History We ALL Love a DARE! PIX of TRULY Extinct Makes?

Fact of Fiction?

Directory:Tesla's Pierce-Arrow

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Of all the legends about Nikola Tesla, one of the most intriguing is about a Pierce-Arrow electric autombile that he ran on a little black box, extracting energy freely somehow from the wheelwork of nature, requiring no petrol. Eventaully, it would be nice if we could replicate the accomplishment.
The following is an extract from EVWorld:
<DL><DD>"In the summer of 1931, Nikola Tesla along with his nephew Peter Savo, installed a box on the front seat of a brand new Pierce-Arrow touring car at the company factory in Buffalo, New York. The box is said to have been 24 inches long, 12 inches wide and 6 inches high. Out of it protruded a 1.8 meter long antenna and two ¼ inch metal rods. Inside the box was reputed to be some dozen vacuum tubes -- 70-L-7 type -- and other electrical parts. Two wire leads ran from the box to a newly-installed 40 inch long, 30 inch diameter AC motor that replaced the gasoline engine. </DD></DL><DL><DD>"As the story goes, Tesla inserted the two metal rods and announced confidently, "We now have power" and then proceeded to drive the car for a week, "often at speeds of up to 90 mph." One account says the motor developed 1,800 rpm and got fairly hot when operating, requiring a cooling fan. The "converter" box is said to have generated enough electrical energy to also power the lights in a home. </DD></DL><DL><DD>"The car is said to have ended up on a farm 20 miles outside of Buffalo, not far from Niagra Falls." </DD></DL>One of the legends about this car is that at one point Nikola Tesla took JP Morgan for a spin in the car. JP Morgan noticed that the car was not making any sound from the engine. When he realized that the vehicle required no fuel, but was getting its energy somehow invisibly and freely, he chilled on the idea, inamsuch as it would put a stop to the need for petrol to run vehicles. After that, allegedly, was when Tesla ended up with posh accomodations in the New Yorker hotel; and nothing ever came of the car or the concept.

 

Swi66, Ol'Chevy & HJManiac, WOW! You guys keep coming out with more info on super-rare cars. AND Swi66 -- it certainly SEEMS! -- has NOT ONLY provided an amazing piece of history RE Tesla's electric-powered Pierce BUT ALSO a fascinating CLUE what may have killed off what was APPARENTLY the best early electric car! Sounds to me that maybe SOMEbody made the electric Pierce EXTINCT !!!

Tesla was NO slouch when it came to electricity, for those who don't know his name. He's the one who came up with the technology to transmit electricity over LONG distances (at the time, Niagra Falls' water power was being explored/exploited).

 

HJ, you really brought up a couple of super-rare makes/models in the 1902 Pierce Motorette and the more populous Stevens-Duryea. The Pierce is one sweet-looking little buggy! I'd love to have a replica with a peppy motor to elevate it to "hotrod" status!

As for the Stevens-Duryea, I'll bet most people today don't realize that the Duryea brothers had a falling out and went on to build SEPARATE Duryea cars, MUCH LES the fact that the Stevens Arms Company was actually IN the auto-building business!!!

 

BTW, I threw out the Roosevelt automobile the other day as an example of something scarce, not EXTINCT. But I'm conducting a bit of a search.

So far, I've found that the Roosevelt was a new brand of upper mid-price car planned by the prestigious Marmon company (!) to give them an entry into the lower-price market. It was intended to trade upon the rep of still-popular former Republican President Teddy Roosevelt. But the car was ONLY made for 1929 and 1930. By the time it was ready for market, the Roosevelt hit Marmon showrooms just as the stock market crashed, and the seeds of the Depression were being sewed! Talk about bad luck!!! Mr. Roosevelt, it is said, was nevertheless proud to have the quality car named for him.

I have an email in to the officers of the national Marmon Owners Club as to RARITY of the Roosevelt. IN ALL, the club membership is only about 500, representing less than 300 surviving Marmons and Roosevelts. Their home ite did not specify how many Roosevelts are included among members' cars, so that's what I'd like to determine.

 

Anyone doing a search of Nikola Tesla, will discover he has a memorial on both sides of Niagara Falls. He made several significant contributions to radio wave and electrical technology. and is often honored.
No small wonder a modern electric car company has latched onto that name.


