Info wanted 1914 Premier Z2 touring

[KLF]

I recently purchased this car and I'm hoping to get some history and information on it. My car is a 6 cyl T-head, 7 pass. touring that was restored prior to 1971. It was purchased back then by Dick Phillipi from somebody in the east and shipped to Downey, CA. Dick toured the car for several years and kept it until he passed away about 18?? years ago. His son inherited it and had it until he died about 10 years ago. It went to Oregon then and that's where I bought it. It was obviously  a complete original car that someone was fortunate to find and restore. There appears to be minimal wear on the drive train so I don't believe there is a lot of miles on it. Does anyone know who restored this car back in the 60's??

I'm also looking for any original manuals, pictures and advertisements from 1914 showing this model.

My Premier is looking pretty shabby these days. New paint is in the future. The only items that I know I'm missing are the top rests for the 5 bow top. These are the type that are hinged and clamp the bows securely.

In searching the internet Jay Leno has the same car but that's the only other one I can find.

Thanks for any help on this.

Ken Findlay

[edinmass]

I saw one in  Southern California about 10 years ago.  I’m not sure if it’s the one that Leno  owns now. It looked like it was built better than average. I’m quite sure there are a few more kicking around.  As is common with early obscure cars,  they tend to be priced lower than market compared to similar well-known makes.  Overall I thought it was very nice quality car.  I would recommend you run it extensively before you begin to do the cosmetics.  I think a color change to something more appropriate from the era  would enhance the value of your car.   Congratulations  on your new purchase. It’s a rare and unusual automobile  that should give you many years of enjoyment. Ed

[Roger Frazee]

Very interesting car.  From the wire wheels to the dual rear view mirrors, the car has "quality" written all over it.

 

[Frantz]

I'd start looking close to home... Indianapolis, the car's not your own (well you could live there too, they say it's still a free country). There is likely a car guy who got bitten by the local interest story and has lots of info. Check with local historic societies. The wiki article on Premier list's where a few of them are in museums... call them up and ask if they have a guy who knows a bunch about it. I always love the crazy guy at museum who knows way too much. I've been surprised with other orphan cars that had a decent run on how few ended up surviving.

[cxgvd]

The Horseless Carriage Cub roster shows 7 Premier cars including the one you bought.  A '13 4-40 touring in Ca and a '16 6-56 in Indiana.  Pretty car and powerful for the hills, best of luck.  Gary  

[Walt G]

Motor Print magazine from that era had a lot of full page advertisements for Premier cars and was a high quality magazine that most collectors are not aware of. It eventually evolved into Motor Life magazine and then disappeared about 1925.

[KLF]

Thanks for the comments.

Ed. I agree with you. I'll be touring the car next year as is and then decided on a more appropriate color. I've always liked the orphan cars so this works well for me.

Roger. The car is a quality car. It listed for $2835 when new and the wire wheels were an $80 option! Model T's were about $500 in 14.

Frantz. Great idea. I had already presumed that most of these cars would have been sold in the local Indiana area when new. I'll contact the local museums there.

Walt. I've got some Motor magazines from 1914 and there are no ads for Premiers. I was surprised at that. I've never heard of Motor Print magazine. Any idea where I can track one down or even a copy of the ad? I've seen a list of the top 20 car producing companies of 1914. Premier was not on that list. I expect their production was well under 1000 cars for the year.

Ken

[Frantz]

It's not even just about where they were sold. You have a better chance of finding the Premier nut there! My local region, PA Dutch, uses the Pennsylvania built "Upton" as our mascot... none are known to exist. However, we have a member who really knows his stuff so far as stuff can be known. Ownership is not a prerequisite for knowledge. Just gotta find someone passionate about local history and you might get lucky. Have fun, that looks like a great car!

[mercer09]

The Philadelphia Free Library has a terrific literature collection. If you ask them for copies of info on hand and send an SAE, they are quite accommodating with information.

 

Premier was a very fine car. Congrats!

[KLF]

Thanks Mike for this picture. I have run across this pic a couple of times and the car is actually the 1913 model. It seems that Premier was using that picture in articles and ads for the 1914 model. The fender treatment is very different in the two years although the mechanical components are basically the same.

 

Ken

 

 

 

[Bob McAnlis]

I recognize your car and the prior owners names.    There may be an article about your Premier in AACA magazine long ago, maybe in the 60s.   Try looking into that.    It could also be from VMCCA as well.  I don’t believe it was HCCA gazette.  Good luck. 

[KLF]

Bob

 Thanks for your reply. I have searched the AACA magazine archives and haven't found any info except for a for sale ad that Dick had place in 1972. Obviously the car didn't sell at that time.

The HCCA Gazette had a 3 page article on the car in November 1975. I've got most of my information from that article.

I haven't tried to search the VMCCA yet. That's a good lead. Hopefully their magazines are searchable on line.

I'm sending you an email

Ken

[JustDave]

I believe ken Sorensen in Pasadena  cailfornia has a 1911 premier,if I remember right it was restored in the 50s by Harold hoe,was green with beige frma and suspension now I believe its maroon,

I don't know if he received all the literature or not but Harold hoe  had about the most premiere literature available,    dave

[mike6024]

I think I saw Premier in the index of one of these "Bulb Horn" issues. The indexes are available online, but not the actual contents. You would have to find the issue it's in, then get access to it somehow.

 

http://www.vmcca.org/the-bulb-horn/

 

The Bulb Horn
Each issue of the Bulb Horn magazine contains fascinating articles of high interest to old car enthusiasts and automobile historians as well as providing technical pieces and feature articles on members’ automobiles.   We are very proud of this magazine. It is now published six times a year and has been our club’s official publication since 1939. Bulb Horn Indexes are available electronically for 1939-48, 1949-1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1960-1969. 1970-1979, 1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-present.

[Guest historian@reoldsmuseum.org]

The Detroit Historical Library  has an extensive collection of Premier ads and articles. 

[vintagerodshop]

@edinmass I saw the car that @KLF just purchased. he fired it up for me. It caught and ran on first revolution of the crank. Ken has a great new purchase and knowing him will drive the wheels off it. If you ever make it up to my place i will take you over to Kens house, he has a great assortment of wonderful cars.

Edited November 30, 2017 by vintagerodshop (see edit history)