GM Futurliner 1999 Project Notes |
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The following are miscellaneous notes that Don Mayton receives or makes that are relevant to the project. The notes read from the bottom to the top with the most recent on top. 1999
Notes & Miscellaneous
Information |
Dec. 2 | Connie DeJong brought over Gordon
DeBaar (Transmission Specialist) to look over the 3rd transmission (3-speed/PTO) that he
has volunteered to restore for the project. He looked over what we had disassembled and
stated that all the gearing looked good and with a new set of bearings we should be in
good shape. He stated although this was a special for our Futurliner it was common to see
this type of transmission in large dump and over the road tractor trailer trucks of this
era. He also stated, if there are any additional parts needed for this transmission that
we should be able to find them. He loaded the disassembled transmission and the new
bearings, that we had acquired, into Connie's van to take back to his place to
restore. While looking at the Futurliner he inspected the differential (rear end) and told us how to inspect it to determine if we needed to disassemble it for new bearings. He also outlined the procedure for its disassembly. It is remarkable in this restoration of how many people who have come forward and offered their services. It is really enjoyable working with all these volunteers. |
Nov. 1 | I called Kim Schroeder at GM Archives today.
She is working on a major project - a 180 foot display on GM History for the Detroit Auto
Show. We need to check that out. Kim confirms that the American Crossroads Exhibit has
been returned to Michigan and is being refurbished for display at the Ren Cen. She did not
seem familiar with the details but says she is supposed to meet with the guys who are
working on that exhibit. I asked her if she had seen the Chrysler Museum and she said I was the 6th person to ask her that this week. She says GM announced plans for a museum before Chrysler started theirs, but timed it so people would not be hindered from seeing it by the remodeling going on with relocation of GM headquarters to the Ren Cen. I told her I would send a copy of our Futurliner presentation so she could tune the guys in that are putting the GM displays together. Kim says that her grandfather painted the inside of one of the Futurliner exhibits but is having trouble remembering which one it was. Perhaps our presentation outlining the exhibits will trigger some memory for him. I'll follow up with her after Thanksgiving and see if we can learn more about what's going on. |
Nov. 16 | Futurliner Questions: Dean, had another conservation with Bill Putman from California that is the restorer for Brad Boyajian. I appears that their Futurliner never has a generator set as there is no PTO shaft and the original electrical control box has no reostat for controlling the output voltage. As I am copying former "Paraders" we have the following questions: 1-How many of the Futurliners had generator sets? 2-Does anyone have a list of Futurliners #1 through #12 and which of the displays they each had? We do have a list of the displays for 1953. 3-In the 1950's were any displays added or deleted? 4-We have been getting excellent pictures from the "Paraders". Does anyone have a set of photos of the displays? We do have a few pictures but not a complete set for every display. 5-Fortunately our Futurliner News is being passed around and as a result we get more and more information. Keep up the good work. 6-Bill Putman stated that the Military Vehicle Preservation Association (MVPA) is a good source for parts for both our engine and transmission. I am getting a courtesy copy of their magazine. However I do not need another magazine coming to this house. Does anyone of us get this magazine or want to get it in case we need information in the future? |
Nov. 11 | Just had a conversation with Kendrick Robbins
the owner of the Futurliner in New Hampshire, which is the 9th one we have been able to
locate out of the original 12. Kendrick acquired the Futurliner in 1984 but did not remove
it from the junkyard until the early 90's. Just a few brief details about this Futurliner: 1-It has the original GMC 302 OHV 6-cylinder engine coupled to its Hydramatic automatic transmission. 2-It has some of its original paint still on it. 3-The top light bar (fin) still works. On all the original pictures that I have seen the light bar lights up a narrow plastic lens that reads "Parade of Progress". On this light bar the plastic lens reads "Square D". The owner and I can only assume that at one time Square D used this Futurliner. (We will have to try to track this down.) 4-Kendrick plans restore this again like many modernizing and using a modern powertrain. 5-Like the others this Futurliner is badly rusted. We can thank Keith Silcox up in Canada for leading us to this one. Our Partners are doing an outstanding job. |
Nov. 11 | Bill Putman called today and gave me some more