So is it a hard stretch, to beleive he could develop technology like this, way back then?

And not much of a stretch either to find it has disappeared!

Pierce Arrow went out of business in 1938.
Could a vehicle like this have saved the company?

Would have saved us from our dependance on foreign oil, that's for sure.

 

Lots of articles on this Electric Pierce Arrow.

http://waterpoweredcar.com/teslascar.html

http://www.evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=1062

 

Okay, here's the rather STRANGE story of "The Tale of TWO Marquette Cars."

The "Baby Buick" Marquette was something of a HOTROD in its time. Powered by a 213-CID 68-hp (@3,000 rpms) Olds engine, the petite 1930 Marquette (GM claimed) would go from 5 to 25 in under eight seconds and would do 70 mph. With a delicate herringbone grille ("stolen," some say, from the French luxury Minerva), Marquette was one of the most popular, hot-selling GM "companion" makes, Marquette made and sold around 40,000 cars in the U.S. and Canada in less than 18 months, then was unceremoniously deep-sixed due to the poor economic conditions. The unfortunate TIMING of the poplar little Marquette is, if not strange, pretty ironic. Notably, some Marquettes were titled as '29 and '31 models. Since dealers were given only short notice of production cessation, the "1931" Marquette is rarer than the other two years. Not extinct, but the '30 Marquette is my set-up for . . .

"the OTHER Marquette" ! The FIRST Marquette was also a Billy Durant GM venture, during the time when he was first building GM. He acquired two small auto companies that were building cars under their own names and, in 1912, had them build a Marquette marque auto. Durant was known for some rather swift decision-making, so, perhaps not surprisingly, he abruptly shelved the Marquette nameplate! I could find no production figures, but given that it was marketed for but one season, THIS is surely the rarer of the TWO Marquettes. I could not even find a photo of a 1912 Marquette, though there are plenty of '30 model pix.

Does ANYBODY out there have a pic of a 1912 Marquette???




1930 Marquette. Sincere thanks to Wikipedia, "The
Online Encyclopedia"

 

As few as 47 Henney Kilowatt electric cars were
finished & sold in 1959-60. Under new ownership, the Henney
company was engaged to modify a French-made Renault
Dauphine platform to test whether a new generation would
adopt electric-car technology. The PUBLIC said, "NO DICE!"

ANYBODY IN HAMBLAND KNOW IF ANY OF THESE SURVIVED???




'60 Henney Kilowatt, THANKS to Wikipedia,
"The Online Encyclopedia."

 

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1938 Harrod's Electric delivery van ​

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1 of 2 known to exist currently located at the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland, Ohio


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1939 Harrod's Electric delivery van

Between 1936 and 1939 Harrods, the famous London department store, built 60 of these vehicles for use in their own delivery fleet. The electric motor is rated at 3.5hp giving the van a top speed of 19mph when fully laden. The batteries are housed in two large battery boxes on either side between the wheels. This van covered about 350,000 miles before being withdrawn in 1967. It was then restored by Harrods before being presented to the Science Museum, London

​

 

So, is "Harrods" the way they pronounce "Hotrods" in England??? LOL

Seriously, I think the very last Detroit Electrics were assembled in 1938, and I didn't know anybody -- anyplace -- was still fiddling with electrics. Sure SOUNDS as though the makers of Harros had it down pat! 350,000 miles? Wow.

 

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1929 Minerva AM Custom Limosine​

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<FORM style="VISIBILITY: hidden" id=fave_form method=post>Interior of 1929 Minerva AM Custom Limosine


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HJ, the interior of that Minerva is nicer -- AND more roomy -- than my living room! LOL Seriously, the Minerva, with styling as nice as any Peerless or Packard, was one of the finest luxury cars in the world. Looks like the L-29 Cord didn't have much on the '29 Minerva, eh? Luxury -- helps to explain rarity, no?

BTW, is this one at the Crawford museum? ANY data on performance, or how many survive?

