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

I think the key to the mystery is the headlight mounting design and I think those little coil springs might be shock absorbers.

I definitely think it is 1920 era.

Can you clean off that data plate? That would help.

 

Another Samson

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top noWrap>1922 Samson COE C-Cab Stakebed
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Yes, the data plate appears to be for the shock absorbers, not the car. See my mention in my original post. My friend sent me one more picture since I posted that gives another angle.
Note how the tank brackets on top appear to jut out to be bumper mounts perhaps? I seem to remember seeing this some where before. I'm eager to see where this mystery leads.

 

1960 Crofton Bug:After Crosley went belly-up in &#8217;52, Crofton Marine Engineering bought rights to the Crosley engine and started making this slightly-revised version of the Jeep-like Crosley Farm-O-Road vehicle. This little utility pickup could average 44 to 46-mpg, and hit 48 to 50-mpg when conditions were right.

 

Hey, Mike! The rear kick-up is barely perceptible. COULD this be one of the SAME "mystery" chassis handing in the rafters a month or two ago???

 

You probably have seen a car with translucent tires about as often as I have, which is never. Somebody apparently thought this was a good idea, but I suspect the program ended right here. The experimental tires were red with lights inside them. Goodyear called them "tires of the future". I guess that future hasn't arrived yet.

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Re; Franks Mystery Car. I took his photos over to the AACA Forum and it has been identified as Dodge Brothers. Is there anything on the hubcaps?

 

One of the rarest automobiles of the Mercedes-Benz brand.

In February 1935 the then Daimler-Benz AG presented the Mercedes-Benz 150 Sports Roadster (W 30 series) at the International Automobile and Motorcycle Show (IAMA) in Berlin. The new car was positioned in the model range as a compact sports car with the potential for a bigger series – but in the end only a very few examples were actually built. The exact number is unknown.

The 150 was one of a succession of distinctive Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the early 1930's. Against the backdrop of the generally difficult economic situation at the time they were created with the intention of completing the lower end of the product portfolio. At the same time they are examples of the consistent implementation of innovative vehicle concepts throughout the long history of Daimler AG.

In 1934 the four-seater Mercedes-Benz 130 (W 23), the first series-produced car of the brand with a rear-mounted engine, appeared. In that same year the two-seater 150 model with mid-engine was built as a so-called Sports Saloon – today we would call this a coupé or sports coupé – especially for the "2000 Kilometres Across Germany" long-distance rally. In 1936 the four-seater Mercedes-Benz 170 H (W 28), with rear-mounted engine, debuted as the successor to the 130.

The two-seater Mercedes-Benz 150 Sports Roadster presented in 1935 is based on the engineering of the 150 Sports Saloon. It also has a mid-engine: to improve axle load distribution the drive unit engine-cum-transmission is rotated through 180 degrees; the engine is in front of the rear axle, the transmission behind it. Compressed air cooling enables the use of a smaller radiator since an engine-driven, encapsulated fan forces the cooling air through the radiator. The small rectangular radiator is located behind the engine, over the rear axle.

The engine can be regarded as a high-performance unit: with a displacement of 1.5 litres it produces an output of 40 kW – a very remarkable figure for the time, which even many a bigger-displacement engine could not deliver. The top speed of the Mercedes-Benz 150 Sports Roadster is put at 125 km/h, which is unusually fast for the 1930's.

A sales brochure praises the vehicle as a "spirited sports car" and emphasises the qualities of the sports engine and the excellent power-to-weight ratio. "One horsepower carries the burden of only 19 kg! This explains why the 150 has an acceleration in all gears that is almost a match for that of a supercharged car." The Mercedes-Benz 150 Sports Roadster remained in the official sales line-up until 1936.

Its body design fundamentally distinguishes it from the Sports Saloon. It was completely redrafted and shows some of the typical features of the open-top sports cars of its period, for example the backswept, divided windscreen and the two externally mounted spare wheels, which are fitted on the sides behind the doors, however. A main-beam headlamp is trimmed into the middle of the front end. A striking feature is the boattail, which tapers to a point and has two number plate holders. The Mercedes star on the front end stands upright; the rear-engined models 130 and 170 H have stars lying on the body's sheet metal. Both the light, unbuttonable roadster soft top and small items of luggage can be stored behind the seats. There is space under the front bonnet for a large suitcase and the fuel tank.

