Saturday, December 7, 2013

Radiator Caps and Hood Ornaments from the Stahls Automotive Foundation Museum

My father-in-law Arsen and I visited the Stahls Automotive Foundation Museum in Chesterfield, Michigan, on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  The Stahls museum generally has very limited hours, so it was a treat to get to see it.  The museum features 70 or 80 truly lovely classic cars, the vast majority of which are American prewar classics.

Pictures of complete cars coming soon, but since Monique couldn't make the trip, I thought I'd put up a post sharing her favorite part of classic cars: the radiator caps and hood ornaments.  Somewhere out there is a radiator cap and hood ornament museum. I guarantee that one day we'll find it.

You can click on a photo to see it full size. I've organized them alphabetically by make, except for the surprise finale at the end.

Enjoy!

American Motors


1913 American Scout Roadster Underslung


Auburn


1936 Auburn Model 852 Speedster


Cadillac


1930 Cadillac V16 Phaeton Series 452



1932 Cadillac Model 355B V-8 Convertible Coupe


Chrysler


1932 Chrysler CL Imperial



1935 Chrysler Airflow C-1 Sedan


Duesenberg


1923 Duesenberg Model A Touring Car


Ford


1931 Ford Model A Deluxe Roadster




1934 Ford Deluxe Phaeton


Graham



1939 "Sharknose" Graham Model 97 Four-Door Sedan


Hupmobile


1934 Hupmobile Aerodynamic


LaSalle


1934 LaSalle Convertible Coupe


Leslie Special


1964 (by way of 190?) Leslie Special - Yes, it's our good friend the Leslie Special from the movie "The Great Race", seen earlier this year on the ol' Patio Boat greeting folks at the 2013 Concours of America in Plymouth, Michigan.


Packards, Packards, Packards!


1930 Packard Model 745 Deluxe Eight Phaeton



1931 Packard 840 Custom Eight Phaeton



1932 Packard Deluxe Eight Phaeton



1934 Packard Super Eight Coupe Roadster



1938 Packard Darrin Model 1703 Converible Victoria



1940 Packard Station Wagon



1947 Packard Custom Clipper Club Sedan


Pierce-Arrow


1934 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow



1935 Pierce Arrow Model 1245 Convertible Roadster


Stutz


1932 Stutz Model DV-32 LeBaron Sedan


Terraplane (formerly Essex, a subsidiary of Hudson)


1936 Terraplane Model 61 Convertible Coupe


And for our big finale, we close this post with an out-of-alphabetical-order Amphicar!


1964 Amphicar 770 Convertible - Yeah, okay, so it doesn't really have a hood ornament. I would like to point out, however, that it has a fully functional marine navigation light smack-dab in the middle of its hood.  And that's pretty dang cool!

2 comments:

  1. Oh how splendid!!!
    THANK YOU, thank you, thank you, my dear.
    I was going to try and pick a favorite but... I can't.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Splendid indeed. Seeing these from far away on the big screen is nothing like these close-ups. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete