Waterhouse-Bodied Packard

1930 Packard Deluxe Eight Series 745 Convertible Victoria by Waterhouse

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Amelia Island, Florida | March 4, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Packard’s eight-cylinder line of cars was their bread and butter for decades. In 1930, at the dawn of the Depression, Packard offered four takes on the Eight: the Standard, Speedster, Custom, and Deluxe. The latter was their top offering, available in Series 745 form only.

This specified a 145.5-inch wheelbase and a 106-horsepower, 6.3-liter inline-eight. Eleven factory body styles were offered in addition to whatever you could get an independent coachbuilder to whip up for you.

This car was bodied by Waterhouse, who were based in Massachusetts. It was restored in the 1980s, purportedly in colors found under layers of newer paint. It’s a striking combination that, coupled with Woodlite headlights, really grabs your attention. No estimate is yet available, but you can read more about it here.

Update: Sold $637,500.

Rover 8HP

1904 Rover Eight

Offered by Brightwells | Leominster, U.K. | June 18, 2022

Photo – Brightwells

Rover was one of the U.K.’s longest-running automotive marques. The Rover Company Limited got its start as so many others did, with bicycles. They were founded in 1878, and motorcycles followed in 1902. The first Rover car was 1904’s Eight, an example of which we have here.

The first Eights were powered by a 1.3-liter single cylinder that made eight horsepower. A 1.0-liter sleeve-valve single was offered for the model’s final two years of production in 1911 and 1912. The car had a backbone frame that was essentially just the running gear, and this evolved into an ash chassis by 1907.

This first-year Rover is said to be the oldest surviving Rover in private hands and one of the earliest Rovers built. It has known history back to 1921 and is a former London-to-Brighton participant. It has a pre-sale estimate of $85,000-$90,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $122,595.

Falls-Eight

1920 Falls-Eight Race Car

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | December 2020

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

The Falls Machine Company of Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin, was founded in 1901. They made milling machines, and in 1908 expanded into single-cylinder agricultural engines. Their engine program spread, and soon they were supplying engines for automobile manufacturers, like Dort and Elgin.

They built three of their own cars in 1921, and in 1923, they introduced an inline-eight engine. They only built eight of those engines, and three of them were destined for Elgin, who ended up going out of business before using them. Falls ended up building a single car using one of their eight-cylinder engines in 1924. It was thought to be a sedan or a touring car.

That car does not exist. But its engine does. In this car. So this car is said to be a 1920, but it is thought that the race car using the Falls engine was built sometime between 1924 and WWII. It sure has a 1920s race car look to it. It is claimed to have attempted to qualify for the 1923 Indy 500, though no record seems to exist.

The interesting part is that this car was gifted to a young Bruce Mohs in 1944. And from here the story is more well known. Mohs was a big personality, so who knows how much of the story that pre-dates his ownership is actually true or just his story. At any rate, this car has been known for quite some time and was even once owned by Phil Hill.

The engine is a 5.0-liter inline-eight. The whole package sure looks to be the real deal, there just isn’t much of anything known about it between 1924-ish and 1944. Oh well, it’s still cool and eligible for many historic events. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $39,013.

Gwynne Eight

1923 Gwynne Eight

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 7, 2019

Photo – Bonhams

October in Pennsylvania is a great place to buy an old American car. But it should take no more than a quick glance to notice that this car is from the other side of the pond. It looks like an Austin or Morris of the same period but was built by Gwynnes Limited, an engineering company that dated back to 1856. They built a few thousand cars between 1920 and 1929.

The Eight was powered by an 850cc inline-four capable of 24 horsepower. About 2,250 examples were built, and it is said that this is the only example wearing this body. It is currently not in running order but is complete.

It’s been in the U.S. since 1975 and should bring between $15,000-$25,000 in 2019. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: $8,680.

Five Cars from the 1920s

1927 Whippet Model 96 Sedan

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 8-9, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

General Motors wasn’t the only American automaker expanding its brands in the 1920s. Willys-Overland was one of a number of other companies to get in on the game. Whippet was a marque introduced for the 1926 model year. It didn’t last long – it was gone after 1930 – but it did have an impact: boosting Willys into third place in the U.S.

The Model 96 was the smaller option in the Whippet line and was produced in every model year. It is powered by a 30 horsepower 2.2-liter straight-four. This car looks great. It was formerly part of the AACA Museum and has been used in Boardwalk Empire – which is something we’ve talked about in other posts. Interesting. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $23,100.


1929 Roosevelt Eight Sedan by Hayes

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 8-9, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Roosevelt is a very rare American automobile make. It was built by Marmon and introduced in 1929 – great timing. It was a smaller version of the larger Marmons and was the first American car with a straight-eight engine to be offered for sale for less than $1,000. The engine is actually a 3.3-liter straight-eight, making 77 horsepower.

The Eight (Roosevelt’s only model) was offered in four body styles with the Sedan being the cheapest and least fanciful. Named for Teddy Roosevelt, this rare survivor would be an awesome addition to a collection. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $10,450.


