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

The Studebaker Land Cruiser was an automobile produced by the Studebaker
Studebaker

Studebaker Corporation, or simply Studebaker , was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers,...

Corporation of South Bend, Indiana
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total of 107,789 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...

(USA) from 1934 until 1954. The Land Cruiser debuted at the World's Fair alongside the Silver Arrow, a product Studebaker's former premium make Pierce-Arrow
Pierce-Arrow

Pierce-Arrow was an American automobile manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active between 1901 and 1938. Best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks, fire trucks, camp trailers, motorcycles, and bicycles.- Early history :The forerunner...

.

The Land Cruiser was introduced at the 1933 at the Chicago World's Fair
Century of Progress
A Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago, Illinois from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation...

as an extensively streamlined sedan. Many of the same aerodynamic features of the car were shared with Pierce-Arrow's Silver Arrow show car that also debuted at the fair.


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Aside from a sloping deck with an integral trunk, a
four-section wraparound backlight and fender skirts
were among the features that reinforced the
Pierce Silver Arrow's streamlined appearance.

The Design of the 1934 Studebaker Land Cruiser

<!-- dtl_id=461954 //-->There can be no doubt that the design of the 1934 Studebaker Land Cruiser was inspired by the Silver Arrow. Most people at the time considered it unorthodox, some extravagant, but almost all controversial. The wraparound four-piece rear window was especially unique and the fender skirts (referred to as "rear wheel shields" by Studebaker) were probably industry firsts on a mass-produced car.

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Initially offered only in the top-end President series,
the Studebaker Land Cruiser production was
extended to the Commander line seen here.
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While Automobile Topics magazine referred to the Land Cruisers as "one of the smart streamline offerings of the hour," Studebaker president Paul Hoffman ignored the streamlining altogether and confined his comments to the functionality of the new fully enclosed trunk.

In a company press release, he is quoted thusly: "As a result of this demand for more luggage space, we designed what can be called as the first 'Land Cruiser' -- which I believe carries more luggage space than any manufacturer has yet built into a production model. This space measures 48 inches wide, by 27 inches long, by 27 inches high. With this space available, five people will be permitted to travel great distances without the discomfort of riding with a rear compartment piled high with baggage." Indeed, few cars were equipped with built-in trunks in 1934, and from Hoffman's remarks, we may gather that he considered the matter as a choice of function over form and that aerodynamics and streamlining played little or no part in the company's decision to build the car.

It took several months before new body dies could be made at Budd (Studebaker's supplier in Philadelphia) and the car put into full production. In fact, the first production Land Cruisers were not seen coming down the assembly line until mid April. Within the intervening four months, Studebaker had introduced its new "Year Ahead" models, which were distinguished from the earlier-series cars by their horizontal hood louvers. Since quantity production of Land Cruisers began after the introduction of the Year Ahead models, it is believed that most of the 1934 production of this model would have had the horizontal louvers, though numbers are not available.

The Land Cruiser body represented the prestige car of the line and it was featured prominently in most magazine advertising, which in those years was the principal recipient of auto company ad spending. Initially, the Land Cruiser was offered only on the President chassis. Later it was made available in the Commander line, and in June, on the deluxe Dictator. Prices on these new offerings were about 15 percent higher than comparably equipped four-door sedans-enough to discourage many Depression-era buyers.

The Studebaker Land Cruiser at the World's Fair

<!-- dtl_id=461964 //-->The Chicago World's Fair, or more correctly the Century of Progress International Exposition, was held on the city's beautiful lakefront in 1933-34. Its purpose was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the city's incorporation and, more importantly to provide jobs and recreation for a nation mired in a deepening depression. Planning for the event began in the late Twenties; Studebaker signed on to participate in August 1931.

At that early date, no one was sure exactly what form the display would take.
Whatever it was, it had to be sensational, since all the major auto companies would be represented and each would be trying its best to outdo the others. Of course, Studebaker could display some very impressive vehicles from the company's museum. It had the carriage in which Abraham Lincoln rode to Ford's Theater on the night of his assassination, and another in which the Marquis de Lafayette toured the U.S. during his visit in the 1820s, as well as many other historically significant vehicles.

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A mammoth rendition of the Land Cruiser towers
over fairgoers in Chicago at the
World's Fair in 1934.
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What the company finally decided upon, however, had nothing to do with museum vehicles. Instead, it would construct the largest automobile ever built. The idea was inspired by another large Studebaker built in the late spring of 1930 to commemorate Studebaker's remarkable records of speed and endurance.

