10/11/2006

A ford was in their future

By Tom Range, Sr.

Sheltered in a garage on a property along Route 611, a beautifully maintained 1940 Ford two door sedan lies ready to be proudly displayed to visitors and, being roadworthy, for an occasional spin along the roads of the Eastern Shore.

As related by its owner Kathy Deimler, "the auto was found about a block from an antique car museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The body shop had the seats out and the fenders off. It was the beginning of its return to beauty. The car had nice lines and my husband Glen saw it as a great find. He asked the shop if it might be for sale. A price was negotiated and the deal was struck. Glen has always been interested in old cars. With ancestors like Gottlieb Daimler, the 19th century pioneer European automaker, it is easy to see the origins of his enthusiasm. He built up stock cars back in the 50s. His first stock car was made from a 1932 Ford. My mother drove it in the 'Powder Puff Derby' at Silver Springs in Pennsylvania."

The Deimler's brought the 1940 Ford down from Hershey about three years ago. It had been fully restored and needed only a bracket to hold the front "street rod" license plate that was added, to comply with the motor vehicle laws of Maryland.

Much of the interior of the car is relatively new, emphasizing comfort and convenience; air conditioning, reclining front seats and similar features, as well as safety features required to maintain the car's roadworthiness. However, elements of the original dashboard have been saved as well as the interior upholstery on the door panels and ceiling. During the restoration work, replacement parts were drawn from many different models of automobiles. A log was maintained which lists the source of each part installed in the 1940 Ford. One entry in the log, which is stored in the glove compartment, relates that a 1976 Chevy engine is under the hood.

The exterior of the car is substantially original and painted a subdued green approximating its original color. For visibility considerations, the front windshield is a single pane of glass rather then the split windshield of the original car. Notable features are the running boards and the elegant fender skirts on the rear fenders, reminiscent of the classic Lincoln Continentals of the 1940s.

Nestled in the trunk of the Ford are elements of a still used by Kathy's father. As she relates, "I can't remember where we found the still. One day I came home from work and he was cooking off our homemade wine in the kitchen. My grandfather always made wine from our cherry crop. He had a few fruit trees that produced sour cherries."

The 1940 model Ford seems to have been a vehicle of choice for "moonshiners" and hence involved in the origins of stock car racing. After the lifting of Prohibition there was nothing illegal about distilling liquor, but the moonshiners (so named for their distilling activities being carried on only in the light of the moon) attempted to avoid paying taxes on their liquor. They basically built cars to outrun the Internal Revenue Service and the local taxing authorities. They modified stock automobiles with strong suspensions that could slide around on dirt roads in the mountains at night with no lights and outrun the police. It is said that NASCAR (the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) was founded in 1947 as a competition among moonshine runners.

Kathy observes, "The 40s and stills seem to be a good match. We haven't made wine or used the still in many years, but the memories remain alive when we look at the old car, and the still, in the trunk. Glen and I have been married for 52 years and we've seen the progression of old cars from dirt track stock cars to million dollar Nascars in a tradition that started with these 40 Fords running moonshine." Accordingly, the Deimlers required no springs underneath the rear seat cushion. The moonshiners smuggled jars filled with their liquor underneath the seat as they evaded the law.

The Deimlers have owned property in the Ocean City area for over forty years, adding to their original purchase by acquiring contiguous property over time until they now own in excess of five acres. They moved to the Eastern Shore permanently after retirement.

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