Tag Archives: 1929

More Awesome Classic Commercial Vehicles

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The Michael Banfield Collection

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014

 1922 AEC S-Type Open Top Double Deck Bus

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

AEC is known as the double-decker bus company. Their Routemaster double-decker is one of the most famous of the type. But their double-deckers go back to before WWI. The S-Type was built between 1920 and 1927, with 849 (double-deckers) built for the London General Omnibus Company – for which this example was built.

The engine is a 35 horsepower 5.1-liter straight-four and it is said that this was as good as public transport got in London back in the day. It can transport up to 54 people – 26 inside and 28 up top in the weather.

This is thought to be one of only two S-Type double-deckers in existence. And it had a really cool story, which you can read more of here. The price? $130,000-$150,000.

Update: Sold $477,481.

1914 Hallford WD

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

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1929 Chevrolet Bus

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1929 Chevrolet LQ International 14-Seater Coach by Bush & Twiddy

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

This Chevrolet is a British Chevrolet and a precursor to the Bedford marque (which would be GM’s British commercial vehicle marque the year after this was built). What’s the coolest thing about this 14-passenger bus? Yes, that’s a convertible roof you see. How sweet.

The engine is a 2.9-liter straight-six. Michael Banfield bought this for £25 in the early 1960s and restored it in 1962-63. It’s been used a fair amount since. It should bring between $25,000-$34,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $68,272.

1929 Bean Omnibus

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1929 Bean 14HP 14-Seat 30CWT Omnibus by Birch Brothers

Offered by Bonhams | Oxford, U.K. | June 7, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Here’s a bonus! It’s not from the Banfield Collection but from that collection of Bean automobiles we talked about in another recent post. The 14HP model was introduced in 1924. They were generally passenger cars.

But this is a commercial vehicle. It uses the 2.7-liter, 14 horsepower straight-four from the range, but the body was actually commissioned by an independent bus operator. The bus can seat 14 people and was displayed for a while at the British Commercial Vehicle Museum. It does run and drive and should sell for between $51,000-$59,000. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $42,574.

Awesome Classic Commercial Vehicles

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The Michael Banfield Collection

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014

 1915 Peerless TC4 4-Ton Open Back

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

This sale from Bonhams includes quite a number of really awesome commercial vehicles. I don’t have enough time to feature them individually, but because they’re so cool (and you so rarely see them at auction), I thought I’d do two posts that cover the coolest among them (which is pretty much all of them).

This truck is from one of America’s premier luxury car manufacturers. They started building trucks in 1911 and the U.S. Army loved them. The British government bought 12,000 of them between 1915 and 1918, during the First World War. This thing uses a 6.8-liter four-cylinder and was in service with the British government until 1956. It’s beautiful. And it should sell for between $34,000-$42,000. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $72,173.

1922 Tilling-Stevens TS3A Open Top Double Deck Bus

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

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Kissel White Eagle

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1929 Kissel Model 8-95 White Eagle Tourster

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 8, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Hartford, Wisconsin’s Kissel Motor Car Company built a variety of automobiles between 1906 and 1930, the most famous being the Gold Bug Speedster. In 1927, they introduced a four-seater version of the Gold Bug and called it the White Eagle.

Kissel’s were high quality, luxurious and sporty. I would liken them to Aston Martin today – not track-ready but quick, plush and stylish. The White Eagle was available with a few different engines and this one carries a 4.0-liter Lycoming straight-eight making 95 horsepower. The styling was updated for 1929 as Kissel tried to stay in business and fend off the Depression.

The Tourster body style is ultra sporty for a four-door convertible. Look at the long, pillar-less side – I bet this thing looks downright bitchin’ with the top down. This is the only known 1929 Tourster model known to exist and it was purchased new in Canada. The restoration is older than 1991 and has been freshened since. It’s a beautiful car and it should bring between $80,000-$120,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of RM’s Amelia Island lineup.

Update: Sold (or stolen) $60,500.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Auburn Fall 2019, $49,500.

Duesenberg J-148

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Special Torpedo Scaphandrier by Kellner

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2014

1929 Duesenberg Model J (148) Special Torpedo Scaphandrier by Kellner

It’s kind of odd seeing a Duesenberg Model J in a European auction from a European auction house. This is America’s great coachbuilt wonder and European auctions are usually full of European cars. North American auction houses tend to save Model J’s for American auctions where they have the biggest following.

