ron hausmann

Sir - I am interested. Please send me price. Ron Hausmann

Sir - I am interested if these are still available Ron Hausmann

Hey John, Good to hear from you in Australia. When are you going to be stateside again? If you know, what is the difference besides name, in Buffalo #5 wheels and Houk #5 wheels. Also, never heard of a B5 Buffalo. Educate us whenever you have a chance please. Also, this car is missing the steering column, with the triangular mounting bracket used on them. I have a spare column and steering gear, but not the control tubes within the shaft, nor the mounting bracket pieces, which would be nickel. Do you know where one might find one? Do you know what other cars may have used this settup? Take Care, RON HAUSMANN P.E.

Restorer, I really don't know the difference between the two. they are the same size. RON

Mark, Kissels were "made to order" cars which also had a number of "standard" colors. You could order whatever you wanted, or just go with their standards. Most, but not all of the early Kissel Gold Bug speedsters were painted yellow - that is actually how they became commonly known as "gold" bugs. But many were painted tan, Holland blue, and even a deep red. I suspect that the "barn find" Kissel Gold Bug was a custom blueish gray color, as that seems to be the prevailing color after "rust'. The most common colors for Kissel Sedans, Roadsters, Speedsters, and their entire line from 1919 onwards were Holland Blue, Red, Yellow, Tan, and off-white. but you can find many other colors used. also, sometimes the fenders were black, sometimes not Thanks, Ron Hausmann P.E>

Thanks Dandy. We won first place there with our Kissel Gold Bug! Ron Hausmann P.E.

Thanks Greg. The pictures don't show alot of work that will need to be done to make this a show-winner, maybe a national winner. I plan on having it painted all yellow, except for the top and grey tires, like the Gold Bug on the cover of the Val Quant book. Many early Kissel Gold Bugs did have all yellow frames and fenders. Yes trouble to keep clean, but certainly striking! RON HAUSMANN P.E.

All, it is not a Kissel. Wrong lights, top, door, window, etc. for a Kissel. Might be either a 1922-ish Marmon Speedster, which has diamond windows, or maybe a custom Daniels Submarine Speedster. I would say Marmon. Thanks, Ron Hausmann P.E.

All, Just FYI, yes if you look close, the front axle on the barn find Kissel is wrong. so are the front wheels. They were replaced in the 1950's with a huge Cadillac axle, with Buffalo number 6 wheel and they mounted a V-8 in her. However, they had thankfully saved the original Kissel front axle complete with the Buffalo #5 hubs, wheels, and caps which I have with the car. Also, I am in the middle of restoring a 1918 Kissel Model 6-38 Sedanette, the only one that survives, from two cars, and have learned that very, very many Kissel Model 6-38 parts and Model 6-45 parts interchange. The planets seem to have lined up correctly for a change. Thanks, Ron Hausmann P.E.

Restorer, Haven't heard that but certainly possible. I do know that the Fourney Museum car, which is publicized to have been Erhardt's, is definately the wreck that was pictured in the Kissel archives before restoration by Fourney. I don't know how the wreck was tied to Erhardt. Coincidentally, I am going to Fourney museum this week and will try to get some provenance. Erhardt's Kissel Gold Bug is shown in one extant photograph and appears to definately be a 1923 Kissel 6-45, not a 1922 nor a 1924. Also, this barn find has the original "Deluxe" Speedster trimmings for 1923, while mine has the "Hollywood Option" package, which is different and more "pimped out", and gregarious. Thanks, RON HAUSMANN P.E.

All, Thought that I would post a few pictures of a 1923 Kissel Model 6-45 Gold Bug Speedster which I have "found" and will purchase and restore. I say "found" loosely, because this car has been known about by the 150 or so of us Kissel owners, but it has been sitting in a shed since, no kidding, 1954 when it was purchased by the then current owner. After years of discussion, he is selling it to me with the promise that I will restore this car to its former glory. I will. It is one of now 4 complete 1923 Kissel Model 6-45 Gold Bug Speedsters. It's the real-deal, with suicide seats, big Kissel 6-45 engine, Buffalo Number 5 wheels, and beautiful undented body parts. I already own the Ruger 6-45 Gold Bug, pictured, and there is one at the Fourney Museum in Denver (Amelia Erhart's) and one in Virginia (?) that won National AACA award last year. This new find has the correct "porthole" top. I have a spare 6-45 engine and any other parts necessary, as I purchased a 6-45 Speedster parts car which had burnt several years ago. Thos parts will now come in ver handy. I need to finish my 1918 Kissel Model 6-38 Sedanette restoration to get on with this beauty! Thanks, Ron Hausmann P.E.

All, More pictures of the 1918 Kissel Model 6-38 Sedanette restoration. As of today, 10-22-14, the chassis is nearly completed and powder coated and painted. The fenders and aprons have all been fitted, applied, and then taken off to be painted. The wheels are ready to be painted. Now comes the hard part - finishing the removeable oak hard top so that the body can be finished to match, and then, and only then, the converible top. One more year!. Remember, this is the only Kissel Sedanette (4-Passenger Convertible Gibtralter bodyied Kissel) that exists!. Ron Hausmann P.E,

All, There are approximately 37 Kissel Gold Bug Speedsters in resored or "complete" unrestored shape that exist. Then a few chassis, engines, body parts. on top of that there are about 150 other Kissels of various open and closed body styles, for a total of no more than 200 complete Kissels. We have a registry which has more entries than that, but many are just an engine or a body or a pile of parts. I know that because i've contacted many of these. Thanks, Ron Hausmann P.E.

