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

Jeesh, HALF-automobile, HALF Dodge-truck. What a bastard! No wonder sales fell off, 'cause it actually LOOKS cobbled together!!! Even though Stude always brought most problems on itself (back as far as Albert Erskine!), ya still have to feel a tad of sympathy (except for what they did to Packard!).<HR style="COLOR: #e5e5e5; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e5e5e5" SIZE=1>
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Yo, SunRoof, thanks to you and CustomCab, we got to see an EARLY ('15) and LATER ('29) REO Speedwagon!



SWI, that REO trucks book you describe SOUNDS (1) like a very serious labor of love by osmeone, and (2) has GOT to be a VERY rare item! Does it show ANY indication how early the "REO Speedwagon" label was used on a REO product??? (Who knows? Maybe, a rare resource like this could be one of the FEW definitive places to find that answer!)

In case anybody wondered, the ONLY reason I quest for info to put the Speedwagon into factual persepctive is just BECAUSE the name got hijacked by the band in the late '70s & '80s, pushing the REAL Speedwagon into obscurity (at least, in the LAYMAN's eye & ear).

 

Since some of the conversation has been a cross between Pickups and Reo Speedwagons, I thought we needed a picture of a Reo Speedwagon Pickup. Here is a 1929.

 

And here is a 1936 Reo Speedwagon Pickup

 

Herman Sass actually wrote a lot of books.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_ath...k&search-alias=books&field-author=Herman Sass

And they are getting very hard to come by.
Years ago they used to sell them at car shows in my area for $5-$10.
Judging by the asking price here, I wish I had bought a truckload.
These books are photocopied and in a scrapbook format.
Diamond T.
Maxim Trucks
Stewart Trucks
Brockway Trucks
Pierce Arrow Trucks
Atturbury Trucks
Cars and Trucks built in Buffalo
Automotive accessories built in Buffalo and more............
Here is a link to a picture of the Diamond T book cover
http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/diamond-t-1911-1967-trucks-herman-sass-book

 

Classy pickup SunRoof! Two-tone-too! Reminds me of the '34 International of yesterday, but the GRILLE is classy -- almost like a Minerva.

Also, I wonder if this (being a '36) was the last SMALL truck REO made. You probably remember '36 was the year they shared their newest body with Graham, ostensibly to save BOTH companies money. Sales -- for both companies -- still suffered. REO got out of the car biz, and Graham fans say '36 Grahams were THE ugly duckling among a flock of nice '30s Graham styles.

I imagine there are a few folks on the HAMB who would love to drop a V-8 into this!

 

swi66 wrote:
And they are getting very hard to come by.
Years ago they used to sell them at car shows in my area for $5-$10.
Judging by the asking price here, I wish I had bought a truckload.

Same true with the Crestline Series. I wish I would have bought a truckload of those. I have 6 or 7 of them. Originally around $30. I thought I might find some at Hershey. One of the ones I have the asking price was $400!!

 

Sass' books must be great!

Judging from the titles, I'd surely like to read the ones on Brockway (gotta be the classiest truck ever), Diamond-T and REO.

 

In 1935 all trucks were re-styled with V-grilles and skirted fenders, and Reo's first cab-over appeared. During 1936 to 1938 Reo built a seven-model range of trucks and buses for the Mack company to sell under the name Mack Junior. The Speedwagon name finally disappeared in 1939, when a new heavy duty range with round-nosed hood and set-back axle appeared that would be made well into the 1950s. However, financial problems caused the company to be re-organized, and for a while lawn mowers were made to help keep the company going.

1937 Reo Speedwagon Pickup

National Automobile Museum Reno Nevada

I'll take the '36

 

[SIZE=+2]1939 Reo Speed-Delivery PU

[/SIZE]3/4 ton (little brother to the Speedwagon)
[SIZE=+2]
[/SIZE]

 

Another Never-Wuz

This super cool 1940 Ford Woody convertible belongs to Cocoa Beach resident Gilles Rodier. It is painted a redish-maroon with a set of steel wheels accented by baby moon hubcaps, beauty rings and wide whitewall tires. Inside you’ll find a tan vinyl and cloth interior with a tilt wheel, power steering and A/C, while under the hood resides a small block Chevy backed by an automatic transmission.

