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

1929 Kissel Sedan



Small opera windows can be seen behind the rear doors.

 

Upon further research, I found that they actually built 6 Hannibal 8 cars.
I do know for sure at least one of them was powered by a Corvair motor.
The one for sale at the Volo museum lists a 6 cylinder motor and a VW motor of that era (1964) would be 4 banger. All Corvair motors were 6 cylinder, and it was featured in an article years ago in the CORSA magazine.
I imagine some of the 6 cars built were non-runners as well.
But at least 2 survive............maybe more.
Only one of the Hannibal 8's had the scissors frame set up. Probably only one, for the stunt part of it.

So we are probably both right..................

That's just like in the original Movie Vanishing Point, most of the Challengers were 383 automatic cars, not the 440 4-speed like the movie claimed.
and the car hitting the bulldozers in the end was a motorless Camaro, not a new Challenger.

 

Gothboy; I was sure that Muntz Jet had been talked about earlier in the thread. Oldsmobile and Plymouth might be DEAD but they are far from being EXTINCT or NEAR EXTINCT as numerous examples of both survive. But, if you want to talk about Oldsmobile, let's talk about a significant Oldsmobile like the

[FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]1953 Oldsmobile Fiesta Convertible[/FONT]

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[FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]Olds built only 458 Fiestas at a base price of $5,717.00 which was $1,500 more than the regular Olds 98 Convertible.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]This is one of the milestone convertibles that General Motors built in 1953.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]Notice the wrap around windshield and doors that slope downward.[/FONT]

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[FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]The regular Olds 98 Convertible had no wrap around windshield and sloping doors.[/FONT]

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Years ago in a Special Interest Autos magazine, there was an article about a farmer that had gone to the Olds Dealer in his Bib Overalls and wanted to buy an Oldsmobile Fiesta Convertible brand new. The Tealer told him he couldn't afford that car.

So, the farmer went home, came back a little later in the day and set the cash for the car down on the table. And , no, he did not take out a loan. Just goes to show ya "Never Judge A Book By It's Cover" or in layman terms "A Person By The Way They Are Dressed"

 

HJ, the list came right up from the link, as shown in your your emal. Computers sometimes make me scratch my head, man. THANKS!

 

1953 Oldsmobile Fiesta
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1953 Oldsmobile Fiesta. Click image to enlarge</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="red9pt">

</td> </tr> </tbody></table> Article and photo by Bill Vance

The 1950s were the best of times for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, but particularly for GM. After taking sales leadership from Ford permanently in 1931, the brilliant leadership of Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., with his hierarchy of cars and annual model changes, enabled GM to become the undisputed king of American car companies.

Its market share averaged 41 per cent in the 1930s, 44 in the 1940s, and 46 per cent in the 1950s. Some years in the &#8217;50s saw that figure rise above 50 per cent.

With such market domination it&#8217;s not surprising that GM set the trends in styling and engineering. Its Motorama shows had both current models and &#8220;Dream Cars&#8221; to test public reaction to new styling and engineering features. Motorama started in 1949 and travelled to major cities showing off the automotive future as envisaged by a highly confident General Motors.

Two early concept Motorama cars were the Buick LeSabre and the Buick XP300 introduced to the public in 1951. They previewed such items as wraparound windshields and aircraft influenced styling. One of the Motorama &#8220;dream cars,&#8221; the Chevrolet Corvette, actually made it into production in 1953.

Also in 1953 GM&#8217;s three senior divisions, Buick, Oldsmobile and Cadillac, wanted to do something special to celebrate their more than 50 years in the automobile business.

As image builders they decided to market what were almost &#8220;dream cars for the showroom,&#8221; the limited production two-door Cadillac Eldorado, Buick Roadmaster Skylark, and Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Fiesta. All were convertibles, and all were expensive.

And if limited production was the test of exclusivity, the Fiesta would be the most exclusive of them all. The Fiesta was based on the standard Ninety-Eight, and at first glance the Fiesta bore a strong resemblance to it. There were, however, many subtle differences, including a lower wraparound windshield, a dip in the body just behind the doors, and different badging.

The dramatically curved &#8220;Panoramic&#8221; windshield required a modified instrument panel. To accommodate the cut-down windshield, a lower convertible top had to be designed, and the reduced overall height also required new doors and windows.

One of the Fiesta&#8217;s most distinctive features was its three-spoke &#8220;spinner&#8221; wheel covers. They were adopted by other Olds models later and became a popular aftermarket item.

Oldsmobile chose an appealing two-tone paint scheme for the Fiesta. Most of the car was painted in the base colour except the upper part of the rear fenders and the deck lid. It was a far more attractive treatment than some of the garish two- and three-toning of the 1950s.

