In Apr. 12 issue, Russell County News
By Ron Cowell, Columnist

About two and a half years ago local business man Wayne Lynch got the urge to get back into an old car and have some fun. Several years before that he had a cherry 1964 Chevy. Like most of us one day a right person came along with the right price and the car was sold. Ever since then Wayne has had Classic Car Fever.

He set out on a journey to find something to restore so he and his wife Wilma could go cruising once again. He took to the road and somewhere in Indiana he found just what he was looking for. There it was setting there in bushel baskets and box’s all disassembled.

This 1950 Ford Club Coupe had been setting in a barn for 15 years. The previous owner had full intentions of restoring the vehicle and putting it back into shape. After 15 years had passed he decided he would pass the project on to Wayne.

In those baskets and boxes were most of the parts for this vehicle. It had a 239 Cubic Inch, 100 Horsepower Flat Head Motor, no heater. Heaters were an option back then. It would have cost you $44.55 to get a heater with Deluxe Defroster in it. You can bet Wayne will have one installed in the car when he is finished with it.

While checking the parts for the car he found a switch under the dash and a hose. He had no idea what this was. After doing some checking he found out at one time the car was used to run Moonshine.

If the driver was being chased by the police, he would flip that switch and it would dump all the moonshine out of the tube through a hole in the trunk. I ask Wayne if he was going to put that feature back into working order. He just smiled, put his finger over his mouth and said, Shhhhhhhh !

That got Wayne to thinking he had several items to replace on the car and wondered what the difference would be between then and today.
For example, To replace, or order a side view mirror on that car back in 1950 would have cost him $2.75.

Today’s cost would be somewhere around $80.00. If you wanted Beauty Rings on the Car in 1950 they would have cost $10.50 for a set of 5. At today’s cost they would set you back about $200.00.

How about this also, in 1950 if you wanted turn signals on the car you could order them at a cost of $14.95. Believe it or not you could even get a tire repair kit with the car for the amazing price of 25 cents.

Wayne has had the car for a couple years now. He had a local body shop do a little of the bodywork, and had the seats recovered, but the majority of the work he is doing himself. He is not going to put it back all stock. He has all intentions of putting a little of the 1950’s Street Rod look to it.

He says he would like to have a car like he wished he could have afforded back then. He’s not looking for a show car but a cruiser to drive and have some fun in. We will be checking with Wayne in the future to see how he is coming along with his project. We’ll keep you informed on his progress.

After talking to Wayne about the price difference from 1950 to today, it got me curious and I did some checking on prices and events in the 50’s.

If you wanted a car like his back in 1950 you would have paid $1,195.00 for it. Can you buy a new Ford for that today?

A car was harder to buy at the end of 1950. Inflation rose again with the eruption of the Korean War. Material shortages were making things difficult for the auto manufactures. White wall tires were very hard to get in 1950. How things have changed over the years.

Here are some upcoming events for the Month of April you may want to mark on your calendar.

The first Somernites Cruise in Somerset will get underway the weekend of April 24th, 25th and 26th.

Thursday night, the 24th will be “The Tune Up Cruise In” at Dairy Queen on US 27, at stoplight #6. That will start at 7:00PM till ????.

Then on Friday, the 25th from Noon to 2:00PM The Early Bird Meet and Greet will be held at the Visitors Center.

Also Friday from 6:00PM to 10:00PM will be the Rock & Roll Block party at Wal-Mart Parking Lot , That’s stoplight #13 on US 27.

Then on Saturday the 26th at 2:00PM Cruise entrance gates open in Downtown Somerset for the Show & Shine.

If you would like more information for the weekend you can check on line at WWW.SOMERNITESCRUISE.COM .

The Old Boys Toys Club will have their first event on Saturday, April 19th at K Mart parking lot from 3:00 to 6:00PM.

Then the first day of May, Thursday the 1st, The “OUTSIDERS” will have their first Cruise in at Lake & Shake on 127 starting at 6:00PM.

There will be a lot of sharp cars, Oldies Music, 50/50 and much more.
If your club has an event coming up and you would like us to let people know about it, drop me a line at djron47@yahoo.com. Information must be in at least two weeks before the event takes place.

Till next time, Keep Cruisin’.