British Columbia pre-war cars that have survived

[13White]

On 10/19/2020 at 6:15 AM, PFindlay said:

 

 

Going back to the Silver Brothers' cars ... Here are two pictures that Peter Trant has contributed.  They were taken by Ed Aveling and give a good idea of what the Pierce Arrow touring looked like when the cars were retrieved.

 

 

 

Are you able to identify the guys in these photos?

[KLF]

11 hours ago, 13White said:

Are you able to identify the guys in these photos?

On the bottom picture that's Bert Beaton on the far right and John Welch in the white sweater in front of him.

Ken

[8E45E]

Do you know this couple with the 1924 Studebaker? Kamloops Connector March 2021 by KamloopsThisWeek - issuu

 

Craig

[PFindlay]

1 hour ago, 8E45E said:

Do you know this couple with the 1924 Studebaker? Kamloops Connector March 2021 by KamloopsThisWeek - issuu

 

Craig

Yes I do.  Nice article.  Thanks for adding those early Studebakers to the list here.

[Pilgrim65]

Great thread , just read from start , interesting stories and wonderful early cars .

Always catches my  interest when I read of ‘finds’ .when i drive , walk anywhere and see dilapidated barns , garages overgrown or abandoned lock ups and shacks , I yearn to look inside to see and discover a long forgotten gem of a car.

thanks to all posters 

Edited April 4, 2021 by Pilgrim65 (see edit history)

[PFindlay]

On 9/9/2020 at 9:39 AM, PFindlay said:

Here is a B.C. car with a great story involving an eccentric spinster, a parrot, and a Chinese gardener.  

 

This 1911 Hupp-Yeats electric was purchased in Victoria by James Keith Wilson, manager of the bank of British Columbia and real estate developer.  He had built a mansion on Burdett St. in Victoria and lived there with his wife Mary and daughter Victoria Jane Wilson.  Victoria Jane's closest companion was her parrot named Louis, which she had received when she was 5 years old.

 

Keith Wilson was extremely protective of his daughter and bought the Hupp-Yeats for her.  Victoria Jane was very shy and it was an attempt for her to get out and around a little, safely accompanied by Louis, of course.   Apparently it was a short lived experiment and the car was driven very little.

 

Victoria Jane lived in the mansion long after her parents died, along with Louis and an assortment of other birds.  The Hupp-Yeats remained in the garage.  Upon her passing in 1949, it was discovered that she was worth about a half million dollars and her will stated that Louis was to remain in the house under the care of her Chinese gardener, with a $200 per week stipend.  Basically, her money went to charity but her property, including the car, went to Louis.  This arrangement continued until 1965 when developers finally won out.  Louis died in 1967 at the age of 105, still in the care of Wah Wong, the gardener.

 

I'm not sure how or when the car changed hands but it is now at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.  Maybe someone else knows the rest of this story.

 

Here is a link to the story of Victoria Jane and Louis:  http://evelazarus.com/wah-wong-and-the-parrot/

 

Below are pictures from 1949, in the garage, and current.

 

 

 

 

Here's a little item I found about the Hupp-Yeats ... it was advertised for sale in the HCCA Gazette in December, 1949.  This would have been shortly after Victoria Jane's death.  I wonder if there was no buyer, or if the Parrot's lawyer put a stop to it all?  Also interesting to note that it was believed to be a 1914 model and only had 39 miles on the odometer.

 

[Eldovert]

Hi Peter,

That car was purchased by Lou Holker..I had a invite to copy the photos of the extraction of the car but Brian (lou's son) passed suddenly before I could visit him.

Cheers,Pat

[PFindlay]

On 10/23/2020 at 2:14 PM, 13White said:

It wasn’t too long before Ram McGladrey had the remains of a 1905 Oldsmobile Light Tonneau. It was very rough, basically the bare engine and rusty frame. But Dad had to have it, and soon the Caddy was gone and the remains of the Olds was in the garage. The Cadillac was traded for the Olds. Dad did restore the Olds; it was Canadian built and is now in the museum in its birthplace; St. Catharine’s Ontario. 

 

 

I found this article by Ram McGladrey in a 1968 HCCA Gazette.  It tells his story of recovering the Oldsmobile so I thought I'd add it to the record here.