Dear PhillyPhil, According to the Kissel Registry which we Kissel Owners track, there are three known 1927 Kissel All Year Coupe Roadster Model 8-65 's known to exist. Your barn-find could be a fourth or one of the three that went missing a few decades ago. The left side of the engine will have a small plate on it with a number 65-xxxx which we can use to help you to identify the car's provenance. There are alot of 1927 Kissels around. the Coupe Roadster is a nice open car, but not anywhere near as desirable as a Kissel Gold Bug. As to price, I recently bought a 1927 Kissel Model 8-65 Brougham Saloon (two door - first picture), the only one that exists of that closed body style. It was low mileage and complete as pictured. IF all the parts are there, a big "IF", I think your pricing of 5,000 - 7,000 is correct. It will cost you multiples of that to do a complete restoration, which you will not recover. CCCA rules say that a Model 8-65 is not a Classic, but the CCCA has accepted a 8-65 Gold Bug as classic none-the-less. Never could figure out their rules. Attached are pictures of my 1927 Kissel Brougham Saloon, and a couple of my other Kissels. Thanks, RON HAUSMANN P.E.

Correction - I meant to say "Schebler S Carburetors" on the Kissel 8-126 engines. Ron Hausmann P.E.

Dear pcstrat, While not an expert, your engine appears to be the large Lycoming block engine which is identical to my 1929 Kissel 8-126 engine and Cord L-29 monsters. I am attaching pictures of my Kissel 8-126 engine, which I bought three years ago - it was running a sawmill North of San Francisco, Ca. Kissel bought Lycoming blocks in 1929 and used special Kissel pistons, rods, etc. in their huge cars before Kissel went out of business. As you see, the Kissel engine is identical to yours, although Kissel used Stromberg S carburetors. This same Lycoming block was used in the much more common Cord L-29 cars. These 1929 Lycomings are reputed to be the longest 8-cylinder engines ever used in American production cars. (note; the engine next to it is a 1927 Chevrolet 4, which is dwarfed by the Lycoming) Want to sell your engine?

All, Have been working on the 1918 Kissel Sedanette Chassis. Here are a few pictures from July, 2014 showing the completely rebuilt chassis which has been powder coated, new springs, and ton of suspension parts. Chassis with 6 brand new WHITE Coker "non-skid" 34 x4 tires will be rolling in a month. Then do the Holland Blue wood and main body parts this winter while the fenders and auxillary parts are painted gloss black, and while the Kissel Model 6-38 engine is assembled and run. (That's a Kissel Model 8-126 engine in the background - no car, just engine. Largest 8-cylinder engine produced in the United States - Lycoming, also used in Cord L-29 models, but Kissel customized their Lycoming engines. Big hunk of metal!

Al - Kissel made their own engines. The dual head looks very much like pictures which I have seen of early Kissel 4-cylinder engines, but unfortunately I am not an expert on Kissel 4's. It's worth looking into though.

Hey George, First, the Kissel Registry listing is kept within Kissel Owners. If you contact me on my personal email (which is listed on my website) I'll give you the information for similar car owners that might be interested. I can't guarantee the contact information as current, but it's a start. Second, there are two sites that Kissel folks use for news. One is the Kisselkar klub website and the other is Kissel automobiles facebook. I would suggest that you see if you can use those sites to get your Kissel parts more exposure. I don't know their policies however. Third, your engine number 7505 appears, from the information I have in the Kissel Registry, to be in the ranges of a 1912 or 1913 engine sequence. There are others who are more familiar with specific dates that would be able to be more precise. Hope this helps. RON HAUSMANN P.E.

Dear alsancle, Check out my web site at www.kisselsandantiquecars.com. Really just like the 1917 to 1927 Kissels, and then only the unrestored ones because those are the only ones affordable. But at least I now have alot of interchangeable Kissel chassis, trim, and engine parts, so that I can take an urestored parts car and bring it back to Kissel life!. Thanks, RON HAUSMANN

All, Thought I would post a couple of pictures of the 1924 Kissel Model 6-55 Victoria Coupe which was recently added to the Kissel collection. It is an "oddball" model, only made for three years and not many sold; this car is the ONLY known one of this model that has survived. It is a 4-interior passenger car with an interesting seating arrangement. It runs and is in original shape. I will probaly keep it as an original in this museum quality. It looks great next to its older 1923 twin Kissels! RON HAUSMANN P.E.

George, According to the Kissel Registry, there are extant 35 Kissel Kars with dates from 1909 to 1913. there are another 3 if you count the 1914's with the earlier Kissel 4-40 engine. That's quite a few, considering the relative rareness of Kissels of all years. I'm not an expert on early Kissels. perhaps one of the folks who are familiar with early Kissels can identify which years are included in your parts. Thanks, RON HAUSMANN P.E.