Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Auto collectibles and paraphernalia...
Not "collectible autos" but "auto collectibles..."
That is this topic is to talk about stuff we collect besides actual full scale cars.
I myself collect just about everything: Magazines, License plates, sales brochures, die-cast and plastic models, books art and videos.
If I had a dime for every item I had I could probably run out and buy a Classic Duesenberg or Ferrari.
What about you? What do you collect? Let's talk here.
Some of my more oddball items: A Tachometer (Smiths) from a TR-250,
An original brochure for a '62 Cobra 260 featuring a photo of Shelby's Secretary smiling in formal beauty queen attire before a "Snake", A 1/18th scale Porsche 917K in Martini & Rossi livery ('70 Sebring winner)that I've dirtied up to look like after the race, A Bill Neale watercolor of the Chapparal 2F signed by the artist. A signed copy of "the Encyclopedia of Motorsport" (by author--it's incredibly comprehensive).
That is this topic is to talk about stuff we collect besides actual full scale cars.
I myself collect just about everything: Magazines, License plates, sales brochures, die-cast and plastic models, books art and videos.
If I had a dime for every item I had I could probably run out and buy a Classic Duesenberg or Ferrari.
What about you? What do you collect? Let's talk here.
Some of my more oddball items: A Tachometer (Smiths) from a TR-250,
An original brochure for a '62 Cobra 260 featuring a photo of Shelby's Secretary smiling in formal beauty queen attire before a "Snake", A 1/18th scale Porsche 917K in Martini & Rossi livery ('70 Sebring winner)that I've dirtied up to look like after the race, A Bill Neale watercolor of the Chapparal 2F signed by the artist. A signed copy of "the Encyclopedia of Motorsport" (by author--it's incredibly comprehensive).
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Tagged:
0
Comments
Lots of owners manuals collected from wrecking yards over the years.
A bagful of brochures from an early '70s SF auto show, including manufacturers who no longer grace these shores.
Lots of brochures from 1966 when my parents bought a new car.
Ford brochure for the four cam Indy engine based on the small block.
Radio, hubcap and horn button from my first car, a '60 Corvair. Only recognizable items left on car after the accident ;-).
Oil bath air filter housing off a '61 Chevy 348, looks similar to the one they used on '50s Power Packs. I could be persuaded to part with this.
First wheels I had, a Norman of England three speed bike that was almost taller than I was.
Growing up I had a number of what I guess they call "promos", models already built. Let's see, I had a '58 Olds, '57 Plymouth, '55 Plymouth, probably ten others I can't remember. In fact I remember picking out the Olds from a display table in a shop in Northland Shopping Center in Detroit in 1958. Even then I had unerring taste.
The most valuable car books are usually, 99 out of 100 times, marque-specific. If you find books that cover lots of cars, or books on mechanics, even if they are very old, they are usually worthless.
Signed auto books can be worth collecting as well.
I also collect clippings, stories, specifications, etc. from magazines around the world on specific marques and put them into large binders. This, again, for reference mostly.
Last of all, I have some old metal toys I really like.
The BIG DEAL in "automobilia" these days is large porcelin or metal signage. People are knocking down $3,000 for some of them on Ebay.
I usually kept them stock and actually did a pretty good job.
But...I would tire of them quickly and we would usually blow them up with firecrackers.
Anywho, I have a fairly large collection (over 1000) of auto ads, mostly from the '50s-60s, more than a few books (most of which are non-technical), lots of brochures procured from the Chicago Auto Shows (unfortunately only dating sporadically back to 1980 or so, though I've gone every year since '77), a 1964 Porsche brochure. Lots of assorted 'stuff'.
I have a very hard time keeping myself off eBay to grow my collection.
And last but not least, photos, lots and lots and lots of photos, mostly 35mm slides I've shot in the last 25 years. My most prized "stuff" are a number of photos I shot that I had printed and mounted and then autographed by the subject driver including Gilles Villeneuve, Rene Arnoux, Didier Pironi, Nigel Mansell, Al Unser Jr and Sr, Rick Mears, Bobby Rahal, John Morton and more I can't remember. Then there's all the Triumph stuff and everthing ever printed related to the Swallow Doretti.
