| Vintage Motor Cars of Hershey Friday, October 10, 2008 |
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| 1913 Locomobile Model M-48-3 Four-Passenger Baby Tonneau | ||||||||
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48hp, 525 cu. in. T-head inline six-cylinder engine, four-speed manual transmission, solid front axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, live rear axle with fully-elliptic leaf springs, two-wheel mechanical brakes. Wheelbase: 137.5" Initially the best-selling car in America, the Locomobile became, in the words of its manufacturer, “Easily the Best-Built Car in America.” In that journey it made a remarkable transformation. The marque began in 1899, when magazine publisher John Brisben Walker and Amzi Lorenzo Barber, the “Asphalt King,” took over the steam car business of F.E. and F.O. Stanley. The light, $600 steam car they named “Locomobile” quickly became the hit of the day, selling, by 1901, some 2,200 cars annually. Its stardom, however, faded by 1903 when its sales were overtaken by the curved-dash Oldsmobile. Locomobile had hired a brilliant young engineer, Andrew L. Riker. Riker set to work designing a gasoline-powered car, a four-cylinder front-engine machine with stamped aluminum body. Fully-equipped, it sold for $4,000. A twin-cylinder car joined it briefly, but the four won out and by 1905 was the sole model, built in four sizes. While the steam car had proved a volume seller, Locomobile took a different tack with the gasoline cars. Riker’s philosophy was to build the best car possible, and this did not suit itself either to volume or low price. The year 1904 had shown a profit on production of just 200 gasoline cars; in 1905 the most expensive Locomobile sold for $7,500. Locomobile’s fame, interestingly, would come in racing. After a number of unremarkable attempts, Locomobile “Old 16,” with George Robertson at the helm, was victorious in the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup Race, the first American car to win an international race. In 1911, Locomobile introduced what would be the most significant and long-lived car in its history, the 48-hp Type M. A T-head six of 429 cubic inches, its cylinders were cast in pairs, and the balanced crankshaft had seven main bearings. Uncommonly powerful and smooth, the “48” grew to 525 cubic inches and its wheelbases to 142 inches. By 1914, four-cylinder cars had been dropped and a smaller six became the entry-level Locomobile. This Locomobile 48 was purchased in 1992 in unrestored condition from Tim Ohlendorf, a well-known restorer and craftsman of Beecher, Illinois. The owner then commissioned Ohlendorf to commence a full restoration, which was completed in 1995. The brasswork was restored by specialist Rick Britten of Battle Creek, Michigan, and upholstery was done by Antique Carriage Restoration of Nappanee, Indiana. It is currently titled in Kentucky as a 1912 model. The car has a few concessions to modern touring. Halogen bulbs have been installed in the headlights, which are otherwise unaltered. Hydraulic brakes have been unobtrusively fitted to the rear wheels. A fuel pump has been added, and a dual distributor replaces the original magneto, but all these items can easily be returned to original condition if desired. The car has only been shown twice, at the Ault Park Concours d’Elegance in Cincinnati, Ohio. In its 1995 debut, it achieved Best in Class honors, and in 2004 was presented with the Founders Trophy. The Locomobile 48 had perhaps the longest run of any American luxury car model, remaining in production with little mechanical change until the marque’s end in 1929. The model changed in appearance and character, however, and by the mid-teens it had lost the brilliance of brass and its Edwardian stature. This is a chance to acquire one of the very early Locomobile 48s, the iconic form of the model. A beautiful, large-horsepower brass car, it is prepared for show or tour, and will be an asset in any collection. |
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