Profile: 1910 Ford Model T Towncar

When most people are asked what they think of when they are asked about old cars, they usually picture in their minds a 1915 Ford Model T Touring, black in color with a brass grille surround and big, spindly, wooden wheels. This is not for lack of imagination, of the 15 million (or so) Model T's built during its 19 year model run (from 1908-1927), the vast majority of them were black Touring models. Of course, like any other car, you could get a different body on the car, if you wanted. One of the most expensive and most extravagant bodies you could get on the lowly Model T was the Towncar.

Yes, the Towncar, the body style that mostly purely represented opulence, luxury, and distinct class separation. The driver was out in the open, exposed to the elements, while the passenger rode in an enclosed cabin, spared from the elements. While a garden variety Model T cost around $450-600 in 1910 (this was before the famous production line that Ford started in 1914), the Towncar model cost a whopping $1200. Like any other specialty car, the Model T Towncar was coachbuilt, in this case by Bowdette. The car was marketed toward semi wealthy individuals and taxi companies, with varying trim, of course.

Some of the cars unique features include a windshield that could slide up completely into the roof, a collapsible rear passenger compartment (the convertible top was made of elk hide, by the way), and the choice of many different colors other than black. The high cost meant that few were produced however. According to the owner of the car pictured (who also owns another 22 Model T's of various body styles), only three Towncars were ever produced, making this one of the rarest Model T's ever.

More detailed information on this car can be found in the 2006 RM Auction Amelia Island catalog entry for a 1909 Ford Model T Landaulet (scroll to lot 148) that sold at the auction for $81,400. For comparison purposes, most garden variety Touring cars can be had in the $10,000-20,000 range. All the photos here were taken at the 2006 AACA Central States Meet in Rockford, IL.

1911 Marmon Wasp: A 'look back' at racing innovation

Ever since the first cars were built in the late 1800's, there have been automobile races. The thrill and publicity of competition drove car makers to go head to head against each other in many different venues. The racing spirit helped coin the old phrase, "Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday." Of course, racing has always done more than just spread publicity, it has also been a hotbed for innovation.

On of the most greatest, but simplest innovations to come out of racing was the rear view mirror. At the inaugural running of a little race known as the Indianapolis 500 in 1911, racer Ray Harroun deciding to make a slight modification to his Marmon Wasp racecar. The car was a single seater, unlike every other car on the track which had a seat for a driver and riding mechanic, which Marmon figured would shave at least the weight of the driver off of the car, making it faster around the track. Officials wanted drivers to have a riding mechanic so they could have an extra set of eyes on the track to avoid collisions. To skirt this rule, Harroun hastily fixed a mirror to the hood of his car and told track officials that he could now see behind him, negating the need for a co-driver with a second set of eyes.

As fate would have it, the Marmon was not only one of the lightest and swiftest cars on the track, it was also one of the most reliable. After 250 laps of the 2 mile oval, Harroun and his Marmon went on to win the first Indy 500. Today the Wasp resides in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Rear view mirrors, one of many innovations that have come out motorsport.

How to staying dry without windows: Side curtains

One thing you might notice about a lot of prewar cars, especially the really vintage ones from before 1920 or so, it that they usually don't have much in the way of weather protection. Early on, the reason for this was simple; designing and building closed cars was difficult and expensive. It required roll-up windows, sealed passenger compartments with little or no ventilation, no safety glass (hadn't been invented yet), and a fixed top. It was much easier back then to just make a simple, open body with no windows at all and a rudimentary convertible top. Open cars were also sometimes purchased by the wealthy who could simply afford to buy another closed car (or just a closed body) for when the weather turned sour. In any case, a quick fix was needed for those cases when the car would be incidentally caught in the rain. The solution to this problem was side curtains.

Side curtains are simply fabric curtains with clear film (usually celluloid) windows. They were flimsy and difficult to attach, but easily stored in the doors or seats of the car (remember, the doors were empty since there were no windows). The problem with the side curtains, of course, is that besides keeping some of the rain and wind out, they did little else to protect your from the elements. They were also difficult to see out of and hard to install, typically requiring two people and at least 15 minutes. As such, the little spring shower you were trying to avoid by putting them on usually stopped by the time you finished installing them.

Side curtains have survived, even till today. British cars used them for a long time after the war, and after that, some sports cars and SUV's have used side curtains in place of window. Then as now, the look and feel of a completely open car is alluring.

Photos are of a 1924 Duesenberg Straight Eight Convertible Sedan by Millspaugh & Irish.

Riding in a Duesenberg Model J

My family has never really been into old cars, so it has always been a treat for me to ride in a interesting, vintage automobile. Fortunately, over the years I have been able to make friends with people who have old cars and who were generous to let me ride in, and sometimes drive, their old cars. I have since driven everything from a 1996 Porsche 993 911 Cabriolet to a 1944 Jeep Willys to a 1922 Ford Model T. I have ridden some really fantastic cars too, like a 1947 Packard Deluxe Eight Limousine and the car filmed in the clip above.

About a week ago, on September 9th, I had a post here on the 2006 Auburn Concours, which happened on Sunday, Sept 3rd, just after the end of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival (which I also reported on here). In that Sept 9 post I mentioned that I got a ride in a 1931 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Clear Vision Sport Sedan, owned by the O'Quinn Collection. The car's caretaker at the show, Bill Powell was kind enough to give me a brief ride in the car, which had only moments before won Best of Show at the concours.

Needless to say, it was a fantastic experience. Above is a brief clip of my ride, taken from inside the car, sitting in the passenger seat. You can hear the deep growl of the 6.9 liter inline eight engine, which occupies much of the six foot long hood. The whine in the background is caused by the straight-cut gears in the car's three-speed unsynchronized transmission. All the photos here are of the car itself, including one of me sitting in it.

Cuneo Museum Car Show

One nice feature of car culture is the propensity for car people to congregate in places, sometimes for a show, sometimes for a cruise-in, and sometimes just for lunch. This weekend, there was a very small gathering of cars at the Cuneo Museum in Vernon Hills, IL. Occurring on the same weekend as the Glenmoor Gathering, in Canton, OH, the Cuneo show has fallen from a large gathering of cars, ranging from Duesenbergs to Thunderbirds, to a poorly publicized event that is mostly an antiques show and fair with an attached car show. As is often the case with cruise-ins and low profile events such as this, the bulk of the turn out is made up of muscle car and hot rod guys. This isn't necessarily bad, it simply disappoints the guys like me that are want for something closer in age to a Frank Lloyd Wright building than a Mies van der Roe structure (his American Period).

The show was not without its highlights, however. There were a few wonderful cars that showed up, and I got to see some friends' and their rides as well. The season here in the Midwest is tapering off as winter sets in and many of the cars go up on blocks (for fear of rusting away during the winter months) . Oh well, maybe next year the show will improve...or I'll go to Glenmoor.

Pictures, clockwise from lower left, are a shot of the east side of the field, a 1924 Rolls Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost PallMall, a shot of the west side of the field, a great license plate on a 1961 Ford Thunderbird, and a 1961 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible Coupe's healights.