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Ghost Rider: 1920
... circa 1920. "Buick, Pacific Heights." Wearing a spiffy "California top." 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. ... [This is an open-body car, with an after-market California top installed. The side windows are part of the top. -tterrace] ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/02/2015 - 9:46pm -

San Francisco circa 1920. "Buick, Pacific Heights." Wearing a spiffy "California top." 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. EnterHow did a person get into the car? The doors seem to go no higher than to the bottom of the windows. Unless the entrances are on the driver's side. [This is an open-body car, with an after-market California top installed. The side windows are part of the top. -tterrace] The Big HouseThat's the Spreckels Mansion again. Down the block, that appears to be 2000 Washington St. under construction, completed in 1922. Today you can get one of its full-floor condos for around $10 million. They all look alikeSeems back in the early days it was equally difficult to tell car marques apart as it is today. Only during the 50's and 60's did cars appear to have their own character. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Reduced Prices: 1924
... [This is a touring car with what was generally known as a "California top," an aftermarket or dealer-installed accessory that was a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2016 - 4:42pm -

San Francisco circa 1924. "Don Lee Cadillac agency -- N.E. corner Van Ness & O'Farrell." 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Harley EarlDefinitely custom bodied. Harley Earl was the manager of the Don Lee Cadillac Custom Body Shop during this period. They had a good market selling custom bodied Cadillac to the Hollywood elite. Four Door Hardtop Who knew there was Cadillac 4-door hardtop before 1956? Very interesting, I wonder if that was factory or custom bodied. Made in the ShadeThis Cadillac, probably a Type V 63 touring car, has an accessory fixed, but removable, hardtop. They were developed and popularized by Murphy Coachworks in Pasadena, California. They became generically known as "California Tops" regardless of by whom or where they were made 1924 Cadillac Town BroughamMy guess is that this gorgeous vehicle is a Town Brougham model. Usually the Brougham has a half roof leaving the driver in the sun or rain. (Same proportions in the rear as this). This variation seems to have opted for a full roof. There is no such body style as a full roof Brougham in the 1924 Cadillac advertisements. But clearly you could special order one because here it is. [This is a touring car with what was generally known as a "California top," an aftermarket or dealer-installed accessory that was a cheaper alternative to a closed car. - Dave] Very expensive (for the time)Below is a list of the 1924 Cadillac prices. Notice that the Touring car was the lowest priced (adding the roof probably added a few hundred). Today we could probably buy that with pocket change. Style No. Body Type Seating Price Weight NA 4-dr Touring 7 $3085 1945 kg NA 4-dr. Phaeton 4 $3085 1909 kg NA 2-dr. Roadster 2/4 $3085 1905 kg 5490 2-dr. Victoria 4 $3275 1991 kg 5380 2-dr. Coupe 2 $3875 1941 kg 5280 2-dr. Coupe 5 $3950 1986 kg 5270 4-dr. Sedan 5 $4150 2036 kg 5290 4-dr. Landau Sedan 5 $4150 2036 kg 5460 4-dr. Imperial Sedan 5 $4400 2091 kg 5260 4-dr. Suburban 7 $4250 2073 kg 5310 4-dr. Imp. Suburban 7 $4500 2109 kg 5470 4-dr. Sedan 7 $3585 2095 kg 5300 4-dr. Limousine 7 $4600 2109 kg 5370 4-dr. Twn. Brougham 7 $4600 2059 kg (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Sweet Chariot: 1920
... circa 1920. "Chalmers touring car." Wearing a spiffy "California top." 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full ... top with an eisenglass window on each side. ["The California top ... can be stowed or removed quickly and has a permanent roof ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/27/2015 - 2:24pm -

San Francisco circa 1920. "Chalmers touring car." Wearing a spiffy "California top." 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Detachable top?Looks like a detachable top with an eisenglass window on each side. ["The California top ... can be stowed or removed quickly and has a permanent roof and glass windows" says this period article. -tterrace] LocationTaken on the 2100 block of Washington Street, north side; not sure of the exact address. The house has been somewhat altered, and is currently obscured by a tall hedge. [The house is the Phelan Mansion at 2150 Washington. - Dave] (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Expect Great Things: 1923
... approximating closed-car comfort with a variation on the "California top." 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. ... to buy a '21 Franklin with this kind of body. It has a "California top" with removable window side panels. In the Franklin case (and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/13/2015 - 1:57pm -