But the thing with this Model J is that it seems very European. I think it’s the separate convertible portions of the car on this very European body. The rear top will pop up and enclose the passengers while the driver is left to withstand the elements (although a more temporary top is available for him or her).

This car uses the 49th Model J chassis built and maintains its original engine (J-148). The body has undergone significant transformations since new, having initially been fitted with a LeBaron Torpedo. That body was swapped out in the mid-1930s for a Graber Cabriolet (which the auction catalog describes as “not particularly elegant”). In 1959, this car was acquired by the president of the Duesenberg Club in the U.S. and he found this authentic Kellner Torpedo Scaphandrier body and had it fitted to J-148.

It passed through a few owners before being imported to Belgium in 1980. The car was restored, keeping this fantastic Kellner body, later that year. This is the only known Kellner Scaphandrier body in existence (on any type of car) and the entire package is estimated to bring between $815,000-$1,080,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial.

Update: Not sold.

Duesenberg J-129

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl Phaeton by LeBaron

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2014

1929 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl Phaeton by LeBaron

This is one of my favorite body styles of Duesenberg. The Model J is one of the best cars ever built and a LeBaron Dual Cowl Phaeton is just such a grand way to tour.

This is an early car (as evidenced by the engine number) and LeBaron was one of the three coachbuilders that Duesenberg invited to build bodies for their early cars. This style was designed by LeBaron co-founder Ralph Roberts. This car has its matching engine, chassis and body. Which is relatively rare.

Sold new to the son of one of the Dodge brothers, the Gooding & Company catalog description says this is believed to be the only Duesenberg delivered new in Detroit. I guess Indiana and Detroit had a nice feud going back in the day (I’d say Detroit won the battle but Indiana is winning the war, economically speaking of course). The ownership chain is unbroken and known since. The car was restored in 2008 by Fran Roxas (that adds to the price tag significantly). This is one of the best designs of all time and can be yours for between $2,000,000-$2,300,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Co. in Arizona.

Update: Sold $2,090,000.

Update II: Sold, Gooding & Company Scottsdale 2016, $2,420,000.

Duesenberg SJ-292

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1929 Duesenberg Model SJ Dual-Cowl Phaeton by LeBaron

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1929 Duesenberg Model SJ Dual-Cowl Phaeton by LeBaron

What’s a better way to start off the new year than with a Duesenberg? Well, actually, how about with a factory-supercharged Duesenberg? That’s right, this Duesey has a blower on it – and not one that was added later in life (well sort of).

The story on this car is that it was bought new by one-time Indianapolis 500 participant Martin de Alzaga in 1929. He took the car to Argentina and the supercharger was added around 1935 – when Duesenberg was still in business. Alzaga didn’t use the car much and had the body converted in Buenos Aires to a race car (although the famous LeBaron “sweep panel” was still evident running down the car’s side. There are pictures out there and it’s a pretty wild sight).

In 1965, the car made its way back to the U.S. When it was restored, the original engine was mounted on a different chassis (as the original was shortened when it became a race car). The body was more or less constructed form scratch (perhaps utilizing what was left of the LeBaron coachwork). It’s still a beautiful car carrying one of the best bodystyles that you could’ve ordered.

Does this car count toward the 36 SJ Duesenbergs built by the factory? Barrett-Jackson says so. I’d say so too, but someone might argue with that. In any case, it’s a fantastic, million-dollar automobile. You can read more about it here and check out more from Barrett-Jackson here.

Update: Sold $1,430,000.

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.

B.N.C. Type 53

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1929 B.N.C. Type 53

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 23, 2013

1929 BNC Type 53

B.N.C. was a French automobile company founded in 1923 by Lucien Bollack and René Netter (the “B” and the “N” – the “C” stands for “et Cie” or “and company”). They hired an engineer who had experience building cyclecars and a cyclecar was the basis for their first model. The cyclecars were successful in competition but sales were always slow.

In the late 1920s, the company shifted toward larger, more expensive cars – and sales grew dimmer. Even super sporty cars like this didn’t help and both founders were forced out in 1928. The company closed for good in 1935.

This car uses a 1.1-liter straight-four by Ruby and has been campaigned in the Le Mans Classic four times in the past 11 years (as B.N.C. raced at Le Mans in period, just not this car). It is said that this car has serious pace for its age. It is certainly rare and rather sporty looking. It is expected to sell for between $105,000-$160,000. Click here for more details and here for more from Osenat’s sale.

Update: Sold $104,800.