information about their Futurliners. Their 2nd Futurliner just got hauled into his shop. It is badly damaged in the rear and it corresponds with the damage that is recorded by Douglas Dean. Douglas told me that one of the Futurliners lost its brakes on a steep hill and crashed into the other one and the back was wiped out. Since it was near the end of the Parade of Progress program GM decided not to fix the one that was wrecked in the rear. Later this rear damaged Futurliner was given to the Michigan State Police as a parts vehicle. Bill said the interior is filled with parts. Although he has not inventoried what is in it he does intend to make an inventory and let me know. Already he can see in the back a almost new aluminum grill, two rubber cast sections of the bumper one with a "G" and the other with the "M". If we must get one cast at least we will have an original reference. He said the bumper sections are not worth using except to have new ones cast. This 2nd Futurliner is #8 as he has found the "GM-8" plate that goes between the two other headlights that shows up in a lot of photos. Also he said there is the remains of a piece of plastic that covered the headlights. This 2nd Futurliner is deteriorated to the point it cannot be saved except for parts. It dose have the original powertrain inside. Both of their Futurliners have the little running lights that show up on many photos and we have not seen any. These are yellow lights in the front and red in the back. I already talked to Bill about acquiring a set. I will have to work on that in the future. He stated that the 2nd Futurliner has a generator and the 1st one never had a generator. The large electrical box in the back is considerably different for the different applications. We will continue our communications and continue to learn more. |
Oct. 28 | Today I had a meeting here at the house with Brian Deis and Len Dorne. The purpose was to find a source to sponsor the redesign and construction of the Futurliner's roof and the large overweight 16' doors. The roof is weak from the original design and since we must totally rebuild it we should correct it structurally. What we do to correct it will not affect the appearance of the Futurliner. The doors are simply too heavy for the roof and if we can lighten and strengthen them it will help in the roof problem. Brian and Len have a lot of contacts in the automotive and steel industry and they are going to try to identify potential sponsors on this area. |
Oct. 24 | Dean, yesterday the Michigan Classic Chevrolet Club stopped at our place on their fall tour. There were about 30 cars and 65 people. The oldest were two 1928 Chevys and on up to a late model Chevy Suburban. It was cold and the wind was blowing hard but they had a good visit with real interest in the Futurliner. One of the members was a retired State Police officer. He recalled when the Michigan State Police had a Futurliner. He said he also knows the driver that drove the Futurliner for the State Police. He is going to get me his address and phone number. |
Oct. 24 | Hi Don, I have recently acquired some more vintage photos of the Futurliners. I have attached JPG graphic files of each photo below. The file name reflects the GM photographic number on the back of each photo. I found photo #76666-3 very interesting as it appears to have been taken in Detroit on Woodward Ave. (I can just make out the name on the street sign in the original photo, I think the cross street is Cadillac Pl.) The year appears to be 1946 as the parade float in front of the Futurliner is for the 1946 Soap Box Derby. If you don't have any of these photos already, please let me know and I will get copies made for you. My progress on the model has been slow over the summer. Between my real job and other personal commitments I haven't been able to put as much time into the model as I would have liked. I attended a model car show in Toledo, Ohio in early October and displayed the unfinished model there. It generated quite a bit of attention. I had several request for kits of the model. I also met a couple of people who said they have pictures and information on the Futurliners and the POP. Both said they will try to locate the info. and get back to me. Hopefully something will come from these contacts. I've also started putting together a web page where I will be placing information about the Futurliner and the POP. It's still incomplete, and I plan to add a section to this page documenting the building of the model. If you are interested, I would like to add a section on the restoration project as well. I think it would be a good place to provide contact information for the NATMUS museum and the restoration project. I don't want to put any references to the museum or the restoration project on my page without your (and the museum's) approval. I can use information from the mailings for page content if you like, or you could supply me with information you would like to have on the page, such as email and/or mail addresses for the public to use to contact NATMUS and the restoration group. Joel, those are great photos and I do not have any of them.