Dec. 27, 1923. "Don Lee Cadillac agency, corner Van Ness & O'Farrell." And a Model V-63 Phaeton, approximating closed-car comfort with a variation on the "California top." 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. 2-wheel go, 4-wheel stopHey, it looks like it even had front-wheel brakes! Very rare in '23. The Don Lee BuildingIt's significant. The Demi-SedanWow! Impressive sculpture over the door of the building. I'm trying to buy a '21 Franklin with this kind of body. It has a "California top" with removable window side panels. In the Franklin case (and others) this was called a "demi-sedan" It could be stripped down to make a touring car in the summer and panels added to create a semi-snug semi-sedan for winter time. Very similar to the 1922 model ... that my dad's cousin owned in the '60s: a gorgeous blue Model 62 touring car that started my lifelong fascination with antique automobiles. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Let It Slide: 1920
... the elements with yet another variation on the so-called "California top." 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/14/2016 - 11:26am -

San Francisco circa 1920. "Locomobile touring sedan." An expensive open car fortified against the elements with yet another variation on the so-called "California top." 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Lost in TranslationThe brand Locomobile makes me think back to stories of how Chevrolet supposedly marketed the Nova to Mexican consumers without realizing that no va implies "doesn't go" in Spanish. I wonder what the same market would make of a "loco" mobile? ["Locomotive" in Spanish is "locomotora," so probably not much. - Dave] [And Snopes pretty well debunks the Chevrolet "no va" business. - tterrace] Very pretty car I have read that Locomobile prices ranged from $5,000 to $12000 in the 1920s, about as expensive as a new house at the time. The Locomobile is also reported to be the car that inspired Walter Chrysler to start his own car company in 1925. Not really lost in translationInteresting. As a Mexican I never heard or thought of the Nova name in any negative connotation. That "No Va" story sounds more like something invented by an American who pretends to know how the primitive Mexicans think, and trust me, his interpretation is completely wrong. No; the name had nothing, or very, very little to do with the car's failure in the Mexican market, and that "failure" is very relative, because the automotive market was very small and there was very little competition here at the time: we had only 3 other medium-sized cars, namely the Ford Maverick, the Chrysler / Dodge Aspen, and the local incarnation of the AMC Hornet. The Nova didn't sell well here not because of the name, but due to other factors, build quality, gas consumption and odd design among them, not to mention the recessive Mexican economy in the 1970s. Now, If we were going to find meanings to the name of things (which we normally do not), the word "Nova" has at least two other possibilities more relevant to us 1970s Mexicans than the "No Va" fairy tale: 1. Nova is a Latinization of Nuevo, which means New. So it could have been said that to us the Nova was the Chevrolet Nuevo (New). 2. Back then Nova was the brand name of the standard (80) octane gasoline sold in Mexico. As for a car called Locomobile, it would hardly raise an eyebrow here; for the most part we don't give much of a thought for the name of things. But in very few occasions some memorable names become so familiar that they become synonimous to the whole kind of product they represent; for example a paper tissue will be called a "Kleenex" independently of the actual brand of the product. But those are very rare instances, so I doubt we would call "locomobiles" to all the cars on the streets. Buster Keaton filmed The Navigator hereThis home, 2505 Divisadero, portrayed the home of Buster Keaton's girlfriend in The Navigator (1924). Buster's character lived in the home of A.D. Moore, 2500 Divisadero, when that mansion took up the entire east side of the street. You can read about this filming spot on my blog post https://silentlocations.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/keatons-heart-in-san-fr... (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Open and Shut: 1921
... Baths, Bush side of Bush and Larkin." An open car whose "California top" is fitted with windows on the driver side. 5x7 glass negative ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/31/2017 - 10:58am -

