Honeymoon Frazer

Recently my parents went on the Hemmings Cruise 2010. They had a wonderful time and visited with many wonderful people. Whenever old car people get together one of the topics of conversation is always the cars they used to own.

One of my Daddy's favorite car stories is the story of his honeymoon car. It was in 1954 that he spotted a 1949 Frazer Manhattan behind a gas station in Nashville, Tennessee while he was going to college in nearby Madison, Tennessee. The Frazer had been sideswiped and the front bumper bent, but it was only five years old, it was very nice, and it was only 100 dollars.

After buying the car he found out that it had belonged to Rod Brasfield, a comedian on the Grand Ole Opry. That made it a celebrity car. Unfortunately he also found out that number 5 rod was knocking.


ROD BRASFIELD AND MINNIE PEARL

With the help of his friend Louie he dropped the pan, pulled the crankshaft, had the number 5 throw ground to .060, installed a new bearing and put it back together. With a little body work and some Bondo, which was a fairly new product at the time, along with a gallon of blue paint it looked good and he was proud of it.


DADDY'S HONEYMOON 1949 FRAZER

The 49 Frazer was the first car that Daddy ever put five dollars worth of gas in at one time. It had a tank that held over 20 gallons and gas was 24.9 cents a gallon. Soon after the Frazer was repaired and repainted it was December 1954 - time for my parents wedding. They headed from Tennessee to cold and snowy Michigan where they were to be married. By the time they got there there was a tic tic tic in the engine. Daddy thought it was a loose tappet, so he adjusted the valves out in the snow.

BOB AND PAT LAWRY


After the wedding they headed for Kansas. As they drove along the "tappet noise" got louder. They only had 35 dollars between them as the traveled, and they spent 5 dollars on a motel the first night. The knocking was getting louder. Daddy pulled off the number 5 plug wire and kept going. At 75 miles per hour in overdrive, you could barely hear the noise. They made it back to school safe and sound and a month later scraped $6.75 together for a new bearing insert and after it was installed the Frazer was running good again.

After awhile they sold the Frazer and bought a 1949 Chevy convertible but that is another story for another time. I hope the Rod Brasfield/Honeymoon Frazer is still alive somewhere. Daddy did find a 1949 Frazer Manhattan for sale at Country Classic Cars in Staunton, Illinois, and just had to once again own a car like his honeymoon Frazer. Like all of his other cars the Frazer is for sale. If you would like to own this blue 1949 Frazer Manhattan with recent paint, wide whites and an original rough interior, 3500.00 will make that happen.

1946 Mercury Pickup For Sale

1946 Mercury Pickup, rare Canadian only model, runs good
15,500.00

A little history of the Mercury Pickup.

Mercury trucks first came to the market in 1946. When production of Ford vehicles started after WWII, Canadian truck buyers had a choice of either the Ford nameplate or the Mercury nameplate on trucks built in Canada. Because smaller Canadian towns had either a Ford-Monarch or Lincoln-Mercury-Meteor dealer, but not both, the Lincoln-Mercury-Meteor network got the Mercury truck.

Canadian-made Ford and Mercury trucks differed, for the most part, only cosmetically. Many years it was just "Mercury" versus "Ford" letters on the hoods and pickup tailgates, plus distinctive medallions that set them apart. The only years that the Mercury truck had it own distinctive look were 1946 and 1947. In those years the Mercury trucks were treated to a heavily-chromed grille and bumper treatment, compared to the Ford's plain looks.



In 1946 there were 2,074 Mercury truck units produced 1/2 ton through 1 ton. The peak year for Mercury truck production was 1952 with 12,676 sold. The need for a dual marketing network was eliminated with the Automotive Trade Agreement signed by the United States and Canada in 1965. The free-flow across the border brought the phase-out of the Mercury trucks with 1968 being the last year they were produced.

You can own this unique low production truck. Give Bob a call at:
Lawry's Used Cars
479-394-9938

Car Art

I enjoy manipulating photos that I have taken to make them look like paintings or drawings. Here are some of my favorites


This is a 1939 Lincoln that we sold a few years ago.



1950 Cadillac that we used to own.



The 1942 Desoto was so wild and unusual with its hidden headlights, that it lends itself to this psychedelic interpretation.



The 1959 Edsel was supposed to lead us into the future. This futuristic outer space depiction fits the Edsel well.



This 1933 Plymouth street rod was built here in Mena, Arkansas and is still seen on the local streets.



I took a picture of this 1950 Studebaker street rod at the Wilhelmina Rod Run.