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Detroit Motor Wagon

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

The Pre-GMC

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1910 Reliance Model G3 2.5-Ton Stake Truck

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

Photo – Mecum

The Reliance Motor Car Company was founded in Owosso, Michigan, in 1906. The company relocated its headquarters to Detroit in 1908. Why? Well, because it was scooped up by Billy Druant and merged into General Motors. Three years later, GM formed the General Motors Truck Company, and in 1911 Reliance (and Rapid, which they also owned) were phased out in favor the GMC brand.

So this truck was built the year before GM axed the marque. The original engine would’ve been a 5.1-liter inline-three that made 45 horsepower. Now it has an International-sourced 2.2-liter industrial inline-four.

The catalog description notes that the truck was formerly used in parades until the wood-spoke wheel starting cracking. So I guess if you want to drive it you’re gonna have to fix that… At any rate, Reliance trucks are not very common, and this one is proof that being a truck driver around 1910 was not a glamorous affair. You can read more about this one here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $22,000.

Pierce-Arrow Truck w/ Trailer

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1918 Pierce-Arrow Model X-4 2-Ton Lumber Truck

Offered by Mecum | East Moline, Illinois | March 25-26, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Pierce-Arrow is known for its luxury cars, but from 1910 through the early 1930s they also produced light and slightly heavier-duty trucks. We’ve featured one of their WWI-era trucks, but this is a civilian model.

Or at least an industry model. It was originally used by a sawmill to haul lumber. But that didn’t mean the truck wasn’t about as nice as it could be. Technical details on this truck are lacking, but it’s probably powered by an inline-four engine.

One of the most interesting parts of this truck is the flatbed trailer that actually can be stacked on the flatbed of the truck when not in use. It’s restored to match. If you think antique commercial vehicles are hard to come by, try finding a period-correct trailer. This one is coming out of a museum, and you can read more about it here. See more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $93,500.

Duesenberg J-142

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Coupe by Murphy

Offered by Mecum | Glendale, California | March 16-19, 2022

Photo – Mecum

Great colors! In the sea of Model Js that have been featured on this site, sometimes it’s something as simple as a great paint job that will set one of them apart. It also doesn’t hurt that this car wears sporty convertible coupe coachwork by Murphy, the most prolific of Model J body constructors. In all, 60 were fitted with this style by Murphy.

The 6.9-liter Lycoming inline-eight developed 265 horsepower when new. No word if this engine is original to this chassis, but honestly who cares. The car is ACD Club certified, and its first owner is known.

This car previously resided in the Blackhawk Collection and the Imperial Palace Collection. It’s also an AACA and CCCA award winner. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $2,365,000.