 

Looks like it was mixed with a Filipino bus or maybe it crashed into the walmart car parts area and they couldnt pull the parts off. LOL....

 

I'm with YOU, Jim. 1936 looks like the LAST of the REOs with stylish, aquiline lines. I remember those later REOs, especially the '40s/'50s trucks, where the "style," such as it was, seemed intended specifically to evoke a sense of POWER with no hint of anything graceful. Rugged trucks. Period.

 

My vote is: It's a darn COOL, UNIQUE custom -- and I love cool customs. But taste is subjective, and it's still a free country, for now. LOL

 

Locomobile was a make from 1899 and 1929 (lasting nearly as long as DeSoto, as a later example for comparison). Locomobile is and was unique and/or special for a bunch of reasons.

But first, I wanted to mention that the only 1899 Locomobile photo I found was of a car that had several later mods, including lengthening the frame rails and using wooden artillery wheels instead of the original wires. Judging from that and that it WAS 1899, the FIRST Locomobile has to be scarce IN THE EXTREME. Below is a sketch of a 1901 from Wikipedia, and the '99 didn't look much different. If ANYBODY can come up with a pic of an 1899 Locomobile, that would be cool for this thread.

RE paragraph #1, Locomobile was among the earliest U.S. "luxury" cars, and was pretty costly throughout its long run. In fact, it was considered to be in the same league as the "3 Ps," Peerless, Pearce and Packard. The first few years were based on a steam design the original founders purchased from Francis & Freelan Stanley -- who just turned around and came up with an even BETTER design (the Stanley twins' THIRD money-making invention, in fact!). Thereafter, Locomobiles used gasoline engines.

Locomobile holds at least one unique distinction: They were the first motor cars to go to war, being used in the Boer War in southern Africa. Amusingly, one endearing feature to British soldiers was the ability of the steam-powered Locomobile to brew midday tea! LOL

Now, everybody who's studied up on early U.S. car history knows that good ol' Billy Durant was fond of buying existing, successful car companies and adding them to his own stable, sometimes subsuming an existing make and renaming it something to please himself. At some point, Peerless came into his fold, but the name carried a great rep, so it remained Peerless, until it was canceled, along with Oakland, Marquette and Star/Rugby after the Stock Market Crash of '29.


1901 steam Locomobile -- with correct wire
wheels -- as presented by Wikipedia, the
Free Online Encyclopedia. Sincere thanks!

 

In digging for Locomobile info, I ran onto the site of the Locomobile Society of America. They mention that the Locomobile was actual preceded by an electric called the Riker. The society does not track the Rikers, which they said are extremely rare. Most, they added, are in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI.

I then found another site that clarifies that Riker and Locomobile had been rivals in the electric-car business. But, the Riker founder was induced to design Locomobile's first internal-combusion cars, AS WELL AS a long-running series of Riker/Locomobile trucks (including some VERY heavy-duty trucks, as evidenced by the photo in the ad below).

Now, this photo looked familiar, so I'll assume Riker trucks have already been covered on this thread (and probably thoroughly, as well). I JUST wanted to point out the Locomobile connection.



This ad from the 9/17/1918 issue of Literary Digest appears on a detailed site sponsored by RootsWeb (Ancestory.com) and can be accessed for more in-depth reading by searching :
Riker Car & Riker Truck (homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com).

NOTE: An interesting fact revealed on the site is that over 50 U.S. manufacturers produced some 35,000 electric vehicles between 1896 and 1915. WOW!

 

Today, the name Locomobile certainly sounds archaic AND makes the cars, too, sound like instant artifacts. By definition, Locomobile simply means "self propelled" -- far from mysterious, eh? And in that day rail LOCOmotives were held in high esteem, too. So, the name would certainly not have seemed out of place at the turn of the last century. The Locomobile slogan was, "The Best Built Car in America."



Here's a nifty 1903 four-seater, thanks to Randall Glover's Automotive History Online. Note that the tiller was still in use. Right-hand steering wheels appeared on the 1904 models.

