Tag Archives: truck

1917 Garner Van

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1917 Garner Model 15 Van

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Henry Garner was a British car dealer who, upon the outbreak of WWI, looked to American chassis manufacturer (and former steam car manufacturer) Gramm of Chillicothe, Ohio. Garner imported their chassis and sold them under his own name.

Engines ranged in power and design, but it wasn’t until 1925 that Garner actually designed his own vehicle. The interior and mechanicals seem largely original, although the paint is newer and nice. The pre-sale estimate is $42,000-$47,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $39,012.

Pierce-Arrow Truck

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1917 Pierce-Arrow R-8 Open Back

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Here is a relatively simple truck from one of the most prestigious manufacturers America has ever produced. Pierce-Arrow introduced trucks into their model range in 1911, more or less trying to keep pace with Peerless.

The R-Series of trucks was Pierce-Arrow’s contribution to the war effort for both America and some European countries: the company built over 14,000 trucks for the British and French governments alone. The engine is a 7.4-liter straight-four making 38 horsepower. It should sell for between $34,000-$42,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $46,815.

Wolseley CR-Type

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1913 Wolseley CR-Type

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Wolseley was part of Vickers in 1913 and the mechanicals of this truck carry the Vickers name. The CR-Type was introduced in 1913 and competed directly against the Leyland “Subsidy B” truck we featured above.

It uses an 8.5-liter straight-four making 35 horsepower. This is believed to be the only surviving Wolseley commercial chassis, which makes it kind of a big deal. It has been “authentically” restored and presents a great opportunity for a new owner, who will have to pay between $47,000-$67,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $39,012.

Awesome Classic Commercial Vehicles

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The Michael Banfield Collection

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014

 1915 Peerless TC4 4-Ton Open Back

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

This sale from Bonhams includes quite a number of really awesome commercial vehicles. I don’t have enough time to feature them individually, but because they’re so cool (and you so rarely see them at auction), I thought I’d do two posts that cover the coolest among them (which is pretty much all of them).

This truck is from one of America’s premier luxury car manufacturers. They started building trucks in 1911 and the U.S. Army loved them. The British government bought 12,000 of them between 1915 and 1918, during the First World War. This thing uses a 6.8-liter four-cylinder and was in service with the British government until 1956. It’s beautiful. And it should sell for between $34,000-$42,000. Click here for more.

Update: Sold $72,173.

1922 Tilling-Stevens TS3A Open Top Double Deck Bus

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

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Garford Truck

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1919 Garford Model 25 Open Back

Offered by Bonhams | Staplehurst, U.K. | June 14, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

White tires on a commercial truck!? Are you crazy? I love it. Garford was an American truck company based in Elyria, Ohio (near Cleveland), that began production in 1909. In 1925, the company changed their name.

This was a truck that Garford sent to Europe during the War. It uses a 3.4-liter straight-four. The Model 25 was new for 1919 and this one is a driver. It should sell for between $37,000-$51,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $41,913.

Reo Express

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1911 Reo Express Delivery

Offered by Bonhams | Greenwich, Connecticut | June 1, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Reo (or REO, depending on who you ask. Both are correct) was Ransom Eli Olds second automobile company after, you know, Oldsmobile. Reo was founded in 1905 and car production start with light cars that gave way to some pretty snazzy stuff along the lines of Oldsmobile. In 1910 the company added a line of trucks. This truck business would keep the Reo name (on trucks) on the road through 1975.

The 1908 Reo Single-Cylinder ‘Model B’ was a successful road car and became the basis for the company’s early trucks – including this one. The engine makes eight horsepower and has a two-speed transmission. It is believed that this truck – like many like it – was built for the railroads to move luggage and cargo around a station platform.

This truck is listed as a “survivor” although it looks amazing. A lot of work has been done to it – although it’s never been restored. It’s a great driver and easy to use. It would be a lot of fun for between $25,000-$35,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Connecticut.

Update: Sold $22,000.

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.