Yes need copies of them to add to our collection. It is interesting that one of the 1940
vintage Futurliners was used in 1946. This is the first time that I have found out that
they were used after World War II before being modified in 1952 for the 1953 Parade of
Progress. |
Oct. 14 | FUTURLINER FRONT END PROBLEMS I received a call from Mario Petit (FIDO Futurliner-Canadian) that they had experienced front end problems two weeks ago. DESCRIPTION OF FRONT END MECHANICS The front the the Futurliners have dual (side by side) steering wheels. Each wheel has its own set of brakes, brake drums and rides on its own bearings. During the FIDO Futurliner's restoration this front end was disassembled and new inner and outer bearings were installed. FRONT PROBLEM Mario driving the Futurliner noticed that the right front started to make a clunking and grinding noise. Upon disassembly, they discovered that a sleeve had broken due to lack of grease from their restoration. The hub area was completely dry of lubrication. They discovered that when you spin the outer wheel it has a small hole that will line up with a grease fitting that lubricates this area. REPAIRS Repairs were accomplished by taking the broken sleeve to a local machine shop and for $125 (Canadian) a new brass sleeve was made. Installation was relatively simple. In fact from breakdown to on the road again was less than 8 hours. CATASTROPHIC FAILURE If the noise that the Futurliner was making had not been investigated the bearings could have froze up resulting in an axle breaking. LEFT WHEEL DISASSEMBLED Subsequently the left wheel was disassembled and checked for lubrication. Although some grease was found it was not sufficient. However, no damage had occurred yet. The left side was properly lubricated and reassembled. ORIGINAL ENGINEERING In Mario's opinion if this area is properly lubricated it will last 50 years or more. His advice was very simple: this front wheel assembly MUST be taken apart and all components cleaned, inspected, all parts that show any wear replaced, then properly lubricated and reassembled. Both disassembly and reassemble is relatively simple. The above information is for the purpose to add to our list of to do items in our restoration. It is a real benefit to have a running Futurliner in Canada where we are receiving excellent communication of their problems so we can hopefully avoid and not make the same mistakes. We will make enough mistakes of our own. |
Oct. 4 | MONTREAL, QUEBEC TRIP Went to Montreal to purchase parts from the people that restored a GM Futurliner and had a surplus. The folks here restored their Futurliner for the purpose of selling cell phones (FIDO). It is a business venture. They spent $300,000 (Canadian) in their restoration. They have done an outstanding job in the restoration however it is not restored to original and it has been restored to accommodate their specific needs. Modifications include: Engine, transmission and drive-line different than original. The Canadians that restored this Futurliner have been most helpful in identifying
things that they have had trouble with or are having trouble with. They have been very
helpful in giving us original parts that they did not use in their restoration. Windshield $5,000 TRIP SUMMARY |
Oct. 4 | Dean, received a letter some time ago from
Parader Renald E. Goyette and tonight got to talk to him. Had a great conversation with
him about the PARADE OF PROGRESS and the Futurliner. He sent some color slides of the
Futurliners including a night scene. He was in charge of maintaining the "American
Crossroads" and he stated it was difficult to maintain. Later this year he going to
stop at the museum in Chicago to view it again and then write to give us as much detail as
he can about it. He took one of the units to NY for the Dave Garroway show in 1954 or
1955. The Futurliner broke down in what he called Pensiltucky. They had a new engine
brought in from Pontiac and worked all night and still made the 9:00AM show the next day
on schedule for the "Crossroads" exhibit. Renald came on the Parade in 1954 and closed it in July of 1956. He then joined Detroit Diesel and spent 32.2 years with them. The power display that supplied all the power for the Parade when set up was twin 6-71 200KW Detroit Diesel powered generators. In the big tent they had a carbon arc spot light that he ran and it spotlighted the exhibits. They also showed a motion picture, which showed the new jet engines of that era. As he thinks of more things about the Parade. He will keep us informed. He is a pilot and plans to fly over here one day and bring all his slides and other stuff. |
Oct. 1 | Hi Don, It sounds as if you had quite a work session. Dick does not remember what #10 was used for. He drove #1 which he said was the field office. How is the slide project coming along? Louanne & Dick Kay Comment from Don: This is the first time that I found out which Futurliner had the office. Apparently, the office Futurliner was a later addition. Douglas Dean, when he was here has a photo that he gave us that shows the office Futurliner in the distance. |
Sept. 9 | I joined the Parade of Progress in April 1953.
