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As
told to Robert McLellan
"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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