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

The Kurtis Omohundro lives!
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In yesterday’s SIA Flashback on sport customs, the astute among you may have noticed the mention and one small photo of the car that Frank Kurtis built with Paul Omohundro. And if you had the opportunity to attend the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance this year, you would have also have the opportunity to view the Kurtis-Omohundro in person as Geoff Hacker, the current owner of the Kurtis-Omohundro, debuted it.



According to Geoff, the Kurtis-Omohundro, built in 1947, is perhaps the most important sport custom, not because he owns it, but because it is America’s first post-war sports car. Kurtis and Omohundro had planned wide-scale production of their car, which they called the Comet, based on a 112-inch wheelbase Ford chassis using a 1946 Mercury flathead V-8. They hammered the first body out of aluminum and planned on taking molds off the body so they could pop out identical fiberglass bodies, but Ford balked at supplying Kurtis and Omohundro with production chassis, so the two partners dropped the project after completing this car and went their separate ways. Geoff said Ford’s reluctance to provide chassis led to Kurtis’s later decision to build his cars on tube frames.



The car never received much publicity at the time, and it changed hands several times over the next few decades, winding up in the hands of Alex Boeriu, who restored it in the mid-1970s. Even then, Boeriu rarely showed it and kept it out of the spotlight.




Geoff only recently acquired it and has spent considerable time tracking down its history, including the above photos from the collection of Strother MacMinn, who also provided the photo for the SIA story.

For his effort at Amelia, Geoff took home the Bridgestone Most Elegant Sports Car Award. Congrats, Geoff!
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Many Thanks to Daniel Strohl Of Hemmings for the following;

The Kurtis Speedster lives!



After yesterday’s SIA Flashback, we figured if anybody would know where the 1939 Kurtis Speedster is today, it’d be Geoff Hacker, owner of the Speedster’s younger brother, the 1946-1947 Kurtis-Omohundro. Geoff confirmed that it’s still around over in Europe, and forwarded us these photos of it from the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed. More photos are on clicks_1000’s photostream at Flickr and at lrc44’s album at webshots.

 

He just updated his ad with this description. I dislike bathtub Packards but I do like this one. As for the description, I'm not sure of what supercharger (I know superchargers were around, but the Paxton that you usually see used in this era is a couple of years away) was readily available in 1948 so I'm a little dubious of this.

This period custom was conceived and started in 1948 as a prototype with hopes of convincing Packard Management to offer it as an option to high end buyers as they had previously done prior to the War. The project stalled and with the short lived run of the Bathtub design, the car sat unfinished for many years. It has recently been completed to Concours Standards and is ready to hit the show circuit or will be a great cornerstone for any Packard Collection. The car features many unique design ques such as a speedster like windshield and heavily raked cowl reminisent of pre war cars such as Duesenberg and Chrysler Le Baron bodied cars, with the Gold Plated instrument panel deeply cut under the cowl. A rumble seat has been installed with forward tilting lid, which still provides a lot of trunk space. A true Roadster at heart there are no windows. Fully skirted front and rear fenders and custom moldings complete the flowing lines of this stunning creation. Originally fitted with a supercharger, it has been removed for easy drivability, but of course comes with the car. This one off custom is an interesting example of the Post War California Custom Car Movement.

 

Frank Kurtis

<!-- Writer --> Hemmings Muscle Machines - AUGUST 1, 2009 - BY DANIEL STROHL

<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#username=hemmingsnews"></script> <!-- AddThis Button END --> The stylist of speed who made it possible for 1950s America to go racing

Form and function are often spoken of as if they were mutually exclusive, as if one naturally must succumb to the other, as if aesthetics and ability cannot be reconciled.

Yet Frank Kurtis, whose name graced midgets, dragsters, race boats, land-speed racers and sports cars, proved time after time that they could, and that neither form nor function need suffer when the two intermingle.

<table align="left" hspace="5"> <tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr></tbody></table>Born in January of 1908 in Colorado, the son of a Croatian blacksmith who migrated to America (in fact, Frank was born with the last name Kurtich and spoke Croatian until he entered grade school), Frank assisted his father in the family smithy, developing skills that would later prove useful when his father moved the family to Los Angeles in 1921. A year later, the elder Kurtis found work in the body shop of the Don Lee Coach and Body Works. Frank followed him there, lying about his age to gain employment; he quit school at about the same time, but continued to take classes in drafting and architecture.