So the ingredients promised an exciting sports car, which also had a relatively moderate price of 6600 Reichsmarks – preconditions for a larger unit volume. But the production numbers remained extremely limited. The existing figures differ: one statistic shows 20 units; the statistics for the bodies built in Sindelfingen on the other hand cite five manufactured units – one in 1934, four in 1935. Finally, the delivery of only two units can be proven with the commission books. In any case, the Mercedes-Benz 150 Sports Roadster is one of the rarest automobiles of the Mercedes-Benz brand.

A 1936 Roadster is in the possession of Daimler AG. It was acquired second-hand with a mileage of 44,500 kilometres on the counter in the early 1950's through the good offices of Jakob Werlin, a former member of the Board of Management. It appears to be the sole surviving car of what at the time was a very progressive model series.

Mercedes-Benz 150 Sports Roadster (W 30 series)
Cylinders: 4 (in-line)
Displacement: 1498 cc Output: 40 kW at 4600 rpm
Top speed: 125 km/h Production period: 1934 to 1936

 

1919 Dodge Touring

Spring shock absorbers and similar headlight brackets.

 

1920 Dodge Roadster

Similar headlight brackets.

Brackets on gas tank for spare tire mounting.

 

<TABLE id=post5030593 class=tborder border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: #e5e5e5 0px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #e5e5e5 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #e5e5e5 0px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #e5e5e5 1px solid" class=alt2 width=175></TD><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e5e5e5 1px solid" id=td_post_5030593 class=alt1><!-- icon and title --> Re: We ALL Love a DARE! PIX of TRULY Extinct Makes?
<HR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e5e5e5; COLOR: #e5e5e5" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Quote:
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset" class=alt2>Originally Posted by SUNROOFCORD
Re; Franks Mystery Car. I took his photos over to the AACA Forum and it has been identified as Dodge Brothers. Is there anything on the hubcaps?


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1920 Dodge Roadster

Similar headlight brackets.

Brackets on gas tank for spare tire mounting.






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1920 Dodge Brothers Chassis

 

Mike & Jim, you guys get the Mystery Detectives Award for fast work. And, I'm totally convinced by the fender-seam pleat and the stamped "contour" of the front and back fenders. Good job!

 

SWI, I remember something somewhat similar for '56: COLOR sidewall overlays to complement car-paint color. (This worked same as those old fake "wide-whites" overlays, except wide & in COLORS). The example I saw was in a magazine sales ad, showing bright yellow overlays about to go on a black and yellow '56 DeSoto. But, I imagine they were available in various colors. Any rate, didn't stay around long!

 

Did I ever post the link before to this "extinct" Articulated Corvair prototype?

http://www.motortopia.com/videos/view/p/cars/t/garage/vi/3017/i/gm_military_prototype_agl4

Called the AGL-4, it was designed for military and commercial use. It looks like a jacked-up Loadside pickup, but the cab and bed are separate pieces, connected by an articulating joint. The Corvair engine is mounted in the front, under the cab, and it is 4-wheel drive.

 

Articulated? If you mean like the Sir Viral car, no. Bring it on!!!

 

Isn't it a Da-a-a-a-a-rling????

As so often happens when you go looking for ONE old car you think is particularly rare, or extinct, you come across something even RARER! This is what just happened when I went looking for the 1917 Darling automobile!

These were only made in 1917 in Dayton, OH, during WWI and ran into stiff competition from the established Stoddard-Dayton cars. So they didn't last long, only making a BIG (130-inch wheelbase!) touring with a 303-CID Continental engine. As such, they were "assembled" cars, and all were apparently built with wire wheels, not wooden artillery wheels, and were priced at a reasonable, for the time, cost under $2,000. Supposedly based on pre-production interviews with prior auto owners, the Darling, then, was billed as, "The Car With The Best Features Of all."

