Monthly Archives: October 2012

1918 Roamer Touring

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1918 Roamer Model C6 Four-Passenger Sport Touring

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 11-12, 2012

I’ve seen the Roamer described as a “cheap Rolls-Royce” and if you look at the radiator grille, you can kind of see a resemblance. Maybe “more affordable Rolls-Royce” is a better way of putting it. The Roamer was introduced in 1916 by the Barley Motor Car Company of Streator, Illinois. The company was founded by Albert C. Barley, Cloyd Y. Kenworthy and Karl H. Martin and as moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1917. They would also built cars under the Barley and Pennant names.

The 54 horsepower model you see here was introduced in 1918. It uses a Continental Red Seal straight six. The four-passenger convertible body style is quite attractive – especially in white with bright red interior and wire wheels. Roamer built about 12,000 cars until they closed up shop in 1929 and they are rather rare today.

This one is expected to sell for between $70,000-$90,000. For more information, click here. And for more from RM, here.

Update: Sold $93,500.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2016, $66,000.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2020, $95,200.

Northern Runabout

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1902 Northern Runabout

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 12, 2012

I have a new general rule: if a car comes up for sale and it’s a marque you can’t recall ever seeing come up for sale, the there is a good – no, better than good – chance that it is an ex-Harrah Collection car. As is this 1902 Northern Runabout.

1902 was the first year for the Northern Manufacturing Company of Detroit. Founded by Charles B. King (who went on to build the King) & Jonathan Maxwell (who went on to build the Maxwell), this marque would last until 1909 when it was merged into E.M.F. This “Silent Northern” has a five horsepower single-cylinder engine and cost $800 in 1902. These cars were also built under license in Sweden as the Norden.

Ownership history is known from new. It was acquired by Bill Harrah in 1956, making him the fourth owner. It was purchased from the collection and restored by its current owner in 1986, with the restoration completing in 1990. It has competed in 10 London-to-Brighton runs and holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest car driven coast-to-cast across the United States (accomplishing this in 1994). Only 11 are known to still exist.

It is expected to sell for between $70,000-$90,000. For more information, click here. And for more from RM at Hershey, click here.

Update: Sold $66,000.

1960 Dodge Phoenix

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1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix Police Package

Offered by Auctions America | Carlisle, Pennsylvania | October 4-5, 2012

The Dodge Phoenix was not a stand alone model (at least not in the United States). It was a two-year only trim option on the Dart, which, upon its introduction, was not the compact car that most people remember. The Dart was an all-new model for 1960. It was a short-wheelbase (compared with the Polara), entry-level, full-sized Dodge. It undercut the Polara in price – but it’s still a pretty big car.

The Phoenix trim line was tops, above the entry-level Seneca and mid-range Pioneer. This car was spec’d as a Police Package car, even though it was ordered by a 20-year-old hot rodder in Pennsylvania. What the Police Package came with was a high-performance 383 V8 (6.3 liters), a 4.10:1 gear ratio and a heavy-duty three-speed Borg-Warner manual transmission.

The owner replaced the transmission with a four-speed Chevy unit immediately after taking delivery. It isn’t listed what transmission is in the car currently, but, according to the lot description, this was the only high-performance Dart built with a manual transmission – surely it would be more valuable with the three-speed.

Virgil Exner’s finned styling would disappear from the Dart after 1961 – and the car would never look this good again (okay, the muscle-car variant wasn’t so bad). But the Dart became a smaller and more compact, less stylish car with ever new iteration. You don’t see Mopars like this too often – yet there are three 1960 Dart Phoenix’s in this sale alone. And all have rare options.

You can read more about this car at Auctions America’s website here. Or check out the other two and the rest of the auction lineup, here.

Update: Not sold.

Milwaukee Steam Runabout

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1900 Milwaukee Steam Runabout

Offered by RM Auctions | Hersey, Pennsylvania | October 11-12, 2012

The Milwaukee Automobile Company began producing steam vehicles in 1900. There were a bunch of steam car manufacturers in the United States at the turn of the century, and a number of them were producing light runabouts that looked just like this.

Unfortunately, this marque only lasted through 1902 – and not even through the entire year. Quite a few other early makes would shut down just as quickly. It was like a big game of Economic Darwinism Whac-A-Mole. Companies were popping up and shutting down all over the place.

This is a rare example of an already rare marque. It’s two-cylinder steam engine makes six horsepower. It’s only a four-owner car, with all owners and history known – which is a pretty incredible feat considering it’s 112 years old. The car should bring between $20,000-$40,000. For more information, click here. And for more from RM at Hershey, click here.

Update: Sold $44,000.

South Bend Surrey

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1904 South Bend Surrey

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 11-12, 2012

When I first saw the picture of this thing on RM’s website, I got really excited that it was some long lost car that hasn’t been seen in forever. Some rare marque that time forgot. And that’s kind of what it is. It’s a one-of-a-kind car built in 1904, but it’s history is known from 1927 – so it isn’t like they just dug it out of a barn, even though it looks like it. But that’s one of the coolest things about it.

Speaking of cool things about this car, check out those wheels. They’re a design by  a man named Horace Taylor. The wheel hub floats on 12 springs (six per side) mounted around the hub. These are connected to the wooden wheels with solid, steel tires. This alleviates the need for springs on the car and the need for softer tires. It’s pretty cool, looking like each wheel has a little radial aircraft engine on it. I’d like to see the car in motion to see how well this actually works.

The South Bend was built by Walter E. Mack of, guess where, South Bend, Indiana (he never actually named it – it was titled after his death). The parts were purchased from other suppliers. The engine is a straight-four of 3.6-liter capacity. Mack died in 1906 and then the car disappeared.

A man found it in 1927 and built a museum around it and it’s had two owners since then. The car is a survivor – never having been restored. Preservation is the name of the game for the new owner – although it does run and is a usable classic car – which is amazing. RM’s lot description describes the car as starting on the third try after 75 years of not having been used, Some attention will need to be paid to other things if you want to take it on the road. It is expected to sell for between $110,000-$140,000. For more information, click here. And for more from RM at Hershey, click here.

Update: Not sold.