We left Detroit following a ceremony in front of the General Motors Building in Detroit on
April 18th. I was hired as a lecturer trainee, and later served as an administrative
assistant to the Director, John E. Ryan. doing logistics planning and convoy planning,
etc. I traveled with the Parade to 110 cities in the USA and Canada, and then transferred
to the GM Financial Staff in Detroit in October 1955. I compiled a record of cities
visited showing dates, show sites and hotel accommodations covering my entire itinerary
and distributed it to every member at my farewell party. I also distributed copies to
attendees of the reunion we held in Orlando several years ago. I have a considerable
amount of material, including brochures, news clippings, photos, and stuff collected
throughout my tour. I am quite sure that the only person who traveled with the caravan
from beginning to end is James Morris of Savannah, Georgia. I held numerous positions in the Corporate staffs including payroll administration, benefit plan development, collective bargaining with UAW, -and a six-year stint with EDS beginning when GM bought the company in 1984. I retired in May 1991 after 38 years of service. We have lived in our present home for 38 years where we raised two children. We have been spending the winters in Florida - Panama City Beach and Naples - since we retired. You are involved in a very interesting project and I wish you success. I look forward to your progress bulletins. I don't recognize any of the names of partners mentioned in the bulletin and letter. I hope to see the Futurliner sometime during its reconstruction. James I. Gentzel |
Sept. 6 | Steve, I will be home most of this week so I
will make arrangements with Len and get the hubcap. Again thanks for picking it up. A week from this Saturday Carol and I are headed to Montreal to pick up parts from the Canadians that own the Futurliner that we are purchasing from them. We are getting the following parts: The wide lower aluminum siding (new-remanufactured by the Canadians). Another wheel cover. Since there were two styles used (an early 1953 model and a later
1955 or 1956 model) we do not know which one they have an extra. |
Sept. 2 | Dean, as you and I have discovered the Futurliner in Dana, Indiana and one of the two in the junk yard in Arizona have been purchased and shipped to Brad Boyajian in California. I called him the other night and his intentions is to restore one of the vehicles and then later decide what to do to the other. He only intends to restore the outside to look like the original. He is not sure what he is going to do with the inside. He is not sure what type of drive line to put in it yet. We will keep in contact to see what ultimately his plans will be. |
Aug. 30 | Dear Don, Sorry for the delay in getting back to you about the Parade. As I may have stated, I was lecture supervisor during the final six months before the Parade hit the road in 1953 and continued in that capacity during the showings until December of '53 when I became an advanceman (one of four) for the show until June of '54 when I was promoted to asst. regional manager for Public Relations at San Francisco. I supervised the setup of the show by the men a of course the assignments for the lectures on the various "live" show exhibits. I have located a number of 8x10 glossies of various activities, such as the setup of the main tent, lecture demonstrations, photos of the Futurliners on the road in the Kentucky hills, etc. I don't know whether or not you can use them (about 15) but you're welcome to copy any of them you wish. Let me know and I'll send them to you....and you can return them after making any copies you may wish. :Hope this will be helpful.... Best regards, Frank Faraone |
July 31 | Don, thanks for the information re: the above.
