PFindlay

I'm just about finished with Phil Foster cars here. This is the 1902 Holly Motorette. Its known history goes back to 1913 in Victoria when it was given to three boys who used it in parades. Sadly, all three were killed in WWI. There is a good history of the car here: http://www.bristolmotors.com/holley.html In the early days Phil thought it was a DeDion, hence the name on the front. It went to the Wellburns in 1962 and was often seen at events and tours. Vern completed the London to Brighton run twice with it. It's still on Vancouver Island, and in the public eye. Photos: - an early Phil Foster photo. The history page says he bought it in 1950, but the plate in this picture shows 1940-something. - an early Phil Foster shot - in a Victoria Day Parade - Vern Wellburn driving the Holly in the London to Brighton run ... and a video of the car from 2012.

Not a lot of response here. Does anyone know if there are Chrysler Windsor records anywhere? Peter

Thank you Ariejan, this is very close. The main difference I see is the slight arch along the roofline. Very helpful. Peter

Bill, I believe I have one of those switches. i'll take a look. Peter

In the interests of being even more picky .... here is what is on the step sill of my car. I try not to step on it!

Here are some pictures of Phil Foster's 1910 Russell. I'm not sure how Phil ended up with it, but the car was sold new in Vancouver to George Creech, who had a grocery business and also had real estate interests. It was in use until the early 1920s by Creech or an associate of his. At some point Phil found it and added it to his collection. It went to the Wellburns in 1962 and Vern toured it regularly until he died. It's one of only two 1910 Russels still on the road, although there is another under restoration in Ontario. Photos: - Phil Foster sitting in his 1910 Russell in 1952. - Opera singer and car collector James Melton "pushing" the car at Vancouver City Hall (mid 1950s). The other man is Vancouver Mayor Fred Hume. I believe Phil Foster brought the car to Vancouver hoping that Melton might want to buy it. Good thing he didn't. - The Russell in 1966 when Vern Wellburn had it on the 1966 B.C. Centennial Tour around the province. Vern is wearing the straw hat and that's my mother and sister sitting in the car. (I was abandoned back in Vancouver with my little brother.) The Russell was dark green at the time. Later Vern painted it red, which would have been a factory colour. - A more recent picture of the 1910 Russell taken at an event commemorating Canada's first gas station, in Vancouver. At that event we had a good turnout of original Vancouver cars. That's the Silver Brothers' Peerless in the background.

Interesting. I've never heard of "The McLaughlin Electric". I'll start checking out McLaughlin and taxi bodies. Thanks, Peter

That's an interesting possibility which I will keep in mind as I'm looking through the old photos. Thanks, Peter

Thanks, but I'm trying to identify the body. It is currently on a Russell-Knight (Canadian) chassis so the engine is known. I've found no record of this body style on a Russell so I'm trying to determine if the body has been taken from another car. Peter

Until a few weeks ago, this was my 1935 DeSoto Airflow. It was purchased by the Curran family of Vancouver in 1935 (possibly at Begg Motors) and was Mrs. Curran's car. In the 1950s she passed it on to their only son, Bill, who drove it to school daily. In the early 60s he used to bring it by my dad's service station (Lorne's Automotive on 4th Ave.) regularly. In 1965 he parked it in the carport of the family home and it stayed there until he died in 2008. At that point his widow called my 82 year old dad to ask about getting it and the 1955 Cadillac, which had been beside it for 30 years, sold. Dad worked outdoors on both cars through the winter and ended up buying them both and getting them back on the road. This is a Canadian model, one of 108 built that year. It has some 34 Chrysler trim on it, giving it a unique look among airflows. Most obvious is the three tiered bumper.

I'm trying to ID this body, which may or may not be on its original chassis. It is quite unique in that it has a center door on the right side and a single front door on the left. It's fully enclosed with three sets of slide-down windows on each side. It's a left hand drive, probably circa 1913 - 1915? Suggestions?

Moving from 2 wheels to 3 ... this was another of Phil Foster's cars. It's a 1912 A.C. Sociable, made in London and the A.C. has nothing to do with spark plugs or Albert Champion. It stands for Auto Carrier. Phil Foster ended up selling this three wheeler to his brother-in-law, who had the Russell-Knight shown earlier, and it's still in the family. Photos: In front of Phil's station, and in the 1970s.

There are two 1913 Henderson motorcycles from B.C. that have survived. Both came from Vancouver Island, where Thomas Plimley was the dealer in Victoria. B.C.'s motorcycle registration data is not complete, but what is available shows that 6 Hendersons were registered in 1913, all on the island. Curiously, the two survivors were both found with the entire front end missing - no forks or handlebars. One bike was restored by Art DeGraf and the other by me. My bike was recovered by Buck Rogers back in the 50s. (There are a good number of Buck's vehicles to add to this list.) Art and I were fortunate that Barry Brown in Quebec was willing to have two front ends fabricated using his bike as a copy. The front end of these motorcycles was obviously a weak spot and wouldn't survive a meeting with a tree or ditch. However, a picture surfaced recently of two Victoria kids sitting on a 1913 Henderson with an aftermarket front end that turned it into a trike. It's possible that this bike is is mine and the missing front end was moved to a more modern "update" when the Henderson's days were done. ... You never know. Art's bike had a slightly different frame so this could not be his. Photos: The Victoria trike, Art's 1913 Henderson, my 1913 Henderson, and a video taken at the Aggasiz Speedway.

