Premocar -Made in Birmingham, AL - Anyone know anything?

[sambarn]

So I have always had an eye for local history and strange cars - what a delight I had discovering JD Weeks' book Premocar, Made In Birmingham. I had heard of the Premocar or Preston (PREston MOtor CARs) made in bham from 1920 - 1923 but knew alomost nothing. I have now met with JD and toured the old Premocar factory - still standing and fairly original. There is one radiator badge known to exist and NOTHING else. Does any one know anything about this car. the location of a car or any parts pieces?? After bringing the Keller back to Huntsville, It's time to focus on my adopted home of Birmingham and I am hoping y'all can help. If you are interested in the Premocar, JDs book is for sale on amazon and although not a work of literary mastery, is fun, informative and has a great deal of interesting stuff including a shot of JD's great Uncles WocoPep station. WocoPep being my favorite of petroliana, it connects to many other passions for me and I think many of y'all would enjoy it. If you know anything please feel free to contact me here by PM, respond on the forum or feel free to call. 205-482-0165. Thanks - Sam

[Scooter Guy]

I wonder if anyone over at the Barber Museum would know anything about the Premocar, as they are in Birmingham???

Worth a shot!

[sambarn]

The Barber's Museum is an awesome place but they are pretty focused on what they do and cars of the twenties are not really their thing. They know their bikes and Loti (Lotuses?) and racing ephemera like nobody's business but I don't think they could help much. A few Birmingham Historians and car nuts have preserved as much as is possible but no cars or significant parts remain known here in Birmingham. It had a Falls Six 188cid engine, found also in Moon Elgin, Dort, Apperson and Gardner cars (says the one reference to Falls engines I can find) any clarity for these fact would help as well. I'm composing a post on the Falls engine next to shed light on their existence.

[Ivan Saxton]

Fred Roe lists Premocar Spl. among cars which definitely used 4 cylinder Rochester-Duesenberg walking beam engines on page 65 of his book Duesenberg: The Pursuit of Perfection. Details given are 1921, the small displacement engine of 4 inch bore and 6 inch stroke. # speed transmission. 117 inch wheelbase. 32 x 4 1/2 Tyres. 4 passenger sport body.

The other person who may have had information was Keith Marvin.

[bhambulldog]

All I know about them is,

The office building is still standing on Vanderbilt road.

And that President Warren Harding rode in one during his visit to Birmingham.

[TexRiv_63]

From the Encyclopedia of American Automobiles:

PREMOCAR 1921-1923

Preston Motor Corp. Birmingham, AL

The first Premocars offered to the American public were available in two distinct types, a low-priced 6-cylinder model which had a Falls ohv engine, and a 4-cylinder model with a Rochester-Duesenberg unit which sold for a considerably higher figure. The four was almost immediately dropped, however, and most of the Premocars built were sixes.

[Dave Mellor NJ]

You probably saw this filmstrip by JD Weeks but here it is. http://premocar.com/