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"When my
older brother bought an old '40 Ford in the Summer
of 1953 he let me help him fix it up. He was 18
and I was 13. His bedroom was filled with pictures
cut out of "Hot Rod" and "Motor
Trend" magazines. Although partial to '32
Ford roadsters with Cadillac V-8's, when the '40
coupe became available from a neighbor, it was
an easy second choice. The nice old lady sold
it to him for a song since he had been the elderly
couple's yard boy. It was low mileage and in beautiful
original condition. Within a couple of months
it was Candy Apple red with a rolled and pleated
Nagahyde red and white interior, moon caps and
a Hollywood muffler. With some engine chroming
and a J. C. Whitney cut-out it must have shocked
that sweet old lady the first time it passed by
her house. And to think she paid for it with all
the work he did for her!"
"I loved that car! When Ted went off to Korea
I washed and waxed it for three years, but never
got to drive it because I didn't have my license
yet. Unfortuantely, soon after he got his Army
discharge, Ted got married and sold the car. My
parents wouldn't let me have it because of college.
Don't know what happened to the car, but I think
about it often."
John's brother died a few years ago and he inherited
his books and magazines from the 1950s and 1960s.
John began collecting sales literature in the
1950s and never quit. By the 1970s he realized
that new car literature, in general, was not as
impressive as the earlier literature and he began
searching swapmeets and contacting literature
dealers for brochures going all the way back to
the teens. The 30s and 50s were his favorite periods.
He had one room of the house dedicated to sales
literature. Now, in preparing for retirement,
John sold his collection to McLellan's Automotive
History.
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"I guess
I didn't think a lot about saving money. And Social
Security and my pension will only go so far. I
sold my 1959 Corvette and was planning on getting
rid of the 1962 Austin Healey, too. Then I talked
with Rob and Sharon McLellan about selling my
literature collection. Now I can keep the '62
Healey and I have added years of security to my
retirement. In most cases I got about 10 times
what I paid for the brochures at swapmeets and
from literature dealers back in the 70s."
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John did invest
for the future. He just didn't realize that was
what he was doing. Literature can be a money machine.
The older it gets, the more valuable it becomes.
John did keep the '40 Ford brochure and he still
goes to Hershey to look at the cars. He didn't
say it, but if that '40 Ford coupe appears I would
bet he would swap the Healey for it.
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