A. Ballard 35R

Previous comments correvt re 1922 PA plates. Practically impossible to find any in decent shape. The ones shown in links look exceptional and do a better job of showing the colors than many you would find in the hands of collectors.

twin6, your expertise in tracking these cars is amazing. Why don't you expand it to include all Packard V12s and then there won't be all this confusion over an ABS bodiy being put on a Packard?

bhaig - suggest you contact Pennsylvania license plate dealers/collectors such as John Willard, Continnental Motors in Havertown.

If the Toy Tonneau is considered a touring car, then that that is the one you read about. The project/conversion was well under way when it was, I believe, turned over to Ralph Buckley who restored it back to the original for Miles Coverdale. The Ken Purdy 1912 35C is in a museum in Sandwich, MA, and has not been running for many years. Ralph Buckley's own car (1914 35J) is still in Absecon, NJ, as part of the Palumbo Buckley Foundation. Vic Palumbo brought it to the 2009 Mercer Centennial in Roebling.

John, your comment about T-Head Mercer Raceabouts having started life as touring cars is interesting. Do you know of any specific examples? I know that a conversion was started on the 1911 toy tonneau but was fortunately reversed due to various reasons, one of which was 3/4 elliptic springs versus semi-elliptic on raceabouts. Also, there are a number of cars that were converted from runabouts to raceabouts due to both having the same chassis, except I believe in 1914. As far as early prices go, in 1966 the record auction price according to the newspaper article was sixty plus thousand for a Mercer Raceabout.

Doesn't look that bad from the pictures you posted. I had a '74 as a daily driver and it was not nearly as desirable or as much fun as the '68 you are considering. The later cars had horrible problems with emission controls and literally can't get out of their own way. The newer ones also suffered from cost cutting measures such as no drain petcock in the block. The biggest problem is the rust, which doesn't look too bad from the pictures. As mentioned above, the mechanical components are readily available and are not that expensive. Unless you are a whiz at body and interior work you can spend a small fortune on these areas. Based on numbers given above, you might try to get an idea of body work costs and go from there. Good luck!

There are many good choices for you to choose from. As already mentioned, look for something that has sufficient horsepower for your anticipated driving, this is especially true if you intend to due some serious touring, which it appears you are. Open cars are the obvious choice since they are both more plentiful and the most fun in which to tour. Also, don't overlook one and two cylinder cars since there are special tours for these machines and they are great fun to drive and very rewarding. Suggest that you contact brass car owners in your area and hitch a ride on a brass car tour. If there is no AACA Region with brass cars, there is the Pittsburgh Region of the HCCA. Good luck with your pursuit and enjoy the fun of brass car touring.

If you check the end of T-Heads last post. he states that he wiiil be deleting all his photos. It appears that he meant what he said.

Docc, unfortunately it appears that we have lost what was the greatest thread on the Forum. It has apparently been totally changed by the WM because it did not conform to his idea of the world of antique cars. I have checked with several tech friends who have assured me that there was absolutely no problem with this thread as originally constructed. What a shame, I don't think Peter really understands the principles involved here.

T-Head, Perhaps the time has come (weather permitting) to fill the primers on that 35J. set the spark and throttle, hit the starter and head out to grreener more pre- WWII welcoming pastures. Don't forget to open the cut-out, especially when down shifting from fourth to third. Please let us know where you new location is.

Just as I had read over half of the posts in the original single thread, the format changed and I have no idea how to go back and pick up where I left off because the page number no longer exists. By the way, it appears that T-Head is no longer posting here. Does anyone know where he is currently posting his great pictures?

Peter, Needless to say, It is frustrating to see your reaction to all the people who were really excited about the new thread and who were terribly disappointed at your decision to change the format. Did you discuss the change with T-Head or just make a unilateral decision? Also, what was the rationale for establishing a Post WWII Forum? Unfortunately, I think that you may have killed the proverbial goose that layed the golden egg. The thread as originally constructed was a tremendous boost to not just the Forum but to the AACA itself.

Peter, your logic in changing the thrread does not make sense to me. The topic is Pre-WWII original pictures and not an unending series of individual pictures, each with it's own thread. Please think about it and realize that you are causing many more problems than you are solving. The huge popularity of the thread should tell you that T-Head really tapped into something that AACA should recognize as very positive. I hope you realize that there is still very strong interest in pre-war cars. It's what the club was built on. I was about to post some photos of early race cars and other original pictures, but now that you have changed everything it doesn't make sense to post them. Please reconsider the changes you made, thank you.

Thanks for the Indy movie - very interesting.

Great event! The months/years of work done by Karl Darby and his friends at the Roebling Mueseum resulted in an outstanding affair. Thanks Karl!

Great footage. Recognize some of the cars but forget the owners' names. Looks like Warren Wieant(sp) in his 1898/1899 Locomobile. Also former AACA president and director Hyde Ballard in 1905 Model N Packard. Mary Ballard (first woman officer of AACA) used to drive this car in the Philadelphia Derbies which preceded AACA founding. Still have newspaper clippings.

The 1911 Mercer is the ex Joe Murchio car that has been in the Stifel family for many decades. Joe and Helen Murchio lived in North Jersey and attended many of the early meets before there was Hershey. The car was re-restored by the Stifels back in the sixties as I reacll. They also owned an L-Head raceabout that I believe was painted the same color. It looks great and it is nice to see it out again afte many years in storage. The car is one of six 1911 Mercers (unless Fred Simeone's car is counted as a 1911) known to exist.

Many have already been mentioned but don't forget Alvia and DKW. There were also some made around the turn of the last century when inventors where trying out all sorts of designs.

Bob, Strongly suggest that you narrow your seach considerably - you have too many cars and drivers - even for one year. There were literally dozens of races in 1909 all over the US including fairground events, hill climbs, speed tests, endurance runs, and well known big name races. You can check the officially sanctioned AAA races, for example, in the 1909 issues of Motor, Horseless Age, etc. There are also refernce materials by car make, driver, and event. What exactly are you looking for?

This car looks exactly like the conversion done by T. Clarence Marshall during the war. I saw the car whenever we visited the Marshall Stanley Muesuem, although never saw it running. The story as I remember was that T.C. either wanted to have a "modern" steamer and/or he thought it would be more economical (gas rationing?) during the war. It was not very successful, as I recall, and only proved that steam could power an automobile. He made little if any attempt to modernize the original Stanley design. The only difference from a Model 750 20 HP Stanley being the modern brakes, body, etc. Tom Marshall sold many of the cars a number of years ago and I imagine that the steam conversion was among them. Suggest that anyone intrested in the car's whereabouts contact Tom directly.