Hit the California Jackpot!

You know what I’ve always wondered? Why we don’t see more contest cars. That is, cars won by entering some kind of contest back in the day. Flipping through old magazines, it seemed there was at least one car you could win in every issue, so if those contests were on the up and up, there’d be plenty of cars won in such a manner showing up at car shows and in car magazines.

Such as the 1951 Crosley Super Sports above, the October Crosley of the Month on the Crosley Automobile Club’s website. Owner Steve Gillie of Springboro, Ohio, didn’t win the car in a contest, but the Stewart family of Hamilton, Ohio, did, after entering a jingle contest sponsored by Mission Orange, a soft drink maker.

How Mission Orange chose a Crosley Super Sports as a prize, I dunno. Whether the Stewart family took possession of their five-acre California orange grove, I dunno (though it’d certainly be worth way more than the Crosley nowadays).

Know of any other contest-prize cars still out there?

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2 years after- Old Navy truck issues still hitting our inbox.

One of the trucks is now on display in the showroom of Classic Parts in Kansas City.

All of the trucks were prepared for the Old Navy stores by the Alan Brasington Network in New York and stripped of engines and transmissions. Most still have differentials, however, any body work done to prepare these trucks for delivery was purely cosmetic with bondo and tin replacing cab corners and rusted wheel wells. Many lack interior details as well, no floorboards, no pedals, etc.  and the bed floors and floor boards were often just a piece of plywood. Still, every once in a while some of the better shells that weren’t too gutted come up for sale, many through dealers who bought a pile of them or as a single unit through online auctions.

At least twice a month since Dan’s posting, we receive an inquiry from buyers looking for titles or door jam plates with correct VINs and other documentation necessary to put these trucks back on the road.  We also have heard many horror stories involving motor vehicle departments and state inspection stations after new buyers have installed drivetrains and made the truck roadworthy but cannot register these trucks in their respective states because of the paperwork issues. Here are a few quick things you should be aware of when purchasing one of these trucks.

A. None of them come with titles. Old Navy has none or won’t release them because of corporate accounting regulations or some other crappy excuse and neither does Brasington have any paperwork for any of these trucks.  This means you have to go through one of the title companies, pay a hefty fee and wait for acceptable paperwork to come in the mail.

B. Most have had the VIN removed from the driver’s door jam making it even more difficult to put one of the trucks back on the road.  Any vehicle without a VIN cannot be registered and in states that do issue replacement VINs roadworthy vehicles have to pass a state safety inspection before a new non-original VIN can be issued. Many states also have “you only get one shot” rules involving this inspection process as well. Maryland, for example, has the right to confiscate the truck should it not pass the safety inspection.

Laws vary by state, but it is a very good idea to check what your regulations are before considering purchasing one of these trucks. If you are looking for a parts truck to repair an Advanced Design pickup you already own, it is great that there are actually vehicles out there you can get parts from, but you should investigate thoroughly before purchasing one of these trucks with the notion of re-streeting it. The idea of being able to buy a 55-year-old truck for a few thousand dollars may be tempting, but you could be setting yourself up for a at least twice that in restoration work, re-title, inspection and registration fees. Buyer beware.

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