Breeding Steam Truck

1916 Breeding 5-Ton Steam Truck

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 25, 2022

Photo – Mecum

This poorly-photographed truck is too interesting not to feature here, regardless of its 2004-era cell phone photo shoot. Breeding Engineering was based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and they developed a steam-powered commercial chassis leading up to the outbreak of WWI.

WWI killed any hope for the truck, which was backburner-ed and never really completed. The chassis was later found in Sardinia, Ohio, while the engine had been relocated to Kentucky with the original designer’s grandson. The wood cab was built at the time of the restoration.

The steam engine is similar to that of a Stanley, but it’s since been modified to run on compressed air. Check out more about this one-off truck here and dream about what could’ve been in the world of steam-powered heavy commercial vehicles.

Update: Sold $12,100.

Liberty Standard Truck

1917 Liberty Class B 3-Ton Flatbed

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 25, 2022

Photo – Mecum

This is a really fascinating truck, and kind of a weird one categorization-wise. The “Class-B Standardized Military Truck” was actually designed by the U.S. military in a matter of weeks, with the team sitting down for the first time in August 1917 and the first trucks ready in October. Assembly was performed by 15 different companies, with Selden, Graham-Bernstein, Garford, Pierce-Arrow, and Republic being the largest producers.

No marque was assigned to any of the trucks, but “Liberty” was the nickname given to them, thus why it’s labeled as it is here. About 9,400 were built between late 1917 and 1918, and only a few made it into service before the war ended. But that didn’t stop them from being used well after the war ended, with some still in-use by foreign governments up to almost 1940.

The 7.0-liter L-head inline-four was assembled from components from several companies, including Continental, Waukesha, and Hercules. Output was 52 horsepower. Compared to WWI, WWII vehicles seem commonplace. Finding a truck from the Great War, restored to this condition at that, is extremely uncommon. Read more about this one here.

Update: Sold $71,500.

Kelly-Springfield Truck

1914 Kelly-Springfield Model K-40 3-Ton

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 25, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Kelly-Springfield Motor Truck Company sounds an awful lot like the Kelly-Springfield Tire Company. And that’s probably because both were founded in Springfield, Ohio, by Edwin S. Kelly. The trucks were sold under the Kelly marque from 1910 through 1912, when Springfield was appended.

Kelly actually started his truck company in 1910, 15 years after selling his tire company, after having purchased the Frayer Miller Auto Company. The K-40 was their biggest offering, launching alongside the smaller K-31 and K-35 in 1912.

This K-30 is a bare-chassis example powered by a 6.8-liter T-head inline-four of the company’s own design. It’s got chain drive and was a well-regarded truck when new. You can see more about it here.

Update: Withdrawn.

Detroit Motor Wagon

1912 Detroit Motor Wagon

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 25, 2022

Photo – Mecum

I am ashamed of this photo, and I didn’t even take it. But there will never be another chance to feature one of these, so here we are. The Motor Wagon Company of Detroit was founded in 1912, and they initially sold light vans and trucks under the Motor Wagon marque before tacking “Detroit” on to the beginning shortly after getting launched.

Production only lasted through 1913. This one is powered by a 1.7-liter flat-twin rated at 16 horsepower. Four-cylinder trucklets were also offered. This one is bodied as the pre-WWI version of a light pickup truck.

It’s got chain drive and wood pretty much everything else. There can’t be many of these left, if any others. You can read more about it here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $13,200.

1917 Kleiber Truck

1917 Kleiber Model C 3.5-Ton Stake Truck

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 25, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Here’s another impossible old truck out of the Hays Antique Truck Museum. And, amazingly, it’s another San Francisco-built truck. Kleiber & Company was founded in 1914 and remained in the Bay Area until wrapping up production in 1937. They built very few trucks in the 1930s, as their focus had shifted to being the San Francisco Studebaker franchise.

This Kleiber, which is described as both a 1917 and 1918 in the auction catalog, is a flatbed, stake-bed truck that comes with a trailer from 1924. Power is from a 5.7-liter Continental inline-four. It has a four-speed manual transmission and a top speed of 12 mph. That’s a lot of shifting to go nowhere fast.