Ya, I got it bad.
The thing I tend to pick up and keep are vanity press, single make books. Ed Cunneen's COPO book is a nice example.
On the other hand, I got about a thousand bucks from a stack of ACM SIGGRAPH magazines that were holding up my monitor.
I didn't really get to buying and savings car mags until I was 18 ('63). I still have the first R&T I ever bought and most of the R&Ts and C&Ds from the 60s
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Do you store your magazines in slip covers or cases? There was a company in Philadelphia that made customized book cases for Special Interest Autos, Car & Driver and Automobile. Unfortunately, the company now only makes cases for Special Interest Autos.
My "library" (as I call it - LOL!) also contains numerous marque-related books. Probably the most "unique" book is a copy of "American Motors - the Last Independent" signed by George Romney and the author, Patrick Foster.
I also have about 100 mint and boxed Matchbox cars from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, as well as several Brooklin models. Unfortunately, I still don't have any place to display them. Those non-Superfast Matchboxes are getting tough to find at car and toy shows.
They're stashed in cardboard boxes and I'm planing on getting rid of anything from about '74 to '84 (the Automotive Dark Age IMO)
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Also, I have a box of aluminum coins that were dispensed by Sunoco/DX gasoline stations from 1968-69 depicting antique cars from the 1900s through the 1920s.
I have every issue of "Collectible Automobile" dating back to their May 1984 debut. This is perhaps the finest, most informative auto magazine of them all. The editorial content is top drawer and the photography is excellent.
I also remember another collector car magazine (the name of which escapes me right now) that was published in the '80s, which either ceased production or merged with another magazine around 1990. I remember writing a letter to them as a teenager, which was published. I liked this magazine in particular because they weren't muscle car or modification focused, like nearly every other old car magazine at the time. They focused more on just nice old cars, often even sedans or luxury cars, with the emphasis on originality, or the restoration to original specs. Anyone want to take an educated guess at the name of this one?
Is any one interested in swapping or selling license plates? I'm particularly interested in Southern or midwestern states and anything foreign. I also look for odd plates like the '63 Illinois plates with the John Deere colors (a centennial commemorative).
Given the geographic broadness of TH we could get a nice license plate exchange going.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
lemko: Hang on to those 1984 issues of Collectible Automobile. They are hard to find! I have every issue since 1985. I store them in the silver book cases specially made for the magazine. They really help preserve each issue.
No car books... My main source of automotive history has always been Internet, so one of my important files is the bookmark one
I read other kind of books about cars. In particular I have several books on Newtonian mechanics, car mechanics, fluid mechanics and the like. I still can't understand quite a few of them though. Fluid mechanics are not easy!
I have one unusual object: the 17" temporary spare wheel of my 330d! I found it so absurd for a kind of this price to come with such a thing that I keep it just for memory. It may be well joined by the one on my new one, as I intend to get a real spare shortly.
What collectibles do I have?
Complete set of Collectible Automoble from their first issue in 1984.
Nearly complete set of Special Interest Autos-I buy a few more to complete my collection every time I go to a swapmeet.
Lots of old magazines from the 50s and 60s [Hotrod, Motor Trend, Motor Life, Auto Age, Pop Mechanics, etc].Also, two of the first issues of Hotrod [1948] in mint condition. The cover of one has a picture of a Pontiac six "lakester"-the things they used to race on the dry lakes in So California in those days.
Car Ads from the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. The walls of my house are covered with framed old car ads and others [Post toasties, Wurlitzer Jukebox, Coke, Pepsi-the Norman Rockwell illustrations].
I also have all of the nearly 70 plastic models I built in the late 50s and early 60s. My first AMT kit was a 58 Ford Convertible, which I painted red and white. The first kit I ever built was a 55 Cadillac Eldorado convertible by Revell.
Also-some old sparkplugs from the 20s or 30s-new-still in the box wrapped in tissue paper.
I'm outa time here for now. I have more to share-later.
Lucky you didn't grow up in my neighborhood.
Someone always had firecrackers!