... and the bike is still around.

Here's a Phil Foster picture of the 1913 LaFrance firetruck from Nanaimo. I wonder how he got it from Nanaimo to Victoria? (at about 4 mpg) I bet he didn't tow it behind the Studebaker! It looks like it may have been towing the Holley in this parade. The third car is the 1911 Stanley.

Yes, if it didn't run, Phil wasn't opposed to pulling it behind a vehicle that did run. We couldn't get away with it now.

Here are pictures of the 1912 Mitchell and the 1911 Hupmobile. I believe the occasion was a Victoria Day parade in Victoria, back in the 50s.

Thanks. 5739 would be a White so that's not it 3739 was a McLaughlin registered to W. J. Dandridge so that's the car. Maybe a brother?

Yes, the family made their mark in B.C. for sure. That's a good picture of The Motor House and a nice bit of history. The car on the left is a Mitchell which was registered to Dandridge himself. Beside that is an EMF. Do you have a better copy of the car in the building to see its plate number?

Phil Foster was one of the early collectors in B.C. In the 1940s and 50s he ran the Speedway Service Station in Victoria and spent many hours searching down and saving cars that would have been destined for the scrap yard, hoping to someday open a museum. Here is a link to the Phil Foster story: http://antique.vccc.com/pioneers/foster/fostercontents.html This RHD 1912 Model T Touring, which he name Elizabeth, was one of his favourites. In 1958, when the Vintage Car Club of Canada had their first tour he drove the Model T through Washington State to Fernie, where the tour started, then back to Victoria as part of the tour. It was a 1300 mile round trip. When Phil sold his cars in the early 1960s (due to failing health) Elizabeth was donated to the Royal Victoria Museum where it remains today. Here is a series of photos depicting the removal of the 1912 Model T from a garage in Victoria circa 1950. It's an interesting glimpse of what it was like to recover a barn find car in those days. The last B&W picture was taken on the 1958 Fernie Tour. The colour picture is at the museum.

Yes, the French car is a good addition to the collection here. Below is a recent picture of the car and here is a link to its story: https://www.autotrader.ca/newsfeatures/20170804/the-105-year-old-ev-that-still-runs-today/

Yes, I agree that it's not likely that you'll stumble across a previously undiscovered "whatever" in B.C. these days. But Ed's White wasn't undiscovered either. A collector had it and when he was ready to sell word got to Ed via the insider market, as you say. Similarly, we may be at a point in the years ahead where some of the long term owners of early B.C. cars decide it's time to part with them. They probably won't end up on Craigslist though so my advice is to stay connected and keep an eye out for anything that may pop up. And there aren't likely to be any bargain basement deals because the owners will know the value and there will be someone willing to pay it.

Here is a B.C. car with a great story involving an eccentric spinster, a parrot, and a Chinese gardener. This 1911 Hupp-Yeats electric was purchased in Victoria by James Keith Wilson, manager of the bank of British Columbia and real estate developer. He had built a mansion on Burdett St. in Victoria and lived there with his wife Mary and daughter Victoria Jane Wilson. Victoria Jane's closest companion was her parrot named Louis, which she had received when she was 5 years old. Keith Wilson was extremely protective of his daughter and bought the Hupp-Yeats for her. Victoria Jane was very shy and it was an attempt for her to get out and around a little, safely accompanied by Louis, of course. Apparently it was a short lived experiment and the car was driven very little. Victoria Jane lived in the mansion long after her parents died, along with Louis and an assortment of other birds. The Hupp-Yeats remained in the garage. Upon her passing in 1949, it was discovered that she was worth about a half million dollars and her will stated that Louis was to remain in the house under the care of her Chinese gardener, with a $200 per week stipend. Basically, her money went to charity but her property, including the car, went to Louis. This arrangement continued until 1965 when developers finally won out. Louis died in 1967 at the age of 105, still in the care of Wah Wong, the gardener. I'm not sure how or when the car changed hands but it is now at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Maybe someone else knows the rest of this story. Here is a link to the story of Victoria Jane and Louis: http://evelazarus.com/wah-wong-and-the-parrot/ Below are pictures from 1949, in the garage, and current.

Me too. With those tall fenders it was like our growth chart as we'd stand beside it as kids. It's a dream car for me, too, but I never thought I'd own one. Peter

This car is a 1911 Russell-Knight. Little known in the U.S.A., Russell cars were built in Toronto by the Canada Cycle and Motor Co. (CCM). In 1910 Russell began producing the luxurious Russell-Knight, using Daimler built Knight sleeve valve engines for the first three years. This car is a Model 38, with a 127" wheelbase and a 383 cu. in. 4 cylinder engine that puts out about 60 hp. The base price for this model was $5000 but this one has several optional items including the wire wheels. Its Vancouver price would have been closer to $6000. The car was purchased in Vancouver by A. R. Fremlin who was a lawyer and later became a judge. He kept the car licenced until 1922 before putting it into storage in his garage on the west side of Vancouver. In 1948 a local collector managed to buy the car from him, but only after upping his offer to something like $325 because Fremlin wanted to get enough out of the car to buy an electric refrigerator. Since then the car has been a regular participant in all kinds of club and community events and is still in the family of the second owner. It is the only Model 38 Russell-Knight known to still exist. Here is a link to the story of the Russell-Knight: https://www.pressreader.com/canada/vancouver-sun/20110819/283845800087284 Below are pictures from 1948, the 1950s, and a recent picture.