For the life of me I cannot remember Douglas Deen. having been on the Parade. I will have
to dig up a personnel list and refresh my failing memory. I might add that there was not
an extra tent carried on the road...maybe back in Detroit. The tent material was extremely
fireproof, a requirement following the tragic fire in Boston. I some cities the fire dept
would put a blow torch to the tent material just to check....It was interesting work and
an experience that everyone said was most unique but none wanted to do it again. Too many
people too close, too often. It was not uncommon to go out to dinner in a large city, to a
remote restaurant, and before your first cocktail, see four of your fellow Paraders walk
in the door. Ha. Will relate more at a later date. Conrad |
July 31 | Hi Don: I read the email re: Douglas Deen visit and I concluded that you may be seeking historical information about the Parade activities as well as Futurliner. I have a 34 minute video titled Parade of Progress l&ll. It was produced from the archives of General Motors Film Library by one of the Parade members about 4 years ago. The video shows the complete operation of the original pre-war Parade and a short section that shows the post war version leaving the GM Building for Lexington KY for shake down and operational check-out. It shows the original "liners" with a bubble canopy similar to a fighter plane. the "liners were originally powered by 4 cylinder diesel engines with a 4x4 mechanical transmission. No air conditioning! They were reworked and repowered by GM Truck and Coach.One of the highlights of the video is a showing of "Our American Cross Roads" that happened to be my favorite exhibit. The question I have is are you looking for some history as well such as when the Parade left the GM Building and turned left on Woodward Ave., one of the "liners" slammed into the rear end of another and could not be driven because the body was crunched into the rear wheels. Let me if you have seen the video. Incidentally, the video is in color and also shows how the tent was setup. Best regards, Ed Harben Ed, yes we are looking for information on the entire Parade of Progress starting in
1936. As we restore this vehicle we want to include the entire history around the vehicle
to communicate what a significant event it really was. We knew the original "liners" had the bubble tops from the photos that we have but we had no details of the power train. We knew that they were repowered in 1952 with the Korean War power train consisting of the dual range hydramatic coupled to a 302 cubic inch overhead valve inline 6 cylinder GMC engine. So this information that the pre-war "liners" were powered with 4 cylinder diesel engines with a 4x4 mechanical transmission is new to us. The exhibit "Our American Cross Roads" still exists and is at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. One of our restoration-volunteers wives happened to see it at the museum two months ago and it was operating. This exhibit is still owned by GM and our long-term goal is to once reunite it with a restored Futurliner. First of all thank you for all the information that you have supplied. However, we are looking for every bit of information that we can put together. So to answer your question yes we want what you can remember. The Museum (National Automotive and Truck Museum) has put on a summer intern (Cara Rice) and she has been assigned to follow up on some research. You might be getting a call from her. |
July 29 |
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July 11 | Ed. thanks for the color photos. They are outstanding and are the first color photos that we have received of the Parade of Progress in the 50's. Sometime in the future I would like to take the photo of all the Paraders that is in front of the Futurliner and the one with all the Paraders in their suits and identify as many as possible. I was wondering if you could take that on. I have a list of some of the Paraders and their addresses and maybe with that help you can identify everyone. Let me know. |
July 11 | Bruce Berghoff the author of "The GM
Motorama-Dream Cars of The 50's" was here during one of our work sessions. He also
was an employee of H.B. Stubbs the builder of all the exhibits in each of the Futurliners.
He left a series of notes that I am coping to J.M. Smith and others. I am going to ask JMS
to have Cara to follow up on all these items. If any of the other people that I have
copied have information pertaining to these people or subject matter let John or myself
know. The following is Bruce's notes: CROSSROADS EXHIBIT - (Now at the Chicago Museum of
Science and Industry) GENERAL PHOTOS - Anne DeCamillo (Corp. sales staff-director of shows-Ren. Cen.) should
have a loose leaf photo file (saved from Lon Weithley and Bob Roberts files) with selected
shots on the tour. EXHIBIT MECHANISM DESIGNERS/BUILDERS PURCHASER/SELLER OF MOST OF FUTURLINER FLEET AROUND 1959 |
June 11 | Wally Snow was showing a photograph that he
found on the wall of a photographer in Spring Lake, Michigan that showed a Futurliner in a