 

 

[PFindlay]

On 10/1/2020 at 3:57 PM, Modeleh said:

This is is the Spirit of Tomorrow, built in Victoria BC in the early 40s by Barney Oldfield.  His wind tunnel was a creek behind his shop where he whittled a wood block into the shape he desired and held it in the current of the river noting the drag on a spring scale and how the water flowed around it.  When he settled on a shape he extrapolated the dimensions full scale and hand crafted the aluminum body.  Powered by a rear engine Ford V8.  The car is still in the original family’s care and the shop on West Saanich Rd where it was designed and built still stands.

 

 

 

Here is a blogpost that came out today.  More information about Horace Basil "Barney" Oldfield and his inventions, including his car.

 

https://evelazarus.com/the-marvellous-inventions-of-barney-oldfield-1913-1978/

 

Peter

[oldcarfudd]

Interesting.  I never realized there were to Barney Oldfields of interest to car collectors.  Were they related?

[PFindlay]

12 hours ago, oldcarfudd said:

Interesting.  I never realized there were to Barney Oldfields of interest to car collectors.  Were they related?

I have no idea if they were related, but I doubt it.   Maybe someone will know.   I suspect someone just hung the nickname on him and it stuck.  Certainly sounds like an interesting guy, though.

[dictator27]

12 hours ago, PFindlay said:

I have no idea if they were related, but I doubt it.   Maybe someone will know.   I suspect someone just hung the nickname on him and it stuck.  Certainly sounds like an interesting guy, though.

What Peter said.  No relation.  My dad was rector of a small Anglican parish just outside Victoria BC from 1947 to 1956 (still there).  Barney Oldfield was a member of the parish.  As a young child I rode in that car on occasion.  He also built a revolving houuse.

[PeteL]

[1912Staver]

A friends father owned one of the relatively  few Duesenbergs sold in Canada { Montreal Quebec . } . He lived both in Quebec and the Vancouver area. At some point he bought the remains of what could have been this car here in the Vancouver area as parts for his much better condition Quebec Duesenberg. I think this occurred sometime in the 1960's. I believe what was left over eventually ended up with someone in Ontario. Unfortunately both my friend and his father have passed away so I can't ask either of them for further details.

 My friend and his father always  referred to the second car as " the Stutzenberg " meaning a quantity of Stutz Vertical Eight parts had been used in its reconstruction. But I don't really know what parts they were referring to. It is also possible this is another car altogether ,but who knows ? I also knew a person who claimed to have scrapped the bodywork off a  derelict Duesenberg in Burnaby { suburb of Vancouver }  as a teenager in the early 1950's. He said it was a closed sedan and he made good money off the metal at the scrap yard. Probably by the standards of a 15 or 16 year old at least.

He thought the chassis survived , but couldn't remember any details. Possibly that was the chassis used in the construction of this car.

Next stop , Randy Ema ?

Edited April 5, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[BobPilkie]

Hi Bob here in Edmonton. I’d like to talk to 1912 staver. Please call me if you see this 780 819 7404 

[13White]

On 4/4/2022 at 4:02 PM, PeteL said:

I have no personal knowledge of this car; however, my late Cousin was very close to my Dad when they were young, and Bert was delighted when he told me of riding in my dad's 1934 Ford coupe, and having a drag race with this car on Granville Street in Vancouver. Apparently the little Ford took him off the line, but once they got up to about 40 mph the  Duesie was able to even up and then pull ahead. Not bad for a 21-stud flathead...

[R. D.]

On 9/10/2020 at 10:40 AM, Hybrid said:

Thanks for starting this thread Peter. It is an interesting read. I will add another original BC car to the discussion. Our 24 Nash Sport touring is a long term B.C. car. I have copies of B.C. registrations back to 1924. We appear to be the fifth owners of the car. The first registration is from Arthur John Wixey who was a confectioner is Victoria. Long term Victoria car club members described Wixey as a gentleman who drove the car and worn spats long after they fell out of fashion. At one time Mr. Wixey cut out the rear of the touring body to carry his pies. The Nash was acquired from Mr. Wixey in the early 1950's by Robert (Bob) Genn a well known B.C. Artist from Victoria. I spoke with Bob Genn before he passed in 2014 about the car. When he was in Victoria he spent a lot of time chasing down and acquiring local antique cars. Bob sold the Nash in 1956 or 57 to B.C. old car connoisseurs Al and Millie Johnson.  We obtained the car from Al and  Millie in the mid 1980's.  I noted a lot of the cars in this thread started their BC life from Begg motors and I believe this car likely was sold by them as well. A Nash Car Club resource shows that Begg Motors at 1062 Georgia Street in Vancouver was the Nash dealer in Vancouver from 1922-1926. It shows the Victoria location of Begg Motors selling Nashes in 1928.

