John A. Boyd Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 John, My name is John Boyd, I live in New Bern, NC. I recently inherited a Brush from my father that our family has owned since about 1917. My father was going to restore it but he only got around to getting it running mechanically on his 80th birthday in 1993 and driving it around the block. It was originally purchased new by a gentleman in the little town where we all lived. I am friends with the family of the original owner especially one of the grandsons. We are both interested in the preservation of the "Baby Bullet" as his mother and her three sisters named the car which was purchased for them as an entertainment device. I have been searching the web for information about Brush Automobiles and your postings are the most knowledgeable and helpful that i have found. I would like to find someone like yourself that could help us learn about our Brush. Which model it is ? About restoring it. I found this site to communicate with you. would love to ask you a bunch of questions if you would indulge me. I just signed up last night to this site and am a computer dummy much more confrontation out in the work whop with a wrench or welder.LOL Thanks John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 John, Welcome to the AACA Discussion Forum. Your first post was in an existing discussion of another subject so I have moved your post to the General Forum where you will hopefully be able to find some help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lump Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Welcome, John Boyd. Sounds like you have a great project. First, and MOST importantly...get some photos. No, make that LOTS of photos, and then post them on here. Photo the engine compartment from both sides, the inside of the dash and interior, and every angle you can think of. There are some very sharp people on this forum, and they will be glad to help, once they know what you have. And PHOTOS are the best way to get it all started. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Bond Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Welcome to the forum! You are just a bit south of us here in the Tidewater Va area and we have been known to frequent the New Bern area frequently too! There is a thriving antique car club there - a region of our national AACA, in fact there are a couple of regions close by. Check the AACA Website for a complete list of regions and chapters in North Carolina and you'll find contact information there. I'm not sure how many Brush owners are around but they will know, and there is also a lot of early car knowledge among members. I think there are a lot of basics to understand about brass age vehicles in general that you can learn about. Opportunities to share the hobby are what makes this great. You can also find information about the North Carolina Region of Horseless Carriage Club. There is an active touring group that covers your part of North Carolina. If you go to the Horseless club website you'll find contact info for Natalie Weaver who might be able to put you into contact with other Brush owners. Highly recommend you join AACA and make use of their great library and research center to get information about your car. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Around 1910 the Abernathy brothers, both not quite teenagers, drove a Brush auto from New York to Oklahoma. Interesting story and great advertisement at the time for Brush Automobiles. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 May I suggest, that if it is all original and not messed with- you might consider leaving it original and just cleaning up what you have............. that is far more desirable today then redoing everything in shiney glossy paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMc Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 John, Your question might attract more Brush owners in the "Brush" section further down the Forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 42 minutes ago, DavidMc said: John, Your question might attract more Brush owners in the "Brush" section further down the Forum. David, John originally posted this in another discussion in the towing category. I split it from the unrelated discussion and put it here to hopefully get him a bit more exposure. As soon as we get him accustomed to the forum, the Brush subforum would probably be a good fit for some of his questions but I thought he might reach a few Brush folks here as well as some other AACA folks in his area who might not ever see it in the Brush subforum. I am sure we have some other forum members from his area who can probably help him as a new antique car owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caddyshack Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 (edited) Welcome John, Congrats on the fine inheritance. The Brush auto has a large following with roughly 360 registered members. The old Brush Owners Association is now headquartered in Australia. Sorry I don't have a contact for you, but info might be available on the web. As far as identifying your auto goes, it should be fairly easy. They were made from 1907-1912. Serial number and model number were located on a brass plate attached to the heel board of the seat. Also, the serial # was stamped on the top of the engine. Model A 1907, serial # 1-100, Model B 1908 serial # 1000-1700, Model BC (mid 1909) serial # 1701-3700, Model D late 1910 serial #3701-13700, Model E and M 1911 serial #13701-15000, Model F 1912 serial # 15001-20000, Liberty Model 1912 serial # 20001 and up. Models D, E, and F also had different body styles; standard runabout (model 24), runabout with single rumble seat and runabout with double rumble seat (Model 28), delivery vehicle (Model M), roadster (Model 26), and also a coupe version I believe. Delivery style was also available in '07 and '08. I have a Model F if I can help you in any way drop me a line. Thanks