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.

September Auction Round-Up

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Okay, so I’ve been a little tardy with auction results. Unless it’s a major sale, I’m probably just going to start lumping them all into one post. It’s easier and as I have other things going on in my life and this site doesn’t pay the bills (unfortunately), it’s how it is going to be. First up, H&H’s September 19, 2012 sale at Newbury Racecourse. Our featured GAZ-69 sold for $8,000. Top sale went to this 1920 Vauxhall 30/98 E-Type Tourer for $288,000. Complete results for that sale can be found here.

1920 Vauxhall 30/98 E-Type Tourer

Silverstone Auctions held their CarFest North “Pride & Joy” Auction on September 9th. The top sale was this 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish for $77,900. Complete results for that sale are here.

2002 Aston Martin Vanquish

Next up was The Bennett Collection, sold by Auctions America on September 21-22. Many of the cars sold at this sale were in various stages of disrepair. It also appeared to contain the world’s largest collection of Mazda 323s. The guy who assembled this collection definitely had a thing for certain cars of certain model years. Anyway, the top sale here was a 1925 Lancia Lambda for $207,000.

1925 Lancia Lambda

Another interesting car was this circa 1952 BMW “Wagner Special” race car. It’s a one-off and was probably in the best shape of any of the cars offered, as many of them seemed to be parts cars. This race car brought $177,100. Complete results can be found here.

1952 BMW Wagner Special

And finally, Barrett-Jackson held their comparatively massive Las Vegas sale from September 20-22, 2012. The top sale (I didn’t even bother to look at any of the custom cars, so by “top sale” I mean production car that looks like it did when it was built. Sorry, I didn’t want to sort through that many results – plus, this site is fairly “traditionalistic” – and yeah, I just coined that word) was our featured 1970 Plymouth Hemi Superbird for $297,000. Second place was this 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback for $247,500.

1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback

An interesting car, as we’ve featured a number of strange custom Corvettes in the past, was this 2005 Chevrolet Corvette Anteros Roadster. It is serial #0001 of I-don’t-know-how-many but it certainly looks like a Ferrari California, doesn’t it? It sold for $99,000.

2005 Chevrolet Corvette Anteros Roadster

Here is a Cobra replica built by someone other than Factory Five or Superformance. In this case, it was built in 1988 by the Contemporary Classic Motor Car Company and it sold for $44,000.

1988 Contemporary Classic Motor Car Company Shelby Cobra Replica

This 1937 Ford Housecar is unusual to say the least. It’s an early motorhome that was actually built by Ford on the assembly line. It sold for $26,400.

1937 Ford Housecar

This 1976 Stutz Blackhawk VI was an expensive handmade car when new. It cost $61,000 in 1976 and it has held its value relatively well (discounting inflation) – selling for $52,800 after having covered only 8,240 miles.

1976 Stutz Blackhawk VI Coupe

And finally, I really liked this 1950 Chevrolet Suburban. And based on the sale price of $69,300, so did at least two bidders. For complete results from Barrett-Jackson in Las Vegas, click here.

1950 Chevrolet Suburban

1918 Hahn Pickup

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1918 Hahn 3/4 Ton Pickup

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 8, 2012

Old commercial vehicles are really interesting because so few of them have survived until today. Yeah, there are some very rare passenger cars – but as a percentage of the total number built – commercial vehicles are far rarer than cars. Especially from this era.

W.G. Hahn & Bro. built their first motorized vehicle in 1907 at their Hamburg, Pennsylvania wagon manufacturing plant. By 1913, they had changed their name to the Hahn Motor Truck & Wagon Co. as trucks were their primary business – from the smaller 3/4 Ton (like this one here), to trucks upward of 5 Ton payload capacity. Hahn built commercial trucks up until 1933, when they turned to fire trucks (they did offer trucks again for one year in 1941). The company continued with limited production of fire apparatus until it shut down in 1989.

This truck here is of the lighter variety, using a Continental 4-cylinder engine. It runs and drives. The bodywork is not original but is period correct. For being as rare (when was the last time you saw one?) as it is, the price is rather affordable, with an expected sale price between $10,000-$15,000. For more information, click here. And for the rest of Bonhams lineup at their Preserving the Automobile Sale at the Simeone Foundation, click here.

Update: Not sold.

1906 Columbus Electric

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1906 Columbus Electric Model 1000 Stanhope

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

The Columbus Buggy Company of Columbus, Ohio was founded in 1875 by Clinton Firestone and his partners, brothers George & Oscar Peters. Columbus, Ohio was known for the plethora of buggy manufacturers but by the turn of the century the automobile was gaining traction in America. In 1903, the Columbus Buggy Company turned to these motorized machines.

Both gasoline and electric cars were available. This Model 1000 Electric Stanhope has a 24-volt DC motor making 1.5 horsepower. It was restored before most collectible cars were new and looks as old as it is. It has been in collections and museums constantly since the 1940s.

Columbus went belly-up in 1913, but not before having given people like Harvey Firestone and Eddie Rickenbacker their start in the business world. This car is a rare example of this marque and is expected to sell – even in its somewhat rough condition – for between $40,000-$60,000. For more info, click here. And for more from RM Auctions, click here.

Update: Sold $52,250.

Buckmobile Runabout

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1904 Buckmobile Twin Cylinder 15hp Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 8, 2012

How strange – nowhere on this car does the word “Buckmobile” appear. It is entirely unidentifiable without an outside source – in this case, early advertisements that show a clear resemblance (as in: dead-on) to a Buckmobile.