 

Quite a piece of history here! Geronimo (yes, THAT Geronimo) takes a few pals for a spin in this 1905 Locomobile Model C. Right-hand steering wheels appeared on the 1904 models, replacing the old-style "tiller."



Thanks AGAIN to Randall Glover's Automotive History Online. Mr. Glover notes that material on the website is intended for "historical research and educational purposes only"; I believe THAT is exactly and literally what this thread has been about. And it seems to me the regular contributors have been pretty religious about citing their sources, too. It's about the SPIRIT of loving old cars and wanting to know more about them!

 

Don't know if this one's been mentioned yet, but International's Red Baby is a pretty rare sight these days- could find a good pic, but here's the advertisement and the Buddy L and Arcade renditions:

 

Mac, when I look at all those heavy trucks of that era, my lower back starts to ache. They MUST have been a ROUGH ride! Especially the chain-drives.

(Speaking of chain-drive, how would you like to be on a steep grade and have the chain break or jump the gears?!?!?)

 

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Now, this photo of a 1904 steam Locomobile speaks reams about the social relevance and impact of early automobiles on American life and families! Mrs. H.H. Smith donated the car to the Smithsonian Institution in 1927. The photo, taken in 1906 and with the Smith family's twins sitting in the car, is from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History "America on the Move" collection.

 

Here are some electrics. They ran neck & neck with steam and gasoline cars up until about WWI.

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Riker electric "brougham," circa. 1900, from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History "America on the Move" collection.


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1904 Columbia, from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History "America on the Move" collection.

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1914 Rausch and Lang, from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History "America on the Move" collection.

 

1916 Rauch & Lang Model J6 Coach
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1916 Rauch & Lang Coach

Both in the Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum​

 

Yo, HJ, do my eyes deceive me, or does that Model J6 have CURVED glass on the sides? IF SO, it just confirms my earlier notion that the bodywork on a LOT of the electrics was done by some artisans with skills similar to great cabinet-makers !!!

 

Atterbury Trucks, built in Buffalo



Anyone know of an actual existing Atterbury Truck?
Or are they Extinct.................

 

Abner Doble was born in San Francisco, California on March 26, 1890. At the age of eight, he began an apprenticeship at the Abner Doble Company, the factory founded by his grandfather and namesake. His father, William Ashton Doble, was inventor of the Pelton-Doble Water Wheel and chief engineer for the Pelton Water Wheel Co., which eventually merged with his family's business. Abner Doble designed and built his first steam car while a student Lick High School in San Francisco. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1910-1912, but left college in order to focus his attention on the development of steam automobiles. In 1912 he developed the Doble Model A in Waltham, Massachusetts, soon followed by the Doble Model B roadster. In 1915 Doble drove the Model B to Detroit where the General Engineering Company offered to put it into production. Renamed the Doble-Detroit, his car was introduced at the New York auto show of 1917. Although over 10,000 orders came in for the model, wartime demand for steel put manufacturing on hold and only 30 Doble-Detroit cars were ever produced.

 

They BOTH have CURVED glass.

 

SWI, the prose might be WAY more direct than Ned Jordan's, BUT the truck companies KNEW how to appeal to what bugged truck USERS, didn't they?

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BTW, I NEVER heard of them. And since extreme rarity is the point of the thread, does your material indicate when and how long Atterbury was in business???

 

QUOTE: Yo, HJ, do my eyes deceive me, or does that Model J6 have CURVED glass on the sides? IF SO, it just confirms my earlier notion that the bodywork on a LOT of the electrics was done by some artisans with skills similar to great cabinet-makers !!!

They BOTH have CURVED glass.

Jimi: I guess WHAT I'M GETTING AT (good to have a point, no?) is that, later on, cars were referred to in such terms as "rolling sculpture," though I can't remember if it was harley Earl or another who said that.

But these ELECTRICS of the earliest days SEEM to have featured extremely fine wooden CABINETRY. Am I alone in thinking some of the electrics are keen in that respect -- meaning "bodywork" ?<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->