The car chosen was a 1931 President Model 80 Four-Season Roadster. It was constructed of wood and measured 41 feet long, 13.5 feet high, 15 feet wide, and weighed 5.5 tons. It was built over a three-month period by 60 craftsmen in Paul Auman's experimental body department. The car was originally used as a prop for a movie short entitled Wild Flowers in which 22 members of the Studebaker Champions orchestra were accommodated in the driving compartment of the car. After the completion of the film, the car was disassembled and moved to a prominent knoll at the company proving grounds along busy Indiana Highway 2, seven miles west of South Bend.

Wanting to publicize its newest and most-luxurious model at the Chicago fair, the company decided to erect an immense representation of the President Land Cruiser. Though this giant car would have wooden framework, the exterior was made of plaster, and its completion represented a masterpiece of furring, lathing, and plastering. So accurate and authentic was the model that visitors would scratch at the surface with their fingernails to test the composition.

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A retouched publicity photo
of Studebaker's World's Fair
car intersperses models
with craftsmen at work.
</CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The giant Land Cruiser, which reposed in the great hall of the Travel and Transport Building, was 80 feet long, 28 feet high, and 30 feet wide. The running boards were 21 feet in length, the windshield wiper three feet, and the tires 12.5 feet For maximum "eye appeal," it was painted Canary Yellow, a color later made available on production cars for an extra $80. Below the running board was a door that led visitors into an auditorium that could hold 80 guests. Films were shown that extolled the virtues of the new Studebakers and told, in dramatic fashion, how Studebaker had set more than 140 records for speed and endurance.

Of course, a full line of normal-size Studebakers (some painted in Canary Yellow) were on display in the open foyer in front of the giant car. Directly to the left, large crowds gathered to watch craftsmen from Chicago's National Products Company cast 6.75-inch-long models of the Land Cruiser from molten metal. Each one had the words "Replica of Giant World's Fair Studebaker" embossed on the decklid. One could also buy a seven-inch-long Studebaker dual-wheeled stake-bed truck. The car was available in a variety of colors and the truck in red-both for the princely sum of 25 cents.

Not long after the colossal car was completed, Studebaker announced its new "Year Ahead" model with its horizontal hood louvers. To keep in tune with the production cars, the giant fair car was modified to reflect the changes, as were the pot-metal miniatures with white rubber tires. The detail and finish were quite good for the era and the popularity of the promotion led Studebaker to continue the practice in succeeding years. A 1935 model of the Land Cruiser was also done by the same firm and the decklid inscription read "Studebaker" or "Studebaker Miracle Ride." These were offered to dealers for 15 cents each.
​

This writer has often wondered whether the commissioning of the miniature cars by Studebaker at the fair represented the first use of promotional models. Certainly there had been toy cars and trucks built prior to 1934, but were any of these built to the accurate specifications required by Studebaker, and did any receive corporate sanction? If not, we can chalk up another industry "first" for the firm.

Studebaker reaped a tremendous amount of positive publicity from its participation in the exposition. At its conclusion, the big Land Cruiser was dismantled, but many of the thousands of miniatures have survived and remain in the hands of collectors. As for the outsized 1931 President that inspired the fair exhibit, it survived until the spring of 1936, when it was set afire on orders of the company president.


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1926 Chandler 33A Comrade Roadster

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The Chandler Motor Company produced automobiles in the United States of America during the 1910s and 1920s​

Corporate strategy


It was incorporated in 1913, with Frederick C. Chandler as President, headquartered and with its factory in Cleveland, Ohio. Chandler was a former designer for the Lozier Motor Company, a top end luxury automobile manufacturer. Chandler and several other Lozier executives left the company to form his company.
Chandler concentrated on producing a good quality motor-car within the price range of middle class Americans. Chandlers were well received in the marketplace.

