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Please help identify this old car


Guest Staarfyyre

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Guest Staarfyyre

I have this real photo postcard, which I believe dates before 1920. I'd love to know what kind of car this is. Please help..

20170306_122845~2.jpg

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Wooden axels, wooden frame, first car with coil springs (not compression style), single cylinder, dual chain drive, one of my favorite autos. Alanson Brush was one of Cadillac's early engineers (#2 guy in design dept.) from 1903 to 1905/6. Still have both and there are many similarities between the two. 

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Lump, Yes the coil spring sat in a bracket attached to the frame. A rod attached to the top of the spring ran through the center of the spring and attached to the axel. When the wheel/axel hit an object or hole in the road the spring would expand and the spring would pull it back to its normal position. The Brush auto also used an adjustable friction style shock absorber with each coil spring. Modern springs are under compression where the coil spring collapses when hitting an object and our shock absorbers take up much of the movement. Hope this makes sense.

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22 hours ago, caddyshack said:

Lump, Yes the coil spring sat in a bracket attached to the frame. A rod attached to the top of the spring ran through the center of the spring and attached to the axel. When the wheel/axel hit an object or hole in the road the spring would expand and the spring would pull it back to its normal position. The Brush auto also used an adjustable friction style shock absorber with each coil spring. Modern springs are under compression where the coil spring collapses when hitting an object and our shock absorbers take up much of the movement. Hope this makes sense.

Wow, I'll have to look one of those over, first time I encounter a Brush automobile. Thanks, Caddyshack! 

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Different engineering but sure rode nice, certainly better than the early C D Olds.  The best independent front suspension is/was the Lanchester Sliding Pillar suspension.  Even better than McPherson struts I think.

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Back in 2012 a group in 1 & 2 cylinder pre 1912 cars and motorbikes recreated the first West -> East crossing of Australia by car. The 1912 crossing was accomplished by a Brush and a number of Brushes were among the cars which did the 2012 recreation. But enough of the history lesson,  what I really want to share are pic's of one of the Brushes, including the suspension, taken when the cars arrived in Sydney after their trip from Perth.Brush1.JPG.2ec42e50077fcfe2abf3ebfd7d5691bf.JPGBrush2.JPG.87b1bcd029ebba6044a27018d33bdfec.JPG

 

Brush3.JPG

Brush4.JPG

Brush5.JPG

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Brush7.JPG

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The only documented two cylinder Brush was the 1908 prototype exhibited at the New York Auto Show that year. It was called a Model 2A, but never went into production. Its whereabouts are unknown. Alanson Brush designed the two cylinder Oakland engines around that time and their appearance was very similar to the one cylinder Brush auto engines. If anyone has documentation of a two cylinder Brush, that includes pictures, vin serial number/Model number and Selden Plate number, please post that info. 

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17 hours ago, brasscarguy said:

Brush was the 1st automobile with "full floating axles" that's a joke son!!!!! Also as was often said about a Brush, wooden axles, wooden body wooden frame would'ent run!!!!!

 

just sayin'

 

brasscarguy

 

Kinda like a Friction Drive Metz. A number of survivors because they would not stay running long enough to wear out. Just got pushed in the back of the barn. Dandy Dave!

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On 10/03/2017 at 0:56 AM, caddyshack said:

The only documented two cylinder Brush was the 1908 prototype exhibited at the New York Auto Show that year. It was called a Model 2A, but never went into production. Its whereabouts are unknown. Alanson Brush designed the two cylinder Oakland engines around that time and their appearance was very similar to the one cylinder Brush auto engines. If anyone has documentation of a two cylinder Brush, that includes pictures, vin serial number/Model number and Selden Plate number, please post that info. 

 

Have a look at the first post in this thread - http://forums.aaca.org/topic/268851-the-brush-runabout-everymans-car-1907-to-1913/

The  author says he has a 2 cyl Brush!

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16 hours ago, Ozstatman said:

 

Have a look at the first post in this thread - http://forums.aaca.org/topic/268851-the-brush-runabout-everymans-car-1907-to-1913/

The  author says he has a 2 cyl Brush!

Scroll to the Brush forum and check out posting 12/28/2013, the author claimed of finding a 2-cyl Brush engine in Hawaii and having it installed in his 1910 Brush. The engine was an industrial grade model that was very similar to the Oakland 1909 production model. If the author installed the engine, or had it installed, this is not a production or prototype Brush. Makes for a good story however. Still no hard evidence of a production model.

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