For those not in areas with Ace Hardware, it’s an American hardware store chain, almost 100 years old and privately held as a store owner cooperative, which has remained viable even in the era of big box stores. Ace has some international stores; in fact according to Wikipedia the largest Ace store is in Indonesia. But in my community, we have two smallish Ace stores which have good inventory and helpful staff, closer than any Home Depot. Not to mention that both sites are a good place to find CC’s. I found an International Travelette at the Ace that’s further from my home, and a nice Volvo/Mustang pairing in front of my neighborhood store. And it was at the same local store where I spotted this clean but not overdone Advance Design GM 3100 last week [I originally described this as a GMC but have edited it to say “GM”, because although the tailgate carried a GMC logo, reader Patrick Bell noted that the interior and front end badging is Chevrolet].
I peeked inside to see if it had any modern upgrades like an automatic trans, and it looked pretty original with a floor shift (granny gear 4 speed?) and floor-hinged pedals. But it was hard to capture any detail with annoying reflections. As I checked my results on the screen, I found I had also captured another CC, a nice … though not unusual around here … Type 2 Volkswagen. By the way, for those not familiar with Ace, their slogan is “Ace is the Place”. A good place to find Curbside Classics, indeed.
Ace is indeed a terrific store. They have great quality paint, the staff is helpful, and I buy any needed plumbing supplies there as they are better quality for the price.
These Advance Design pickups are some of the longest lived vehicles of any variety it seems. It makes me wonder what percentage of them are still around today.
Ah, the memories of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, and Suzanne Somers singing and dancing as she coos that “Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man.”
Which later changed to “Ace is the place with the helpful hardware folks.”
That interior shot with the VW bus reflected off the glass would already be awesome, but the matching color scheme elevates it to Photo Of The Year…
Curbside Classics should do a Picture of the Year, shouldn’t it?
Rules:
1) It has to be taken by one of us and used as part of an original article or commentary post, no pictures found on Google Image search, etc.
2) No professional photos, as in publicity shots released by a manufacturer or advertising agency
I almost deleted it until I noticed the VW. As for Picture of the Year worthy, I’m flattered though it is still only February. And it’s not quite up there with Curtis Perry. But thanks anyway 😀
I really enjoy Ace, it seems to support folks who want to fix things rather than dispose of them and for the do-it-yourselfer.
I don’t see too many cool older vehicles here in the heart of the rust belt but one day a guy rode his ~1979? Honda Trail 90 to Ace. That was neat, looked like an ideal around town rig in our quiet Iowa town.
Ace sometimes hosts the local antique tractor club in their parking lot on summer Saturdays. Pretty fun walking around looking at that pridefully restored old iron and the kids love it.
Trail 90s are awesome little bikes for their intended use. Tough, reliable and efficient
Great looking truck, and especially the interior/dash. Wow.
There’s definitely a correlation between hardware stores and old trucks. Two years ago my wife graciously photographed this 1975 International Scout parked at a local hardware store:
We have an Ace here in Battle Ground, WA (pop. 20,000) and there’s even an Ace up in Woodland (pop. 6000) where my parents live. It’s very well-stocked for a store that’s about 1/5 the size of a Home Depot. I’ll have to keep an eye out next time I find myself in their parking lot! There’s someone here in town that has one of these pick-ups and I see it on a semi-regular basis (that may also help answer Jason’s question).
As many of those Advanced Design 1949-’55 Chevy and GMC pick up trucks that continue to turn up everywhere, I joke that every one produced is still in existence somewhere…
My nearby independent hardware store is associated with True Value, another outfit that services independents. Same basic idea. And it’s very close so I know exactly what they have by now, which means I know which direction to head if I need something.
Thanks for the pictures.
Talk about CC effect. Yesterday I discovered that ACE had taken over a large store space vacated when Lowes closed down the Orchard Supply Hardware chain that we depended on here in SoCal. Great inventory, great staff, just as you describe. The only interesting car in the parking lot was a 993 Porsche driven by another senior like myself. I waited to hear him fire it up – always a pleasure.
The dash on that truck is really attractive and appears to be in nice condition. Talk about a great, timeless design. These trucks were ubiquitous in my childhood when they were new and you still see some around today. My Dad drove this one when he briefly worked for the Indiana State Highway Commission back in the day.