1924 Oldsmobile Model 30-B Turtle Deck Speedster by Schutte

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 8-9, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

The 1924 Oldsmobile line consisted of a single model offered in a range of factory body styles and apparently coachbuilt ones as well. The engine is a 2.8-liter straight-six making 42 horsepower.

The story here is this awesome bod. The aluminium radiator looks like it was milled out of a solid block of metal. The solid metal wheels are amazing. The car only has a single door – on the passenger side of the car. It is full of special one-off features with an unusual body style from a smaller coachbuilder. It is thought that less than 10 Schutte-bodied cars exist and we’ve now featured two of them. Check out more on RM’s site.

Update: Sold $71,500.


1923 Wills Sainte Claire B-68 Gray Goose Special

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 8-9, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Like Roosevelt, Wills Sainte Claire was another short-lived American automobile manufacturer of respectable quality. This car, which is all-original, is a 68-series car. The variations of the Model 68 were built from 1922 through 1926. 1927 was the only year it wasn’t built.

It was Wills Sainte Claire’s largest model, using a 4.4-liter V-8 making 67 horsepower. In 1924, the Model 68 was offered in a bunch of body styles with the most interesting being the Gray Goose Special seen here (which is essentially a four-door touring car). This one has known ownership history from new and has only been owned by two different families in that time. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $57,200.


1920 Rauch & Lang Electric Model C-45 Dual Drive Coach

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 8-9, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Rauch & Lang traces its history back to Jacob Rauch, a blacksmith in Cleveland who opened his shop in 1853. Charles Lang was a real estate man from nearby and moved the company toward wagon building. In 1905, they turned to electric cars and became one of America’s premier electric car builders in the early days of automobiles.

They built cars through 1928 and this 1920 Model C-45 is how most of them looked. The company moved from Cleveland to Massachusetts in 1920 (after having merged with Baker Electric in 1917) and this car was the final example produced in Cleveland. It uses a three horsepower electric motor. This car can be driven from the left hand seat either in the front or rear, which is pretty interesting. Try that in your Buick. Click here to see more about this car.

Update: Sold $66,000.

Roosevelt Sedan

1929 Roosevelt Eight Sedan by Hayes

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 8-9, 2015

Photo - RM Sotheby's
Photo – RM Sotheby’s

Roosevelt is a very rare American automobile make. It was built by Marmon and introduced in 1929 – great timing. It was a smaller version of the larger Marmons and was the first American car with a straight-eight engine to be offered for sale for less than $1,000. The engine is actually a 3.3-liter straight-eight, making 77 horsepower.

The Eight (Roosevelt’s only model) was offered in four body styles with the Sedan being the cheapest and least fanciful. Named for Teddy Roosevelt, this rare survivor would be an awesome addition to a collection. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $10,450.

Rickenbacker Super Sport

1926 Rickenbacker Eight Super Sport

Offered by RM Auctions | Monterey, California | August 15-16, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

I’m not sure who the modern-day Eddie Rickenbacker is. We really don’t have one – there are not jack-of-all-trades celebrities any more, in fact, most celebrities don’t have a single talent about them. Eddie raced Duesenbergs at Indy (hell, at one point, he owned the speedway!). He was America’s #1 flying ace in WWI. He was a celebrity when the war was over. And in 1922, he attached his name to an automobile built by the men behind E-M-F.

The first Rickenbacker automobiles weren’t anything super exciting (although they were among the first cars with four-wheel brakes). The company lasted from 1922-1927, and in 1926, they introduced the best thing they ever made: the Super Sport. It uses a 107 horsepower 4.4-liter straight-eight. The bodies were essentially the passenger compartment of an airplane (seriously, go to RM’s site and check out the pictures – what a design).

This particular Super Sport was shown on the stand at the 1926 New York Auto Show. Someone in Michigan bought it off the stand. The copper wire wheels, bumpers and trim are outstanding – as is the flying airplane hood ornament. This car is a stunner. The original owner willed the car to his grandson, who sold it to Bill Harrah after one of Harrah’s guys tracked this, the only surviving Super Sport, down.

Only 14-17 Super Sports were ever completed – and this is the one complete one in the world. It really is incredible. It should sell for between $600,000-$800,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM.

Update: Sold $946,000.

1947 Standard Eight

1947 Standard Eight Convertible

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Palm Beach, Florida | April 6, 2012

The Standard Flying Eight began production in 1938 and crept along until 1941 when the Standard Motor Company focused on building de Havilland Mosquitoes for the RAF. Production of the Eight restarted in 1945 without the “Flying” part of the name.

Just about everything carried over from the pre-war model, including the 28 horsepower 1.0 liter straight-four. The only new feature was the four-speed gearbox, up one gear from the pre-war model. The car was phased out in 1948 to make way for its replacement – the Triumph Mayflower. In total, 53,099 Eights were built between 1945 and 1948, including two-door, convertible and estate body styles.

The model on offer here shows quite nice and, for whatever reason, has the pre-war three-speed transmission. Cute sells, but the Standard name is not well-known in America, however, this would be a fun car to pick up for less than $20,000. For the complete catalog description, click here. And to see the other cars Barrett-Jackson has for sale in Palm Beach, click here.

Update: Sold $10,450.