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Isell-yeah-hard to believe I still have all those old models. When I went away to college I never went back home, but my mom carefully put all those models in two big boxes, and then redid my old room. Now there's a Mom for ya! That model collection I have is worth some bucks-from what I see at the swapmeets when I go. Not that I care what they're worth. Of course, I wouldn't sell any of them. Be more fun to pick the one I least care about and blow it up with a cherry bomb. he-he-. Just kidding.
Mad at someone, perhaps?
Brings back memories..when I was a kid, if we got lucky we might get ahold of some cherry bombs. For those who don't know, these were about 2/3rds the size of a golf ball, red in color, with a short green fuse. About three times as loud (and destructive) as a large firecracker.
I think the M-80's have replaced these now.
But the LOUDEST and most dangerous of all, was a Seal Control bomb! These were sold to commercial fishermen who would light them and throw them over the side of their fishing boats. They would go off underwater and scare seals away from their nets. They were about 1/2 the size of a toilet paper core, yellow and black, with a large fuse that came out the side. There was a warning lable on them..." Do not discharge above water"
Yeah...right!
Since I grew up in a fishing town, it seemed these would turn up once in awhile. They were EXTREMLY LOUD and very scary!
Then there was the night we threw one into an alley in back of a Chinese restaurant....
Ah...youth!
I went down there usually in my buddy's Dad's 55 Ford Ranch Wagon-the strippo one, with rubber around the windshield and no chrome except for the grill and taillights. It was that beige color, with white door and window frames. A popular color for Fords that year.
And I'd love to find a good source of racing Decals, particularly F1 and GT racing.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Yeah...Pierpoint Landing..the Pike...long gone.
Do you remember Mike Salta Pontiac on N. Long Beach Boulevard? The salesmen would stand on the sidewalk wearing dark glasses, sizing up all the potential customers as they drove up to look at cars.
What a trip that was.
The rarest 409 badge is the '65 409 used only from September '64 through January '65. I don't think the '61s had engine identification.
Very early '65 390 Fords used the same t-shaped emblem as the 352 but this was quickly changed to the diagonally striped badge used through '67.
I've seen some interesting '50s badging like the Dodge D-500 and the Stude T-10. I think Hudson had a special Twin H emblem for its dual carb cars.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Both the early '65 390 and 409 badges were very similar to those for lesser engines (352 and 327 respectively) and hard to differentiate at a glance. They were redesigned quickly, maybe because the dealers thought the difference was too subtle to stroke egos. I wonder if anyone here knows the story.
Andre, does your encyclopedic knowledge extend back that far?
Isell-is that rollercoaster still there?
I have hundreds of matchbox-type cars (Matchbox, Hot Wheels, other no-name brands). Mostly from the '70s and newer, as I was born in 1983.
About a dozen large die-cast models, and some built plastic kits including a 1977 Ford Pinto, a 1979 Ford Courier and a 1981 Dodge Omni 024. I have weird tastes, I admit it! I got into an eBay model kit buying spree a few years ago, so I've got a whole table full of sealed MPC kits from the '70s and '80s (including the awesome 1976 Chevette Rally...I'm going to have to build that one eventually) that I bought and couldn't bring myself to open up and start tinkering with. They'll be worth something someday, I tell you! :-)
I also have every issue of Road and Track, Motor Trend and Car and Driver going back to 1991. My first was the 1991 MT Car of the Year issue, with the '91 Caprice on the cover.
And then, there's the 4,000+ hubcaps. But I'm sort-of in the business, so those are "inventory" not a "collection" :-)
-Andrew L
Some of my wheel covers:
Some alloy wheel center caps:
95% of this stuff was found on the road. People don't realize how many hubcaps are lying around until they see them all in one place :-) Disclaimer: Please don't post asking to buy caps from me. I don't want Edmunds giving me the boot for violating their TOS.
-Andrew L
E-mail me if you want to add a '71 Fiat hubcap to your ..uh..inventory.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
By "Pontiac low-line", do you mean the small dog-dish type caps? If so, those are very popular in good condition, especially on eBay. I've seen them go for upwards of $100/set when really nice.
Most of my caps are from about 1980 to the present, though I have a fair amount of '70s stuff and a few from the '50s and '60s. Occasionally, I'll happen upon a spot where there was a pothole 20 years ago, and I'll find a bunch of vintage caps lying in the bushes.
-Andrew L