Jump to content

For Sale: 1925 Stanley Touring Car, SN 25007, Original Condition, Runs Very Nicely!


Recommended Posts

For Sale:

1925 Stanley Steam Car - Phaeton (Touring Car) Model

Serial Number 25007, Model SV-252A. Original Condition. HPOF Eligible. $99,999.00.

post-45126-143142601227_thumb.jpg

This is probably the only running un-restored, Stanley SV in existence. This car ran very well in September 2012 and subsequently.

This is the second earliest 1925 Stanley documented to have survived. It is the 7th car produced by the Steam Vehicle Corporation of America of Newton, MA, one of only 53 produced in 1925.

This museum piece should be preserved in a major collection.

post-45126-143142601236_thumb.jpg

This car steams very nicely and drives very well.

  • Original SV engine in octagonal aluminum engine case. Has not been converted to a 740 engine as many of the SV cars were.
  • Original leather upholstery, note some deterioration.
  • Lockheed Hydraulic Brakes – rebuilt in 2010, filled with DOT 5 brake fluid.
  • Body shows very minor nicks and scratches, typical of an un-restored car.
  • Missing rear window, correct replacement frame in hand but not installed.
  • Model 750 water tank installed by Carl Amsley, however the original water tanks survives and comes with the car. It requires repair but should be installed.
  • A larger and later master cylinder is installed for the hydraulic brakes. Sadly the original master cylinder has been lost. An original exists should the new buyer want patterns.
  • The air pump is missing but was likely never installed by the factory. This appears to be the case with several other documented 1925 SVs.
  • Connection required from generator to Waltham speedometer. Speedometer is out of the car but present, but it is correct for the car. A speedometer cable comes with the car but not clear if it is original.
  • Electric fuel tank gauge is probably original. There is no Foxboro gauge or sending unit. The electric fuel tank gauge fills the hole where the original Foxboro gauge would have gone. It is likely that the Foxboro gauge and sending unit were never installed.
  • The boiler has been re-tubed but it believed to be the original boiler.
  • The burner is a conventional drilled, two-venturi Stanley burner and may very likely be the original or a very early replacement. The originally designed boiler and burner were 20” and much too small.
  • The car’s piping is a bit unusual with a sight gauge located inside the engine compartment.

This car was owned at one time by Carl Amsley, who made the following modifications:

  • Cut slot in front floor board and installed a hand water pump. Brent Campbell saw this car at Carl’s before Carl cut the hole in the floor board and mounted the condensing car hand pump, probably a Model 740 hand pump.
  • Replaced steam pressure gauge in dash. It is correct, but the dial reads Stanley Motor Carriage Co. and not Steam Vehicle Corporation.
  • Model A Ford rear tail light on left rear fender.
  • Installed Model 750 water tank.
  • Replaced the original black condenser shell with nickel. A correct condenser and shell will be provided if the buyer desires.

Provenance:

  1. Unsubstantiated Story:

    1. The car was originally purchased by a Cleveland woman. It was not running when it arrived and the local Stanley dealer got it running for her. The Steam Vehicle Corporation of America was nearly bankrupt and shipped incomplete cars to its dealers with the promise that future deliveries would include an adjustment for parts added by the local dealer.
    2. The owner parked the car in her garage and rarely (never?) drove it.
    3. She divorced her husband (other way around?) and they fought over the car.


    4. It is unclear what happened next, but the car ended up on a used car lot in Bryn Mawr, PA in 1930.




      1. The car was purchased by Francis W. Bunting in 1930. He found it in a used car lot in 1930, either in Bryn Mawr or across the line in _______. Bryn Mawr, PA is northwest of Philadelphia on Route 30, the Lincoln Highway.

  1. Charles Gibson works for the Wicks Organ Company, servicing organs in the Philadelphia area. In 1986, Charles Gibson was working in Center City Philadelphia. He and his father had been interested in old cars since the 1970s.

  1. Bunting approached Gibson looking for insurance for the Stanley and they met in a restaurant to discuss the car and insurance.

  1. Bunting lived in Haddon Heights, NJ in 1986.

  1. Bunting drove the car and maintained it.

  1. Bunting was transferred to Erie, PA by his employer.

  1. Bunting and his wife parted ways after they moved to Erie, but did not divorce.

  1. Bunting moved back to Haddon Heights, but his wife stayed in Erie.

  1. Bunting had a Philadelphia girl friend, but stayed friendly with his wife.

  1. The car was stored at Bunting’s Aunt’s house. When she died, she left the house to the Methodist Church to endow the maintenance of the church organ.

  1. Bunting bought his Aunt’s house from the church.

  1. [size4]Bunting was still supporting his wife in Erie as well as his Philadelphia girl friend, Ruth Hardin.

  1. In the spring of 1989, Bunting visited his wife and died in Erie. A month later his wife died.

  1. Bunting’s girlfriend, Ruth Hardin was the executrix of his estate.

  1. Ruth came to Charles Gibson and asked if she could store the car with him and did so for 9 months.

  1. Gibson wanted to buy the car but $15,000 was beyond his financial capabilities, what with a new house and a wife, etc.

  1. Gibson connected Ruth Hardin with the Stanley people.

  1. Someone looked at the car and realized that the “connection between the boiler and engine” was missing. Bunting was apparently working on the car and had put the parts under the stairs in the house. When Ruth sold the house, she unknowingly tossed out the parts, not realizing what they were.

  1. Gibson met Carl Amsley at Hershey in October 1990. Amsley was very interested in the car.

  1. Gibson got Amsley and Ruth on the phone and had Ruth “look under the front seat cushion” for the serial number to ensure it was a 1925 car. Then Amsley bought the car for $20,000 on November 15, 1990.

  1. Gibson and his wife visited Amsley in the spring of 1991 and had lunch with Amsley and enjoyed a visit and a Stanley steam car ride.

  1. Don and Fred were hanging around Carl Amsley and bought this car prior to 1995.

  1. Don put the new – current – tires on it and installed the boiler water level sight glass inside the hood.

  1. The kidney gauge was on the car when Amsley got it, as was the fuel tank gauge. The only thing Amsley did was add the hand pump – Brent Campbell says the same. One of the gauges was changed out – there is new hardware holding it in place.

  1. The paint was on the car when Amsley got it. Neither Carl or Don did not painted the car, so it should qualify for AACA’s HPOF classification.

  1. Don re-tubed the boiler in Amsley’s shop in PA. Amsley took Fred and Don to a plumbing supply house where they bought the copper tubing. The original tubing was steel, and the 23” boiler and 2 venturi burner are apparently original. Don drilled out the old boiler tubes – were they welded to the boiler’s bottom sheet? The steel tubes were rusty and were giving out.

  1. Amsley put the 750 water tank on the car but kept the old tank as it had rusted out.

  1. Don and Fred could not find the original brake master cylinder that he changed out. They think that someone who cleaned out the garage may have thought it was junk and tossed it. It may still be in the garage, but they doubt it. They will continue to watch out for it.

  1. Amsley changed the condenser to make it look better.

  1. Don Clark traded the car to Donald & Carolyn Hoke for a 1923 Stanley sedan in February 2009.

post-45126-14314260123_thumb.jpg

post-45126-143142601242_thumb.jpg

post-45126-143142601246_thumb.jpg

post-45126-143142601251_thumb.jpg

post-45126-143142601277_thumb.jpg

post-45126-143142601299_thumb.jpg

post-45126-143142601324_thumb.jpg

post-45126-143142601347_thumb.jpg

post-45126-143142601371_thumb.jpg

Edited by R W Burgess (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...