Hupp 20 Mystery

[Max BURKE]

G.day Huppers. Well JB just purchased a book with pictures of of a Hup 20 roadster in the Crawford Museum since 1940. It is said to be production No 52. The pictures that illustrate the story are quite clear. The back suspension of this car has full elliptical rear springs! Ok the bolt that takes the sliders is there doing nothing but there are no sliders because there is no transverse spring. There is a tension bolt from side to side to hold the rear axle housings  in line like a Weston Mott set up but there seems no point in having the usual cross bolt at all. I can see friction shock  absorbers on the back as well as the front but they are not the type used in the front of later long chassis jobs.The front axle beam is round. The radiator has the low filler neck but it is the type with the loose steel shell and has that type front vallance held to the lower tank with 3 acorn nuts. There is no cutout switch on the dash but there is a nice vertical speedo and odometer. The gas tank is rectangular or square. . The carburettor is updrauft not the usual side mount to the manifold which has a pronounced curve. The wheels are 12 spoke and tyres look 26x3. . My question is has anyone got an early 09.Type A. Not the later type B of 09/10 with full Ellyptic rear springs.. Pictures in BCs Book from early publications show no car like this. Perhaps this is a result of the restoration done in the Museum workshops so the car could be used in the Glidden Tour of 1946? No type A Hupp are known to  exist in Australia   The book is  Runabouts and Roadsters. isbn 0  396  06799  9   Bob Stubenrauch  is the author

Max BURKE Nulkaba 2325 Australia

[trimacar]

I found my 1910 Hupmobile in 1976 in a collection of cars for sale in northern Louisiana.  At the time, I had this book, Runabouts and Roadsters, it was published in 1973.  Never the shy one, I contacted Bob Stubenrauch by phone and discussed the car in his book.  His positive comments about driving the Crawford Museum car convinced me to buy the Hupp.

 

Not to long after, I was able to see the Crawford car in person, and noted the many differences as you mention.  The full elliptic rear springs, the tubular front axle, the slant to the body seats....all of which are different than my 1910, and (with the exception of the tubular front axle, of which I'm unsure on earliest cars) not correct for this car, in my opinion.  I do believer the early 1909 cars had square gas tanks, although cannot say that the one shown is correct.

 

I believe the car was modified sometime between 1909 and 1940, if not in the Crawford restoration shop itself, with the added rear springs and the modified body.  Note that there appears to be no Hupmobile data plate on firewall, nor Selden Patent plate under seat, both of which should be in place.  The seats appear to be slanted, which I've never seen on another Hupp Model 20.

 

I use the date 1940, because that's when the car was acquired by the Frederick C. Crawford collection, and when restoration began in the Cleveland Auto-Aviation Museum shops.  The car was entered, and completed, the Glidden Tour of 1946.  I have my 1973-purchased copy of the book in front of me, from which that information comes.....

 

Interesting that Bob discusses in the book the "preheat" function of the "J" factory manifold (with the carb nestled in the loop of the "J" shape of the intake manifold), yet the car appears to have a different carburetor on it, as you mention.