ron hausmann

James - nearly every commercial sandblast shop can powder coat as well. If you have yours sandblasted, have the blaster immediately powder coat them. then add y6our own custom color over the powder coat if you prefer. Makes for a very durable surface. RON

Alsancle - the headlights are 1920's "E J Model 20" headlights, which were used on certain 1922-1923 Kissel Gold Bug Speedsters and after-market on other period cars. Original polished aluminum ones with original Edmunds and Jones badges and rear keeper washers are very very rare. There are good repro lenses available. Nice car! RON

Al - I'm Sorry, but I have no Kissel truck parts. Only 1916-1927 ish car parts. RON

Keiser31, Could be, except the car in the picture, like the Kissel, is too small in scale to be a Marmon as well. The Model T speedster with "Morton Brett" optional body in the website above seems to get more plausible to me. Thanks, Ron

Model T guys, You are probably correct! After I wrote my post I looked at the scale of the car next to the pedestrians and the car I the picture is just too small to be a Kissel. Kissels were relatively large cars and the pictured body and radiator, while very similar to a Kissel if you look at it alone, but is just too small to be a Kissel when viewed with the people. So I stand corrected.. I still wonder why they used a rounded radiator and off-centered badge. Thanks, Ron

Better picture .

All - it's a stripped Kissel Model 6-45. If you blow up the image, you'll see the rounded top radiator, and very importantly, the off center round radiator emblem on the radiator body. Both of those traits are almost unique to Kissels. Kissel panted radiators black or you could get them with nickel, as in the picture below. The rounded cowl top and windshield are similar to early Kissel Toursters, but ithe body in your scene seems to have been cut off after the front seat. Wonder why? It would have been a pretty new car then too, since 1919 was the first year of the Model 6-45. A lot of Kissels, which were sporty, were sold in BCalifornia. thanks, Ron Hausmann

All - this is a repost from my Kissel parts request from last year. ron hausmann

All - we took second place with our original 1921 Kissel, next to many beautifully and fully restored classics. First place went to a wonderfully restored 1938 Lagonda. Great show! Ron Hausmamn P.E.

All, Ok. Getting close. Here are the new front fenders being checked for fitment, prior to going to the painter. I'm using a Detroit hot rod shop to do the painting of large parts and they are doing a wonderful job. After I Get all the fenders and trim back from the painters, I ,merely have to mount the engine which is being overhauled by st. Claire Engine, and do upholstery in leather. close! Ron Hausmann P.E.

Just give me a call when you are interested and we'll set date. 313-510-8463 Ron

All, The 2018 "Eyes-on-Design Car exhibition will take place this Father's Day, June 17th, on the beautiful grounds of the Edsel and Elanor Ford Mansion in Grosse Point, Michigan. This show focusses on the styling beauty of transportation-related vehicals thru the decades. My original 1921 Kissel Model 6-45 Sport Tourster as pictured, will attend. It's an original car with 14,000 miles, but I have had to install a new top, wiring, and tires. Ron Hausmann P.E.