As Gordon Eliot White wrote in Kurtis-Kraft: Masterworks of Speed and Style, his 2001 biography of Kurtis, "The Lee association, financially and artistically, was one of the major influences in Kurtis' development as a stylist and builder of race cars and custom and sports cars."

The artistic influence came largely in the form of Harley Earl, who worked for Don Lee before GM hired him away. Earl noticed Kurtis's natural panel-beating ability and instructed the youth in automotive design. Kurtis not only applied those skills at Don Lee, but also at home by buying junk cars, sprucing and hopping them up, then selling them at a profit.

When the Depression hit, however, Don Lee's restyling business dried up, so Kurtis struck out on his own and soon found steady work building and rebuilding track roadsters for the racers at Ascot. Within a few years, Kurtis transitioned into building midgets. He never raced himself, but his efforts did not go unnoticed: Many observers judged his midgets and roadsters the best-looking racers on the track, as well as some of the best performing. Though he held day jobs with Howard "Dutch" Darrin and Joel Thorne, he built midgets on the side until he opened up his own shop in 1938. Shortly before World War II, Kurtis also developed an interest in Indy car racing, though that interest would be put on hold during the war as Kurtis got by on military contracts and building children's toys.

The post-war years proved to be Kurtis's most prolific. Thanks to his contracting work, he introduced several aircraft building techniques and components to midgets (including tube space frames, Dzus fasteners and Jubilee hose clamps) and was able to provide midgets ready to race when the boys returned home. Over the years, Kurtis built about 550 Kurtis-Kraft midgets and about 600 midget kits, which went on to dominate midget racing over the next 20 years, usually powered by Offenhauser engines.

Flush with midget cash, he also returned to Indianapolis, helping to build the Novi cars, and entering his own cars starting in 1948. His first win came two years later with Johnnie Parsons in the Kurtis 1000, and Kurtis would subsequently win Indianapolis in 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955. In fact, his cars continued to compete there through 1965.

Also after the war, Kurtis turned his attention to sports cars. Though he built a customized Buick before the war that eventually became the Muntz Jet, his Kurtis-Omohundro of 1947 is now considered the first post-war American sports car. He later went on to build the 500S, an Allard-like minimal sports car; the 500KK, a kit form of the 500S designed to accept aftermarket fiberglass bodies; the race-only, but still full-bodied 500X; and the 500M, a more civilized, fiberglass-bodied car.

It was that last car, developed through a joint project with Robert McCulloch (of supercharger and chainsaw fame), along with Kurtis's poor business sense, which led to his separation from Kurtis-Kraft in late 1956 and the founding of the Frank Kurtis Company. After that, Kurtis continued to build midgets and Indy cars for a while, but he also expanded his business into go-karts, quarter-midgets, drag cars, land-speed racers and back into military contracts. In the late 1960s, he handed the business over to his son, Arlen, and retired to a life of fishing, RVing and corresponding with owners of the cars he built.

Though he was once described as the man with potential to become the Enzo Ferrari of America, Frank Kurtis instead established an era of post-war racing. He employed a number of prominent speed pioneers--the Justice brothers, Ted Halibrand and John Bond among them--and introduced the concept of the mass-produced race car, weaning America away from the homebuilt racer.

"The Kurtis production line made it possible for almost anyone to go racing," White wrote. "It took only a little money and some determination to go buy a Kurtis, or to buy Kurtis parts, and go to Indianapolis or go midget racing."

The man who succeeded Kurtis in dominance at Indianapolis, A.J. Watson, said that he just improved on the standard for racing cars that Kurtis set in the 1950s.

Kurtis died in February of 1987. He has since been enshrined in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

 

1949 Kurtis-Kraft Sport

The car you see here is easily one of the most significant American sports cars in existence--or hot rods, for that matter. A '49 Kurtis, it bears serial number KB003, which makes it the third Kurtis sports car ever built and the first production model. Powered by an Edelbrock-prepared Ford V-8, it was Frank Kurtis' personal car for several years. In August 1949 at the first Bonneville Nationals, Wally Parks, founder of the NHRA and HOT ROD's first real editor, drove the Kurtis to a two-way average of 142.515 mph. From the HOT ROD perspective, this is the very first sports rod--and with a pedigree second to none.