This is believed to be the only Kleiber left in existence. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $19,800.

Packet Pickup

1916 Packet Open-Cab Express

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 24, 2022

Photo – Mecum

This is another truck from Mecum’s sale of vehicles from the Hays Antique Truck Museum. But it’s most more “light duty” than other trucks. Had the segment existed, this probably would’ve fallen into the “full-size pickup” category of the WWI era.

Frank Brasie founded the Brasie Motor Truck Company in Minneapolis in 1913. In 1916, he renamed the marque Packet, which produced trucks for another year before everything closed down. It’s powered by a 12-horsepower inline-four with a friction disc transmission and chain drive.

This is said to be the only Packet in existence, and it’s obviously had a decent restoration at some point in the past when compared to its museum siblings. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $9,900.

Selden Truck

1914 Selden Model J Covered Flair

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 24, 2022

Photo – Mecum

George Selden invented the automobile. Or at least that’s what his patent lawyer would have you believe. A businessman, Selden was the first person to patent the automobile (in 1895), and he received royalties on every car sold in America until the whole patent ordeal was thrown out in 1911, thanks in no small part to Henry Ford.

The Selden Motor Vehicle Company was not one of America’s largest at any point. Selden’s major income stream was patent royalties. Passenger cars were sold from 1909-1912, and trucks remained available through the early 1930s.

Not many still exist. This truck is powered by a Continental inline-four that drives the rear axle via dual chains. This is a big, heavy, slow truck typical of the era, including the solid rubber tires. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $38,500.

Winther-Marwin

1920 Winther-Marwin Model 459 1.5-Ton 4WD Stake Bed

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 24, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Well, this is some pretty terrible photography, but you get the idea. The Winther Motor Truck Company was founded in Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, in 1917. The company was founded by Martin Winther, who used to work at Jeffrey, they of the famous four-wheel-drive truck. Rear-wheel-driver Winther trucks were produced until 1926 (although 1927 trucks were branded as Winther-Kenosha).

Between 1918 and 1921, the company sold a line of trucks under the Winther-Marwin marque, and they had a four-wheel-drive layout. Power is from a Wisconsin inline-four.

Trucks from this era are so hard to find, and so many manufacturers just simply don’t have a single example remaining. This truck is like a needle in a haystack, being a rare offshoot of the much more common (in period) Winther. You can see more about it here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $72,600.

Lowbed MacDonald

1920 MacDonald Model A 7.5-Ton Lowbed Stake Truck

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 24, 2022

Photo – Mecum

MacDonald Truck & Tractor Company was founded in San Francisco in 1920. There weren’t a lot of California-based automobile companies way back in the day. But MacDonald’s specialty was low-bed trucks. These were meant for use at docks or in warehouses, of which the West Coast had plenty.

This is a gargantuan machine, and very odd looking today. It has front-wheel drive, hydraulic power steering, and hydraulic brakes. The 6.3-liter Buda inline-four drives the front wheels through a complicated system of chains and driveshafts. It weighs eight tons. Empty!

The design looks so foreign because we don’t have a need for such trucks anymore. It’s got a low bed because fork lifts didn’t exist in 1920. After WWII, MacDonald was acquired by Peterbilt, and the brand disappeared around 1952. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $55,000.

WWII-Era Sterling Flatbed

1944 Sterling Model HWS 160H Flatbed

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 24, 2022

Photo – Mecum

The Sternberg Motor Truck Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was founded in 1907 and changed their name to Sterling in 1916. Though they remained based in Wisconsin for most of the company’s existence, their biggest sales outlet was California after Sterling acquired Fageol’s sales network in 1939.

The company was acquired by White in 1951, with everything relocated to Cleveland the following year. Sterling-White was the marque for ’52-1953, at which time the brand was shuttered. This WWII-era truck was one of a few models the company built for the government. This particular model was for the Army Corps of Engineers.

The 12.2-liter diesel inline-six produced 165 horsepower when new. This is what trucks looked like for a long time, and I’m sure there were quite a few Sterlings on the road for many decades after the 1940s. This restored example looks like it could still be used today. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $59,400.