Production

In 1920 ,Chandler had a line of 6 cars, ranging from $1995 to $3595. This grew to ten by 1922, ranging from $1495 to $2375. Like many other medium-price carmakers, in the middle 1920s Chandler introduced a lower-priced "companion car" called the Cleveland.
Chandler's peak year was 1927, when they sold 20,000 cars. Hopes for continued growth of the market led to overexpansion by the company the following year, which finished 1928 over half a million dollars in debt.
In 1929, Chandler Motor Company was purchased by its expanding competitor Hupp Motor Works for its factory and manufacturing facilities, and the brand was discontinued.
Chandler, like most cars built before all-steel bodies became the industry standard in the mid-1930s, used bodies built with a metal skin around a wooden frame (an "armored wood" frame). Due to the fabric roofs incorporated, after a few decades the wood tended to rot; because of this Chandlers have survived in smaller numbers than some other more popular automobiles of the era.​

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1920 Cleveland Model 40 Roadster ​

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How I Found My Cleveland - Rob Biffi


Four years ago I met a fellow named Roger, who owned a really old-style gas station near where I live. He was into Jaguars in a big way. When he found out that I collected vintage cars as a hobby, he told me about his Cleveland, which his Dad had purchased in 1959. His Dad put it on the farm in Wittlesea (country town) and was going to restore it. Unfortunately, Roger's Dad died in 1961. Roger kept his father's Cleveland as a memory of his father all these years, swearing he would never sell it. Roger was never able to restore the Cleveland because his 1950s Jaguar collection and restoration projects grew. After four years of my nibbling and letting him know I was interested, he finally decided to sell it to me. A date was set to go to Wittlesea to see the Cleveland, where it had sat for 40 years in a barn. The barn has been updated but the Cleveland still lay in the same spot. I couldn't believe my eyes. The car was barn-fresh, covered in 40 years of dirt and dust, with original upholstery tattered and torn. The engine turned over and even gave the oil pressure reading on the gauge. A deal was struck immediately and two weeks later I borrowed a trailer and set out to pick her up. She now sits with my growing collection of other unrestored but complete barn-fresh vintage cars waiting for some T.L.C.

 

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1916 Chandler Model Six Touring Car ​

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WILLS SAINTE CLAIRE

1926 Wills Roadster

1926 Wills 7 PaxSedan​

C. HAROLD WILLS


C. Harold Wills (1878-1940) worked closely with Henry Ford early in both men's careers, beginning as Ford's draftsman in 1902. Wills is credited with many engineering components of the Ford Model "T". When the Ford Motor Company was organized in 1903, Wills was their chief designer and metallurgist. In fact, Wills[SIZE=3][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][SIZE=5][B][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][SIZE=5][B][FONT=Arial][FONT=Arial][IMG]http://www.willsautomuseum.com/images/homepage_bg.gif[/IMG][/FONT][/FONT][/B][/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][/B][/SIZE][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/SIZE] designed the Ford script logo that is still in use today. By 1919, Wills had become restless in his job. He desperately wanted to update the Model "T", but Ford refused. Wills decided to leave Ford Motor Company and, with his $1.5 million dollar severance pay, announced that he would build a car in Marysville, Michigan, along the banks of the Sainte Claire River.


In 1921, the C.H. Wills Company produced their first overhead-cam V-8 (model A-68) Wills Sainte Claire. Wills autos were lightweight and strong thanks to the use of Molybdenum steel, though for a luxury car it was considered small. Many different types of bodies were available including roadsters, touring, and five- and seven-passenger sedans. On August 17, 1921, to prove the Wills quality, C. Harold Wills made a record run from Detroit to New York City of 689 miles in 20 hours, 26 minutes. On June 5, 1922, a company record of 80 cars were assembled. By November of 1922, the C. H. Wills Company entered into friendly receivership due to nationwide poor economic conditions and being $8 million dollars in debt.


In July 1923, the C. H. Wills Company was reorganized, with the help of Boston bankers, into Wills Sainte Claire, Inc. In 1925, Wills introduced the revolutionary six-cylinder overhead cam engine called the T-6. On August 28, 1926, driver L.B. Miller set a transcontinental record from San Francisco to New York City of 83 hours, 12 minutes using a stock T-6 Roadster. However, endurance records were not enough to keep the company in business, and on November 23, 1926, after producing more than 12,000 cars, auto production was halted and the company was liquidated. In 1933, C. Harold Wills joined Chrysler as a metallurgical consultant, and in August of the same year, Chrysler purchased the former Wills Sainte Claire factory. On December 30, 1940, C. Harold Wills, auto engineer and visionary passed away.​

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There is a great thread going as we speak on the woodell wildfire.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=421450

 

Here's more pictures of the "COX" hubcap (jimi'shemi291 : with mesurement) Hope for some info - C300

 

C300, good to know the hubcap measures 8-1/4", but I still haven't been able to find a reference to a Cox automobile. Bupkus.