A total of 36 cars of this type were built, historians have determined. This one is the first production model, third in the series following two prototypes. Originally, Kurtis planned to power the car with the new Studebaker overhead-valve V-8, much like the Cadillac OHV V-8 but smaller and more economically priced. However, his South Bend connections failed to come through. But Benson Ford, son of Edsel and brother of Ford Chairman Henry Ford II, having seen and admired the Buick special, instructed the Los Angeles Ford plant to make sure Kurtis had all the parts he needed. So this car, as well as the succeeding vehicles in the series, was equipped with a Ford engine. This one features Studebaker running gear, while the rest were built mainly with Ford parts.

For the Bonneville speed trials, Kurtis reportedly installed a marine tachometer with a 2:1 drive, so the dial read at half-speed. Driver Wally Parks, apparently never informed of this needful fact, came back to the pits reporting to Edelbrock engine wizard Bobby Meeks that the engine would not pull over 3,500 rpm. After a bit of head scratching, the team realized that the poor little flathead was actually being zinged to 7,000 rpm. The overdrive was engaged and still pulling strong despite the obscene overrevving, and the Edelbrock V-8 propelled the Kurtis to a two-way average of 142.515 mph, taking the Sports Car class record at the inaugural Bonneville Nationals.

While Kurtis was ramping up production, his sports car caught the attention of Earl "Madman" Muntz, the California car dealer and original TV pitchman. He purchased the entire project from Kurtis--rights, tools, and inventory--though accounts differ on the actual cash exchange. Muntz claimed it was $200,000 while Kurtis said it was $70,000. Muntz moved production to Evanston, Illinois, and converted the two-seater into a four-seater by stretching the wheelbase more than a foot and adapting the chassis to Cadillac V-8 power, and later, the boat-anchor flathead Lincoln V-8. Approximately 400 were built in this form between 1951 and 1954, and while still a beautiful car and highly sought after today, the Muntz Jet was more of a boulevard cruiser than a sports car. America's first postwar sports car was more or less designed out of existence. However, Kurtis was not done building hot rod sports cars, not by a long shot. But that's another story.

 

In response to this earlier post, styling of the Jet is a debate in itself. During development of the Jet line, chief designer Frank Spring had hoped to carry over the low-slung sleekness seen on the Hornet. It's believed that Spring had designed the roof line to be 3" lower before Barit demanded changes. A.E. Barit, president of Hudson, wanted something more conventional with more headroom and altered the design of the Super Jet. The results upset Mr. Spring enough to threaten leaving the company and it was not long after that he was given permission to play with his original plans and implement radical styling on an experimental car that became known as the Italia. If you compare sketches of the Jet and Italia, one is left scratching their head on how these drastically different cars could have been born of one notion. A lot of documentaion disappeared when Hudson closed its doors and there are no known original designer sketches of the Jet.

These more recent artist renditions are an even more interesting comparison. First, what a hardtop Jet might have looked like. The wagon reminds me of a '52 Dodge Coronet wagon. The sedan is an example of what a '55 Jet might have looked like, taking note of the Nash influence on the grill.

 

SayDayO, daylight come and me wanna go homb! I think your contribution here does shed some light on how the Hudson Jet concept started out, and THANKS for it!

I prefer trimmer, more aquilne looks, BUT the sketches shown do certainly look like the general style trends of the period. The hardtop at left looks like a '51 Olds 98 in the rear, but with skirts. Yes, the wagon doesn't push anybody's envelope there. And while the '55 Jet -- though it takes a trim touch from Chevy -- does have Hash written all over it.

I still maintain that if Hudson was going to invest $30 million, they needed to avoid Henry kaiser's mistake and actually follow the advice of specialists your have under hire. -- Jimi
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These more recent artist renditions are an even more interesting comparison. First, what a hardtop Jet might have looked like. The wagon reminds me of a '52 Dodge Coronet wagon. The sedan is an example of what a '55 Jet might have looked like, taking note of the Nash influence on the grill. <!-- / message --><!-- attachments -->

 

Hey, SunRoofJim! THANKS for finding all this add'l info so fast.
Man, compared to the first car, I LOVE THIS GRILLE & THE HEAD-
LIGHT TREATMENT (which were really my only complaint on the
first, actually.) THIS CAR BLENDS THE BEST, I THINK OF THE
'30s AND THE EARLY '50s !!!!