local junkyard. It was an old photo and the photographer will not let us have it. However,
several old car people recalled what junkyard. Unfortunately that the junkyard is no
longer in existence. Ed remembered the name of the original owner and went searching. The
junkyard was at US 31 and Pontaluna in the Spring Lake area. Ed talked to the owner, Bill
Braun (616) 865-6951, and he recalls that at one time they had two Futurliners at the
yard. The one was the original Michigan State Police Futurliner (given to the State Police
by GM). He recalls that they picked it up in Lansing and drove it to the yard. Later it
was sold to a man in Chicago but not Joe Bortz. This Futurliner was painted blue and cream
when the Michigan State Police had it. Through all the photos that I have we have traced
it to the "FIDO" or Canadian Futurliner. I called them (FIDO) and they confirmed
that theirs was cream and blue when they received it. The 2nd Futurliner in the yard also went to Chicago but had to be towed. Ed and I are planning to meet with Bill Braun to see if he can recall the origin of the 2nd one and who it was sold to. |
June 11 | Dear Mr. Mayton, Your message about the Futurliners was interesting & my husband & I have fond memories of the Parade. I'm writing on behalf of my husband, Richard Kay, since he has suffered a stroke & is now in a nursing home. I showed him your letter & he said he would like to donate colored slides if you are interested. He was on the Parade in 1954-1955 & he & Jim Tolley were roommates. We enjoyed several Parade reunions before his stroke. Let us know if you are interested in the slides. Louanne & Richard Kay Dear Lousnne and Richard Kay, |
June 8 | Futurliner people bidding against each other for Parade of Progress stuff. We need to list the Futurliners peoples e-mail so we can stop bidding against each other. Stu as you probably know and John Martin Smith and Joel on two occasions have bid on the same article. Also we need to start a section about the past participants that we can call "Paraders". I have already received copies of personal photos from retired Priest Fr. Frank Bredeweg. He has even given me a list of past participants in the Parade of Progress. |
May 26 | Conrad (Connie) Vaughan 6l6 N. Wilson, Royal Oak, Mi. 48067 Hi Don, Got your letter the other day and have been wondering how I might best serve this project. I was with the Parade for the final 18 months of its tour and was involved in the "final solution". i.e. the tear-down of all the equipment. It took place in a warehouse in Hamtramck and during the final days of this activity there was a rumor that the Futurliners were to be scrapped. It seemed a shame to lose these beasts of burden having spent many an hour pushing one (no. 9 usually) down the highway. Then there was the time I was "chosen" to shepherd a Futurliner with a new motor from San Antonio to El Paso-on New Years day no less. Forty mph or less. Anyway it was a bit of a love affair with a pretty interesting bit of history so when the rumors started flying about scrapping -- to make a long story short -- I liberated an extra wheel cover. Its quite beautiful to this day, stainless steel, and I cant think of no better place for it than to be a part of your project. If you have anyone in the Royal Oak area who will be traveling to Auburn have them give me a call. If not I can always devise some way to mail it to you. Will await your contacting me. Reply: |
May 17 | We recently received information that at the Ford Museum in Dearborn that they have a short video showing a young boy 11 or 12 years old rushing home excited about the circus coming to town with these big locomotive looking trucks. In the video, he convinces his parents to go and it is the Parade of Progress. We are arranging to get the video. The video is $38. The question is, do museums exchange info like this on a free basis? If so, we'll save the $38. If not I will go ahead and order it. |
May 16 | I want to mention John Wiltjer's name under
partners and his contribution to the project. If you recall he has already supplied the
plastic material for the large side door fluorescence fixtures. GM Powertrain has been suggesting that with the extra engine and transmission that we are going to get restored that we put together a powertrain display. Del Carpenter not only wants to do it but he wants it to run. His vision is to have it mounted on a small trailer to be pulled by the Futurliner to a show. Since we already have a spare engine and transmission on there way we simply need to acquire the rest of the stuff. I called GM Powertrain back and they said they could support us with anything that needs machined. I call the Canadians that have the restored "FIDO" Futurliner since they did not use the large transmission in the back (low, high and PTO) and they said we could have theirs. They would like both recognition and financial credit (not cash but donation credit) for giving it to us. I will ask John Martin Smith President of NATMUS for a letter for the donation value once we determine what that