{"id":46882,"date":"2015-10-30T23:06:22","date_gmt":"2015-10-30T23:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/owegopennysaver.com\/?p=46882"},"modified":"2015-11-01T23:09:46","modified_gmt":"2015-11-01T23:09:46","slug":"collector-car-corner-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Collector Car Corner"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Collector<\/a>

To better see the rear taillights on his first Beetle, Milford Brown made an upgrade of sheet metal with an oval of acrylic plastic in which he cemented two red truck marker lenses, one for the taillight and the other for the brake light.\u00a0 These can be seen with Milford standing next to it. Note that this late-1953 Beetle was the last model to have a two-piece rear window. (All photos from the Milford Brown collection)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Collector<\/a>

Milford Brown\u2019s first car was a green Crosley Station Wagon, which was purchased in 1952 for $200. It took him back and forth to college until he needed a better car for longer distances. Milford is shown here checking the engine, which would need a rebuild soon thereafter.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Collector<\/a>

Here\u2019s Milford Brown\u2019s 1963 VW Beetle daily driver as it looks today. It\u2019s been re-painted white, is mechanically sound and looks great.<\/p><\/div>\n

Hi Greg, I enjoyed your article on the Crosley cars so I want to share with your readers how a green 1952 Crosley Station wagon (see photo) was undoubtedly an unusual introduction to what would be a lifetime of VW Beetle ownership.<\/p>\n

The Crosley was purchased in 1952 for $200 for me to use traveling a few miles each way to the University of Delaware campus. Just like so many Beetles in later years, the Crosley floors were so badly rusted my dad and I had to replace them with new ones made to dad\u2019s patterns by a local sheet metal shop.<\/p>\n

Eventually, problems with Crosley\u2019s unique 750 cc engine and transmission meant they needed a major renovation, which we did ourselves. Further, we never cured the inadequate latching of the rear doors that let them to rattle over every bump.<\/p>\n

Despite that annoyance, I survived with the Crosley as my daily driver for the next two years. At the time, almost all U.S. automakers were going to bigger,\u00a0more\u00a0powerful cars with loads of chrome. But the Crosley showed\u00a0me that an alternative to the Detroit trends of the day was not only acceptable, it was also great fun.<\/p>\n

Eventually I needed transportation for longer distances and a year-old 1953 Beetle became available in Wilmington, Del.\u00a0This dealer business was owned by several of the younger members of the Dupont family before there were VW dealers everywhere. This odd new car immediately ended my Crosley ownership, and driving it home I felt like I graduated to a limousine.<\/p>\n

About a year ago I tried to find out by my Crosley\u2019s serial number if anyone still owned the old wagon but no luck.\u00a0But I appreciate the fact that people still keep the old Crosleys going judging from your letter from Richard that I found a link to in the Yahoo Crosley Group.<\/p>\n

When my 1953 Beetle’s timing gear needed replacing while I was a sub-poverty-level university student, I was encouraged to do the same rebuild on my Beetle’s engine as I did my Crosley.\u00a0My guide was Floyd Clymer’s handbook, which began with the introduction that this vehicle was so complicated you should leave work to properly trained mechanics.\u00a0I think this was a concession to the Germans builders who were afraid that an inexperienced tinkerer would make a mistake that could cause their cars to be disabled at the side of the road, resulting in poor publicity for a product so unusual and “foreign.”<\/p>\n

Fortunately all went well, and my Beetle not only provided my local transportation for the next several years – it took a friend and I from central\u00a0Pennsylvania to New Mexico to my parents\u2019 new home. There, my dad traded me his newer VW Beetle and kept mine as his commute car. I then continued my travel to California.<\/p>\n

After a year in California working I bought a new 1962 Beetle in Sacramento and returned my dad’s Beetle to New Mexico. The ’62 survived about 15 years, during which time a wife and then a young son arrived.\u00a0Several other different vehicles followed for use as the family car.<\/p>\n

Still feeling an attachment to Beetles, I acquired a 1963 Beetle in 1988 from my neighbor. After considerable renovation, I had it repainted white with a trace of green that had been the color my number one Beetle. Today, it never goes very far from home and serves as my daily driver for local shopping and trips to restaurants.\u00a0It has become a conversation piece because of its age, just as my first Beetle was because it was so unusual. This is my official \u201cBeetle No. 4\u201d and just 10 years younger than my first \u201953 Beetle.<\/p>\n