Early Four-Wheel-Drive Truck

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1918 FWD Model B 3-Ton Truck

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 22, 2014

FWD Model B 3-Ton Truck

In 1908, Otto Zachow and William Besserdich built a four-wheel drive car they called the “Battleship.” This led to the more-or-less immediate founding of their Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company. In 1909 they began producing cars under the FWD (for “Four-Wheel Drive”) marque. They dropped “Badger” from the company name in 1910.

The military loved four-wheel drive trucks so the company, sensing a huge opportunity (and perhaps an oncoming war) switched to just truck manufacture. They introduced two prototypes as war started raging in Europe. The U.S. didn’t place any orders, so FWD demo’d the truck for the U.K. where they did get an order. By 1916 the U.S. had come around and placed huge orders for a company that, up to this point, had only built about two dozen vehicles.

The Model B was one of the workhorses of the Allied powers during WWI. Production was about 3,000 for the U.K., 82 for Russia, and 14,473 for the U.S. They are powered by a 36 horsepower, straight-four engine. On the correct solid rubber tires on which this example rides, the truck could reach speeds of 16 mph.

After the war, many of these trucks were sold as surplus and entered service doing just about everything else in the civilian realm. That’s how awesome examples like this managed to survive. You can read more here and check out more from Mecum here.

Update: Sold $23,000.

Schmidt Truck

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1910 Schmidt Model C Prototype

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

1910 Schmidt Model C

This rare, all-original truck is being offered for sale from the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum. It has been on display for at least 10 years and was originally painted red and yellow – most of the yellow is still visible, but the original red paint is almost gone.

This is a preservationist’s dream. Everything is untouched and original (albeit, it doesn’t currently run and will need a slight mechanical freshening). This truck was the factory demonstrator for the Schmidt brothers, whose commercial trucks went on sale in 1911. The company closed just two years later in 1913. The truck was shown at shows and was never road-registered, has no serial number, and has only a small number of miles.

The engine, which is not working, is a two-cycle – and I can’t really see more of it to describe it further. It is estimated that Schmidt built less than 100 total vehicles and this was among the first. It should sell for between $20,000-$25,000. Click here for more info and here for more from RM in Hershey.

Update: Sold $18,700.

An Unrestored WWI Truck

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1916 Nash Quad

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | June 10, 2013

1916 Nash Quad

Okay, yes, I know. This thing is in rough shape. But let’s step back from condition issues and think about something: when was the last time you saw a World War One vehicle? What about one for sale? What about one for sale in original condition? Wartime vehicles generally don’t even survive the war, yet alone the one hundred years that follow.

World War Two trucks can be found with relative ease. But there’s something so inaccessible about the “War to End All Wars.” Maybe because so many vehicles from that era were scrapped to build things to fight the Nazis. Maybe it’s because no one from that era is still alive (but were as of recently). This truck just blows my mind.

The Quad was designed by Thomas B. Jeffrey and was built as the Jeffrey Quad beginning in 1913. The thing is amazing for the time: it has a 5.2-liter straight-four engine making 29 horsepower and driving all four wheels with solid tires. Top speed is about 15 mph. It also has four-wheel brakes (an absolute rarity in 1913) and four-wheel steering. Four-wheel drive vehicles existed prior to this, but none were this solid or well built. They started out as delivery trucks popular (especially in rural areas) in the U.S. In 1914, war broke out and production picked up (thousands – 11,000+ – were built in total, exact figures unknown). In 1916, Nash Motors acquired Jeffrey and continued production of the Quad as the Nash Quad. So this thing is from the first year of Nash production.

This was undoubtedly a wartime truck. Other Quads exist – some in pristine, restored condition. But you won’t find one “straight out of the war,” so to speak. The engine turns over but it doesn’t run and it could be restored. It’s one of only three in France (if that means anything to you). It was discovered as-is in the 1980s – but think of the life it lived – the people it may have carried into battle – and now none of them are still alive today. It’s a piece of history from another time and so, so cool. It should sell for between $10,000-$20,000. Click here for more info and photos and here for more from Artcurial.

Update: Sold $21,456