As expected of an upscale model, the Fiesta was fully equipped, including Hydra-Matic transmission, power brakes and steering, and hydraulically operated top, windows and seat. The &#8220;Wonder Bar&#8221; signal-seeking radio had a foot-operated signal-seeking switch, and a power antenna.

The Fiesta was a big car at 5,461 mm (215 in.) long with a 3,150 mm (124 in.) wheelbase. It weighed a hefty 2,018 kg (4,450 lb). Power came from Oldsmobile&#8217;s 5.0-litre (304 cu in.) overhead valve V8 Rocket engine with a slightly higher compression ratio than the standard Ninety-Eight engine. This raised horsepower to 170 from 165, and it also got the division&#8217;s new 12-volt electrical system. <table class="black9pt" width="465"><tbody><tr><td>
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</td></tr></tbody></table>Oldsmobile introduced the Fiesta as a mid-year model in the spring of 1953. It was assembled in Lansing, Michigan, Oldsmobile&#8217;s ancestral home, and extensive custom work made it almost a hand-built car. The result was a price approaching $6,000, more than $2,500 above regular top-of-the-line Oldsmobiles.

The Fiesta was made for only the 1953 model year, and the stiff price, plus a short selling period resulted in just 458 of them being built. Given the amount of custom work required on the Fiesta, however, it&#8217;s unlikely that production could ever have been very high, even if the market was there. Cadillac built 532 of its Eldorados, while Buick, at 1,690 had the highest 1953 production of the three special soft-tops. Cadillac and Olds made their versions for 1953 only, while Buick would carry the Skylark into 1954.

It&#8217;s unlikely that the three divisions made a profit on their ultra-luxury models. Due to the Fiesta&#8217;s low production, Olds likely lost the most, but the object was to produce exciting vehicles that were almost show cars for the street, and would attract more showroom traffic.

Many of the Fiesta&#8217;s styling features such as the wraparound windshield, the body dip and the spinner wheel covers would find their way onto standard Oldsmobiles. The Oldsmobile Fiesta is largely forgotten now, but for those who do remember, they were very luxurious, and have become popular collectibles.
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HJ; Fantastic Kissel Pictures. Here's some info on the Kissel Museum in Hartford, Wis. Well worthwhile.

Hartford, Wisconsin, Home to Kissel Autos and A Special Museum

Hartford Heritage Automobile Museum An Outstanding Display

Hartford, Wisconsin Nestled in the gentle rolling hills of Wisconsin's famous Kettle Moraine is the city of Hartford. Founded in 1844, the city has a rich heritage of manufacturing as well as agricultural and business ventures. Most notable of the manufacturing ventures was the Kissel Motor Car Company. inspired by their family's own "horseless carriage," brothers William and George formed their own company in 1906. Kissel built automobiles, funeral coaches, fire trucks, taxicabs and other styles of vehicles. One large order of trucks went to transport a circus. During Kissel's peak year, over 4,000 units were built.

The most famous of the Kissel cars was the low slung "Gold Bug" speedster. Popular with many celebrities of the day, many customers came to Hartford to pick up their automobiles.

While the Kissel Motor Car Company is gone, the memories of the upscale automobiles that were built by the Kissel family are preserved at the Hartford Heritage Automobile Museum. It is undoubtedly the largest gathering of Kissels in one place. The museum is operated by a not-for-profit corporation and is not supported by any government body. It relies on donations and admissions for its funding.

"The museum features both Kissel and Nash automobiles," says Museum Director, Mr. Dale Anderson. "Both are Wisconsin based automobiles so we have a kind spot in our heart for those," he says. The museum features a 1902 Rambler, built in Kenosha, Wisconsin by the Thomas B. Jeffrey Company. The Jeffrey Company became Nash in 1916. According to Anderson, the museum occupies 40,000 square feet of a 160,000 square foot building that was donated to the museum along with 12 acres of land. The building was originally built as a cannery in 1905 but was destroyed by fire in 1918. It was rebuilt to its current configuration in 1918 but ceased operation as a cannery in 1982. One of the other tenants of the building is an antique mall.

A library is part of the museum which houses the museum's collection of photos and paper memorabilia of the Kissel Motor Car Company. Included in the collection is a letter from Henry Ford to William Kissel from the late 1930's. The Kissel Motor car used the winged messenger, Mercury, from mythology. Mr. Ford's letter asked permission to use the Mercury name and winged messenger logo for a new marque that Ford Motor Company was going to introduce. Of course, the Mercury debuted in 1939 and it is assumed that Mr. Kissel granted the permission to Mr. Ford.

86 cars and trucks are on display in the art-deco interior of the museum. Besides Kissels and Nashes, the museum features several Fords, including a brass Model "T" and three Model "A's," one of them a slant windshield Pickup truck. Other interesting vehicles include a Briggs & Stratton, an early Suburu, several post-war vehicles, as well as Harley-Davidson motorcycles and several industrial motors. Interspersed amongst the cars are automotive related artifacts of many eras. Also on display is an assortment of outboard motors that were built over the years in the former Kissel factory.