Founded in Utica, New York in 1903 by Albert J. Seaton, the Buckmobile Company produced a two-cylinder runabout making 15 horsepower. The body was spartan but the premiere of the car led to numerous orders. This led Seaton to try quick expansion of the company – which led to its being acquired by the Black Diamond Automobile Company  in 1904. Buckmobile ceased production in 1905.

Short-lived companies from the founding days of the automobile industry have rarely left us any surviving examples. Only three of the about 40 Buckmobiles ever built are known to exist. This example has been cared for since new and has never properly restored. It has had some work done to it recently, but could use a freshening before any serious use. It is expected to sell for between $20,000-$30,000. For more information, click here. And for more cars at this interesting sale from Bonhams, click here.

Update: Sold $46,000.

Update II: Sold, Bonhams Scottsdale 2016, $44,000.

A Pre-Underslung American

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1906 American Tourist Roi des Belges Touring

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

Photo – RM Auctions

This car, offered from the endless estate of John O’Quinn, was built by the American Motor Car Company of Indianapolis, Indiana. That company is more famously known as “American Underslung” – the name by which their vehicles were badged beginning in 1907, when they introduced their revolutionary (and awesome looking) “underslung” chassis (where the frame is low and between the axles).

But in 1906, their first year for production, the cars were more traditional in design. In fact, the chassis here was designed by non other than Harry C. Stutz – prior to him making it big on his own. The engine is a 35/40 horsepower 5.5-liter L-head straight-four with a three-speed manual transmission sending power through the rear wheels.

The name of the car is simply “American” with “Tourist” being the model designation. I don’t know if I need to explain that, but I’m used to car companies where the word “American” is directly followed by something like “Austin” or “Bantam” or “Underslung” and my mind wants to refer to this as an “American Tourist” – but I guess if that were true it would have to be wearing shorts and gym shoes and shouting loudly in slow, plain English (what a European once told me “gives you away as an American”).

In any case, this car was restored in the 1960s but has been preserved in a museum-quality state ever since. It is expected to sell for between $175,000-$250,000. For more information, click here. And for more from RM at Hershey, click here.

Update: Sold $110,000.

Woods Mobilette Cyclecar

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1914 Woods Mobilette Tandem Roadster

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 8, 2012

How cool is this car? It’s a tandem-seat cyclecar. It seats two, the driver in front and the passenger directly behind him or her. This car is long, tall, and skinny and looks like it would tip over if a curve was taken too quickly, but with practically no weight (less than 500 lbs), it would probably stay on the ground just fine.

Francis A. Woods built his first prototype in 1910 but the Woods Mobilette Company of Harvey, Illinois didn’t begin production on this cyclecar until early 1914. Bonhams lists this as a “circa 1913” and 1914 is certainly “circa 1913.” The engine is a 12 horsepower, 1.1-liter L-head four-cylinder. It would do 40 mph and retailed for $380.

Cyclecars were a big thing in the Teens and this is one of the best of the hundreds of different marques produced in the United States. They were affordable and basic, but the Model T managed to undercut them all – and kill off the fad. Production ceased at the end of 1916. This is one of only a few examples of the Woods Mobilette still extant and it’s way cool. It is expected to sell for between $20,000-$30,000. For more info, click here. And for more from Bonhams “Preserving the Automobile” sale, click here.

Update: Sold $48,300.

Bonhams Goodwood Revival Highlights

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Bonhams September 15th sale held during the 2012 Goodwood Revival sale had some pretty impressive results. Among them was our feature car and top sale – the incredibly all-original Mercedes-Benz 680 S-Type that sold for $4,544,000. Our featured Invicta S-Type failed to sell. The second highest selling car was our featured Maserati Tipo 26 for $2,727,000. There were two other million dollar cars, including this 1939 Lagonda V12 Le Mans Tourer for $2,091,000.

The other was this 1929 Alfa Romeo 1750 SS Competition Tourer. It sold for $1,783,000.

Other interesting cars included this pretty 1957 Daimler Conquest Drophead Coupe. It brought $81,000.

There were also a number of competition cars, including this “project” 1964 Merlyn Mk 6 – a 1960s sports racer with a little need for some TLC – or, complete overhaul. It sold for $46,600.

And finally, this 1954 Lester-MG T51 Coupe. Only a handful Lesters were built using parts from and/or heavily modifying other cars. This one is MG powered and it was uncompetitive on the track – leading to the demise of Harry Lester’s car building business. It sold for $32,100.

For complete results, click here.

McIntyre Runabout

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1910 McIntyre Model B-1 Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 8, 2012

Auburn, Indiana was one of the early meccas of automobile manufacturing. The W.H. McIntyre Company was founded in 1909 on the heels of Mr. McIntyre’s purchase of the W.H. Kiblinger Company, also of Auburn. (I can’t be the only one to find it odd that the two men who founded these companies had the same first two initials, can I?)

McIntyre was the factory manager at Kiblinger and bought the company out when it was faced with a company-ending patent infringement lawsuit. He changed the name of the company and the design of the car – at least enough so that the lawyers went away.

But it was still, like the Kiblinger, a high-wheeler – a car with big solid-state wagon wheels and enough ground clearance to function in even the most remote sections of the new automobile marketplace. This car has a 14 horsepower flat-twin and a two-speed transmission with chain drive. 1910 was the last year for high-wheelers from McIntyre, although the company soldiered on through 1915.

This one is expected to sell for between $20,000-$30,000. For more information, click here. And for more from Bonhams at the Simeone Foundation, click here.

Update: Sold $37,950.