 

AJ, first off, sorry I mis-stroked '49 this morning, since what you said it is is quite plain from the grille. I don't quite know where to start, so I will!

What bothers me most about the "pregnant elephant" Packards is: They didn't take it far enough. When you play anything too safe, you wind up with something that "under-whelms," instead of knocking the viewer on his/her ear. Where Packard erred in safety & conservatism, Hudson, by contrast, DID knock the buying public on its ear with something radical, in the step-down construction. The pregnant elephant reminds me of an old TV picture, you know, where you can't quite get the focus clear.

If you can picture this car DROPPED DOWN the way a '48 Hudson was, it gives it a whole different visual dynamic, don't you think? AND, built on a Hudson format, they could have even section 3-4 inches out and given this car one MEAN look -- though still imposing and, well, "stately," like McCaulay's '30 classics. (Also, maintaining easy entry & egress for even the most staid customer.)

I might add: Bumper guards (though helpful in the practical sense) don't help design lines.

 

A GREAT picture of a Muntz Jet and a Kurtis-Kraft Sport together.

 

wow!!!

 

Still on early NON-Ford Mercurys here. This one is probably EXTINCT, I am guessing, because it was a light cyclecar and would have been easily disassembled and the parts put to other uses. Secondly, it was only made in 1913 and 1914, in Detroit. So, obviously, few found buyers.

According to Wiki and Clymer, the Mercury cyclecar was built by Mercury Cyclecar Co., mostly in 1914. Interestingly, it had a self-supporting body, eliminating the need for a chassis. Such a light car would have benefited from the air-cooled, 2-cyl. engine and its nine horses. The company MUST have started with high hopes (like a lot of tiny companies!), as they actually offered the Mercury in THREE body styles: single-seater, two-seater and a sort of van.

Anybody in HAMBland know of one of these in existence? Or, anyone even have a pic or drawing of one?

 

Going back even earlier, there was a short-lived Mercury made in 1904 by the Mercury Machine Co. of Pittsburgh. Just one year, so NO pix, folks. Help?

And two other mysterious Mercurys were made -- one in 1918-1920, the other, the Mercury Steamer, only in 1923. Not much available one either, though it seems one of the two was built in Hollis, NY.

ANY info, pix or illustrations on any of these early, orphan Mercurys would be tons more than we have NOW!!!

 

Kingston Auto Show 1916 and 1922. Chicago Auto Show 1926.

 

How about this DeSoto 4door Convertible Sedan 5P?
Not quite sure about production year... in 36(S1) they made 215 cars.
If 37 (S3) they made 426 cars .Title statet 36/37....
shouldn't be many left......

This car belongs to a friend of mine, he had it in several years, in great condition, yet stored because helthtrouble of owner.

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Very rare car. Most mopar convertibles have very low production figures. I believe I know where one of these are but have never seen it.

 

1914 Mercury Model A cyclecar



The Mercury was a cyclecar
Cyclecar
Cyclecars were small, generally inexpensive cars manufactured mainly between 1910 and the late 1920s.-General description:Cyclecars were propelled by single cylinder, V-twin or more rarely four cylinder engines, often air cooled. Sometimes these had been originally used in motorcycles and other...

built in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
by the Mercury Cyclecar Company in 1914. The Mercury had a self-supporting body that eliminated the need for a chassis frame. The vehicle was equipped with a two-cylinder air-cooled 9 hp engine. It used a friction transmission and belt final drive. Body styles came in a monocar, a tandem two-seater and a light van.<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>ShowWikipediaFooter("Mercury_(cyclecar)")</SCRIPT>

 

This is a Steco Cycle car from 1914. The car is engineered by Stephens Engineering Co, Chicago and built by Universal Machinery Company. The price for this vehicle was 450 US$."

 

This should clear things up!

1933 Chevrolet Eagle and Mercury

The 1933 Chevrolet Eagle and Mercury represented two distinct directions for Chevy's lineup. The Eagle was the upscale series and the Mercury, added at midyear, served low-budget buyers.


[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Dual sidemount spares were popular on the 1933 Chevrolet Eagle[/FONT]

The strategy worked, and Chevrolet beat Ford's sales total by 44 percent for the year.