Could you be referring to the OSH on Bundy Drive just north of Olympic Blvd. near Martin Cadillac? I used to go there all the time whenever I visited my mom in Mar Vista. It’s been 17 years since she passed away, and I don’t get back to L.A. much any more. Sorry to hear it’s gone, it was a favorite.
This old pickup reminds me of our Japanese gardener’s truck when I was a kid, he had a very similar International version, always overflowing with mowers and edgers and rakes and shovels and other tools of his trade. I can still visualize it parked in front of our home. These big-fendered trucks were ubiquitous in L.A. back then, too.
Yes, the new ACE is on the South Bundy Drive site.
The really sad thing is that before the Lowe’s decision, OSH opened a two-story flagship store in a beautiful new building in East Hollywood across from Barnsdall Park where I volunteer as a docent/tour guide at the Frank Lloyd Wright Hollyhock House. It had huge inventory and great staff but barely got off the ground before all OSH outlets were closed. That site has been taken over by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation for one of their Out of the Closet thrift stores/donation centers.
So glad that ACE has moved into the Bundy site – serving a great need in the area. And, unusual for the west side, a decent parking lot.
Our local OSH (which started in San Jose, truly serving orchards) was sold by Lowe’s to another chain which has re-opened it as Outdoor Supply Hardware. Same OSH branding with slightly different logo, and in fact they’re re-using the old Orchard Supply carts. I’m glad it’s back but it’s a few miles away. And rarely anything interesting in the parking lot.
Yes, as said above, I wonder if we see so many of these because they made so many more of them than the competition did or because they have a survival rate massively above that of any competitor. Probably some of both.
I have to drive quite a ways to get to an ACE, but the local independent hardware store close to me is a Do It Best Center (formerly HWI). The ACE closest to me lost or gave up its ACE affiliation about 10 or so years ago. The ones I really miss are the true independents, but those have about gone extinct.
We live in a lovely neighborhood of free-standing patio homes and townhomes. Right by our neighborhood, within easy walking distance, is a shopping center that has everything we need: a Safeway store, a Walgreens, and an ACE Hardware. ACE is great. The staff really are helpful and knowledgeable, and the store saves us lots of trips to Lowe’s or Home Depot, where the staff aren’t nearly as helpful, available, or knowledgeable. And for a fun expedition, a few miles away from us is a truly mega-ACE. It’s several times the size of any other local ACE stores.
My experience photographing CCs is limited to the occasional upload to the Cohort, but I have discovered that the best way to avoid the annoying reflections with the interior shots is to hold the phone* right up to the window.
*Or the lens of whatever camera you’re if using a real camera instead of a phone.
Have been shopping ACE since 1995. They have supplied me with untold numbers of brass screws, nuts, and washers, not to mention paint brushes and scrappers to use in restoring the Hornet. I am a regular in two of them.
That is a ’54 or ’55 1st series Chevrolet. It looks to be very original. My parents bought a new ’54 in Boise, Idaho and towed a 28 foot mobile home to Anchorage, Alaska for a military transfer. That is what I rode in from the hospital two years later. I bought a used very original ’54 3600 series (3/4 ton) in 1977 in Tacoma, Washington. I drove it to Anchorage as well, but no trailer. They were rock solid trucks.
I can’t comment on Ace Hardware as there is not one close to me. Home Depot is the default in my neighborhood.
Is it indeed a Chevy? The tailgate said GMC.
Yes, it is. The tailgate must have been replaced at sometime. The GMC’s used a different grille, and also had a ‘GMC’ emblem on the side of the hood where the ‘3100’ is. Plus you can see the bowtie on the horn button.
Thanks. I’ll edit the post.
My first “real job” was at the independent Merritt Hardware in Hermosa Beach, California. Back in the early 1970’s the place was full of local characters, customers and staff alike. The owner, a straight-laced Midwesterner, found it all rather amusing.
After he closed up and left town, I worked for what became an ACE in Torrance. The next generation is now running it. I can walk there and still have a charge account. Home Depot and Lowes require a drive across town. Oh, and they give treats to my dog when we visit.