Courier Roadster

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1911 Courier 20 Commercial Wagon

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 7, 2013

1911 Courier 20 Commercial Wagon

The auction catalog lists this car as a Courier Stoddard, but according to other sources, the cars were only called Courier – even though Courier was a subsidiary of Stoddard-Dayton (perhaps the “Stoddard is the model name, but it’s rather confusing so I omitted it from the title above). Courier was introduced in 1909 and lasted through 1912 (for the final year they were known as Courier-Clermont once they had been acquired by the U.S. Motor Company – which promptly failed).

This was a lower-priced car than the Stoddard-Dayton. They were targeted at Ford buyers who wanted more performance for a similar price. Performance was likely: this car is powered by a 22 horsepower 3.7-liter straight-four. They were also durable as Courier built their cars like a light truck but with roadster bodywork.

This particular car spent a long time in Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. The workers there did a light restoration on it years ago, although the car was mostly original when it was performed. Everything is either correct or period-correct and in working order and it has been in a private collection since 2008. Courier was a very short-lived automobile, making this very rare. It should sell for between $30,000-$40,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams’ awesome Preserving the Automobile sale.

Update: Sold $20,900.

Schmidt Truck

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1910 Schmidt Model C Prototype

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10, 2013

1910 Schmidt Model C

This rare, all-original truck is being offered for sale from the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum. It has been on display for at least 10 years and was originally painted red and yellow – most of the yellow is still visible, but the original red paint is almost gone.

This is a preservationist’s dream. Everything is untouched and original (albeit, it doesn’t currently run and will need a slight mechanical freshening). This truck was the factory demonstrator for the Schmidt brothers, whose commercial trucks went on sale in 1911. The company closed just two years later in 1913. The truck was shown at shows and was never road-registered, has no serial number, and has only a small number of miles.

The engine, which is not working, is a two-cycle – and I can’t really see more of it to describe it further. It is estimated that Schmidt built less than 100 total vehicles and this was among the first. It should sell for between $20,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Hershey.

Update: Sold $18,700.

A Pair of Schachts

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1910 Schacht Model R Runabout

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10, 2013

1910 Schacht Model K Runabout

The Schacht Motor Car Company of Cincinnati, Ohio (nothing like a really solid German name like Schacht to be able to guess this was built in Cincy), built high-wheelers from 1905 through 1909. Come 1910, the company switched to more traditional cars like this all-original Model K Runabout.

This car uses a steering wheel instead of a tiller (popular at the time) and a water-cooled 3.0-liter two-cylinder engine producing 18 horsepower. The engine has not been run in over 20 years and some mechanical work will be necessary in order to drive this car.

Schacht soon turned to commercial vehicles and was able to soldier on until 1940. This car has been in the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum since 1996. It should sell for between $20,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $19,800.

1909 Schacht Model K Runabout

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10, 2013

1909 Schacht Model K Runabout

Really? Another Schacht – and another Model K Runabout at that? Why am I featuring this? To show you the difference a year can make.

Schacht started by building high-wheelers just like this. They were referred to as the “Invincible Schacht” because they were apparently so rugged (the Titanic was also considered invincible, FYI). This uses the same engine as the car above (perhaps it would’ve made more sense to feature this one first and do things chronologically, but oh well). The major difference is the size of the wheels. The cars have the same wheelbase.

Another major difference is that this example is in full running and driving condition. And that is apparently only worth a $5,000 premium – as this car is expected to sell for between $25,000-$30,000. It was restored in the early-1990s. Over 8,000 Schacht road cars were believed to have been built before the full-time switch to commercial vehicles occurred in 1914. Click here for more info and here for more from RM.

Update: Sold $41,250.

Schacht Model R

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1910 Schacht Model R Runabout

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10, 2013

1910 Schacht Model K Runabout

The Schacht Motor Car Company of Cincinnati, Ohio (nothing like a really solid German name like Schacht to be able to guess this was built in Cincy), built high-wheelers from 1905 through 1909. Come 1910, the company switched to more traditional cars like this all-original Model K Runabout.

This car uses a steering wheel instead of a tiller (popular at the time) and a water-cooled 3.0-liter two-cylinder engine producing 18 horsepower. The engine has not been run in over 20 years and some mechanical work will be necessary in order to drive this car.

Schacht soon turned to commercial vehicles and was able to soldier on until 1940. This car has been in the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum since 1996. It should sell for between $20,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $19,800.

1909 Schacht Model K Runabout

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1909 Schacht Model K Runabout

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10, 2013

1909 Schacht Model K Runabout
Photo – RM Auctions

Really? Another Schacht – and another Model K Runabout at that? Why am I featuring this? To show you the difference a year can make.

Schacht started by building high-wheelers just like this. They were referred to as the “Invincible Schacht” because they were apparently so rugged (the Titanic was also considered invincible, FYI). This uses the same engine as the car above (perhaps it would’ve made more sense to feature this one first and do things chronologically, but oh well). The major difference is the size of the wheels. The cars have the same wheelbase.

Another major difference is that this example is in full running and driving condition. And that is apparently only worth a $5,000 premium – as this car is expected to sell for between $25,000-$30,000. It was restored in the early-1990s. Over 8,000 Schacht road cars were believed to have been built before the full-time switch to commercial vehicles occurred in 1914. Click here for more info and here for more from RM.