Greg, I now look forward to reading your columns online on the many sites and appreciate all your old car efforts. Sincerely, Milford Brown.<\/p>\n

A: Thanks so much Milford! Your letter and photos are a tribute to the VW Beetle, its history and your lifetime of dedication. Good luck to you in the future and stay in touch if you have more Beetle happenings, perhaps the purchase of a VW Microbus or camper?\u00a0I think a VW van would look great sitting next to your Beetle.<\/p>\n

(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader questions on collector cars, auto nostalgia or old-time racing at 303 Roosevelt St., Sayre, Pa. 18840 or email at greg@gregzyla.com)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Greg, I enjoyed your article on the Crosley cars so I want to share with your readers how a green 1952 Crosley Station wagon…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":46883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nCollector Car Corner - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Collector Car Corner - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hi Greg, I enjoyed your article on the Crosley cars so I want to share with your readers how a green 1952 Crosley Station wagon...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Owego-Pennysaver-49179420591\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-10-30T23:06:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-11-01T23:09:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2015\/11\/WGOPCar_Collector1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"748\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"587\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"opennysaver\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"opennysaver\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/\",\"name\":\"Collector Car Corner - Owego Pennysaver Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2015\/11\/WGOPCar_Collector1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-10-30T23:06:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-11-01T23:09:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e90b97e3c9fe75a643c31b3439ed7b15\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2015\/11\/WGOPCar_Collector1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2015\/11\/WGOPCar_Collector1.jpg\",\"width\":748,\"height\":587,\"caption\":\"To better see the rear taillights on his first Beetle, Milford Brown made an upgrade of sheet metal with an oval of acrylic plastic in which he cemented two red truck marker lenses, one for the taillight and the other for the brake light.\u00a0 These can be seen with Milford standing next to it. Note that this late-1953 Beetle was the last model to have a two-piece rear window. (All photos from the Milford Brown collection)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Collector Car Corner\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/\",\"name\":\"Owego Pennysaver Press\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e90b97e3c9fe75a643c31b3439ed7b15\",\"name\":\"opennysaver\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9bec4be7017247fe88bfa55f4162d3e4f733b538d1e5778a56aec357ba2765b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9bec4be7017247fe88bfa55f4162d3e4f733b538d1e5778a56aec357ba2765b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"opennysaver\"},\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/author\/opennysaver\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Collector Car Corner - Owego Pennysaver Press","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Collector Car Corner - Owego Pennysaver Press","og_description":"Hi Greg, I enjoyed your article on the Crosley cars so I want to share with your readers how a green 1952 Crosley Station wagon...","og_url":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/","og_site_name":"Owego Pennysaver Press","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Owego-Pennysaver-49179420591\/","article_published_time":"2015-10-30T23:06:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-11-01T23:09:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":748,"height":587,"url":"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2015\/11\/WGOPCar_Collector1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"opennysaver","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"opennysaver","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/","url":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/","name":"Collector Car Corner - Owego Pennysaver Press","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2015\/11\/WGOPCar_Collector1.jpg","datePublished":"2015-10-30T23:06:22+00:00","dateModified":"2015-11-01T23:09:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e90b97e3c9fe75a643c31b3439ed7b15"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2015\/11\/WGOPCar_Collector1.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2015\/11\/WGOPCar_Collector1.jpg","width":748,"height":587,"caption":"To better see the rear taillights on his first Beetle, Milford Brown made an upgrade of sheet metal with an oval of acrylic plastic in which he cemented two red truck marker lenses, one for the taillight and the other for the brake light.\u00a0 These can be seen with Milford standing next to it. Note that this late-1953 Beetle was the last model to have a two-piece rear window. (All photos from the Milford Brown collection)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2015\/10\/30\/collector-car-corner-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Collector Car Corner"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website","url":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/","name":"Owego Pennysaver Press","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e90b97e3c9fe75a643c31b3439ed7b15","name":"opennysaver","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9bec4be7017247fe88bfa55f4162d3e4f733b538d1e5778a56aec357ba2765b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9bec4be7017247fe88bfa55f4162d3e4f733b538d1e5778a56aec357ba2765b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"opennysaver"},"url":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/author\/opennysaver\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}