I could not find a PHOTO of a Darling anyplace I searched, but I found something MORE perplexing -- a DARLING not on most lists at all: the 1901-02 Darling of Shelby, Ohio! "Holy shit!" (I actually said that!) TWO damn cars by the same name . . . . and NO PIX!!!!

Shelby's Beardsley & Hubbs Manuf. Co. built this, what turns out to be an ELECTRIC, folks.

Coincidentally with this find, I ran onto a site covering an ongoing research project on early electric cars. It is stated there that over 140 (holy cow!!!) electrics were made worldwide prior to 1940. The majority were made in the U.S., with England and France trailing.

SO, as so often is the case, we're seeking a PHOTO of EITHER Darling automobile -- the 1917 and/or the 1901-02. Whew!



1917 Darling, with sincere thanks
to American-Automobiles.com
(Farber Associates, LLC)

 

AGL-4 was four wheel drive, but front engined!! They moved the engine from behind and put it in the cab portion of the rampside. They coupled the cab with the bed of the truck and put in a conventional rear axle and made it four wheel drive. So, the cab was functional without the rear of the truck, but off course it couldn't balance on just two wheels! Larry says that this was built by GM Defense in California in about 1965. It wasn't very successful, probably because the engine took up too much room in cab and there was very little room for gas tank.
http://www.motortopia.com/videos/vie...prototype_agl4



The AGL-4 was a special Greenbriar/Loadside modified (by GM) to drive the two wheels under the front. It had a special multiaxls joint behind the cab, where a powered trailer attached (also driven through the joint, I think) The GM film, of which you may have seen a part, was a promo to the Tank-Automotive command and possible commercial users. It showed this unit running up and down sand dunes, climbing over obstacles, etc. This was the standard promo type film using a Prototype. The trailer actually detached allowing the half-loadside to move around with a small rear wheel inserted at the (ahem) rear. Not the most stable vehicle as equipped. The Gama-goat Prototype was Corvair powered, as were several tracked vehicles from various producers. The Lockheed Twister had a pair of 140HP motors each driving 4 wheels. It, too had a multiarticulating joint in the middle. The Twister prototype held the record for many years at the Nevada Test facility, near Reno. I actually sat in the vehicle and put a bid in on it (power trains only) just before Lockheed crushed it. The Twister was built in Sunnyvale, several local Corvair club members worked on it while Lockheed employees in the 60's. Dave Newell wrote an article about Corvairs in Green outfits, some years ago. Of course the reason for the Corvairs popularity was the compact, self contained power plant and axle. No separate cooling system, etc
Seth Emerson

PS - Lockheed crushed several Brand New 140HP motors when the project was ended.

Lockheed Twister:

 

I searched the thread, and I don't think the Waterman
Aerobile of 1957 has been mentioned yet, since neither
term came up. Waldo Waterman seems to be the same
inventor who built the successful 1934 Arrowplane "flying"
car SunRoofJim mentioned a page or two back. That
actually got airborne and is still recognized as the FIRST
flying car. For the '57, the propeller was in the rear and
pushed the machine. Though it worked, nobody ordered
one, so the one&only is in the Smithsonian Institution.
The photo was featured by TIME as being one of the 50
worst "cars" of all time, and I THANK TIME for the image.

 

Check this link for additional info:

http://books.google.com/books?id=Pl...e & Darling Motor Company dayton ohio&f=false

 

Yup, looks like the identical 1917 model, doesn't it? Thanks, Mike. Now if we only had something more on the earlier Darling car.

I honestly think that when we've looked at every resource we can think of and found nothing on a GIVEN MAKE & YEAR, it seems fair to conclude that the car is -- for practical intents & purposes (AND until proven otherwise -- EXTINCT. (None found to be in existence.) It's usually a BAD omen when a car name doesn't even appear on anybody's list, except maybe for a mere mention in Clymer.