The 1933 Chevrolet Eagle and Mercury approach meant Chevys were built on two wheelbases (distance between front and rear axles) for the first time since 1922. Eagles measured 110 inches. The Mercury series rode a 107-inch span.
Skirted fenders helped impart a streamlined look. The Eagle line featured Silent Synchro-Mesh transmission for smooth gear changes. The Eagle also had something new called a Starterator, which combined the starter switch with the gas pedal. For the first time, bumpers were standard.

Ads boasted of "the only proved six-cylinder engine in the low-priced field." Enlarged to 206 cubic inches, the Eagle's six-cylinder engine developed 65 horsepower, just 10 fewer than Ford's V-8. A shorter-stroke, 181-cubic-inch version of the six went into the Mercury series and was rated at 60 horsepower. Chevy did take a serious look at V-8 power. GM engineer Alex Taub developed an experimental oversquare, overhead-valve V-8 engine, but Chevrolets were destined to stick with six cylinders for the next two decades.

Two-seat roadsters were no longer produced, and rumble-seated Sport Roadsters were fading in popularity. After all, fresh-air fiends could get a convertible cabriolet with roll-up windows. The new Town Sedan had a built-in trunk, not a common feature in 1933.

At the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago, visitors could watch Chevrolets being built.


<CENTER>
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]The bustleback 1933 Chevrolet Eagle Town
Sedan had an integrated trunk.[/FONT]
</CENTER>
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%" border=1 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=1><TBODY><TR><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>Model
</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>Weight range (lbs.)
</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>Price range (new)
</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>Number built
</TD></TR><TR><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>Eagle
</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>2,675-2,880
</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>$485-$565
</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>450,435
</TD></TR><TR><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>Mercury
</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>2,335-2,425
</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>$445-$475
</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 25%" align=middle>*35,845
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%" border=1 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=1><TBODY><TR><TD style="WIDTH: 25%"

 

Parked on the left is a 1933 Chevrolet Mercury.

 

1933 Chevrolet Mercury Series

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Chevrolet had a great year in 1933. In mid year the company introduced a new model called (ready for this??) MERCURY. Beating Ford for the name by some 6 years. No, it did not last long, just until the next model year in 1934. The 1933 Chevrolet Mercury rode on a 107 inch long wheelbase as opposed to the Eagle or "Master" series which had a 110 inch long wheelbase. There were also two different engines, although they were built exactly the same. The only difference was the length of the stroke. The Mercury used a 3 5/16 bore with a 3 _ inch stroke. It was rated at 60 brake horsepower at 3000 rpm. The Master series used the very same engine with its 3 5/16 inch bore but had a 4 inch stroke. It was rated at 65 horsepower at 2800 rpm. The Mercury was not widely accepted with only 35,845 produced for the model year. Percentage wise the Mercury's contribution of only 7.9% was enough to convince company officials to change for the next model year in the face of the Master series production of 450,435. No figures are available to comprehensively designate how many cars went to Chevrolet fleet vehicles. However, by extrapolating a constant estimate of all production, perhaps about 5500 cars went for police, fire, taxi and other various fleet services from Chevrolet in 1933.

 

SWI & HJ, THANKS for finding added material (AND pix!) of the Mercury cycle car! I think it is nothing short of amazing that makers sold these for a bare-bones price under $500, and STILL a determined Henry Ford cut Model T prices even LOWER -- under $400 -- until cyclecars (and many low-production small car companies) were out of the market picture!!!

 

HJ, I LIKE these '33 Eagles & Mercurys! Funny that, sans
sidemounts, the Mercurys were not great sellers VS. Ford.
To me, it's EVEN WILDER that sales of 36,000 Chevy Mercurys
was INSUFFICIENT to keep them in the Chevy lineup for '34 !!
Lots of other companies, I AM SURE, would have been happy
to move 36,000 at all !!! EVERYTHING'S RELATIVE, EH?

 

Hey, Leaded & SunRoofCord! '37/'38 series? If it's what
I think it is, I once met an old man who -- as a young man
-- had one of these DeSotos. With overdrive, he said it
would cruise straight highway at 90 mph !!! Pretty keen
for a flat 6 in the late 1930s!