Much of the original Kissel Motor Car Company building still stands east of the museum. A marker from the State of Wisconsin indicates the location of the original plant and the building can be seen from the location of the marker. in fact, much of the original building is still in use. When the Kissel Company stopped automobile manufacturing in 1931, a victim of the depression, the company was reorganized and continued to build parts for Ford Motor Company and other manufacturers up into World War II. The building has remained in nearly continuous use as a manufacturing facility, most recently in the manufacture of outboard motors. While it has been used for warehouse space, no manufacturing has taken place since the early 90's but is about to become a manufacturing facility again. You can buy a brick from the original Kissel factory in the museum gift shop.

Hartford is located just 20 miles northwest of the Milwaukee County line and is easily reached from U.S. Highway 41. The museum is located at 147 North Rural Street in downtown Hartford. The museum is open May 1 through September 30 from 10:00 to 5:00 Monday through Saturday and from Noon to 5:00 on Sundays and holidays. From October 1 through April 30 the museum is closed Monday, Tuesday and all holidays. Admission is $5.00, $4.00 for Senior Citizens and Students, Children under 8 are free. Group rates are available. Call 414-673-7999.

To learn more about the Hartford Heritage Automobile Museum, visit the museum web site at ULR http://www.classicar.com/museums/hartford/hartford.html or find it from the classic car home page at: http://www.classicar.com.
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I saw some one make a post about Chandler Auto from Cleveland Ohio. A buddy of mine and fellow member here has one (needs restored) but has a very solid one!!!

 

The only significant Plymouth that is coming to mind at the moment is;

The 1954 Plymouth Belmont Concept Car

By Tom Benford

Virgil Exner was an extraordinarily talented automotive designer. Exner was born in 1909 and he became the youngest design head ever of the Pontiac Studio in 1934. "Ex" (as he was known to his friends and associates) worked at the Studebaker Studios under Raymond Loewy from 1938 through 1949. Ambitious and aggressive, Exner started designing cars in his spare time and presented them to Studebaker on his own, which setup direct competition with his boss, Loewy. Exner's design for the 1947 Studebaker won-out over Loewy's design and this spelled the end of his career at Studebaker, even though he was retained to do the reworks for the 1948 and 1949 models.

Exner came on board with Chrysler in 1949 and enjoyed a snowballing career success, becoming Chief of Styling by 1952. Ironically, this was the year the rug was pulled out from Chrysler as the corporation sank into a permanent 3rd place in the industry, behind Ford, while GM with its Chevrolet marque reigned as king.

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Originally in Azure Blue, the 1954 Plymouth Belmont concept car as it looks today in red trim.

Chrysler's Plymouth line had dropped to less than 12% of its normal market by 1954, which was far below its traditional third-place in sales for the corporation. Two Plymouth "dream cars" were designed and produced for the 1954 show season in an attempt to rekindle interest in the marque. The first was a flashy two-seat roadster called the Belmont and the second was a coup called the Explorer. In all probability, Chevrolet's new Corvette and Ford's impending Thunderbird two-seater had a heavy influence on the design and building of these two concept cars. I could go on at considerable length about the other show cars in Chrysler's 1954 and 1955 lineups, but that is beyond the focus of this article which is, indeed, the Belmont.

The Belmont made its public debut, painted a medium metallic Azure Blue, sitting atop a rotating platform at the Chicago Auto Show, surrounded by Plymouth's other 1954 offerings. The flashy new convertible undoubtedly turned quite a few heads while quickening pulses with a glimmer of hope that this was a vision of things to come for both Plymouth dealers and customers.

The concept car had been fabricated of reinforced fiberglass by Briggs Body -- not Plymouth or the Chrysler Corporation (although Chrysler would eventually purchase Briggs). As remarkable as the exterior of the car was, even more remarkable was the fact that a Dodge Red Ram hemi V8 engine resided under the hood. This sparked speculation almost immediately that the Belmont was more Dodge than Plymouth, and corporate literature claiming the car was built on a Dodge frame just added fuel to the fire.

In truth, both the Plymouth and small Dodge shared the same 114" heelbase chassis. It was also common knowledge that Plymouth was working on a V8 at the time but, due to lack of manufacturing capacity, engine production had to be delayed. Chrysler was building a new engine foundry and it was assumed that Plymouth would have its own V8 by the 1955 model year. The push was on because it was known that Chevrolet would be introducing its own V8 in 1955 as well.

Plymouth did, in fact, introduce a V8 for its 1955 models, but dealers were told to push the straight-six because V8 production couldn't keep up with demand. The first V8s to be installed in Plymouths were actually Dodge engines (the first true Plymouth V8 didn't appear until the 1956 model year).