But, other guys feeding into this thread have better resources than I, SO . . . could it be, maybe, a British or Australian-made car. Or might it be from another piece of quipment, NOT from an automobile?

 

Beauty! What collectors would give for one of these!

HJ, fascinating piece on a small but,
obviously, VERY quality- and style-
minded company!

 

Any Marmons?

 

HJmaniac.

Great call on the Wills-Saint Claire.

The Wills-Saint Claire is an engine lovers dream. They boasted advanced overhead cam engines (V8 and inline sixes) in the 1920s. Many featured moly castings.

Mr. Wills was previously at Ford. Click on the article to see one of the Wills-Saint Claire powerplants.

Vintageride

http://www.hemmings.com/hcc/stories/2005/05/01/hmn_feature14.html

 

UniBodyGuy, thanks for your post & interest in rare early cars. You did mention rare cars, but none of those, as makes, is EXTINCT (meaning NONE left in existence today). Pretty sure here that all the makes you mentioned (even the rare CASE) have been covered, so far in this thread -- the exception being Kissel, which is not extinct, as a make, though some models may be quite rare.

The Kissel was a well-made, well-respected car with a reputation for fairly high-performance and durability. Its snappy styling, especially on some lighter chasses, made it a darling of celebrities and movie stars, from Amelia Earhart to Fatty Arbuckle (both of whom loved their Gold Bugs).

Any of you regulars on this thread have a good pic of a Kissel Gold Bug -- and maybe some "survivor" figures?

 

See post #498

See link for search of Marmon.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/search.php?searchid=7960265

 

The Kissel was a well-made, well-respected car with a reputation for fairly high-performance and durability. Its snappy styling, especially on some lighter chasses, made it a darling of celebrities and movie stars, from Amelia Earhart to Fatty Arbuckle (both of whom loved their Gold Bugs).

1925 Kissel Gold Bug Speedster

Golf anyone? This 1925 Kissel Gold Bug Speedster has a place to carry a wicker golf bag on each side of the car.



It's also one of just a handful of this model known surviving. Notice the "Dual Whitewall" tires, both sides of each of the six tires have the whitewall feature.
Power for this 8 - 75 model comes from an inline eight cylinder engine, which is connected to a three speed manual transmission.

In the rear view you can see the step pads for the rumble seat.

The interior photo shows the dashboard. You can also see the windshield glass has no frame running across the top.

Kissels were manufactured in Hartford, Wisconsin from 1906 to 1931.

 

RedSled, please see SunRoofCord's tip in Post #845 RE makes that have been covered previously. Saves redundancy (that is, unless someone has new info or PIX, of course).

Also, using Marmon as a perfect example: Sure thing, they are rare, mainly because they were built so long ago. But Marmon as a company was around for a couple of decades, and one, a Wasp, even won the first Indy 500. So, no, Marmons are NOT EXTINCT, but many of the racer set-ups surely would be (or single survivors). A REPRO, for example, of Ray Haroon's Indy-winning 1911 Marmon Wasp was recently shown on the HAMB. And many of the V-16-powered Marmons would also be VERY rare, both because of offering one of only two production U.S. V-16s (the other being Cadillac) AND because many of the V-16 Marmon chasses carried custom bodies.

 

HJ, I swear, cars like this are just a JOY to LOOK at !!!
Talk about a high-society playboy/playgirl's car! AND
with snappy Woodlites, too!!!

 

1915--The Lincoln Highway Goes Hollywood--1915
[SIZE=+2]Anita King - "Koast to Koast" in a Kissel Kar
[SIZE=+1]On Wendesday August 25, 1915 Miss Anita King,
a former race car driver and now "Movie Star" set out from Los Angeles
to be the first woman to cross the Continent alone.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1][/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]See link for the rest of the story: http://www.lincoln-highway-museum.org/King/King-Index.html[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1][/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1][SIZE=+2][SIZE=+1]
[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]

 

Hey jimi'shemi291 and guys, I was on the Lincoln Highway yesterday US 30 when I went to Marion to visit my Mother in the nursing home.

