster—under a Feuer Transportation semi-trailer.
Beaudoin was an original member of the Black Road Auto Club out of Stamford, Connecticut. This photo was taken in 1960 when he was 20 or 21 years old (born in 1939), three years after the club was formed. The location is across the street from the local favorite Tony’s Diner on Shippan Aveue in Stamford Connecticut.


Black Road Auto Club plaque.

Photos from JALOPYJOURNAL and KUSTOMRAMA

1935 Ariel Red Hunter RH500

[Originally posted at On The Nightstand on Monday, October 10, 2016 and titled Motorcycle Monday 10/10/16]

Built pre-August 1935.    Photo taken November 18, 1935.
Nestled in the beautiful countryside of Kent, the small village of Yalding is prone to regular flooding as it sits between three rivers – the Beult, the Teise, and the Medway.  On November 18, 1935 this nearly new Ariel RH500 was photographed filling up at the Shell pump during the flood.

A surviving example.

Later that same day a different photographer captured a shot of a car filling up at the non-Shell pump.

The store (minus petrol pumps) as it appeared in 2016.

CHP Sedan Delivery

[Originally posted at On The Nightstand on Saturday, October 6, 2016 and titled Sedan Delivery Saturday 10/08/16]

The California Highway Patrol's Technical Research Unit's 1949 Chevrolet Styleline Series 1500 GJ Sedan Delivery.  9,310 Model Number 1508s were produced, and the CHP got at least one of them.

Top photo from Old Cars Weekly, clipping from the Tuesday, January 17, 1950 edition of The Bakersfield Californian.

Messerschmitt Kabinenroller (Cabin Scooter)

[Originally posted at On The Nightstand on Friday, October 7, 2016]

In memory of Rhoda Emma Kruse.

Rhoda not pictured. Photo from Hemmings.
Rhoda was a wonderful person, and the only one I'd ever met who had purchased a Messerschmitt Cabin Scooter new to use as a daily driver. She was afraid to drive, but figured she "could handle a car that small."


Her obituary (below) was published in the January 19, 2013 edition of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

KRUSE, RHODA EMMA Aug. 8, 1929 to Nov. 19, 2012 Rhoda was born in Brooklyn, NY and attended Bethany College, Pratt Institute, and Columbia University. She was a ferocious reader from an early age and became a senior librarian with the City of San Diego and Carlsbad, as well as the San Diego County Office of Education. Her worldly travels added to her expertise and deep respect for other's cultures. From her early years and upbringing, her faith was always very important to her. In San Diego, she became involved with two different Christian churches, University Christian Church and Pacific Beach Christian Church. Her faith was strong despite her having to fight Alzheimer's. She will be greatly missed by her church families. She is survived by her sister Harriet Botta, of Toronto, Ontario Canada, along with several nieces and nephews. A celebration of her life will be held at the University Christian Church, 3900 Cleveland Avenue, 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 27. In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to any local library branch in her memory.

I was lucky indeed to have known her.