I have an original Bob Genn oil painting of a 1912 Oakland car, and he was a family friend of my parents (painting is signed and dedicated on the reverse). Given that his usual painting subject was landscape, I think it's probably an unusual piece by him. I never realized that this car might have been his at one point. My mother liked old cars, and I just assumed he probably painted it for her as a "one off." Thanks for the post.

[KLF]

1 hour ago, R. D. said:

I have an original Bob Genn oil painting of a 1912 Oakland car, and he was a family friend of my parents (painting is signed and dedicated on the reverse). Given that his usual painting subject was landscape, I think it's probably an unusual piece by him. I never realized that this car might have been his at one point. My mother liked old cars, and I just assumed he probably painted it for her as a "one off." Thanks for the post.

This is very interesting to me as I have a 1912 Oakland and live in Surrey BC. I've had my car since the late 1970's and it's been restored since 1987. I wonder when Bob painted his picture? It's possible he saw my car somewhere and used it for a model. As far as I know there were no other 12 Oaklands in the province or possibly even in Canada until about 7 years ago when another was bought out of California. That car is in Maple Ridge today.

Here are a couple of pictures of my Oakland

Ken

 

 

[Hudson33]

Hi there, I am reaching out in the hope of connecting with Fred Grey who restored his Hudson 33? I have just brought a Hudson 33 Roadster and am hoping for some help and advice on a few minor modifications made by the previous owners with the intention to return it to period correct? I am down in New Zealand and would greatly appreciate anyone connecting us.

[PFindlay]

7 hours ago, Hudson33 said:

Hi there, I am reaching out in the hope of connecting with Fred Grey

I will forward your message and address to Fred.   Good luck with your Hudson.

Peter

[Hudson33]

Hi Peter,

 

Many thanks for this. It would be great to get in contact with Fred.. It sure is an awesome car and I want to do her justice with putting a few modifications back to original and he sure is the man in the know.

 

Kind regards and thanks,

 

Mathew

[PFindlay]

This Studebaker was mentioned in another thread, so I thought I'd add it to the list.  With comments thanks to Dictator27:

 

 "I have known this car since 1966 and have driven it on a number of occasions.  It is currently in the City of Surrey museum in Surrey, British Columbia.  It is a model SF4 7 passenger and is incorrectly dated as 1916.  It is actually a 1917 model.  The only difference is the 1917 passenger front seat is reversible so it can face the rear seat.  It was used as a stage from the Blue Funnel Line dock in New Westminster BC to the community of Haney (a distance of about 25 miles), twice daily until 1927 when it was sold.  The engine was used to power a saw mill in Haney until the early 1960's, when it was restored.

 

In the 60s, it was Bart Nygard's car.  He sold it to Bob Donaldson.  Bob later sold it to the British Columbia Transportation Museum.  When that was dismantled it was given to the city of Surrey along with a 1929 model A touring.  The A was sold and the Studebaker was put in the old Surrey museum on the Cloverdale Fair Grounds.  While it was there I drove it on several occasions.  During summer months it was often kept at the historic Stewart farmhouse on Crescent Road.  The picture shows the car as it is today.  When the new museum was built, the car was put on the second floor.  There is no way to drive it out.  It has been there since 2005.

 

I will add that as long as the car was in the old museum, the curator was a fellow named Lynn Safrey.  He strongly supported keeping the car mobile. As long as he was there the car got reasonably regular use.  Unfortunately, he was in the minority."

 

My own experience with this car was in 1967.  I was 11 and the family was participating in the Centennial Tour around British Columbia in our 1927 Auburn.  One day I got a chance to ride with Bart Nygard in the Studebaker and it was my first experience in anything close to a "Horseless Carriage."   I was awestruck with the feeling of sitting up high in an open car, in a tufted seat that felt more like a sofa than a car seat.  I've often thought back on that experience as being part of the reason I'm a brass-era guy today. - Peter

 

[wayne sheldon]

Thank you PF. Nice to see this thread bumped back up again! I had a 1915/'16 series 16 Studebaker six cylinder car for many years. Love this era Studebaker!

[8E45E]

Does anyone from BC have a complete collection of the annual I.C.B.C. calendars handed out each year that featured vintage cars owned by residents of the province?  It may be worth digging into the history of some of the cars that were featured in those calendars over the years.

 

Craig

[8E45E]

I would just love to find these in a barn in BC:

Craig