 

Oldest original flying car heads to auction

<!--END Page Title --> <!--BEGIN Content Body //--> March 10, 2010

What is billed as the oldest original flying car in existence will be sold this weekend in Atlanta, Ga.



Actual flying car, designed and built in 1935
by Frank Skroback, with 7-foot-wide wings

The weekend event will be held at Red Baron’s gallery facility located at 6450 Roswell Road in Atlanta.

According to an article on OldCarsWeekly.com's sister Web site, AntiqueTrader.com, the flying car is Frank Skroback’s roadable aircraft, built in 1935. Skrobach was a retired industrial technician and electrician from Syracuse, N.Y. He got the idea for a flying car while studying the concepts of the French furniture maker turned aircraft designer Henri Mignet, inventor of the tandem wing monoplane.

Skroback wanted to modify Mignet’s design, to build a vehicle that could be multi-purposed. He envisioned a craft that could be used on the ground or in the air, for going from house to house using the roads as runways. His design consisted of six fixed 7-foot-wide wings that could lift a 21-foot-long tubular steel fuselage and spruce wing panels, all wrapped in linen.

Also to be sold is a one-of-a-kind boat-car sculpture, a fantastic colossus titled Bonneville. It was executed in a retro American style and created in the spirit of adventure for a fictional character named Jack Wolf, who had many adventures in Days Gone By. At 16 feet long and 5 feet wide, the sculpture would make quite a statement (and a great conversation piece) for the bidder whose taste in art runs outside the box.



Boat-car sculpture titled Bonneville, developed for
fictional character Jack Wolf, 16 feet long

Also offered in the transportation category is a 1953 Ottoway Steamer amusement park train with seating for 15, once owned by Arto Monaco, the famed Hollywood set designer for Cinderella’s Castle at Disneyland. Monaco installed a Briggs & Stratton engine and used the train in his very own Land of Make Believe in Upper Jay, N.Y. It comes with enough track for a 60-ft. diameter loop.

Red Baron will also be offering a selection of classic and collector cars. Examples include a 1997 red Ferrari F355 Spider Convertible, with ostrich leather interior; a 1967 Volkswagen “Herbie” Beetle, beautifully restored; and a 1957 white Ford Thunderbird convertible, with both hard and soft tops. Also sold will be a 1975 Vespa Piaggio motorcycle.

Also under the hammer will be a vast array of fine architectural antiques (to include a large selection of bars and mantels), vintage lighting, garden embellishments and fine jewelry.

To learn more about Red Baron Antiques and to view many of the items to be sold in the March 13-14 auction, visit www.rbantiques.com. To register to bid for the auction, you may go online or call them at 404-252-3770. The e-mail address is info@rbantiques.com. - Photos courtesy Red Baron Antiques

 

Gotta be a rare one here! Moosejaw Standard, only made in 1917, in Saskatchewan. Wiki says that five local residents and a few investors gathered parts from the U.S., including Continental engines, and built luxury touring cars. They built 25 cars, enough so that all sponsors had a car. With no other actual buyers forthcoming, they simply stopped right there! Now, that's a bit of an unusual scenario in the early auto biz, isn't it? I mean, actually QUIT WHILE YOU'RE AHEAD?!?!?


1917 Moosejaw Standard. Photo from Wikipedia
is in the public domain, due to time passed and
the fact that it was taken in Canada.

 

Here's one to help get HJManiac's pulse back up to snuff!

 

Interesting. According to www.reginaantiqueauto.ca/<wbr>carsofcanada.htm, only 5 cars were built.

<table border="1" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td width="195">MOOSE JAW STANDARD</td> <td width="97">1917</td> <td>Canadian Standard Auto Tractor Co., Moose Jaw,
Sask. (sometimes known as the Continental). Only five cars were built, one for each director of the firm. </td></tr></tbody></table>

 

Corphibian wannabe.

Auto Fitted With Floats to Navigate Both Land and Water
DESIGNED to ford streams and rivers on a 12,000 mile jaunt of exploration around the world, a new amphibian automobile has been constructed by Capt. Geoffrey Malin, British explorer, which floats by means of huge inflated bags attached to a special electron frame at the side.

This combination auto and ferry boat is driven by means of paddles attached to the rear wheels, and is so arranged that the water can in no way damage the motor. Before taking to the water the floats are attached to the frame and pumped up, appearing like huge sausages, as shown in the photo above.
​