Tag Archives: pickup

Buddy Stewart Pickup

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1935 Stewart Model 40H Buddy Pickup

Offered by Mecum | Houston, Texas | April 9-11, 2015

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

The Stewart Motor Corporation of Buffalo, New York, began building commercial vehicles in 1912. For 1915 and 1916 only, they offered a passenger car, before returning to what they did best. In 1926 they introduced the “Buddy” – a light truck with road-going performance.

What you see here is just such a model, which was likely produced up through 1937 (Stewart folded in 1940). It’s powered by a 2.7-liter straight-four. Today, this wouldn’t be considered a commercial vehicle, but an everyday pickup truck.

And that’s why this is so interesting. This is a relatively late example (most car companies that the Depression was going to kill were already dead by this point and the only survivors are the ones that are household names today). So here’s a light pickup that would’ve competed against Ford and Chevrolet from a company you’ve probably never heard of. Check out more here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $37,500.

Update II: Sold, Auctions America, Auburn Fall 2015, $20,350.

DKW Schnellaster Pickup

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1955 DKW Schnellaster Type 3 Tieflader

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 16-17, 2015

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

The DKW Schnellaster was produced by Auto Union after WWII. It was one of Germany’s first new automotive designs since the war ended. Introduced in 1949, the Schnellaster (or “Rapid Transporter”) is typically seen in van form but there were other variants available: such as this Tieflader pickup.

It is front wheel drive and uses an 896cc straight-three two-stroke engine making 36 horsepower. It was kind of the first minivan… but really mini. This is the Type 3 (or 3=6) model that was the final in the Schnellaster line. It was new for 1955 and would be built through 1962.

This particular example is the nicest one in the world. Really – it is the only known restored Tieflader in the world and the only Tieflader in the United States in any condition. The restoration is fresh and it should bring between $90,000-$120,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Co. in Scottsdale.

Update: Sold $132,000.

Studebaker J5 Pickup

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1937 Studebaker J5 Express Coupe Pickup

Offered by Mecum | Austin, Texas | December 12-13, 2014

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Michael Kisber of Memphis, Tennessee, had a great collection of classic American pickups. This 1937 Studebaker J5 is one very pretty truck. The J5 was new for 1937 and it was a new take on the pickup truck: instead of  pure utility, they added some luxury and style.

The engine is a 3.6-liter straight-six making 85 horsepower. The Coupe Express was available through 1939. About 3,000 of the approximately 5,000 examples built were constructed in 1937. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $72,000.

Willys Pickup

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1939 Willys Series 38 Pickup

Offered by Mecum | Austin, Texas | December 12-13, 2014

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

John North Willys started building cars in 1908 and the Willys name has had a long and interesting history. It helped win WWII for the Allied powers and later became part of Kaiser. It lives on today as the Jeep brand.

The engine here is a 2.2-liter four-cylinder making 61 horsepower. You really don’t see examples of this truck around anywhere. Ever. You rarely even see Willys models from the 30s at all. It’s definitely cool. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $40,000.

Terraplane Pickup

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1937 Terraplane Series 70 Pickup

Offered by Mecum | Austin, Texas | December 12-13, 2014

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Terraplane was both a model built by Hudson and an entire sub-brand, depending on the year. In ’37 they were technically just Terraplanes, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see them badged as Hudsons as well.

Here’s how the Terraplane branding went down:

1932 through 1933: Essex-Terraplane
1934 through 1937: Terraplane
1938: Hudson-Terraplane

Now you know.

The engine in this one is a 3.5-liter straight-six making 96 horsepower. I’ve seen some of these trucks in person before and they are sharp. I’ve always been a Hudson fan and their sub-brand ranges were just as interesting as the cars they called their own. You can see more here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $45,000.

Three Pre-War American Pickups

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Kisber Vintage Truck Collection

Offered by Mecum | Austin, Texas | December 12-13, 2014

 1937 Studebaker J5 Express Coupe Pickup

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Michael Kisber of Memphis, Tennessee, had a great collection of classic American pickups. This 1937 Studebaker J5 is one very pretty truck. The J5 was new for 1937 and it was a new take on the pickup truck: instead of  pure utility, they added some luxury and style.

The engine is a 3.6-liter straight-six making 85 horsepower. The Coupe Express was available through 1939. About 3,000 of the approximately 5,000 examples built were constructed in 1937. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $72,000.

1939 Willys Series 38 Pickup

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

John North Willys started building cars in 1908 and the Willys name has had a long and interesting history. It helped win WWII for the Allied powers and later became part of Kaiser. It lives on today as the Jeep brand.

The engine here is a 2.2-liter four-cylinder making 61 horsepower. You really don’t see examples of this truck around anywhere. Ever. You rarely even see Willys models from the 30s at all. It’s definitely cool. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $40,000.

1937 Terraplane Series 70 Pickup

Photo - Mecum

Photo – Mecum

Terraplane was both a model built by Hudson and an entire sub-brand, depending on the year. In ’37 they were technically just Terraplanes, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see them badged as Hudsons as well.

Here’s how the Terraplane branding went down:

1932 through 1933: Essex-Terraplane
1934 through 1937: Terraplane
1938: Hudson-Terraplane

Now you know.