San Francisco circa 1921. "Chalmers touring car at Lurline Baths, Bush side of Bush and Larkin." An open car whose "California top" is fitted with windows on the driver side. 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Wheels Not TurnedWhen I learned to drive in S.F. the police would hand out tickets to drivers who parked on hills without turning their front wheels into the curb (to prevent runaway vehicles if the parking brakes failed). It is somewhat difficult to tell but it looks like this car is pointed downhill and the wheels are still straight - yet no ticket on the windshield......yet. Wheels Not TurnedWhen I learned to drive in S.F. the police would hand out tickets to drivers who parked on hills without turning their front wheels into the curb (to prevent runaway vehicles if the parking brakes failed). It is somewhat difficult to tell but it looks like this car is pointed downhill and the wheels are still straight - yet no ticket on the windshield......yet. -24At the Lurline Baths in 1897, courtesy the Edison company and the Library of Congress. Splash Apron Modesty PanelClassy solution to the usual practice of leaving the forward mounting nuts of the rear leaf springs exposed in gaping access holes. PerambulatorAt the extreme right of the image, one can see a wicker perambulator, more commonly known as a "pram", parked up against the wall of the building. "Pram" could be derived from the small boat of the same name, or it might be a truncation of "perambulator" My parents had one of these, though not wicker. I can actually remember sitting in it. I have clearer memories of my little brother sitting in it. And, of course, when it had outlived its usefulness after the fifth offspring, its wheels became part of a home-made coaster! (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Formal Phaeton: 1921
San Francisco circa 1921. "Studebaker Special Six touring car at Spreckels Mansion." 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Sliders Served Here A perfect example of how the sliding windows on a California Top wo ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/14/2017 - 10:28am -

San Francisco circa 1921. "Studebaker Special Six touring car at Spreckels Mansion." 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Sliders Served HereA perfect example of how the sliding windows on a California Top work can be found here. Anyone know how... the side windows on those tops worked? I can see the front window pivoting with the front door, but the window over the rear door looks like it has to be slid backwards to get the door open. Which I suppose is possible. >Tobacconist: thankee kindly! Studebaker Big SixThe car above is a 1920 Model EG Big Six, not a Special Six. The Special Six of that era had a radiator with a rounded top and used conventional round head lights. The Big Six had a wheelbase of 126" compared with the Special Six whose wheelbase was 119". There is a similar model here, but in conventional touring form. https://www.shorpy.com/node/19700 The is a Special Six with a similar top in this photo - https://www.shorpy.com/node/21435?size=_original#caption - where you can see the different shape radiator. Also the shorter wheelbase of the Special Six has necessitated changes to the shape of the rear door. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Mona Lisa: 1920
... apartments." Fitted with yet another variation on the "California top." 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/14/2016 - 3:09pm -

San Francisco circa 1920. "Studebaker Special Six touring car at Mona Lisa apartments." Fitted with yet another variation on the "California top." 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. Still thereIt got an Art Deco makeover at some point (and lost the awning), but it hasn't yet fallen to redevelopment: (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
Family Jalopy: 1919
... 1919. "Haynes touring car." Accessorized with a dapper "California top." 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/16/2015 - 7:35pm -

San Francisco circa 1919. "Haynes touring car." Accessorized with a dapper "California top." 5x7 glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. GenerousThe massive shock absorbers attached to the front springs must be an after-market application as most Haynes photos do not have them. Extensive Internet searching has not yielded any info as to the manufacturer. Any chance the nameplates can be enlarged from the original negative? [They are Gruss air springs. - Dave] Dapper?Although the curtains may have been meant to convey a sense of privacy (blocking the sun & perhaps not allowing the unwashed masses to spy on their "betters"), they do come across as a tad funereal. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, Kids, San Francisco)
Dry Roller: 1920
... Washington streets." Wearing yet another variation on the "California top," an accessory (this one with sideways-sliding windows) that ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/09/2017 - 5:32pm -

San Francisco circa 1920. "Chalmers touring car at Spreckels Mansion, N.E. corner Octavia & Washington streets." Wearing yet another variation on the "California top," an accessory (this one with sideways-sliding windows) that afforded some of the advantages of the era's heavier, more expensive closed-body models. 5x7 inch glass negative by Christopher Helin. View full size. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Chris Helin, San Francisco)
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