 

HJ, I actually feel BAD when I think that younger generations probably can't even CONCEIVE of previous eras in which a U.S. Big 3 DIDN'T dominate the auto market AND auto hoopla !!! Lots of campanies provided cars and support for stunts (endurance tests, if you prefer. LOL!) like the one you just brought up. From the curved-dash, brass-lamp era right through the Roaring '20s, there was grandstanding and flamboyance in some abundance. "Old cars" were NOT always plain and mundance, NOR were the PEOPLE associated with them !!!

 

1914 Kissel
Kissels were built from 1907 to 1931, starting in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1lace><st1:City>Hartford</st1:City>, <st1:State>Wisconsin</st1:State></st1lace>. The first Kissle truck was mounted on a passenger car chassis. By 1910, the company was offering trucks up to five tons capacity. The bigger trucks used chain drive. The company also built automobiles. Kissel originally started as Kissel Kar but dropped the Kar during the First World War with <st1:country-region><st1lace>Germany</st1lace></st1:country-region>.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

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The featured truck is a 1914 two ton flatbed. The engine is a Kissel water-cooled, 4-cycle L-head. The transmission is a Warner 4-speed selective sliding gear and the rear axle is a Timken semi-floating worm-drive. Wheels are wood spoke type with solid rubber tires.
During World War One, the Kissel factory built the liberty truck for the war effort. In 1918, the factory was switched over to the production of FWD trucks under license from that company and under government contract. By 1919, Kissel returned to manufacturing its pre-war production models.
This 1914 Kissel truck on display in the museum sold for $1,975 new.<o></o>

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-by Don L. Hays<o></o>​

 

1909 Kissel Kar



This is a 1909 Kissel Kar model LD9, baby tonneau 5 passenger car. It has a 107 inch wheelbase and has a 4 cylinder, 40hp engine.

The tail lamp is tucked in beside the rear spring on this car.

In 1909 Kissel Kars were available in three series, the 107 inch wheelbase LD9 with a 40hp 4cylinder engine, the 115 inch wheelbase D9 with a 40hp 3 cylinder engine, and the 128 inch wheelbase G9 with a 60hp 6 cylinder engine.

 

1919 Kissel




The 1919 Kissel roadster had demountable wheel rims. You can see the bolts that held the rims to the wheels. Dual spare tires and rims were mounted on the back of this car.

 

HJ, I went to the link looking for the MOAAAL, and I couldn't find a logical like, once I was in. I didn't even see a box where I could key in logical serch words, e.g., Defunct Automobile Makes.

Any suggestion to get me unstuck here, bro?

http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/lis...y-country.html

 

1920 Kissel Speedster




The 1920 Kissel Speedster had an inline six cylinder engine that produced 61hp.
The little door behind the passenger compartment held single slide out seats on both sides of the car. Just the thing for bringing a couple friends along for the trip.
Another interesting note is that there is no driver side door for the passenger compartment, only a passenger side door.

 

Sent you an email.

 

1925 Kissel Speedster



Here is a 1925 Kissel Speedster in the two passenger configuration without a rumble seat. In 1925 Kissels were offered in four series,. Model 55 Standard, Model 55 Deluxe, Model 75 Standard and Model 75 Deluxe.
The Model 55 cars had a six cylinder engine and the Model 75 cars had an inline eight cylinder engine.

 

A sad addition to this list that I did not see mentioned is Oldsmobile and Plymouth... Not very rare, but dead none the less.

Nor did I see Muntz on the list. A very cool car IMHO.

The Hannibal 8 has always been one of my favorite "villain cars" and its currently on display at the petersen automotive museum. Im not disputing you, cause I have no idea when it comes to such things, but the museum placard even says its a VW industrial motor. One would think that they have researched such things, but what the hell do I know. -GothY-

 

1927 Kissel Model 55 Speedster



This 1927 Kissel Model 55 Speedster with a rumble seat has a six cylinder engine. The engine developed 61hp.
1927 Kissels came in three series, Model 55, Model 75, and Model 8-65. Model 8-65 was available in two wheelbases, 125 and 132 inches.
The Model 55 cars had a 61hp inline six cylinder engine and the others had inline eight cylinder engines.

 

1927 Kissel Sedan



This 1927 Kissel sedan features an rear mounted spare behhind the trunk. The rear bumper was really two seperate bumpers, one on either side of the spare tire.
The tail light and license plate are mounted in the center of the spare tire.
While this car was on display there was a small framed photograph sitting on top of the trunk.

 

1928 Kissel Sedan



Notice how the running board kicks up at the front.