Update: Sold $41,250.

IHC Delivery Car

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1912 International M-W Delivery Car

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2013

1912 International M-W Delivery Car

I saw one of these wagon/pickup-ish delivery cars at the National Automobile Museum (Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada, and fell in love with them. International Harvester, the famed tractor and truck manufacturer that is still in business, built road cars in the early days of the automobile through 1980.

The early cars, like this, were high-wheelers for rural customers. This one is well-outfitted with Beverly Hillbillies-style goodies. The engine is a 20 horsepower 2.6-liter flat twin. It’s been a museum piece for some time. It runs and has been used in a lot of parades (is there a car more perfect for parades?).

This thing is almost entirely original too, which is incredible. Cars rarely come cooler than this, seriously, and to be original is icing on the cake. I very much want it but don’t have the extra $30,000-$40,000 lying around that it would require to purchase it. You can read more and check out some more photos here. And see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $44,000.

Gardner Roadster

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1929 Gardner Model 120 Roadster

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2013

1929 Gardner Model 120 Roadster

This very pretty Gardner Model 120 Roadster comes from near the end of the Gardner Motor Company Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri. Gardner was one marque that could not make it through the Depression, floundering and failing in 1932.

The company traced its roots back to 1919 and Russell Gardner who built buggies and sold Chevys before going into business for himself. Early Gardners were assembled from readily-available parts. This Model 120 uses a 3.7-liter Lycoming straight-eight making 76 horsepower.

By the end of the company, Gardners were really nice cars and this is said to be among the sportiest Gardners in existence (there aren’t a whole lot of them to begin with). This one could bring between $40,000-$60,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Hershey.

Update: Sold $49,500.

Ginetta G12

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1965 Ginetta G12

Offered by Russo & Steele | Las Vegas, Nevada | September 26-28, 2013

1965 Ginetta G12

Ginetta has never sold cars in the U.S. They’re a British specialty that has been around since 1958 – and they’re still going strong making some really cool race cars. Most of their history has been split between road and race cars.

The G12 was a race-only car that debuted in 1965. It features a mid-engined layout and this one uses a Lotus-Ford 1.6-liter straight-four making 180 horsepower. This car was imported into the U.S. in 2001 as a rolling chassis. The engine has been added since.

The U.K. has a long history of lightweight cars that are very sporty on the track. My made-up comparison to this car is “picture a MG TC with the exhaust burble of a GT40.” That might be a tad bit extreme, but you may (or may not) get what I’m trying to say. These are just more hardcore than most British sports/road cars. And that’s probably because it’s a race car.

Only about 50 G12s were built. This car could bring in the $45,000-$75,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Russo & Steele’s auction lineup.

Update: Not sold.

1903 Stevens-Duryea

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1903 Stevens-Duryea Model L Stanhope

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2013

1903 Stevens-Duryea Model L Stanhope

In 1902, J. Frank Duryea joined the Stevens Arms and Tool Company. The Duryea Brothers are one of the most interesting stories to come out of the early automobile industry. They built some beautiful cars together before going their separate ways.

Stevens-Duryea built its first car in 1902 and this is from the year after – making it one of the oldest Stevens-Duryeas in existence. It’s a Model L that originally used a flat-twin engine but is now powered by a Harley-Davidson V-Twin. This car had work done to it a long time ago (when it lost its engine in the 1940s or 50s) but it looks good today and it usable. The transmission and frame are also non-original.

RM states that the car could be restored further toward its original state or you could leave it like it is. Stevens-Duryea continued to build cars – that got bigger and bigger and more and more ludicrously expensive. Production ceased around 1923 but cars were still being sold out of old inventory through 1927. This is a $20,000-$30,000 car as is (and yes, I know, that’s a big range). Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $15,400.

1912 Firestone-Columbus

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1912 Firestone-Columbus Model 68-D Raceabout

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2013

1912 Firestone-Columbus Model 68-D Raceabout

Firestone-Columbus was a make of automobile built in – you guessed it – Columbus, Ohio, from 1907 through 1915. It’s interesting how the company built a weird variety of cars over its short lifespan.

The Columbus Buggy Company began by building electric cars (as Columbus) before turning to high-wheelers for early dirt roads. The Firestone-Columbus name came in 1907 and was named for company president, Clinton Firestone. It was a more traditional car and you could have just about any bodystyle on one of their chassis.

In 1911, the company entered its product in a new little 500-miler in Indianapolis with driver Lee Frayer (and Eddie Rickenbacker as co-driver). The “Red Wing Special,” as it was known, finished 13th. The car offered here was not a race car back in the day. It uses a 3.6-liter straight-four making a sporty 32 horsepower.

This was discovered in the early 1990s and restoration was undertaken but it was restored to resemble the Red Wing Special that competed in the inaugural Indy 500. This car has a longer wheelbase than the race car and is road usable. The body is basic and looks like an early race car. Only seven or eight Firestone-Columbuses (Colombi?) are known to exist. This one could bring between $100,000-$125,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Mysteriously disappeared from Auction catalog.

Update II: Sold, RM Auctions Motor City 2014, $79,750.