We've had some extremely rare cars on this thread -- meaning, just one or a mere handful. Geronimo (1 maybe 2), Heine-Velox (3 of the later edition; NONE of the early edition), '30 Peerless V-16 (one only), Beaver (Oregon, NONE), Dixie Flyer (only pieces of 2), Luverne (photos only), Nadig (1, incomplete) -- just some off the top of my memory.

But SOME searches go NOwhere -- and we've had out share of those. It's nice to be able to post SOMETHING on a given year&make, but when we search and find nothing, ISN"T THAT WORTH A MENTION, TOO? Isn't it fair in such instances to class such cars as "EXTINCT, until shown otherwise" ???

 

Here is another link with some DARLING info:

http://books.google.com/books?id=Pq...q=james guthrie darling motor company&f=false

Same pic. Since production had not started at the time of the article this is probably a prototype.

 

Long Lost Racer: 1963 Pontiac LeMans Super Duty: 1 of 6?

11/9/2008 Update:

This Pontiac sold for an amazing $226,521.63 with 31 bidders. The bid jumped from $90k to the selling price in only the last few minutes, and the buyer has perfect feedback and looks legitimate.

From 11/7/2008:

It seems the seller of this 1963 Pontiac was notified about half-way through his eBay auction that this car appears to be a ultra rare factory lightweight drag race model of which only six were produced. The others were sold new to such big names as Mickey Thompson and George DeLorean. Find this one here on eBay in Harrison, Michigan. Special thanks to BaT reader Ren S. for this submission!



The car features an early tow bar and stout traction bars. There was also a trunk load of performance engine parts but the car is without engine. The photo above shows one of the real cars at the Detroit Drag Way in 1963 with DeLorean at the wheel.



We aren&#8217;t sure that this is the real deal, but the bidders seem to be. Another odd piece of the puzzle involves the lightweight alloy front clip which is supposedly missing or removed. The seller is continually updating the auction as more info becomes available.



This interior shot shows the aftermarket gauges and also the wiring and cabling which might have been used with an upgraded tachometer.



Underneath the rear axle us upgraded and the beefy lower traction bars are in plain view. A total restoration is obviously required.



If this is really one of the 6 originals Tempest Super Duty sedans, the price on this car will defy logic. These cars make R-code Galaxy 427&#8217;s look mass produced. We like the style when restored, and seeing an early Pontiac on the strip is always a pleasure.

 

This one was surprising to me because it dates from 1958, not from "Day One" like so many of the rarities. The Aurora "experimental safety vehicle" was the brainchild of a Catholic priest, Father Alfred Juliano who designed and built the one-off prototype at a cost of $30,000 in Bradford, CT. Wikipedia said it took him three years to design and 1957-58 to complete. Apparently because of the project's nature, Juliano's congregation partially funded it. The car reportedly broke down over a dozen times on the way to its unveiling -- not a good omen.

Juliano likened an investigation of the project finances to what the government had done to Preston Tucker a decade earlier. But he was still forced from the priesthood and died of a brain hemorrhage in 1989. The car had landed behind a body shop during Juliano's bankruptcy. It sat deteriorating for many years, until Andy Saunders, a British auto enthusiast, discovered it in the early '90s and painstakingly restored it. Father Juiano's safety car is now in the collection of the Beaulieu Motor Museum, Hampshire, England.

Oddly, the only image I could find of this strange and rare car is the one on the cover of an issue of MECHANIX ILLUSTRATED, thanks to Wikipedia. ANYBODY got a better one? Surely would be good to see some close-ups!

 

It was all in his head, the salvation of mankind. And the aspiration was rather overwhelming that he decided not to build a giant synagogue at the center of the world that shall be equipped with monster sound system (for preaching and praise songs). Instead, he went small-scale: he made a car. After all, I&#8217;m a car buff too, Catholic priest Father Alfred A. Juliano might have said
Yes, the Aurora Safety Car, which is considered the first Experimental Safety Vehicle, is the brainchild of a priest! It was meant to go places&#8211;be a car with either a Cadillac, Lincoln, or Chrysler engine built on Buick chassis&#8211;but then the Aurora Motor Company, partly funded by Juliano&#8217;s congregation, went broke after coming up with the car&#8217;s first prototype, which cost $30, 000.00. Talk about one-hit wonders.
If there&#8217;s one feat we can accredit to this car (definitely not the design&#8212;what, are we seeing a plastic-covered bathtub on wheels?), it&#8217;s its attempt at a safer cruise on the highway. To that we say, amen.

