Uncanny stories about A's

[Ray in La Mesa]

See the story of the history of my 1930 cabriolet in the Early V8 Forum under "uncanny stories" at the end of the thread.

[Chuck Dempsey]

Great story, Ray. Thanks for posting! Here is a copy of it..

In the spring of 1968 in San Diego I bought a 1930 Cabriolet from Truly Nolan pest Control. He was headquartered in Arizona and his only form of advertising was painting his name on various antique cars & parking them at gas stations. The cabriolet was parked at a Gulf station in Ocean Beach when I first saw it. The only history I knew of the "A" was, it was registered in Arizona as a 1931 coupe! I parked it in my Dad's garage in Big Bear Lake, Ca. for 3 years while I was in the Army. The same spring I pieced together a '28 roadster p/u to drive as a temporary tour car till I got the cabriolet restored. Fast forward 10 years & back in San Diego driving the p/u on tours with the San Diego A club, one being the annual Yuma, Az. tour. The tour lasted about 20 years then morphed into the Laughlin, Nv. tour. Fast forward another 10 years, while a member of the Queen Mary A Club we decided to have a reprisal Yuma tour. It was held at the same motel (Stardust) and Sunday morning I was in the lobby looking at two A's on display, a town car owned by the Budweiser distributer in El Centro, Ca. and a cabriolet. I mentioned to a fellow standing next to me that I had a cabriolet like that one only it was painted dark metallic blue with a black vinyl top. He turned & looked at me and asked if it was registered as a 1931 coupe? !!!! I grabbed his arm & said "I'm taking you to breakfast while you tell me the history of my A". It seems he was employed by an aircraft company in Illinois and they moved him to Tucson, Az. He couldn't afford a moving company for his household goods but had a a beat up '31 A coupe. He took the body off & built a farmbox on the chassis, added a tow bar &
moved to Tucson. Once settled in, he & a buddy restored the chassis & went looking for another body to put on it. They found the cabriolet body in a riverbed on an Indian reservation & hauled it home, (that explains the 4" of fiberglass along the whole length of the body). They restored the body, put it on the chassis & drove it for about a year then sold it to Truly Nolan. And that is how I discovered the history of my cabriolet. I didn't figure I would be driving the '28 p/u for 55 years. I'm just now 3/4's done restoring the cabriolet.

[Ray in La Mesa]

KOOL, thanks for transferring it over, Im not that great on the computer.

[Jim Brierley]

That gets a "like" from me!

[Brentwood Bob]

Good to be able to meet the actual previous owner. Made your day.

[fried okra]

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An interesting story Chuck.

I haven't seen a Truly Nolen car parked for a business display in a long time.

Wonder if they are still around?

[Chuck Dempsey]

Okra, please note this is Ray's story, not mine. I only wish I knew the background of my Tudor. The Charlotte NC body stamp, and the location my Dad bought it in 1967 (Rutherford County, NC), is all I've been able to find...

[oldspert]

Originally Posted by fried okra

An interesting story Chuck.

I haven't seen a Truly Nolen car parked for a business display in a long time.

Wonder if they are still around?

I think the Truly Nolen pest control sold out of business in the early 70's. Yes they had a store in most major cities in the US.
Ed

[AzBob]

Originally Posted by oldspert

I think the Truly Nolen pest control sold out of business in the early 70's. Yes they had a store in most major cities in the US.
Ed

Truly Nolen is very much alive in Arizona.
https://locations.trulynolen.com/az/...scott-046.html