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November 1941. "Trinkets in migrant agricultural worker's automobile. Wilder, Idaho." Medium format acetate negative by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
In the era before seat belts and airbags, collapsible steering columns and steering wheels and laminated windscreens, driving around in cars had the potential, in a front end collision, to project the steering column into your face neck or chest and/or shards of razor sharp glass to pepper over the injuries that haven't killed you.
I’ve flown small airplanes for over 45 years and am well acquainted with carburetor heat. Never heard of it in cars before. Shorpy is a constant education!
And to think I got into a mild dispute with my parents in 1957 for hanging a pair of fuzzy dice on the rearview mirror!
I thought I was seeing things and question why you would include that post from mannmade. It's offensive just being there. I think we would all be better off if that one disappeared.
I thought the sharp-eyed viewers would have every trinket, accessory and add on identified by now. So far nobody has mentioned the ash tray mounted near to the radio. Near enough that blowing ash probably ends in the radio as much as anywhere else. I had one of those in a Model A and it sometimes shocked riders to find that the gas tank was directly ahead of it. Inches away.
I believe that the match books are worth more now than most of the other stuff he has hanging.
Q: What do mannmade and Kramer have in common?
A: Both banned from the fruit store.
That’s pretty darn crude, mannmade. Yes, the comments are moderated on this site, specifically to keep away garbage like this. I imagine Dave has included this comment of yours just to show he’s not blocking you utterly, as well as to show the rest of us what he has to deal with.
The decal on the windshield lower right:
I hope Buick and the other auto manufacturers considered the headliner strength needed to hold up with displays such as this.
Oh my gosh mannmade! Access to your user profile is blocked now, but when you insulted me in an earlier post I remember your profile included a pic of D-Day from 'Animal House' in the homemade tank. You want to be a cool guy, but slinging insults and anger the way you do is not cool. The secret to belonging is to belong -- think about that. I honestly hope you find a way to not be so angry and insulting; if not for you, then for everyone who crosses your path.
What are the two knobs to the right of the fuel gauge? The ones next to the radio. Also, on the steering wheel, I would guess the left lever is for spark advance, but what is the right lever for?
[Righthand steering wheel lever is throttle position, which could be used as a kind of cruise control. Righthand knobs are wipers and interior lights. Lefthand knob is the choke. - Dave]
And a carburetor heat control! I could have used one of those on my 1964 Sunbeam Alpine. Driving in cold, damp Vermont I regularly had to get out and spray ether into the carb as the ice started to block the throat.
Is what I thought I saw hanging from the rearview mirror. Upon reflection, maybe an upside-down miniature cowboy hat.
... but I do have a pine tree air freshener hangin' from the rearview.
Should be entitled "Distracted Driving"
What ever that big box is (heater?) it has a Chevy emblem on it, so it may not be a Buick. Looking at the interior, cars were absolutely medieval back then.
[The radio is an in-dash unit from a Chevrolet. The car is a Buick from 1930, six years before General Motors began selling cars with factory-installed radios. - Dave]
Buick Will Build Them. It's a 1930 model.
Has anyone identified the car yet? Those controls on the steering wheel have to be a clue.
Seeing this collection up close, now I'm wondering how many girlfriends our dear boy had. Or hoped to have.
[No telling what the back seat was like! - Dave]
No telling indeed. I hope if it was tricked out with pillows, the girls were armed with hatpins.
... would drive me up a wall.
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