The Dodge engine in the Belmont is serial number P27-1014, which esignates it as the 14th V8 engine produced for the 1955 models (the motors were built prior to the actual production of the 1955 cars).

The bore and stroke is 3-7/16"x31/4" and the displacement is 241.3 cubic inches, producing 150hp at 4,400rpm. The engine is totally stock except for chrome valve covers and a low-profile air cleaner fitted to the standard Stromberg WW-3-108 single-barrel carburetor. The valve covers were just eye-candy, whereas the custom air cleaner was necessary in order for the hood to close properly.

Although the Belmont was unique, a number of components were "borrowed" from other Chrysler production parts bins. The sparkling chrome Kelsey-Hayes wire wheels were available as optional equipment on all Mopar products of that period, and the taillight assemblies are from the 1953 Chrysler line. The steering wheel and horn ring are stock Plymouth, while the control knobs were from the 1954 Chrysler.

The wrap-around windshield was fabricated from thick Plexiglas and, when seated behind the wheel, you can see some slight rippling in the plastic material. There are no exterior door handles, so entry and exit is accomplished by pulling on the chrome levers on the inside of the door panels. The Belmont's convertible top is stored in a separate compartment directly behind the seats, covered with a solid pan

Exner had a special arrangement with the Chrysler Corporation in that the Belmont would become his personal property after it was retired from the auto show circuit; this was indeed out of the ordinary, since retired concept and "dream" cars were routinely destroyed once their useful life was over.

The Belmont's dash pad is covered in light gray tuck-and-roll leather - a padded dash was really innovative in 1954, but it was probably done for esthetics rather than safety concerns. The dash is also engine-turned and sports easy-to-read gauges, including a 130 mph speedometer.

Exner and his family retained ownership of the Belmont for several years and then sold the car to a Marie DeAngelo around 1968. Don Heckler purchased the car from DeAngelo in 1970 and owned it until January, 1989. Originally a resident of Ventura, California, Heckler moved to Oregon where he purchased a farm. The Belmont was "discovered" there by noted classic car enthusiast Loren Tyron. The Belmont had seen better days due to neglect but, nevertheless, it was still all there. Tyron secured the car for Don Williams as an addition to Williams' Blackhawk Collection.

A total restoration was performed on the car to bring it back to its original show car condition, with the only major change being a switch from the original Azure Blue color to red.

Along the way, the car was featured in the 1954 motion picture, Bundle of Joy, in which it was driven by Eddie Fisher with Debbie Reynolds as the passenger. Later in its life it also appeared in the 1957 movie, Mister Corey, which starred Tony Curtis, Martha Hyer and Charles Bickford. The headlights are recessed into chrome buckets with cross-hair grills keeping with the jet age styling trends of the period. The headlights are recessed into chrome "buckets" with cross-hair grills keeping with the "jet age" styling trends of the period.

Ele Chesney, the Belmont's current owner, acquired the car in 2001 at Amelia Island. The Belmont is alive and well, residing in New Jersey, and Chesney enjoys campaigning the car frequently at high profile shows around the country, but she also takes the car to local shows at the New Jersey shore. "It's a lot of fun to drive," she commented. And anyone who has seen her behind the wheel knows she's having a good time with her full-sized "toy". But there's some good news for the rest of us - she also mentioned that we'll all soon be able to own a Belmont "toy" in 1/24th scale when the die-cast model becomes available soon.

 

Can you post pictures of it????

 

let me find the ones I've got...and I'll have Lawbreaker post his (he owns the car)

 

SunRoof, yeah, I was looking for a PIC of the '54 Exner concept belvedere, but I couldn't find one that wasn't heavily copyrighted.

At the risk of getting OT for a sec: Though they are not extinct, I ALSO feel deeply that the '57 Fury rivals the DeS Fireflite and Chry. 300 -- AS WELL AS the '57 Chevy for SUPER lines. They seem to be EXTREMELY scarce, though. I know RUST was an awful problem on the '57 Mopars, but I can't imagine more top-notch Fury hardtops aren't out there -- and RAVED about! THOSE FINS!!!

 

SunRoof, not to take anything at all away from Stude's Land Cruiser or Pierce's Silver Arrow. But I think Northrup's bodywork on the REO Royale, plus Graham's intro of the fully skirted Blue Streak had a definite effect on the rath pronounced shift toward more aerodynamic, "streamlined" styles in the '30s.

And, maybe, this just underscores your earlier praise of the industry (as a whole) for producing some of the most beautiful cars ever -- smack during the depths of the Great Depression.

 

The Reo Royale is one of my favorite cars.

Reo Flying Cloud and Reo Royale



1931 REO Reo Royale Victoria Eight

REO's two most memorable cars were its Reo Flying Cloud introduced in 1927 and the Reo Royale 8 of 1931.