 

A REAL one-of-a-kind early car would be the 1896 KING automobile, designed and built by Charles Brady King, one of the TRUE early automotive geniuses in the U.S. He was a contemporary of R.E. Olds, Alexander Winton, the Duryea brothers and a YOUNG Henry Ford who asked to drive his KING auto three months AFTER Charles was THE first man to design, build and drive a gasoline car on the streets of Detroit!!!

Funny bit of history: After studying King's car, Ford challenged King to a race!!! It was the first of multiple races between the two friends. Guess that makes Ford & King two of the earliest, certified dragracers?

King volunteered as an engineer for the Spanish-American War, then toured Europe, so he didn't begin building his fairly long-running line of KING cars until a decade or so after his successful one-off effort. (Incidentally, once Charles got his company going, he was just weeks behind Cadillac in introducing America's first V-8 enignes!)

DOES ANYONE out there know if King's FIRST (1896) car survived? If so, WHERE is it? Anyone have a picture?

 

jimi'shemi291 Yes that is the one at the Crawford Museum.

 

1929 Minerva AM




edited by David Barth, 30 January 2009.
Courtesy The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Photos were taken in January 2009.
See link Below




The Friends of the Crawford thank the Crawford volunteers for their time and talent as they help us maintain and restore our collections. The 1929 Minerva represents the class and style of the Crawford volunteers.

The Minerva was among the world's largest automobiles. The rear passenger compartment measures eight feet long by five feet wide and seats five in elegance. Not the ivory door-pulls and window cranks as well as the fine mahogany trim.

Tucked into drawers and compartments under and behind the front seat is a table and a full set of Wedgwood china. The designer of this classic specified the radiator be raised and the firewall widened by three inches so as not to be dwarfed by the size of the body. The trick is an effective one, as one does not really notice the monstrous size of the car.

Also of interest are the dual rear wheels that help carry the load of the huge body. The Minerva was popular with Henry Ford and the Kings of Sweden, Norway, and Belgium.

This car was originally owned by Pierre Arnold Bernard, otherwise known as "Oom the Omnipotent," a New Your barber, acrobat, religious cult leader, and self-styled swami. In later years, he was a banker.

Model: Type AM
Body Style: 7-passenger sedan, Paul Ostruk Coachworks, N.Y.
Original Factory Price: $16,000
Brake Horsepower: 100
Displacement: 5956 cubic cm (363.3 cubic inches)
Bore: 95mm (3 3/4 inches)
Stroke: 140mm (5 1/2 inches)
Cylinders: 6, in-line
Wheelbase: 180 inches
Manufacturer: Minerva Motors S.A.
Location: Antwerp, Belgium
Years of Production: 1899-1939

Donor: Harry Resnick

http://www.barthworks.com/cars/crawford/1929cminerva.htm

 

I'll post a photo of the first automobile that graced the streets of Detroit. Charles B. King made this in his machine shop at 112 St. Antoine, near Congress, and took it for his famous spin on March 6th, 1896. This pre-dated Henry Ford's jaunt by a few months.

 

1896 Charles Brady King Car replica -[FONT=palatino, times]Transportation Collection[/FONT] -Copyright: The Detroit Historical Museum


1896 Charles Brady King Car replica -[FONT=palatino, times]Transportation Collection[/FONT] -Copyright: The Detroit Historical Museum

 

TOTALLY AWESOME. Pic of THE FIRST car to ply the streets of Detroit!!!!

(How-ga-zillion many cars were made in Detroit after that date? Hypothetical Q, maybe, BUT this was THE first!)

I've enjoyed this thread, because it reviews the early years, including some cars that were FAST, for their time. Thanks, HJ, Swi66 AND everyone who's gotten into this so far. Maybe, so far, we've scratched the surface of the makes that, if not totally extinct, are rare as heck . . . and this is where U.S. cars, 'rodding, etc., all started. All I can say is AWESOME input!

 

I've been through 7 pages and not seen it, but I'm at work and can't do all of them right now but wanted to say I know that there was an Alter made in Plymouth, MI. I don't know if there are any left... Anyone got info on them?

JK

 

RileyRacing: Boy-o-boy, I never even heard of it (which is good for this theme! LOL).

I love a dare, so . . .

(what the thread IS about!)

BTW, any help, like era or at least decade when this was built?

 

Where were Stephen's made? US?