Edited March 15, 2017 by caddyshack spelling error (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frantz Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Welcome! And welcome to the world of odd ball orphan cars! I hope you become as enchanted as many of us have. One of the hard parts about owning an unusual orphan car is the desire to own as much as you can of the companies history. While for my Fords, I can be picky about what books to buy I simply give away my money as soon as I find books for my orphan interest. As such, I'm limited on books with Brush. "Orphan Babies Volume 1" by Robert Cunningham does have about 4 pages worth of its' "story" dedicated to the brush, and would also help put the car in perspective of similar makes and models of the period. I'd say it's a completely unique read as it takes a fictional character's memories of all the old cars and tells the history in the form of a novel. Good info, I wouldn't say it's up there with the classic novels or as a number one reference source, but as a old car guy (especially one with a Brush), I would pick it up. I'm sure some of the folks here will have better sources for you. I'm not of much other use, but I'm jealous, that's a neat old machine you go, and that it had meaning for your dad is a nice memorial as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozstatman Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 John, Bob Lamond might still have some copies left of the Brush book he published last year, that is if you're interested? http://forums.aaca.org/topic/268851-the-brush-runabout-everymans-car-1907-to-1913/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 (edited) John, Welcome to the world of us old vehicle crazies. On this site we love old cars and especially the original ones that have been in the family a long time with long history of great stories. You will find this group is very helpful regardless where we live. Unless you plan on making your car a hot rod by chopping and channeling it this group of people are the greatest resource for help around. We all look forward to helping you get your car running and enjoying it. As others have said, get it running and drive it like you stole it. Nothing more fun. Edited March 14, 2017 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 (edited) The large paperback volume titled "Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942," by Krause Publications, has a couple of paragraphs on the Brush car and lists all their models and estimated (out of date) values. Our AACA Library in Hershey, Penn'a could scan that for you and send it to you; their telephone is (717) 534-2082. Also, the hardbound quarterly magazine "Automobile Quarterly" was produced from 1962 to circa 2012. It had very well researched articles and covered obscure makes that might not get covered elsewhere. I suspect that somewhere in their 50 years of publication there is an excellent, thorough article on the Brush. Maybe the AACA Library, or a Forum member here, can check for you. All the best to you with your car, John. Edited March 14, 2017 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John A. Boyd Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 On 3/13/2017 at 3:28 PM, Terry Bond said: Welcome to the forum! You are just a bit south of us here in the Tidewater Va area and we have been known to frequent the New Bern area frequently too! There is a thriving antique car club there - a region of our national AACA, in fact there are a couple of regions close by. Check the AACA Website for a complete list of regions and chapters in North Carolina and you'll find contact information there. I'm not sure how many Brush owners are around but they will know, and there is also a lot of early car knowledge among members. I think there are a lot of basics to understand about brass age vehicles in general that you can learn about. Opportunities to share the hobby are what makes this great. You can also find information about the North Carolina Region of Horseless Carriage Club. There is an active touring group that covers your part of North Carolina. If you go to the Horseless club website you'll find contact info for Natalie Weaver who might be able to put you into contact with other Brush owners. Highly recommend you join AACA and make use of their great library and research center to get information about your car. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John A. Boyd Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 Thanks to all of you that are so freely offering information and help with my Brush Auto. I am going to work on packing up the parts and moving it here to my home shop tomorrow. I plan to take lots of detailed pictures and measurements to help me identify exactly which model I have. I have got some excellent advise from one of your members on the phone about what to do to preserve the engine, transmission and differential. It is overwhelming to see the outpouring of information from the people on this forum. I only wish that my father who passed away before the internet could have had access to such a varied group of enthusiast as yourselves. He would have surely have realized his dream of restoring our old Brush. As I get questions I will surely ask them here. Now I just need to figure out how to post pictures on this forum. Again thanks so much for the friendly response to my query. I will join the AACA and find a local member here in New Bern to keep me straight. I also want to purchase a copy of the Brush book mentioned above. John 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 Cool Car John. I did work on a Brush for a friend years ago. Wonder how far you are from Orange, VA. My dad is in that area and I plan on moving there as soon as I get my property sold here. I could give you a hand with it if your not all that far away from my Dad. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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