Duesenberg Model Y

1927 Duesenberg Model Y Phaeton Prototype by McFarlan

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 6-7, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Never heard of the Duesenberg Model Y? Well it’s a very important car – and as we here are Duesenberg fanatics, it is a brilliantly exciting one as well. The Model Y was the prototype for the legendary Model J. Two were produced and only this one survives (the other one was actually sold to Frank Morgan of The Wizard of Oz and subsequently lost to time).

This prototype originally used a 6.8-liter straight-eight engine that reportedly put out about 200 horsepower. This engine was based on the Model A’s 88 horsepower, 4.2-liter straight-eight (which this car is now powered by). This car was given to August Duesenberg and he was told he had to destroy the chassis. So he put the engine in a race car and put the body (which was styled and built by McFarlan, the automobile company that shut down around the time this car was built) on a Model A chassis and sold it to a local businessman.

This amazing car has been in the ownership of the same family since 1957. It was last restored prior to their purchase and has been on display at the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum for a long time. This is the first time it has been offered for sale in six decades. It’s a milestone automobile and the price it brings will be very interesting. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $340,000.

Fuller Touring

1908 Fuller Model A Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Monterey, California | August 19, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

There were a couple of early manufacturers that went by the trade name of Fuller in the United States. The one we are talking about today was built by the Angus Automobile Company of Angus, Nebraska. The company was founded by Charles Fuller and existed between 1908 and 1910.

The Model A (also known as the Four-30) was offered as a Runabout or the Touring car you see here. The engine is a 4.0-liter straight-four making 40 horsepower. Only about 600 Fullers were built in total (they weren’t cheap but they were very well made) – but at least one still survives!

And the story behind this car is pretty incredible. It goes: a young man saw a Fuller in his hometown and set out on a lifelong quest to have one. Except instead of being able to buy one (as two World War scrap drives had destroyed most of them), he had to piece one together, scouring the country for parts over decades. The car was completed in 1967 and is being sold out of the family that constructed it. It will sell at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $11,000.

1914 Saxon

1914 Saxon Model A Roadster

Offered by H&H Classics | Chateau Impney, U.K. | July 10, 2016

Photo - H&H Classics

Photo – H&H Classics

The Saxon was a car that was originally conceived by Hugh Chalmers, who had been successfully producing cars under his own name for some time. The cars went on sale at the tail end of 1913, being built in Detroit (the company would move to Ypsilanti in 1922 as a last-ditch effort to save the company, which failed later that year).

1913 through 1915 Saxon production consisted of a single model, the Model A, and it was offered as a two-passenger Roadster only. Costing $395 when new, the car is powered by a 1.4-liter straight-four making 12 horsepower.

This example is thought to be the second-oldest Saxon in existence and was restored in the late 1970s for Don “Big Daddy” Garlits. This is not the type of car I picture Don Garlits driving around in. Anyway, it’s been in the U.K. since 2011 and was once owned by the grandson of the Saxon Motor Company founder. It should sell for between $15,000-$19,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $14,953.

K-R-I-T Roadster

1912 K-R-I-T Model A Roadster

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 5, 2016

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

If you’ve even ever heard of the K-R-I-T Motor Car Company of Detroit, the one thing you probably know about them is that their emblem was a swastika. Fun fact. Fortunately, K-R-I-T, which was founded in 1909, went out of business in 1916 – well enough in advance of the downfall of the original meaning of the swastika, which means lucky or auspicious.

Krit (as the marque was spelled from 1913 onward) offered four different models of its four-cylinder model in 1912. The Model A was the short wheelbase version and the least expensive. It was the Roadster form and cost $800 new. It’s powered by a 22.5 horsepower 2.9-liter straight-four.

It’s an attractive and sporty early American car from a little-known, short-lived manufacturer. This example was actually used in Boardwalk Empire, which is pretty cool. It should sell for between $20,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $24,200.

1908 International Runabout

1908 International Model A Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams
Photo – Bonhams

International Harvester is best known for their agricultural equipment and tractors. Today, as Navistar International, they build trucks. But when they first got in to road-going vehicles, high-wheelers were their strong suit. Their 1907 vehicles were very basic, but this 1908 is a little more advanced.

The Model A was the only model offered in 1908 – in runabout form only (be it two or four passenger, like this one). This car uses a flat-twin making 14 horsepower. It’s all original, which is amazing because these cars were popular in the most rural of areas. This one should bring between $40,000-$50,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $74,800.