 

WOW, Riley, your sort of hit the jackpot, man! You already knew where they were built.

Private company built only around 1,000 of these gas-powered cars from 1914 to 1917, then went into receivership. So, they were made right during WWI. Given the era, lots of wood in the bodies, of course, so ONLY ONE is known to exist!

Wikipedia has good info on this rare, early make! Go check out the details there. Thanks for the question!

 

I have some (little) info on them at home (still at work).
I grew up in Canton (intertwined with Plymouth) and lived in downtown Plymouth in my first house on my own. Dad got me a history of the town book when I lived there, and there was a brief blurb about them in it.
The factory still stands along the railroad tracks, I do know that, it was across the tracks from my house.
I'll do the wiki thing later... thanks for the tip on that!
JK

 

SinisterCustom, is it Stephens or Stevens, as in Stevens-Duryea?

 

Stephens
I have two grill shell emblems, and each are different.

 

Sinister, my quick search revealed the Stephens WAS produced from 1917 through 1924. All I have so far, so if any other HAMBers can help, appreciated!

Sinister, can you post pix of the two emblems???? Made for eight years, so an emblem change might make sense.

 

Any AACA members among the HAMBers? If so, maybe osmeone can/could SEE if anybody in the AACA actually owns a surviving Stephens automobile?

 

Stout Scarab- All Five of them.











<TABLE width="90%" align=left><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD>Description</TD><TD>This 1935 Stout Scarab is a gray, two-door sedan with a rear-mounted Ford V-8 engine, carpeted floor, wicker ceiling and kick panels. It still has its original paint and upholstery.

William B. Stout (1880-1956) is remembered in aviation for his part in the design of the famous Ford Tri-Motor "Tin Goose" and in automotive circles for the Scarab, nine of which were built by the Stout Motor Corporation in 1935. His credo "Simplicate. Add lightness" was reflected in the Scarab design by eliminating running boards (allowing a wider body interior), placing the engine in the rear and incorporating a smooth airflow body, based on unit construction (no frame as such). Specifications: engine water-cooled V-8; bore 3-1/16 in., stroke 3-3/4 in., displacement 221 cu. in., modified to 100 hp. Suggested price new beginning at $5,000.00.

Another of the four cars was kept by Mr. William b. Stout, who added an experimental fiberglass body in 1946. Mr. Stout gave that car to the Museum in 1951. The car cost more to make than to sell. Mr. Wrigley got this car in exchange for a large block of stock he held in the company.

For more information, see the William B. Stout autobiography, "So Away I Went." Stout also designed airplanes for his own firm and for the Ford Motor Company, although the famed Ford Tri-Motor often credited to Stout, is a more correctly a team design.



</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Dimensions</TD><TD>H-68.5 W-71 L-192 inches</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Notes</TD><TD>l-Automobile: 1935 stout Scarab; grey; two door sedan; rear mounted Ford V-8 engine; carpeted floor; wicker ceiling and kick panels; engine number 36106, title number D934665; for detailed information, see file or Stout autobiography, "So Away I Went"
HISTORY: One of an estimated four built by the Stout Motor Corporation in 1935; cost of production was greater than selling cost; Mr. Wrigley got this one in exchange for a large block of stock he held; it still has its
original paint and upholstery; shipped to the Detroit Historical Museum without charge through the courtesy of the Kenosha Auto Transport and American Motors Corporation; another of the four cars was kept by Mr. Stout and an experimental fiberglass body was added in 1946; Mr. Stout gave that car to the Museum in 1951; at this writing the third and fourth Scarabs are in California and Florida.

</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Object ID</TD><TD>1964.215.001</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Object Name</TD><TD>Automobile</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Other Name</TD><TD>1935 Stout Scarab</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>People</TD><TD>Stout, William B.</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Recfrom</TD><TD>Wrigley, Philip, K., Mr.</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Sub-category</TD><TD>Land Transportation -- Motorized</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Subjects</TD><TD>Automobiles</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Title</TD><TD>1935 Stout Scarab</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Year Range from</TD><TD>1935</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD>Year range to






