Tag Archives: hyman ltd

American Underslung Scout

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1913 American Underslung Model 22-B Scout

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

Photo - Hyman Ltd.

Photo – Hyman Ltd.

The American Motor Car Company of Indianapolis, Indiana built some of the coolest pre-WWI cars in America. The Underslung model line – which was new for 1909 – featured a, well, low-slung chassis that make the cars look incredible sporty.

The Scout was the two-passenger roadster. Larger cars were also offered. The Model 22 was offered for 1912 and 1913 only and 1914 was the final model year for the American Underslung. It uses a 4.1-liter straight-four making about 25 horsepower.

This car was restored in the 1980s and has been used heavily since. The listing on Hyman Ltd’s website says it better than I can, so read more about it there. In summary, it says that this car has more character than just about anything else you could drive – and they’re right. It’s an amazing old car that can be used and driven. You could have a lot of fun in this car. It is priced right too, for what it is (in the $100,000 range). Check out more cars for sale by them here.

Here’s video of a similar car:

ERF D16

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1942 ERF D16

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

1942 ERF D16

I love that somebody took the time to restore this beautiful wartime truck. Most of these things were run into the ground and then parted out or left to rust. Instead, this example survived and was given a lot of love and care to make it truly fantastic.

Edwin Richard Foden designed an early steam truck in 1913 for his father’s company which had borne their family name since 1887 (the trucks (or “steam wagons”) are really cool looking and some still survive). Foden would continue building trucks through 2006. But Edwin, and his son Dennis, left the company in 1933 because they wanted to build diesel, not steam, powered trucks.

So Dennis founded E.R.F. (his father’s initials) in 1933 – an impressive feat given the economic depression that enveloped the world. The company would last through 2007 when corporate parent MAN AG shuttered the brand.

The model you see here was built during the war, making it even rarer – and even cooler as very few civilian (even though this is commercial) vehicles were constructed during that time. The engine is a 7.7-liter diesel straight-four that literally sits in the cabin between the two seats (albeit with a cover over it).

I’ve gotten the impression in the past that this dealership doesn’t like me posting their prices, so I’ll say the price is between $40,000 and $45,000. You can see more awesome pictures and more from Hyman Ltd. here.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Elkhart Collection, $20,160.

Kelsey Motorette

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1911 Kelsey Motorette

For sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

1911 Kelsey Motorette

Carl Kelsey started selling cars off-and-on while in college in the early 1900s. Between 1910 and 1912 he built this, the Motorette. After spending a few years as a salesman for Maxwell, he started up the company again in 1920 and sold more traditional (read: four-wheeled) cars until 1924.

The car uses a mid-mounted flat-twin making 10 horsepower. The convertible top folds down, which gives this car a very strange appearance from behind. In all, about 200 Motorettes were built. This one has a meticulous restoration and is likely in nicer shape than when it was new.

I’ve posted prices for cars from this dealership before and got yelled at (by them). So I won’t tell you what they’re asking, but I will say it is right between $70,000-$80,000. In any event, I think you should buy it because it is very cool and looks like it would be a lot of fun to putter around in. You can find more here.

Ford Model R

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1907 Ford Model R

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

1907 Ford Model R

Boy am I a sucker for white tires. They are so cool. Anyway, last week we featured a Ford Model S, and when I saw that this was for sale at the same place, I figured I ought to feature it as well, just to round out the entire Ford Model N range, which included Models N, R and S.

The Model N came in 1906 and the R followed in 1907 – being in production only from April through October of that year – so it’s very rare. The difference between the two cars is little. Both used a 15 horsepower 2.4-liter straight-four. The Model R was basically just a trim package: the body was a little bigger, it had fuller fenders, running boards and an oil lamp. The price was $750, as opposed to $600 for the N. Originally, all were red, but this one has been repainted in a pleasing combination of green and cream when it was restored.

Only 2,500 Model Rs were built in the one year they were in production (and it wasn’t even a full year at that). It’s a rare example of the pre-Model T affordable Ford (see what I did there?). It can be yours for $64,500. Check out more here.

Ford Model S

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1907 Ford Model S

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

The Ford Model S was a variant of the Ford Model N, which was introduced in 1906. The Model S went on sale in 1907, alongside the Model R and they lasted through 1908. It was an important car for Ford, as it was the lead-in to the Model T.

Like the Model T after it, it was rugged, simple and not very luxurious. In 1907, automobiles were purchased by the affluent – not the “everyman.” But it wasn’t cheap. The Model S retailed for $700, while the Model T, once economies of scale and mass production came into play, would hit a price point as low as $260.

The Model S used the same 2.4-liter straight-four making 15 horsepower as the Model N, though the bodywork was more modern and it featured full running boards and a third seat behind the front bench. It was also Ford’s final right-hand drive model. Only 3,750 were built and this one can be yours for $59,500. You can find out more here.

Stately Soviet Sedan

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1978 GAZ Chaika M13

For sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

Russian cars are so weird. But in a really interesting way. The “marque” is usually associated with a particular factory, in this case it is GAZ – which roughly translates to “Gorky Automobile Plant.” It is located in Nizhny Novgorod, which, coincidentally, will be the name of my first-born child.

The Chaika (which kind of translates to “seagull”) was a car used by Soviet government officials – but not the really important ones (they got ZIL limousines). This was for your run-of-the-mill bureaucrats and field officers. You might be thinking “How is this a 1978? It looks like something from the mid-1950s.” Well you’d be right. After WWII, the U.S. government prodded Packard into licensing (or selling) their old body dies to the Soviet Union, presumably to appease them into not nuking us.