value is worth. Del also said he could make a simulated flat dash of the Futurliner to mount on the trailer. GM Powertrain also said if we find a third transmission (hydramatic) the they would cut holes in it to mount on the trailer to show the inner workings. Anyone got a spare 50's military Hydramatic out there??? We'll find one. I will also have to have GM Powertrain make up a short drive shaft to connect the Hydramatic to the back transmission. I think I have already communicated that the engine is now out. I will work out a schedule with Bill Bicknell when he can pick it up. Friday Del showed up with another radiator that we can use for the spare display. This past Wednesday we had a group of old car people at the house and Berry Palmer loaded the jack shaft assembly into his pickup to restore. This jack shaft assembly consists of a 2' plate that has mounted on it a shaft of about the same length set in pillow blocks and with a double set of pulleys at each end. Belts from the engine drive one end and at the other end, the belts run the air conditioner compressor and the power steering pump. Although I have not had time to inventory all the stuff that I picked up from the Canadians last fall, there was a spare air conditioned unit with compressor. Our Futurliner did not have the compressor. I want to make sure we are giving credit to all the partners that are working on this project that is why I am detailing so much. Note from Dean Tryon: |
May 14 | To Bill Bicknelll: Bill, both the engine and transmission are out of the Futurliner. I talked with GM Powertrain and they are working on getting the spare engine and transmission shipped out of California. It is not necessary for you to come north to pick up the engine until we get the one out of California. Perhaps we can then arrange to meet at the Powertrain plant near Ann Arbor where you can pick up both engines for restoration. We will work out the details later. |
May 7 | Note from Stu Allen: Kim Schroeder of GM
Archives contacted me and suggested I call: I talked to Doug tonight. He was a lecturer with Parade of Progress in the 50's. He
rode in a Futurliner once but never drove it. He usually drove a Pontiac Convertible or
Chevy wagon. He apparently was on the final tour when they parked the vehicles and closed
the tour. He has a list of the participants in the show and would be interested in working
on a reunion. He last saw a Futurliner when it was being towed towards Chicago but the tow
truck driver didn't seem to know where it was going or the purpose. He wants to talk to Don and would love to see our project. We need to get him to sit down and tell us more. He says he has some pictures and info. to show us also. I sent him a copy of the newsletter with a note and Don's phone and address. |
May 6 | The man I talked to today was Larry Faloon from the GM Design Center. He stated that he wanted to talk to Kim about allowing us to put the American Crossroads exhibit into our Futurliner. As I mentioned this original exhibit that was built for the 1940 Parade of Progress is still at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. I was there in April but it was not operating. They told me it was down for repairs. We will see if we can set up a meeting with Kim. That means we have to get our slide show put together. I will get a package put together as soon as possible. |
May 5 | At our old car luncheon today Jim Baker
brought copies of newspaper articles from the Grand Rapids Press when GM's Parade of
Progress was in Grand Rapids. Because the copies came off of microfiche, the copies are
too poor to fax or scan. I will summarize the articles: 7-13-1953 -- Announcing the Parade of Progress parade through downtown Grand Rapids and details about the parade including a photo. 7-14-1953 -- Picture showing Futurliner and article that Parade of Progress arrived. Setup of event to occur at John Ball Park. 7-15-1953 -- One half page ad announcing the Parade of Progress. 7-16-1953 -- Article discussing the previous evenings preview to community leaders along with a photo of the Fisher Body display in a Futurliner. 7-18-1953 -- Photo of Grand Rapids GM dealers greeting the Parade of Progress standing in front of a Futurliner. Jim went on to tell me he will be researching the morning newspaper that existed in Grand Rapids during that time at the local library. |
May 3 | I received a communication from Roger
Foehringer who lives in Elgin, Illinois. Earlier he had sent me photos of a group of
Futurliners that he took when Joe Bortz had them stored in a field in the Chicago area. He
recently wrote me that he would be sending me a inside door locking knob. One of ours is
missing. This will save us the trouble of having one made. Roger went to the trouble of
going to where these were stored to see if he could find any stray parts lying around. Del and I will be trying to extract the engine and transmission tomorrow. In the meantime GM Powertrain is working on getting the spare engine and transmission shipped from California. |
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