</TD><TD>1946</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

<CENTER>Freeport Home to Stephens Car</CENTER>


<CENTER>By Suzy Beggin - Printed in The Freeport iNK on July 31, 2003

Later republished in Suzy’s Musings & More - Used with permission</CENTER><CENTER>Contributed to Genealogy Trails by Alice Horner</CENTER><CENTER></CENTER>
The Stephens automobile played a small part in the history of Freeport - only from 1916 to 1924 - but it’s a history automobile collectors are eager to preserve. John W. Henney started making horse-drawn buggies in his small shop in Cedarville in 1868, and moved the company to Freeport in 1878. The company did well and underwent many expansions, eventually building the factory on Spring Street today used by Micro Switch.
But as technology changed and automobiles were starting to make their mark, it became obvious that the heyday of horse-drawn carriages was over. In 1915 the Henney Buggy Company was liquidated, and the Henney building was sold to the Moline Plow Company.
The Moline Plow Company was a successful farm machinery and buggy manufacturer with plans to branch out into automobile manufacturing. G.A. Stephens was appointed president of the new Stephens Motor Branch of the Moline Plow Company. It was decided that the new automobile making branch would name the new cars “Stephens” in honor of G.A.’s father, George W. Stephens, who had been a president of the Moline Plow Company and its first vice-president. The new branch started in Detroit, but moved to Freeport’s former buggy factory in early 1916 and soon started producing Stephens cars. Kamali
The engines for the Stephens were built in Moline, other parts were imported from other areas, and the final building and body work was done in Freeport. Many of the former Henney Buggy Company workers were hired to build the Stephens cars, as much of the body work on early automobiles was similar to buggy body work. When the parts were assembled, but before the body was added, a seat would be added to the chassis and a mechanic would drive the unfinished car out of the factory to give the engine a road test.
These funny-looking half-cars were a common sight in Freeport during the Stephens years.
Stephens were built with an all-wood body frame with sheet metal reinforcements. The sheet metal was not cut with dies, but individually hand-shaped and hammered. The most time-consuming step – painting – was done last. Automobile painters today use fast-drying synthetic paints, but in those days the paint was applied by hand, with as many as 21 coats. The paint would be brushed on horizontally, allowed to dry, and then sanded smooth. Next the paint was brushed on vertically, then again allowed to dry and sanded smooth. The horizontal and vertical stroke layers alternated, making careful records necessary to keep track of the paint layers.




Painting cars required a lot of space as rows and rows of cars were slowly air-drying. Cars were parked indoors in controlled rooms to reduce the possibility of a leaf or a bug landing on a freshly-painted car. The entire painting process took 30 days. The paint itself was made in Freeport, ground and mixed by a secret process that could not be duplicated by other manufacturers.
The Stephens were promoted as middle-priced cars. A Stephens Salient Six in 1917 would cost you $1,385. The Stephens Salient Six was a six-cylinder car with a whopping 57 horsepower, “more power than any other engine of equal sized cylinders,” according to an advertisement. The first Stephens made in Freeport was purchased by local physician Dr. C.L. Best in May of 1916.


Buying an automobile was a big event, and people from all over the country took the train to Freeport in order to drive home their new Stephens personally. Cars could be purchased at the factory or through dealers around the country.
Using the reputations of both the Moline plows and the Henney buggies to promote the cars, a 1917 advertisement calls the Stephens “A car that LOOKS as its builder, the Moline Plow Company, IS: Conservative, sturdy, reliable, honest” and further states that “We design and build the bodies of the Stephens Salient Six in our own factory, recognized as the seat of carriage-making superiority.”
While early sales were good, they slowed in 1920. Stephens continued to be made until 1924, when Moline Plow Company announced that they were ceasing car manufacturing to concentrate on their farm implement manufacturing. John W. Henney, Junior, the son of the buggy maker, purchased his father’s Henney building from the Moline Plow Company. He hired many of the Stephens employees and opened the Henney Motor Works, building automobile-hearses. Henney vehicles were available once again, and the short history of the Stephens car was over.


<CENTER>Stephens Employees
By Alice Horner</CENTER>My old friend Mildred March was interested in history all her life and fortunately for us saved interesting stuff that’s now hard to find. Mildred graduated from Freeport High School in 1922 and started working the next day as a stenographer at Stephens. She worked there until the company closed on December 31, 1924.