ersatzS2

Thank you for the ongoing updates! Very exciting. Interesting the original color was yellow; as i recall even the older period photos showed it a dark shade perhaps red? Someone has said the fuel tank was from a T-head?

Thanks for the encouraging words! After two years of inquiries and a year and a half of serious study, I now know where they are. Or at least 80% of them. The sack of bills is not the problem, the problem is they are mostly in the hands of people who love them, which is to say, the right people. They are mostly not for sale and I sure respect that. That said, I have enough 'hot' or at least 'warm' leads now to feel like 2012 is the year. Thanks very much to everyone for all the help. PS: I have seen that car in Europe, it's been available for as long as I've been looking. Also there was a restored series six touring at Hershey this year ($110K) But I'm only interested in a Raceabout. And only in a Raceabout that was a Raceabout 90 years ago!

Traveling in Salamanca, Spain this weekend, and visited a local 'history of the Automobile' museum. Turns out it is endowed by a foundation started by the Planche family. Not much mention of Etienne the patriarch other than a short bio, but had this model in a display case.

It really is a national treasure and a fantastic collection. Fred's ideological leadership of the 'preservation' movement comes across loud and clear, and is as significant a part of the museum's impact as the cars themselves. Linger over the Mercer Raceabout with it's period 'as raced' wheels and paint...

whew, that's great! fantastic topic for a thread of its own. In fact...

Ha! Points well taken. I am constantly impressed with the extent of R&D that occurred from 1900 to 1920. Following the explosion of creativity and experimentation of that period, it is difficult to find examples of anything truly new in the subsequent 90 years. (new in execution, maybe, but not in concept) I agree the examples given meet the 'computer' definition!

I learned today that you can't underestimate the ignorance of the current generation of kids regarding how cars work. A 30-ish guy in my office came in today, and told me he discovered the used BMW he just bought needs a clutch. The service dept said it was 'slipping.' He asked me what that meant, so I diagrammed a rough outline of a flywheel-clutch assembly on a legal pad. That led to a conversation about how a transmission works, so I drew a basic constant mesh trans. Then I discovered he had no idea how an internal combustion engine functioned, so I drew a cutaway front and side view of an overhead cam four cylinder. He asked good questions, he's not dumb, and pretty soon we were into a discussion about the relationship between valve timing and ignition timing. Then I talked about how all this had evolved with the advent of ECUs and computers. At which point he asked me, "wait, so cars didn't always have computers? They didn't have them from the beginning?" He seemed shocked when I told him the earliest was the mid-eighties. Should this make me feel old?

Coming up on my one year anniversary since starting my search in earnest. Thanks to everyone I've met and the many who have helped in the search. There are fewer cars out there than I imagined when I started. The only Raceabout that changed hands in 2011 (albeit we have six weeks left) was the series six belonging to the late John Boyle. A wonderful car, and fascinating piece of history, but after intense internal debate, I decided to pass on it in deference to my original goal of finding an L-Head. Congratulations to the new owner where ever you are, it's a fantastic machine! I continue to search avidly, and would welcome any leads! Brandon

Charles, not a terribly _active_ forum, which shouldn't be surprising given the small number of remaining Mercers out there. Slightly more color may be found at yahoo groups: Mercer_Cars : Mercer Automobile Co. There will be some Mercer folks gathering at Hershey this year, search recent posts for details. Again, nice Touring! Brandon

Nice little write up and photos on Charles Gould's 22-70 Touring today. You on this board Charles? Great car and the rest of the collection sounds like a lot of fun!

Thanks for the comments. Although I don't have expertise with this era of automobile, lots of questions came to mind: Did Buick build a speedster body like this from the factory or were they custom? Is this body period-accurate or added later? What about the electric lights and electric starter? (starter sure seems integral to the engine since it seems to function also as generator, and is in line with a shaft that drives oil and water pumps) What is the value of something like this restored? The situation is pretty classic: owner is elderly, a lifelong pack rat, not interested in selling anything but also not capable of maintaining storage space etc. I was introduced to it by someone who'd heard the story of my Mercer search, and thought this might be a T head. No such luck but still an interesting discovery.

In the course of my search for a Mercer L-head, today I experienced my first ever barn find. I don't have very broad knowledge of prewar US cars, and I'd be curious for opinions on what I'm looking at. The story is that it last ran 20 years ago. The engine turns over freely with the crank. It seems pretty complete and generally pretty amazing condition. Any thoughts? Sorry about photo quality, I used my phone.

What a wonderful legacy and historical narrative; thanks. As I comb through old magazines and books, not to mention web searches, it's becoming increasingly clear that there aren't many 'where are they now' cars un-accounted for. It's interesting that so few Mercers remain as a percentage of total production, and that the attrition seems to have occurred fairly soon after the demise of the company. I find that interesting because since the '50's, even for collectible cars that were raced, a remarkable percentage seem to be preserved even after passing through a period of obsolescence and disinterest. But I guess there was the depression, then a world war... maybe different times... Again, thanks for the history on this one, a fabulous family treasure.

Thanks to those of have contacted me directly with ideas and suggestions! I should've asked previously, but thanks also for those who've directed me to different literature to help with my education and learning curve. The two Automobile Quarterly articles and the 'Car Classics' article from '77 were fantastic. It is surprising that no one has written a definitive 'registry' type book on the Marque; it certainly has a significant enough presence in history, although possibly simply too small of an ownership base. There have been exhaustively researched books on topics as narrow as Gordon Bennet's Chevrons, or single models like the Alfa GTA. Anyhow, this is by way of asking for any other suggestions on literature, articles, or other information particularly on the L-head cars. Thanks again, Brandon

Does anyone know the fate of the Series 5 that starred in "Singing in the Rain" in 1952? I haven't seen photos of one with chrome wire wheels before.

I've wanted one ever since reading Ralph Stein's description in "The Great Cars" when I was twelve. I think the T-heads are forever out of reach, but an L-head is achievable. Has to be a Raceabout vs. a sporting. Prefer a concours finished car but would consider any options. I've spoken with Fred Hoch here in NJ and have a few leads but thought I'd broadcast (if that's the right word on a web forum with only a dozen posts the last 12 mos!) my interest more broadly! Thanks in advance for any information, rumors, leads, innuendos, suggestions... Brandon