The Flying Cloud was the first car to use Lockheed's new hydraulic internal expanding brake system and featured styling by Fabio Segardi. While Ned Jordan is credited with changing the way advertising was written with his "Somewhere West of Laramie" ads for his Jordan Playboy, Reo's Flying Cloud&#8212;a name that provoked evocative images of speed and lightness&#8212;changed the way automobiles would be named in the future. The final REO model of 1936 was a Flying Cloud.

The 1931 Reo Royale was a trendsetting design, introducing design elements thatwere a precedent for true automotive streamlining in the American market. The model was vended until 1935. Beverly Kimes, editor of the Standard Catalog of American Cars, terms the Royale "the most fabulous Reo of all". In addition to its coachwork by Murray designed by their Amos Northup, the Royale also provided buyers with a 125 hp (93 kW) straight-eight with a nine bearing crankshaft, one shot lubrication, and thermostatically controlled radiator shutters. The Royale rode upon factory wheelbases of 131 and 135 inches (3,400 mm); a 1932 custom version rode upon a 152-inch (3,900 mm) wheelbase. The Royale also featured REO's semi-automatic transmission, the Self-Shifter.

More on Reo Royale here with pictures of a beautiful '32 8-35 Royale Convertible Coupe with Murray Coachwork...One of three known to exist.

http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z9072/Reo-8-35-Royale.aspx

 

Not too sure about he color on this one.

1932 REO Royale Convertible Coupe

 

Original 1934 REO Royale N-2, survivor, unrestored but carefully stored for 72 years

 

<!-- Log in -->
<!-- end header --> 1931 Reo Royale

 

Hey, that 2-tone blue one sold on eBay last year, didn't it?

 

Rare and beautiful. When RE Olds got squeezed out
from the company he'd STARTED, he resolved to build
an even BETTER car! Many would argue that he DID
JUST THAT! Tough, durable, dependable, beautiful.
He insisted on high nickel content in the blocks, so
they were hard to wear out!

HAMBer CycleBilly has recently posted this Flying Cloud (pro
appraised) for sale. The thread is entitled, 1932 REO Flying
Cloud S2 Sedan

 

Might of been on ebay but still on White Glove Collections website so assume it didn't sell. This guy has always got unique cars. I've been there a couple times.

http://whiteglovecollection.com/1931-reo-royale/

 

1935 REO Flying Cloud 6 cylinder Sedan

 

HJ, though the Chandler name is pretty familiar to anyone
with a fair interest in early automobiles, the article your pre-
sented filled in some pieces I certainly wasn't aware of. AND
THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS THIS THREAD HAS BEEN SO MUCH FUN!

For one, I felt it was KEEN to see the interrelated "continuum"
of talented guys leaving established Lozier and starting their
own company, Chandler, WITH a clear vision of the market
niche and product they intended to bring to bear! (I don't
know why, but I have assumed that Chandler was about on
par with contemporary Chalmers in terms of inadequate
capital, vision and leadership. Not true!)

I did not know (but not surprised) that they were one
of the companies that stubbornly continued to use a
wooden internal frame for the body, either. But that
does help explain why fewer Chandlers survived, eh?

Finally, I had forgotten details such as: the spin-off
of the Cleveland (1919-1927) car line, ill-timed over-
expansion leading to a financial bind and, of course,
the buy-out by Hupmobile (mostly for the new plant)
and the resultant cessation of Chandler as a make.

Sorta reads like a CASE STUDY on how the early auto
business often went, EVEN for well-run companies,
doesn't it????

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1926 Chandler "Comrade" roadster


1920 Cleveland Model 40 roadster

 

SunfRoofCord, do you have a PIC of the '36 Flying Cloud ? Therein ilies a STORY about how hard it was to survive in the car BIZ in the middle of the depression!

Graham didn't have dough for a new body style, and REO was trying to stay in the car business. So, Graham BOUGHT REO-made bodies and adapted them as a Graham model, thus saving design & tooling money. Graham's purchase gave REO needed cash. OK idea in a pinch, right?

Sadly, the move worked for NEITHER company! Poor sales for '36 models led REO to quit making passenger cars. And the two living Graham brothers (again) infused some of their own funds to try and keep G-P alive, until things might improve. We all know what happened next: the poorly received Spirit of Motion and the Hollywood both flopped.

 

Oops, forgot to mention, most Graham enthusiasts consider the '36 the ugly duckling Graham, in a series of otherwise well-styled cars.

 

Here's one you don't see very often.

1934-1936 Aerodynamic Huppmobile. Also commonly referred to as the "Sad Eyed" Hupp. The Coupe is Super Rare.