5 American Classics from Bonhams

1923 Dort 25-K Five-Passenger Sport Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Like Moon, Dort was an automobile manufacturer from the 1920s that featured solid rims on a lot of their cars. It was a company that was co-founded by Billy Durant (and Josiah Dort) as the Flint Road Cart Company in the 1880s. Dort started building cars in 1917 (Durant had already jumped ship). Josiah Dort died in 1923 and 1924 was the final year for Dort automobiles.

The 25-K is powered by a 3.2-liter straight-six. It was Dort’s big car and the five-passenger Sport Touring was one of eight body styles offered. This particular car was once owned by William Harrah and JB Nethercutt. It should sell for between $20,000-$30,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $18,700.


1917 Briscoe Model B 4-24 Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Benjamin Briscoe was a big name in the early days of the automotive industry. He was the first major shareholder of Buick. He was half of Maxwell for a time as well. He founded his own car company in 1914 after the failure of the United States Motor Company – an early conglomerate of manufacturers, a sort of precursor to General Motors.

Briscoe built four-cylinder cars through 1921. This 24 horsepower example sports five-passenger touring body style that is simple yet attractive. Briscoes are pretty rare today and for $18,000-$24,000, this is a good chance to acquire a piece of motoring history. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $28,600.


1908 International Model A Runabout

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

International Harvester is best known for their agricultural equipment and tractors. Today, as Navistar International, they build trucks. But when they first got in to road-going vehicles, high-wheelers were their strong suit. Their 1907 vehicles were very basic, but this 1908 is a little more advanced.

The Model A was the only model offered in 1908 – in runabout form only (be it two or four passenger, like this one). This car uses a flat-twin making 14 horsepower. It’s all original, which is amazing because these cars were popular in the most rural of areas. This one should bring between $40,000-$50,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $74,800.


1919 Cleveland Model 40 Two-Passenger Roadster

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

There have been more than a handful of automobile companies that carried the name “Cleveland.” All of them were based in – you guessed it – Cleveland, Ohio. This Cleveland (the longest-running company with that name) built cars that were essentially smaller versions of the Chandler (and Chandler denied any relation). The company popped up in 1919 and lasted through 1926.

The Model 40 was built in 1919 and 1920 and uses a six-cylinder engine making 45 horsepower. That’s a lot, actually, considering that this example exists in two-passenger Roadster form. It’s a hot rod – tiny and powerful. Only 4,836 examples of the Model 40 were built and this one should provide its new owner with some inexpensive fun for between $15,000-$25,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $7,700.


1916 Mecca Thirty Touring

Offered by Bonhams | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | October 5, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Jackpot. We love when cars like this come up for sale. If you’ve been following along, we’ve featured a couple of batches of rare, old American cars from manufacturers that weren’t around for very long. And this one was not around long at all – just two model years. The first year was a stillborn cyclecar. Series production occurred in 1916 only.

This car, with its 3.1-liter straight-four making 23 horsepower, sports a five-passenger touring body style – the largest offered by Mecca. This is thought to be the only surviving Mecca automobile. A rare treat indeed. It should bring between $15,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Sold $13,200.

Duesenberg Model A

1925 Duesenberg Model A Touring by Millspaugh & Irish

Offered by RM Auctions | Plymouth, Michigan | July 26, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

One thing we do here at ClassicCarWeekly.net is feature every Duesenberg Model J that comes up for sale (that we can find). What we have yet to do, however, is give any attention to Duesenberg’s original road car, the 1920-1927 Model A.

The Duesenberg brothers built race cars for the Indianapolis 500 prior to building road cars (they also manufactured aero and marine engines during WWI). So in 1921, they began selling a four-passenger car called the Model A. It was powered by an 88 horsepower 4.3-liter straight-eight engine and had all of the luxuries of the day. They were also fun to drive for what they were (and for when they were built).

Duesenberg wanted to build 100 of them a month, but they ended up only building 150 in the first year. By the time production ended after 1927, only about 500 were built. This one wears a body by popular Model A coachbuilder Millspaugh & Irish (who were sort of the “in-house” coachbuilder for the Model A). The restoration on this car was done around 2004 and it should sell for between $175,000-$225,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of RM’s Michigan lineup.

Update: Sold $264,000.