Memory of 1948 Royal lives on for boat owner
Centre cap from beloved $100 jalopy now adorns Chrysler-powered yacht
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| Photograph by: Alyn Edwards, edmontonjournal.com |
When Chris Kelly completed the 10-year restoration of a once derelict 34-foot 1951 Chris Craft tri-cabin classic motor yacht, there was one final touch needed. The ship's wheel centre was missing, but Kelly had just the item. He had saved a memento from his first car -the centre cap from his 1948 Chrysler Royal. It fit into the ship's wheel like it was original equipment.
The domed chrome cap says Chrysler Fluid Drive on a winged background and, by coincidence, the Chris Craft is Chrysler powered. Kelly had used the cap as a paperweight throughout his career in education. The Chrysler Fluid Drive steering wheel centre cap reminded him of the best memories of his early life.
As a young man, Kelly had spotted an ad for a dream job -the newly formed Pacific Rim National Park on the west coast of Vancouver Island needed summer help. The job paid $3.48 an hour and came with free lodging. For a starving student, the prospect couldn't be more enticing.
Kelly and friend Chris Harvey began a letter-writing campaign to land their dream job. In an attempt to get more attention than other applicants, they sent humorous poems, cartoons and testimonials. One day, a letter arrived containing a poem from park warden Robert Jocelyn, along with a note stating he and his colleagues had been saving the poems and the job was theirs if they wanted it.
The two friends crowded into an old Rambler Classic owned by a third hire named Al Czepil and drove to their summer job outside Tofino. They would end up in a log house on the beach with an astonishing 250-degree view of the best scenery on the West Coast.
It was July 1973, and with money coming in, Kelly decided he needed his own car. He and his buddies often visited the Chevron gas station at the entrance to Ucluelet where the lot was filled with old equipment. In the back, covered with mud, was a dull blue 1948 Chrysler Royal sedan.
A Tofino resident too old to drive had sold the car and it had been left at the gas station. Kelly offered $100 for it if it would start. He was amazed to see the courtesy lights come on when he opened the door. Holding his breath, he pumped the gas, turned the key, stepped on the starter and the old Chrysler's flathead six-cylinder engine jumped to life.
Two mice had escaped from the car and he had to remove a 45-gallon barrel from the limousine-sized rear seat. The old Chrysler seemed in good shape except for a missing rear fender that left the fuel filler tube exposed.
As well, the semi-automatic transmission required the driver to use the clutch to shift the car into first gear, but the clutch pedal was stuck on the floor. Kelly tied a rope between the clutch and the door handle so he could operate the clutch manually.
He donned a straw fedora that had been left on the rear window package shelf and drove directly to the Tofino airport to pick up friends who were coming in for the weekend. It was there that Al Harvey, the brother of co-worker Chris Harvey, snapped the first photo of Kelly and the bulbous old car that he affectionately called "The Duchess."
The domed chrome cap says Chrysler Fluid Drive on a winged background and, by coincidence, the Chris Craft is Chrysler powered. Kelly had used the cap as a paperweight throughout his career in education. The Chrysler Fluid Drive steering wheel centre cap reminded him of the best memories of his early life.
As a young man, Kelly had spotted an ad for a dream job -the newly formed Pacific Rim National Park on the west coast of Vancouver Island needed summer help. The job paid $3.48 an hour and came with free lodging. For a starving student, the prospect couldn't be more enticing.
Kelly and friend Chris Harvey began a letter-writing campaign to land their dream job. In an attempt to get more attention than other applicants, they sent humorous poems, cartoons and testimonials. One day, a letter arrived containing a poem from park warden Robert Jocelyn, along with a note stating he and his colleagues had been saving the poems and the job was theirs if they wanted it.
The two friends crowded into an old Rambler Classic owned by a third hire named Al Czepil and drove to their summer job outside Tofino. They would end up in a log house on the beach with an astonishing 250-degree view of the best scenery on the West Coast.
It was July 1973, and with money coming in, Kelly decided he needed his own car. He and his buddies often visited the Chevron gas station at the entrance to Ucluelet where the lot was filled with old equipment. In the back, covered with mud, was a dull blue 1948 Chrysler Royal sedan.
A Tofino resident too old to drive had sold the car and it had been left at the gas station. Kelly offered $100 for it if it would start. He was amazed to see the courtesy lights come on when he opened the door. Holding his breath, he pumped the gas, turned the key, stepped on the starter and the old Chrysler's flathead six-cylinder engine jumped to life.
Two mice had escaped from the car and he had to remove a 45-gallon barrel from the limousine-sized rear seat. The old Chrysler seemed in good shape except for a missing rear fender that left the fuel filler tube exposed.
As well, the semi-automatic transmission required the driver to use the clutch to shift the car into first gear, but the clutch pedal was stuck on the floor. Kelly tied a rope between the clutch and the door handle so he could operate the clutch manually.
He donned a straw fedora that had been left on the rear window package shelf and drove directly to the Tofino airport to pick up friends who were coming in for the weekend. It was there that Al Harvey, the brother of co-worker Chris Harvey, snapped the first photo of Kelly and the bulbous old car that he affectionately called "The Duchess."
The name stuck as Kelly drove his pride and joy every chance he could get. All his friends could fit in the big car and it was their favourite mode of transportation.
The thought of driving the car all the way to Nanaimo to pick up Kelly's girlfriend Deb, now his wife of 35 years, was concerning because of the steep, curving mountain roads. But The Duchess made the trip without missing a beat.
The missing rear fender was a constant concern until Kelly visited a parts collector who found a battered old Chrysler deep in the woods of his property. A deal was made, the green replacement fender was bolted in place and a spray can of blue paint completed the repairs Back in Vancouver after the summer job ended, the old Chrysler proved too large to be practical. Kelly sold it for the same price he had originally paid -$100. But he kept the steering wheel centre to help keep the memory of The Duchess alive.
About 10 years later, he received a call from a man who said he now owned Kelly's old car along with another 1948 Chrysler Royal and planned to make one good car out of two.
Kelly hopes The Duchess was the chosen one, but the memory of the Grand Lady lives on with the Chrysler Fluid Drive domed steering wheel centre that is a feature in Kelly's restored yacht.
Alyn Edwards is a classic car enthusiast and partner in Peak Communicators, a Vancouver-based public relations company. aedwards@ peakco.com
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