Well Packard did just that but Packard also went out of business in the 1950s. So the Chaika (Mark I or “M13”), which was produced from 1959 through 1981 was almost a direct copy of the 1955-1956 Packard Patrician, at least from the outside. The engine was a 195 horsepower 5.5-liter V8. It also used Russia’s first three-speed push-button automatic transmission (which was essentially copied from Chrysler). In 1977, the Chaika M14 was introduced and it was more of an original (and contemporary) design, at least for the time.

Chaikas are really rare – anywhere in the world, especially in the U.S. They were not mass produced by American standards – or anybody’s standards, really. And their limited market ensured not many would be built. It’s really interesting and a piece of Cold War history. This one is in really good shape and can be yours for $69,500. For more information, click here.

Vespa 400

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1960 Vespa 400

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

Vespa is the world famous scooter manufacturer that produces the classic design that has been popular among so many different groups of people since it went on sale in the late 1940s. They have been featured in many films over the years, but perhaps most famously in Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. Sales took off after that and when I think “Vespa” I think someone roaring around the streets on a scooter outside the Colosseum in Rome.

Vespa is owned (and has been since its inception) by Piaggio, the Italian motorcycle conglomerate. In the late 1950s, Piaggio designed a small car and licensed the design to ACMA in France, who built the car as the Vespa 400. ACMA was independent of Piaggio, yet they were still badged as Vespas, which was a Piaggio trademark. While Vespa scooters are Italian, this Vespa car is French. Weird. In any case, ACMA put the car into production in 1957 but they closed up in 1962, a year after Vespa 400 production wrapped.

About 34,000 of these cars were built and this is as nice of one as you’re likely to find. It’s tiny but two people can fit inside. It has a folding fabric top and is powered by a 393cc straight-twin making 20 horsepower. It’s a two-stroke engine mounted in the rear, driving the rear wheels. See that weird looking thing on the front where the grille would normally be? That’s a sliding tray containing the battery.

This is a U.S. market car (it has a 3-speed transmission, other markets got 4-speeds). It will do 50 mph and can be yours for $31,500. For more information, click here.

Update: Sold, Mecum, Kansas City, December 2012, $22,500.

Kissel Gold Bug

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1920 Kissel 6-45 Gold Bug Speedster

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

Tracing the evolution of sports cars is fairly easy until you get back to about 1945. Cars of the Post-War sports car craze are easy to distinguish from more mundane automobiles. Trying to trace it back before the war gets a little trickier. Sure, there were race cars and specials and cars you could drive to Le Mans, race, and drive home. But as far as the earlier cars go, you’re looking at Genesis (or one of a few that qualify for that title).

The Mercer Raceabout and the Stutz Bearcat are two of America’s first sports cars. The Kissel 6-45 Speedster, nicknamed “Gold Bug” (due to it’s signature color) is the third. The Kissel Motor Car Company was founded by Louis Kissel in Hartford, Wisconsin in 1906. They built high-quality cars, trucks, and emergency vehicles. After WWI ended, they saw a market niche they could fill for the exciting decade to come. So in 1919 they introduced the Gold Bug Speedster and it was far and away their most popular model.

The low-slung two seater – with two additional seats that extend out of the body over the running boards for the crazy and/or brave – is powered by a 61 horsepower six-cylinder engine. Performance is sporty – thus it being known as an early sports car. Kissel closed shop in 1930 after producing some 35,000 vehicles. Only about 150 are known to exist today. This one can be yours for $159,500. For more information and photos, click here.

Here are some videos of a similar car:


Walker Electric Delivery Van

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1909 Walker Model 15 Van

For Sale at Hyman Ltd | St. Louis, Missouri

Talk about aerodynamics having come a long way. You can tell this electric delivery van was designed for utility and not comfort because of the solid state tires and big square, featureless body. The entry door is located in a very Isetta-like front-of-the-vehicle position (there’s one at the rear too). How cool.

The Walker Vehicle Company of Chicago, Illinois began producing electric trucks such as this in 1907. They were convenient because they were quiet, easy to operate, and didn’t smoke up the already crowded and polluted streets of cities like New York, where this van was in the service of Hearn’s Department Store.

The van has a 3/4-ton load capacity and with a full set of charged batteries, it can hit speeds up to 15 mph with a range nearing 40 miles from the 3.5 horsepower rear-mounted motor. I’m sure 15 mph in this thing is plenty fast. The interior is immaculate for a 100+ year-old commercial vehicle with varnished wood and a fresh seat. As rare as early commercial vehicles are, early electric commercial vehicles are even rarer. And, strangely, there is at least one other 1909 Walker electric out there.

This one will set you back a hefty $99,500. For more information, click here.

1917 Abbott-Detroit

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1917 Abbott-Detroit 6-44 Four-Passenger Roadster

For Sale at Hyman Ltd. | St. Louis, Missouri

The Abbott-Detroit Motor Car Company was founded in Detroit in 1909. Cars could be had with either four or six-cylinder Continental engines. This car uses a 3.7-liter straight-six making an estimated 44 horsepower. The body looks like a two-door, two-passenger roadster, but there are actually two seats directly behind the driver – a layout common in modern coupes, but not something you see too often in cars from the 1910s. Also, this car is listed as “bigger than it looks in the pictures,” which sounds about right when you see some of the detail shots.

Abbott-Detroit relocated to Cleveland in 1916 and was renamed the Consolidated Car Company. They badged their cars as “Abbott”s, although the 1917 model you see here is badged as an Abbott-Detroit. The company went bankrupt in 1918 and was liquidated the following year.

Abbott-Detroit cars were guaranteed for life, but unfortunately, the company had long since closed before this car was discovered and restored. It comes with a large amount of documentation including documents from the factory such as stock certificates and correspondence, which is pretty cool.. The asking price is $73,500. For more information, click here.

Update: Sold, Mecum Kansas City, 2014 for $35,000.