ron hausmann Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Mike - no, the fatty arbuckle car isn’t mine. I believe it’s now east coast owned. Mine was the one owned by William Ruger of Ruger firearms and was prior an exhibit in Les Zimmermans Autorama in Harrisburg. ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I have seen only 2 Gold Bugs in the flesh, both at the Greenwich concours. One was at the auction, I believe it was a Carini car, yellow, nice enough but this one below was in #1 shape. Very sporty and powerful looking cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dei Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 I was very fortunate to have seen in person one of Ron's beautifully restored cars at the Willistead Classic Car Show here in Windsor, Ontario back in 2008. Stunning, just Stunning! His stable of these fine cars is the true definition of a COLLECTOR! Thanks Ron for your preservation efforts. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Is there some type of advertising on the tire cover? I've always thought that was a neat 1920's feature. Is there more than one shade of yellow through the years? I think I saw one with a darker shade at Pebble Beach. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron hausmann Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 137hd45 - There are old hand painted canvas tire covers on the spare tires. Painted with a vague landscape (?) scene. Weird. As to color, yes the colors on several extant Gold Bugs does vary. Mine was restored by William Ruger, who used a pale yellow as shown above. Lynn Missel restored his Hold Bug with a brighter more robust yellow after a lot of research into underlying paint coatings. His belief was that the deeper yellow is more authentic. No “original” yellow bugs have survived to define this question. In my opinion, pale yellow as on my car looks better with the tan top, while bold yellow looks better with black tops. Here are two examples of mine and Val Quants Kissel book yellow. Thanks, Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 If there are no original yellow Gold Bugs, and the factory delivered one in Green was it still a Gold Big? Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron hausmann Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 Bob - in my understanding, and per some of the old reference manuals, Kissel used several standard colors or you could order your Kissel direct in ANY color. Some of the old manuals describe Kissel colors as “optional”. So I’ve followed the practice that any color goes as long as it is period correct. Some of their more standard colors were Holland Blue, red, green, and of course yellow. Most but not all fenders were black. ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Green would look nice, the former A.K. Miller Stutz now restored and in the Jay Leno Garage. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Ron H, As an aside, you may want to correct a couple typos where you mention Lynn Kissel and his "brighter more robust yellow"? I had the good fortune a few years ago to follow Lynn Kissel and his Goldbug for the better part of a day on a Horseless Carriage club tour. He had "cheated" and drove his "modern" Kissel because basically the day before the tour was to start, his 1914 Kissel broke the water pump (if I recall correctly) and it would require a few weeks to make the repair. I really don't think anybody really minded the substitution, even though the regional group was generally strictly pre-16. I know that I didn't mind trading lead and follow several times over more than fifty miles! He did have the earlier Kissel back on the road soon after. It was a fun tour. And Lynn is good people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 I do not believe Kissel ever actually referred to their speedsters as "Gold Bugs". This was a name suggested, I believe by an owner of one that happened to be yellow. We restored and showed a '27 Brougham as well as the Carini Gold Bug, which he modified from original so "it would be easier to sell". Apparently Amelia Earhart referred to her Gold Bug as "The yellow peril". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron hausmann Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 All - i agree with all of the statements above in Restorer32’s post. The term “Gold Bug” was a Milwaukee Journal newspaper name from the time that stuck! When they were introduced in 1919, the non-custom Kissel speedsters were factory painted all yellow - frames, axles, fenders, insides of framing, etc. after awhile many folks found that maintaining a yellow undercarriage was hard, they switched to black chassis, but all yellow Speedsters are correct. There is a 1922 Kissel Model 6-45 Gold Bug Speedster undergoing a painstakingly beautiful restoration in New Hampshire right now which has this all yellow color scheme. His car is utilizing the bold yellow shade. Stay tuned. Ron Hausmann P.E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 The one we did was all yellow until Carini decided to paint the fenders black and eliminate the portholes from the top. We finished the restoration in 1996. It sat in the Kissel museum in Wisconsin until 2010 or so when it was sold. We retrieved it and got it running again and shipped it to its new owner in France. The new owner drove it across France in a 600 mile reliability tour. He declared it "reliable but not very comfortable to drive". He then sold it to Hyman Classic cars who traded it to Carini for another car. I have no idea where it is now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 It sold I believe at Bonhams around 2015. Looks to have been driven a bit as you explain Restorer. I have sime nice close ups of that one but not on this phone. Curious if anyone has details on light green example, it was a show stopper. I wonder if that was a standard color? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 One of the more fun restoration we have done. With no driver's side door it was almost impossible to get into the thing with the top up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 This is one of the better threads on the Forum thank you to everyone who has contributed, fun reading the history and ownership of the cars. The only Kissel I ever worked on was a 1913 Touring, think it is still with the same family. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 We also did a complete restoration of a '27 Kissel Brougham. Showed it at Hershey maybe 12 years ago. Was nominated for a National Award. It too was sold at auction and I have no idea where it is now. Thanks to Ron's collecting and restoring, Kissels have come out of obscurity and into the light. Quality built cars and just enough "different" to be interesting. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 There was a guy in Greenwich by the name of Kissel involved in a murder case, he owned two Kissels, wonder were those cars are now? Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron hausmann Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 1937hd45 - His name was Andrew Kissel. He was an overall rascal. White collar crook. His brother was murdered by his wife in Hong Kong. He was Murdered by his Valet. To my knowledge he owned one Kissel - my 1923 Kissel Gold Bug Soeedster. Some backstory - Andrew Kissel bought the Ruger Gold Bug, my car, at auction when Ruger Sr. Passed. When the law was closing in on Andrew Kissel, the feds seized his assets including the Kissel car. That car sat in a warehouse for two years until the feds sold it at auction without any fanfare. It had deteriorated and didn’t run. Andrew Kissel never cared for it. I believe I was the only guy at that auction who knew that cars provenance and I was lucky enough to get it. I keep the Andrew Kissel registration n the car to brag. Ron Hausmann P.E. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Yep a sensational news story here in CT (also where Ruger family is) a few years back. Heard of the car but did not know about the connection. Interesting, good the car found a good home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Am I correct in assuming the Ruger in question was the owner of Ruger Firearms here in Connecticut? Saw his reproduction/clone Bentleys at the New Your auto show, still have a sales flyer. Thought is was a good looking car. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron hausmann Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 Yup William Ruger Sr. founded the firearms company that bears his name. He was a renowned car guy from what I’ve heard. Many of his cars came from “Autorama” before it went out of business. That’s where he got the Gold Bug. Ron Hausmann P.E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3makes Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 PM Sent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 On the field at Amelia yesterday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Ron, thank you for all of the info. Makes for good reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Dayton Ohio. 1951. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron hausmann Posted May 2, 2020 Author Share Posted May 2, 2020 Thanks alsancle, The pictured car is misidentified as a 1924 Kissel - it’s actually a 1922 or 1923 Model 6-45 Kissel. The top hood vent identifies it as such. I believe this actual car survives and is being restored in New Hampshire right now! ron hausmann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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