Photos by author.
If you answered “yes” to this question then you’ve got it bad, my friend. And as you may have guessed, I wouldn’t have asked had I not done it myself—more times than I care to admit.
Some vintage parts are so imaginatively designed that I like to have them just for display, which is good because they don’t have to work. Even if they are primarily used as paperweights on my desk (remember when we actually used paper?) or are placed on a shelf, I still get to look at them on a daily basis and appreciate their craftsmanship. I call them UFOCPs: Unidentified Fascinating Old Car Parts.
My favorites include factory gauges. As some of you know from reading my past articles in HMN I have an affinity for vacuum/economy gauges, regardless of the year or model in which they were factory installed. Tachs and clocks are also fun to have and stare at, but the former have grown especially expensive.
In the past, I collected factory Hurst His/Hers shifters from GTOs, 4-4-2s and Hurst Olds when I could find them cheap. I even have one from a late 1970s application that I have yet to Identify. Unfortunately, the collector prices asked for these shifters nowadays has halted further exploration for them as well.
I do, however, still find some gauges, clocks and compasses from time to time. They all have two things in common, they are interesting enough to be display items, and they are cheap. I may be sick but I’m not stupid. My family, home and project car bills require enough financial attention as it is, so I can’t justify paying top dollar for parts to simply ogle, so I don’t.
To that end, my latest find came just this past weekend at a “fleatique” about 40 minutes from home. My kids and I walked in and this clock was literally the first item that I locked eyes on in a room that held about 50 vendors and thousands of items. That’s never happened before. I’ve never found a UFOCP that quickly at a sale, which was primarily for random antiques, vintage household items and stuff that was just plain old and musty.
This clock appears to have been removed from the dash of a vintage vehicle and was marked $6—I got it for $5. How could any car guy, regardless of era or marque preference pass up a $5 dash clock from a 1930-40-something vehicle? I certainly couldn’t. I photographed it for this blog in as-purchased condition—I still have to clean it up a bit.
Admittedly, 1960s and 1970s cars are more in my wheelhouse, so I don’t know what year or make vehicle this clock came from. It’s stamped “Geo. W. Borg Corp. Chicago USA” on the back. If any of you recognize it and know of its original application, please respond to this blog. Even if I don’t find out, however, it’s okay, as I won’t like it any more or any less based on its pedigree.
Referring back to the question that initiated this blog, please share your stories of low-buck UFOCPs you’ve purchased over the years simply because you thought that they were intriguing.
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