 

It seems that Hamber JasonK purchased a 1936 Reo Flying Cloud back in 2004




http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32710

 

1936 Graham 110 Sedan

 

Since you guys have gone a bit OT. I lusted after one of these for a couple of days before it mercifully sold (the seller was asking 11k). Completely original and stored for the last 40 years. One thing it did do is get me to join the Hupp club. Its was a 1932 Hupp Model F straight 8.

My understanding is that there are still 3 or 4 floating around so not Extinct.

 

Classy car, AlsAncle! Hupp made CLASSY cars.

Yes, it seemed that a lot of people didn't get the difference between EXTINCT (and nearly extinct), so we've been drawn more and more to allowing pretty RARE makes AND models, concept/"show"/one-offs, and such. Too many people were just throwing out names of a half-dozen companies simply not in business anymore. You see the CONUNDRUM.

Maybe we can keep it to EXTINCT and ULTRA-RARE???

 

<TABLE style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" id=AutoNumber1 border=0 cellSpacing=0 borderColor=#111111 cellPadding=0 width="100%" height=82><TBODY><TR><TD height=1 width="100%" colSpan=4 align=left>Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - J.M Quinby & Co. Inc. - 1923-1929 - East Orange, New Jersey
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</TD><TD class=chart width="1%"> </TD><TD class=chart vAlign=top width="59%">James M. Quinby (18??-1874) began making carriages in Newark, New Jersey starting in 1834. Slow and steady progress was made, and his firm soon became not only the largest in the state, but one of the largest in the country, with a large factory at 326 Broad St. in downtown Newark. From the 1820s through the Civil War Newark rivaled New York City as the nation’s carriage building center and as many as twenty factories employed from twenty five to one hundred men each. Quinby’s factory had always been the largest, employing around 200 hands in 1857.
Towards the end of the century a new modern 4-story factory was built at 21-39 Division St. in Newark, and a Manhattan showroom established at 620 Broadway in New York City.
Quinby was a leading citizen of the community and served as Newark’s mayor from 1851-1853 and from 1861-1863 served as Essex County’s State Senator. When Quinby died in 1874, control of the firm passed to his sons. However, after a number of years in business, they decided to sell the business to Newark’s Ogden family. William W. Ogden became Quinby’s president and his brother Henry, vice-president and treasurer.
Walter C. Yelton served as Quinby’s chief draftsman and superintendent through the transition from carriage-building to automobile body building. At the age of fifteen Yelton moved from his native Kentucky to Oneida, New York, where he apprenticed at the shops of J. L. Spencer & Co. Subsequent positions were held with R. M. Bingham, in Rome, New York, the Oneida Carriage Works, in Oneida, New York and the Cortland Wagon Co. in Cortland, New York. In 1893 he attended the Andrew F. Johnson Technical School and went to work for Quinby in July of 1895. Yelton remained Quinby’s chief designer until he left to work for John B. Judkins Co. in 1916.
Another noted Quinby delineator was Emerson Brooks, who joined the firm soon after Yelton. Brooks was also an early automotive enthusiast and was an early member of the Automobile Club of America – the predecessor of the modern-day AAA. Quinby sponsored the talented Brooks went he studied design in Europe during 1902 and he would later form the New York coachbuilding firm of Brooks-Ostruk Co. in 1917 with Demarest’s chief designer, Paul Ostruk.
The March, 1899 issue of Horseless Age reported: "It is an unfailing sign of the times when one of the oldest carriage-building firms in the country, noted for more than half a century for the excellence of their product, embarks in the manufacture of electric carriages."
A stillborn scheme with entrepreneur James E. Hayes to build electric delivery vehicles for the Newark brewer J. Herbert Ballantine made headlines, but in reality only a handful of Quinby Electrics were actually delivered, and those few were built to order using components sourced from the Riker Electric Vehicle Co. of Elizabethport, N.J.
Herbert T. Strong, one of Quinby’s talented designers, patented a process for making composite aluminum over wood, automobile bodies in 1902, and this innovation helped launch their body-building business. Quinby’s tulip phaeton became quite popular, and served as a major influence on the much more ornate Roi-des-Belges open tourers which became quite popular in Europe during the early 1900s. The Roi-des-Belges was named after the topless limousines favored by King Leopold II of Belgium, the Belgian Monarch who had a much celebrated affair with the notorious Parisian dancer and post card pin-up Cléo de Mérode.
In 1903 Quinby enter into negotiations to body the proposed American Panhard which was to have been assembled by Panhard’s American distributors Smith & Mabley, but Panhard supposedly axed the scheme due to pressure from US Customs who feared the loss in anticipated revenue.
Emerson Brook’s long association with the Automobile Club of America led to the firm’s decision to exhibit a Decauville limousine at the December 1905 New York Automobile Show. The following year Quinby’s stand included handsome French-influenced designs on FIAT, Mercedes, Panhard, Renault, and Simplex chassis. A Quinby display with many of the same vehicles was held a few weeks earlier at the competing 1906 Licensed Automobile Manufacturer’s Importer’s Automobile Salon which was held at Herald Square Exhibition Hall during much larger ALAM’s exhibit at Madison Square Garden. The following year it was decided to exclude imported chassis at both the ACA and ALAM New York shows and to exhibit the foreign chassis in a third, totally separate event which would be held at Madison Square Garden following the two American shows at the end of December.
For the next few years Quinby’s Salon exhibits consisted of a variety of open and closed body styles on various imported chassis - Benz, Daimler, Decauville, FIAT, Isotta-Fraschini, Lancia, Mercedes, Minerva, Panhard, Renault, and Rolls-Royce. But due to the unwarranted expense of exhibiting at all three shows, Quinby – and others – decided to focus their attention on the Importer’s Salon, where they displayed their creations on both imported and domestic chassis. Subsequent Salons included Quinby creations on the following American made /assembled chassis: American FIAT (assembled in Poughkeepsie, NY), American Mercedes (assembled in Long Island City, NY), American S.G.V. (Charron, Giradot and Voight - assembled in Rome, NY), Crane-Simplex, Jennis, Locomobile, Lozier, Matheson, Packard, Pennsylvania, Pierce (Great Arrow), Pierce-Arrow, Scott, Singer, Simplex, Smith & Mabley and Wick.
The 75<SUP>th</SUP> Anniversary 1909 J. M Quinby & Co. Aluminum Body catalog offered 27 different styles of bodies for the discriminating customer and a satellite showroom was established in Philadelphia at the corner of Walnut & 12<SUP>th</SUP> Street. Quinby also became a distributor for Isotta-Fraschini as well as a distributor and exclusive body-builder for the Bryn Mawr-built Pennsylvania automobile.
Advertising for the Pennsylvania car emphasized that its bodies were made by Quinby, "recognized and accepted as America's best." However, in August of 1911 Quinby sued the automaker alleging that Pennsylvania had reneged on its 1909 contract before the full delivery of bodies ordered. The action led to the Bryn Mawr firm’s involuntary bankruptcy in 1911.
Emerson Brooks was now Quinby’s vice-president, as well as serving as treasurer for the Automobile Club of America, a position that undoubtedly brought in additional revenue for the firm. Brooks continued to have a hand in the firm’s design work introducing a novel angled footboard on a Simplex chassis that offered the driver additional comfort on long journeys.
Two additional Quinby satellites opened in rapid succession, a Simplex and Isotta-Fraschini showroom on Pittsburgh’s Grand Blvd in 1910 followed by another at 1849 Broadway in Manhattan that was headed by H. M. "Deacon" Strong.
In January, 1912 the New York Times reported on two imported Benz chassis seen at the Importers Auto Salon with Quinby coachwork:

“The most striking model is a 30 horse power chassis-de-luxe equipped with a gorgeous special Quinby coronation limousine body painted in rich royal purple striped in gold – all mounting and fittings being in gold. Carved mahogany woodwork covered in gold leaf decorate the upper portion of the interior of the limousine, which is elaborately upholstered in rich mauve broadcloth. The color scheme of the interior harmonizes with the exterior in that all fittings are in purple and gold. Electric dome and lights illuminate the interior, while the lamps are specially crown deigned. The crown of the King of England replaces the usual monogram on the doors. A new type of oval extension top with a round back, fitted over an aluminum cap, imbedded in the upholstery of the top covering is a decided innovation.
“Another purple and gold exhibit is a special Quinby coronation torpedo on a 250 horse power chassis. The purple leather for the upholstering was specially imported.”
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Despite the fact that Isotta-Fraschini opened their own New York City showroom in 1912, many of the automaker’s chassis displayed at subsequent Salons were still exhibited with Quinby coachwork which was due in no small part to Captain Ugo d’Annunzio, the I-F’s branch’s flamboyant manager who was the son of the infamous Italian Nietzschean poet, black magician, anarchist and aviator, Gabriele D'Annunzio.
Quinby's Manhattan showroom eventually moved to 232 Fifth Ave. from it original location at 620 Broadway. When they closed down in 1917, its manager, H. M. "Deacon" Strong, became sales manager for New York’s Wm. Wiese & Co., a major supplier of upholstery for the custom body industry.
Quinby, along with Burr, Demarest, Holbrook and Locke were well-represented at the January, 1913 Importer’s Auto Salon which took place once again in the Hotel Astor’s Grand Ballroom.
Quinby's 1914 New York Salon exhibit consisted of 9 Isotta-Fraschinis; 2 polished I-F demonstrator chassis, one a 120-130hp, the second a 45-55 hp model, a 120-130 hp Isotta-Fraschini Inside-drive "social limousine, a 120-130 hp I-F runabout, a 70-80 hp I-F collapsible touring, a 35-45 hp I-F collapsible touring, a 25-35 hp I-F special touring, a 25-35 hp I-F limousine and an 18-25 hp I-f inside-drive coupe, all with Quinby coachwork.
The 1915 Auto Salon marked the first time in over 10 years that an official Quinby booth was absent from the event. The only European chassis displayed were from Lancia and Peugeot as the Great War in Europe greatly reduced the availability of imported chassis. Italian manufacturers were busy producing chassis for the Austro-Hungarian/German War effort and transportation bottlenecks prevented other chassis from crossing the Atlantic. The only Quinby bodies in evidence were located on the Simplex stand.
Following his graduation for the Andrew F. Johnson Technical School in 1914, a young John Dobben was hired by Quinby as a delineator. He had previously worked in the body shops of the Pope-Hartford Co. where he studied design using Andrew F. Johnson’s correspondence course. In 1913 he decided to personally attend Johnson’s classes at New York’s Mechanics Institute.
In a conversation with coachbuilding historian Hugo Pfau, Dobbin recalled that in those days, they had no chassis blueprints to work from in laying out the body. He often went into New York City or perhaps out to Long Island to measure a chassis they were to build a body for. This meant not only the superficial items such as wheelbase, but the exact contour of the chassis frame, the shape of the kick-up over the rear axle, the location of each body bolt hole. Then he also had to check such items as the location and size of brake drums, differential housings, and other points for which clearance would have to be allowed when build&shy;ing the body.
This was a process that could take many hours of careful measurement, jotting down notes and making small sketches which would later be redrawn in full size before the body draft could be started.
Dobben worked at Quinby from 1914-1917, when he left to work for the John B. Judkins Company in Merrimac, Massachusetts, where he was to remain for the next quarter-century. He recalls that the Quinby’s offices were at 342 Broad St, but their advertising still used the factory's 21-39 Division St address.
Right before Dobben left, William and Henry Ogden considered the manufacture of another Quinby automobile, this one gasoline powered. A 1916 trade journal reported that "from its position as one of the leading makers of custom bodies in the East," Quinby was planning to "expand into larger existence as a car maker."
Among the principals behind this effort was William O. Houck, former vice-president and sales manager for Keeton, and the plan included a stock offering in order to increase its capitalization from $200,000 to $2.1 million. Apparently there was a third Ogden brother who passed away at the same time. He had made a fortune on Wall Street and left a huge trust fund for his two brothers, the principal of which they could not touch. Surprisingly, the plans for the new venture were scrapped and the Odgens decided to retire from the bodybuilding business.
Quinby was notably absent from the 1916 Importer’s Auto Salon and a late 1916 NY Times article stated that:

“J.M. Quinby & Co. of Newark, New Jersey, one of the oldest carriage and automobile body builders in the country, will sell its plant and retire from business.”​

The Hub also announced the firm's withdrawal from business in its March 1917 issue:

"The J.M. Quinby & Co., Newark, N.J., one of the oldest carriage and automobile body builders in this country, has decided to retired from the business after a period of 80 years of high-grade carriage and body building."​

A subsequent news item reported that the large Quinby factory in Newark was on the market for $400,000 and a July 2, 1917 auction disposed of what remained of the firm’s equipment and inventory.
Apparently the Ogden brothers sold the name separately from the building, as a new J.M. Quinby Co. emerged in April of 1923. The new firm specialized in buses and commercial bodies, and was located just a few short miles away from the original Quinby plant in the former Jephson-Scott Body Co. plant in East Orange, New Jersey. The new enterprise was headed by Ernest Kay, a former director and treasurer of Quinby and Richard H. Long, the last owner of Jephson-Scott.
To finance the new enterprise, the pair formed the Long, Kay & Company, a brokerage house whose sole business was the sales of shares in the “new” J.M Quinby & Co. Inc. for which they raised $200,000 through a sale of preferred stock. Although it would be illegal today, the pair pocketed $40 for ever $85 they placed in the Quinby coffers, a practice that was common in the years before the strict regulations that were made necessary by the stock market crash of ’29.
The reorganized J.M. Quinby & Co. Inc. prospered for a short period, but within the year its business took a turn for the worse and Long took over as president to protect his investment. He reduced the workforce and by the end of 1925 its outlook had greatly improved. Unfortunately the firm’s output never exceeded 25% of capacity and dividends were never paid out to its shareholders, so they took Long and Kay to court over the matter in 1926. The judge found that no wrongdoing had been committed and rejected the shareholders’ petition. The firm lasted for a couple more years but didn’t survive the decade, going out of business for good in 1929.
Quinby’s original Division St. factory was torn down in 1998 to make room for Newark’s Riverfront Stadium which opened in 1999.
© 2004 Mark Theobald - Coachbuilt.com</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>