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1937 Imperial C-15:  First power locks & windows?

3/2/2015

1 Comment

 
PictureThe C-15. (Photo: H. Kroplick)
We're always fascinated by the latest automotive technologies, so we got curious recently when we saw the power locks and windows on a magnificent 1937 Chrysler Imperial C-15 LeBaron town car that recently returned from first in class wins at the Pebble Beach and Radnor Hunt Concours.  Owned by Howard Kroplick of East Hills, New York and recently restored by Steve Babinsky's renowned New Jersey facility, the car features spring-loaded automatic windows and locks.  With a chauffeur's flick of the door handle, the windows go up and the passenger compartment locks tight with guillotine-like precision.  In the video below, Kroplick shows how easily they operate.

Are these the industry's first power locks and windows?  Well, not quite.  It appears the 1915 Scripps-Booth was the first to offer power locks.  The website earlyamericanautos.com features a brief story from a November 1914 issue of Motor Age that touts this new-fangled feature.  "The electric door latches are operated by a pushbutton, placed close to the door in the side of the body, operates the latch magnetically, eliminating entirely door handles of any form," says Motor Age.  Americans apparently didn't care much for the power locks and they didn't reappear until 1956, on a Packard.  But, as they say, the rest is history.

The origin of power windows is a little more complicated.  Our research indicates that they were first offered on the 1940 Packard 180 and were soon followed in 1941on top-end Lincolns.  It wouldn't be until after World War II that the technology became more widespread.  So, indeed, the one-off Chrysler may be the first car with power windows, even though they weren't for mass consumption.

To learn more about the Chrysler's windows and locks -- and about this magnificent car in general -- we encourage you to visit Kroplick's great website, Vanderbilt Cup Races, where you can read all about the restoration, see detailed photos and enjoy commentary from Hemmings columnist and classic car guru Walt Gosden.  This town car, commissioned by Walter P. Chrysler for his wife, Della, is loaded with special custom features.  We especially like the center tail lamp, whose design mimics the front grill almost exactly.


Picture
The Chrysler's center tail lamp
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1937 Ford Panel Delivery: One hot express package

9/15/2014

 
PicturePhoto: B. Nowakowski
THE CAR AND ITS OWNER
1937 Ford Panel Delivery street rod owned by Bob Nowakowski

WHAT MAKES IT INTERESTING
These rides were the workhorses of the Great Depression, serving as ambulances, police wagons and delivery vans.  Ford was so proud of this model that, for 1937, it built 42 Model 78 Deluxe Panel Delivery vans as an educational fleet to promote sales of Ford parts and accessories to dealers. Only one is known to have survived and it sold at auction in 2006 for $170,500.  The rest were stripped of their special equipment, given a black paint job and sold as used Ford fleet vehicles.  Nowakowski says his customized Panel Delivery "still has many of the original features, such as a crank-out windshield.”

HOW LONG HE’S OWNED IT
Since 2006

WHERE HE FOUND IT
“I purchased it on Long Island (New York) and was able to insure it and drive it home,” he says.

CONDITION
“The original 85-horsepower drive train has been replaced with a Chevy 350-cubic-inch engine and automatic transmission," Nowakowski says. "The truck has been repainted to a bronze color used on the Plymouth Prowler.  I’ve been able to refinish an old oak floor that I found under the carpet.”  

VALUE
He values the street rod between $30,000 and $35,000

TIPS FOR OWNERS
“Buy something pretty much completed and add your own touches to it," Nowakowski advises.

THE BOTTOM LINE
““The truck has been owned by a few different owners on Long Island," he says, "including a brewery company, a collector and a restorer. Everybody along the line has added a few features.  I have added a mural of an old repair shop on the side and pictures of the vehicles I have owned in past years.”


1937 Imperial C-15: 'Chrysler's Chrysler' meets Pebble

8/12/2014

 
PicturePhoto: Howard Kroplick
One of the most interesting stories of this year's Monterey Car Week is coming to life Sunday on the green at the Pebble Beach Concours d' Elegance with the emergence of a unique Chrysler: the Imperial C-15 Town Car, or "Chrysler's Chrysler," that Walter P. commissioned for his wife, Della. 

Languishing in a garage at Long Island's Vanderbilt Museum, Mansion & Planetarium, this Art Deco masterpiece was rescued in 2012 by noted enthusiast, author and historian Howard Kroplick and is being shown in its newly restored state.

The Chrysler sports hand-formed aluminum coachwork by LeBaron and luxurious custom interior fitments. 
It had been donated to the museum in 1959 by a local collector.  Kroplick, of East Hills, New York, bought the car in early 2012 for $275,000 in a sealed-bid auction that drew inquiries from enthusiasts in eight states. He commissioned renowned New Jersey restorer Steve Babinsky to bring the Chrysler back as close as possible to its original state upon delivery. 

The 8,000-lb., seven-passenger Town Car is 19 feet long and has no factory-produced body panels.  Under the hood is a 130-horsepower, straight-eight engine coupled to a three-speed manual transmission. At the time of the auction sale, the odometer read 25,501miles.

At Kroplick's excellent enthusiast site, Vanderbilt Cup Races, you can read all about the restoration of this fantastic Chrysler as chronicled by another classic car luminary, Walter E. Gosden.  (While you're there, spend some time looking at rare photos and learning more about Long Island's historic auto races and rides, including Kroplick's rare Alco "Black Beast" racer, which won some of those events and competed in the first Indianapolis 500.)

We have personally observed Kroplick at work, spreading the joys of car collecting to young and old from the perch of his running Alco at a host of shows and concours.  The Chrysler is magnificent in itself and if the judges at Pebble take into account Kroplick's devotion to the hobby and his commitment to this unique car, perhaps a trophy is coming back with the C-15 to Long Island.


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    Author

    David Fluhrer has been the classic car columnist for Newsday since 2008, and a new car reviewer for Newsday's auto section since 2018. 

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