The engine in this one is a 3.5-liter straight-six making 96 horsepower. I’ve seen some of these trucks in person before and they are sharp. I’ve always been a Hudson fan and their sub-brand ranges were just as interesting as the cars they called their own. You can see more here and see more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $45,000.

Three Ford Concept Cars

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Ford Motor Company Concept Cars

Offered by RM Auctions | Farmer’s Branch, Texas | November 15, 2014

 2005 Ford Sport Trac Adrenalin Concept

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Ford Explorer Sport Trac was a four-door pickup based on the Ford Explorer that was introduced for the 2001 model year. This running, driving concept car was introduced at the 2005 New York Auto Show. It is powered by a 300 horsepower, 4.6-liter V-8. That’s the same engine from the SVT Cobra of that year (SVT did this truck, too).

This sport truck was never produced as you see here, but this one-off concept went into this private collection in 2010. It can be yours for between $50,000-$80,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $173,250.

2005 Lincoln MKS Concept

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

For some reason, this car is called a “2005” when it was actually introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. This car was the vision for Lincoln of the future. It carried on from the earlier Lincoln Zephyr Concept from two years prior, but this car was much closer to the production MKS that went on sale for the 2009 model year.

This car does run and drive and is powered by a 315 horsepower 4.4-liter V-8. Production cars only have V-6s. You can have this design study for between $30,000-$50,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $27,500.

2000 Ford Focus Wagon Kona Concept

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Ford Focus went on sale in North America for the 1999 model year (1998 in Europe). To appeal to the active lifestyle types, Ford partnered with Kona U.S.A., manufacturer of mountain bikes, to produce Kona Editions Focuses in 2000. Focuses? Focii?

The engine is a 2.0-liter straight-four making 130 horsepower. Production cars had bike racks on the roof. This was the pre-production prototype used to introduce the limited-edition model. It was first shown at the 2000 Los Angeles Auto Show. Only 5,000 production versions were made. This one should cost between $10,000-$20,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $8,250.

IHC Delivery Car

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1912 International M-W Delivery Car

Offered by RM Auctions | Hershey, Pennsylvania | October 10-11, 2013

1912 International M-W Delivery Car

I saw one of these wagon/pickup-ish delivery cars at the National Automobile Museum (Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada, and fell in love with them. International Harvester, the famed tractor and truck manufacturer that is still in business, built road cars in the early days of the automobile through 1980.

The early cars, like this, were high-wheelers for rural customers. This one is well-outfitted with Beverly Hillbillies-style goodies. The engine is a 20 horsepower 2.6-liter flat twin. It’s been a museum piece for some time. It runs and has been used in a lot of parades (is there a car more perfect for parades?).

This thing is almost entirely original too, which is incredible. Cars rarely come cooler than this, seriously, and to be original is icing on the cake. I very much want it but don’t have the extra $30,000-$40,000 lying around that it would require to purchase it. You can read more and check out some more photos here. And see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $44,000.

A Studebaker Truck That Couldn’t Save The Company

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1961 Studebaker Champ

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Reno, Nevada | August, 8, 2013

1961 Studebaker Champ

By the mid-1950s, Studebaker’s outlook was dim. Ford and GM were pulling away fast and labor costs and quality issues were dragging Studebaker toward the grave. They merged with Packard (technically, Packard acquired Studebaker) but all that did was kill Packard off.

Cash-strapped but pushing forward, Studebaker invested what it could into redesigning their light truck line (which had gone unchanged for more than 10 years). Working within limits, they took their compact car, the Lark, cut it in half and designed a truck bed behind the passenger compartment and mounted it on a truck chassis. You can tell that’s what happened, because the truck bed doesn’t really flow into the body at all. Regardless, it’s not a bad truck.

A 2.8-liter straight-six was the base engine. It made 90 horsepower. Even though this particular truck is a “Champ Deluxe”, it carries the base engine. It’s described as a “rust-fee Arizona truck” (rust-free and post-war Studebakers being a rare combo) but it has to have been restored. The Champ was the first truck with a sliding rear window – but this novel new idea would not save Studebaker. In December of 1963, their South Bend, Indiana plant was closed and the Champ was no more. Studebaker soldiered on until the end of 1966, but it was all over after that. This is a $15,000-$30,000 truck. Click here for more and here for the rest of the inaugural lineup of Barrett-Jackson’s Reno sale.

Update: Sold $30,800.

American Austin Pickup

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1933 American Austin Pickup

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 2, 2013

1933 American Austin Pickup

Maybe I’m slow, but it wasn’t until I really looked at this little pickup that it dawned on me that American Austins really were just Austin Sevens (don’t judge me). Most of the convertibles that you see have two-tone “Sweep Panel” faux-Duesenberg paint job. It makes them look way fancier than the “British Model T” that the Austin Seven really is.

Anyway, this pickup is probably my favorite American Austin/Bantam that I’ve ever seen. Part of that is the weathered paint (okay, a lot of it is the weathered paint) – but there’s just something about the proportions of this truck that really appeals to me. The pickup variant was made in very small numbers and only a few survive today. It uses the same 747cc straight-four that all American Austins were blessed with. It made almost 14 horsepower. It is being sold “as is, no reserve” with an estimate between $15,000-$20,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $9,350.