Aurora
Fr. Alfredo Juliano was a Roman Catholic priest who decided to build cars that were safer and in 1957 he presented his ideas in the form of the Aurora.

Built on a Buick chassis, Aurora featured a plastic body designed to be dent and corrosion proof. The body also had cowcatcher like air-scoop in front and a foam-filled bumper designed to cushion a pedestrian who might be struck by the car.

The car's bubble-like windshield was devised to enhance the driver's visibility -- because of its rain-shedding shape, wipers were not needed - and to provide more room between the glass and the driver or front-seat passenger's heads in a frontal impact.

Not that their heads were likely to hit the windshield: The front seats were mounted on swivel; the concept was that if a frontal crash was imminent, occupants swing turn around and thus be protected by their seats.

The car also had an internal roll cage, side-impact beams, a collapsible steering column, padded dashboard and seat belts.

It was to be priced at $12,000. The prototype broke down repeatedly and had to be towed to its unveiling. The Aurora Motor Co. of Branford, Conn., funded in part by members of Juliano's congregation, went bankrupt after building the prototype and Juliano went to jail for accounting irregularities.

 

SWI, huge THANKS for coming up with the further info, bro! Juliano was actually an arts and design major and got ordained before his okay came through to work under Harley Earl (no joke, it did come through, though after he was betrothed to a congregation). Nevertheless, he must have been morally torn and TRIED to follow both paths!

Actually the kooky thing looks better in your pic than on the cover of MECHANIX ILLUSTRATED. And it sure as hell doesn't look a whit dumber than the Gaylord of that era. (The Edsel people should have said: "HEY, look at THOSE wild cars!!!") And it's tame beside the Sir Vival !!! Nyuk, nyuk!

 

Weird thing is........
I know I've seen that car somewhere before.
Not in person, but in one of my books, or on the net. Just can't seem to place it.
Tried to find pictures of it in the museum where it supposedly is, but nothing on the museum site.
Figured someone must have taken pictures and posted them, but no luck...........

 

<CENTER>
</CENTER><CENTER>One-of-a-kind 1921 Aero Car sketch, thanks </CENTER><CENTER>to American-Automobiles.com </CENTER><CENTER> </CENTER>Degreaser asked back in November on Post #593 if an AeroCar survives. I don't have a definitive answer on survival, but ONLY ONE prototype was made, and the Huron, South Dakota concern, Sheldon Reese Co., did not pursue the project.

Touting the fuel-efficiency of a motorcycle, the AeroCar was claimed to get 60-mpg with its two-cylinder, six-horse engine. Though the pusher propeller was the most striking visual feature, the two-passenger AeroCar was very small, weighing only about 150 pounds and riding on a 60-inch wheelbase with 30-inch track. Unlike in an airplane, the engine could be started from the driver's seat.

Sort of lends a new sense of urgency to that old amusement-park order: "Be sure and keep hands and feet INSIDE the vehicle during the entire ride!"

 

Ran across these handsome later Jordan cars, so I had to share! We'd all admired the '31 senior sedan from a dim photo a few months ago, but this pic is a little better and shows the simple but elegant radiator-shell design typical of Jordan. And the wheelbase of the '27 Tomboy seems to hint at what killed the Jordan Little Custom -- and, ultimately the whole company.


1931 Jordan Great Line 90 rumbleseat coupe V-8,
thanks to OldTimerGallery.Cars.


1927 Jordan R Tom Boy cabriolet six,
thanks to OldTimer Gallery.Cars

 

Also think Isadora Duncan who died when her long scarf got caught in the spoked wheel of a car

Duncan was a passenger in the Amilcar automobile of a handsome French-Italian mechanic Benoît Falchetto.