00.15
Unknown
BY MIKE BERRY
The Wichita Eagle
Mike Kline realized at a young age that his great aunt Edna was someone special. Although she was a tiny lady, she drove a great big green car and it attracted a lot of attention.
The car was a 1947 Plymouth Model P-15 Special DeLuxe 4-door sedan.
"She was the original owner... she and her husband, Ed, bought it new in 1947," said Kline. New cars were still something of a rarity in those early post-war years.
"It could be seen almost any Sunday in front of St. Anthony's Church. People would stop and gawk at it. She got used to people following her home and putting a bid in on it.
"She was the ticket-taker at the Miller Theater downtown, and she used to sneak me and my brother in. We thought that was a riot... tickets were what, about 25 cents then," Mike Kline said.
Edna Kline drove her original, unrestored Plymouth until she was 91.
"When I was about 10 years old, everybody was talking about Edna's car, so I asked her, 'Can I have it when you're done with it?' " Mike Kline recalled. Luckily for him, she realized he shared her passion for the car and said yes.
"She taught me how to back it out of her garage. I was probably about 16 and I would drive it around the block," he said.
All of the old mechanics who worked on the car are long since gone, but Aunt Edna had confidence that her great nephew would know how to take care of her prized Plymouth.
"What you don't know about the car, it will teach you, in time," she told him sagely. And so, after she too was gone, he was able to buy the Plymouth from her estate and to continue to care for it the way she had.
"I'm the second owner. It's nothing glamorous or sexy. It's been that way since it was built. This is all original, save for the paint job," Kline said.
The original olive green, which he said screamed of World War II Army staff car, was replaced at some point with a more pleasing civilian green color.
With 86,000 miles on it, the engine has never been overhauled.
"The flathead 6 is still good and hums down the highway," Kline said.
The original 3-speed transmission remains in use, as do the factory-issued wheels, hubcaps and trim rings. A set of reproduction BF Goodrich Silvertown tires have been added, but the car still runs inner tubes in the tires, just like the old days.
Inside, the original mohair upholstery remains in remarkably good condition, as do the hand-painted wood-grained instrument panel and window moldings. Suicide rear doors emphasize the spaciousness of the somewhat itchy interior.
"It rolls down the street and runs fine. It has such a presence on the street that people notice it," Kline said. "I had to teach my two boys the drill because when I would be in the QuikTrip I would come out and there would be five guys pumping them with questions about the car."
One of his sons will be married in a few weeks and the new bride and groom have requested that they be driven to the airport to leave on their honeymoon in the car everyone refers to as "Edna."
"That's her legacy. Everybody says, 'Are you taking good care of 'Edna?' " Kline said.
There's no question about that.
"I still have the pillow she would have to sit on to see over the wheel. I've got the book that came with it, and Edna's original title," Kline said. He opens the glove box and reveals a tiny travel kit: a cardboard box containing a bottle of Campho-Phenique, a metal Band-Aid box and a collapsible drinking cup.
"I pretty much want to save it the way it always was. I like to put big band stuff on my iPod and drive around in it. It takes me back to a time when I didn't exist. It's a real snapshot in time," Mike Kline said.
Aunt Edna would approve.
source: www.kansas.com
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The Wichita Eagle
Mike Kline realized at a young age that his great aunt Edna was someone special. Although she was a tiny lady, she drove a great big green car and it attracted a lot of attention.
The car was a 1947 Plymouth Model P-15 Special DeLuxe 4-door sedan.
"She was the original owner... she and her husband, Ed, bought it new in 1947," said Kline. New cars were still something of a rarity in those early post-war years.
"It could be seen almost any Sunday in front of St. Anthony's Church. People would stop and gawk at it. She got used to people following her home and putting a bid in on it.
"She was the ticket-taker at the Miller Theater downtown, and she used to sneak me and my brother in. We thought that was a riot... tickets were what, about 25 cents then," Mike Kline said.
Edna Kline drove her original, unrestored Plymouth until she was 91.
"When I was about 10 years old, everybody was talking about Edna's car, so I asked her, 'Can I have it when you're done with it?' " Mike Kline recalled. Luckily for him, she realized he shared her passion for the car and said yes.
"She taught me how to back it out of her garage. I was probably about 16 and I would drive it around the block," he said.
All of the old mechanics who worked on the car are long since gone, but Aunt Edna had confidence that her great nephew would know how to take care of her prized Plymouth.
"What you don't know about the car, it will teach you, in time," she told him sagely. And so, after she too was gone, he was able to buy the Plymouth from her estate and to continue to care for it the way she had.
"I'm the second owner. It's nothing glamorous or sexy. It's been that way since it was built. This is all original, save for the paint job," Kline said.
The original olive green, which he said screamed of World War II Army staff car, was replaced at some point with a more pleasing civilian green color.
With 86,000 miles on it, the engine has never been overhauled.
"The flathead 6 is still good and hums down the highway," Kline said.
The original 3-speed transmission remains in use, as do the factory-issued wheels, hubcaps and trim rings. A set of reproduction BF Goodrich Silvertown tires have been added, but the car still runs inner tubes in the tires, just like the old days.
Inside, the original mohair upholstery remains in remarkably good condition, as do the hand-painted wood-grained instrument panel and window moldings. Suicide rear doors emphasize the spaciousness of the somewhat itchy interior.
"It rolls down the street and runs fine. It has such a presence on the street that people notice it," Kline said. "I had to teach my two boys the drill because when I would be in the QuikTrip I would come out and there would be five guys pumping them with questions about the car."
One of his sons will be married in a few weeks and the new bride and groom have requested that they be driven to the airport to leave on their honeymoon in the car everyone refers to as "Edna."
"That's her legacy. Everybody says, 'Are you taking good care of 'Edna?' " Kline said.
There's no question about that.
"I still have the pillow she would have to sit on to see over the wheel. I've got the book that came with it, and Edna's original title," Kline said. He opens the glove box and reveals a tiny travel kit: a cardboard box containing a bottle of Campho-Phenique, a metal Band-Aid box and a collapsible drinking cup.
"I pretty much want to save it the way it always was. I like to put big band stuff on my iPod and drive around in it. It takes me back to a time when I didn't exist. It's a real snapshot in time," Mike Kline said.
Aunt Edna would approve.
source: www.kansas.com
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