1912 Staver, All on this thread, Here are some of my thoughts to share with younger collectors about this exciting hobby, which gradually becomes an addiction- - - I bought my first antique, a 1927 Chevrolet Coach, when I was in high school in Wisconsin. My mechanic dad was pissed because I kept getting speeding tickets in my 1959 Chevy convertible with a "three deuces" big block engine, and he gave me the choice of selling the hot rod and walking, or buying the old Chevy coach and driving. He wanted an old car to tinker with I think. I made the obvious choice and "learned" that antique car as a result, and I still have it in fact. It cost $300 and wasn't a classic, but did drive like a champ. Later in time, after the children and career, I was able to "upgrade" antique cars to buying my first Kissel. I grew up in Wisconsin close to where these were made. It took me three years of digging and patience to get that first Kissel, but in time, you CAN get your dream car. My first Kissel was actually a "steal" at an auction where the lawyers had to settle an estate. Patience is what matters. Just keep watching and trying for deals. Since then I have patiently watched the antique car market for similar Kissels. Nearly all of my cars were basket cases - it takes me one to three years to turn these piles of parts into restored cars, two or three years while I was working, less now that I have retired. Piles of classic car parts don't sell easily in my opinion. My last purchase was just a couple thousand dollars, even though it is a one-of-a-kind Kissel survivor. And a Roadster at that! I've watched other similar piles or project cars sell for half or a third of what their initial offerings were. The last Kissel I know of that was offered for sale that I didn't buy,mwas an unrestored project car, mostly complete with a fresh overhauled engine, for $4000. A great bargain! Again, for the young buyer, I would counsel patience. Keep watching! As to title difficulties, in many states (half?) , you can easily get a clear title by producing a bill of sale and paying the state sales tax. Michigan is one such state. I have titled many of my cars thus. As to Canadian/USA cross border purchases, I can't address buying a car or parts in the USA and bringing it to Canada since I have no experience. But I can say that it is easy, very easy, to bring a car you have purchased in Canada, thru USA customs, to the USA. If you have a bill of sale or title, and the car or parts are "original" and over thorty years old ( I think), you give the border patrol guys a tour, spend a half hour filling out forms, and they help you and say " have fun ". There are a lot more project cars and unrestored, unattractive classic cars out there owned by us old guys. There are more of us old guys who will need to some day sell our Kissels and/or other collections and piles of parts, than there are numbers of you young guys. Those numbers say that with patience, we all will have to dump these collections for fractions of the invested values. Or our estates will have to dump them. That's morbid but I think a reality. Today as I sit here, I envy being the younger person who is interested in antique car restoration, because that future is so wide open. My thoughts! ( Meanwhile until I stop collecting, please know that I will buy your Kissel parts cars! ) Thanks, Ron Hausmann P.E.

Thanks Restorer32. Too bad. As to colors, Kissels of that time were either custom ordered in any color, or, if factory spec, speedsters were either all yellow, or black and yellow as was done on this one. thanks. Ron Hausmann

46 Woodie, There's been a lot of discussion among Kissel owners and restorers as to why anyone with great car know-how, would purposely choose NOT to restore a "classic car" correctly. Round portholes on 1919 to early 1923 Kissel Gold Bugs are stock and mandatory!. Omitting them really cheapens the car and dis's Kissel history. The reason given in the TV episode for not putting those portholes back in, was that he thought the car looked better without them. I certainly disagree, but I'm not a TV star, just a Kissel historian and expert. Thanks, RON

John S. I'm not sure what the exact distinctions are between Opera Windows and Portholes. Two of my Kissels pictured here have oval Opera Windows. Those are the first two pictures of a 1923 Kissel Brougham Opera sedan and an original 1924 Kissel Victoria Coupe. These are Sedan and Coupe type bodies. But I do know that Kissel Sedanlettes from 1917-1919 had oval portholes in their convertible tops, so the shape distinction doesn't seem to be a good discriminator. That's shown in the third picture. Thanks, RON

All, Wondering if any of you have pictures of cars from the "Brass-Era" or "Nickel-Era" which were factory equipped with porthole windows. Apperson Toursters and Speedsters had portholes from about 1919-1922. Kissel Toursters and Speedsters from that same era had portholes but shared designs with Apperson thru their association with Conover Silver of New York. I just installed these porthole "windowlettes" or rear quadrant side curtains in my 1921 Kissel Sport Tourster. See pictures. Were there other "porthole" examples known to exist from these eras?? Thanks, Ron Hausmann P.E.

All, It's not the curved glass / plexiglass that deters me - it's the year of solid hard work that it will take to carve all of the wood out of oak and ash to replicate the original. I have done this in a total car just once before, in getting my one-of-a-kind 1918 Kissel Sedanlette with removeable wood top done. And it gave me an ugly case of carpel tunnel syndrome. There's no real way to mechanize this as it must be done completely with hand tools to get the right curves. It CAN be done, but takes time. See pictures. and the other 1918 Kissel discussion Forum. I hope I last long enough to get to that point where I worry about the curved glass pieces! Thanks, Ron Hausmann P.E.

Restorer, Joe, i believe that the curved glass corners on this specimen are damaged. One is much cracked as you see in the pictures. However, I have a glass blower / blacksmith artist buddy who will make these if I need. Not $3000, but much less. Here in Micjigan, if a car was originally equipped with materials (like plate glass or asbestos brakes) or unreliable systems (mechanical rod brakes) I have not had any problem getting them licensed. Even my Kissel Gold Bug with the very unsafe "suicide seats" is licensed because those were original equipment ! thanks, Ron