British Columbia pre-war cars that have survived

[PFindlay]

You can't get much more local than this 1926 Paragon Motorcycle.  "Assembled in Vancouver" is part of its name badge.  These English bikes, with Villiers two-stroke engines, were shipped all over the world as kits and assembled by local dealerships with a local name.  This one was assembled by Deeley's in Vancouver.  It was found in 2014 in the back of a soon-to-be-demolished shop in Vancouver.  It had been parked there since 1931.

 

Here is an article telling the story:

 

https://driving.ca/harley-davidson/auto-news/news/motorcycle-stored-83-years-repaired-for-less-than-100

 

Also below is the video showing this rocket in action.

 

 

 

 

 

[Modeleh]

On 9/22/2020 at 12:03 PM, PFindlay said:

Here are a few pictures of a 1904 or 1905 Fiat.  Buck Rogers took these as it was being restored by an owner in Washington state.  According to Paul Bolam, the car was originally in use near Westwold, B.C.  Sometime around 1914 the car burned and ended up in the barn at the Westwold Hotel.  Many years later it ended up in Washington State and returned to B.C. for the Malahat Run once.  Does someone have a picture of it there?    This may be the Fiat that is now in the LeMay museum, but I'm not sure about that.

 

Click this link to hear a 2 min clip of Paul Bolam telling the story of this car:

http://antique.vccc.com/pioneers/Bolam-1904Fiat.wav

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So similar to the Zust that Buck Rodgers discovered. Arguably his most important find.  I wonder if he had the Zust at the time he took these pictures of the Fiat, perhaps to see in person the missing parts in hopes of copying them.

 I don’t believe this Fiat would be the same one as the one which was at the Lemay as it was from what I understand the Anhauser Busch car.  Unfortunately I never got down there in time to view it and I believe it has gone back to Europe now after the auction a few years ago.

Were you able to get Buck’s personal photo collection? You sure have posted some great ones thanks again.

[G.Hoffman]

Hi all. 

I was at the old Pringle place several times in the 50s and 60s . Twice with Paul and others . Old man Pringle was a Hermit with hair and beard over the shoulders. He was friendly once you got to know him so my wife and I used to visit a couple times a year. He had a huge yard with a sawmill and acres of junk. There was about a half dozen old cars in this collection. I rescued the remains of a 1913 Overland. The rad and one headlight are on my basement wall today as spares for my 12. The rad is the same as my 1912 only nickle plated in 1913. Paul and Rick Percy rescued a 1909 Cadillac fairly complete which I  have lost track of now..  There was a nearly complete 1915 Franklin which is still owned by Dave Proctor. Paul bought it and fixed it up as a runner before selling it to Dave.

The 1904 Fiat was a real basket case. It had been in Pringles yard for years and virtually fallen apart onto the ground. I don't recall it being burnt.  When John finally talked the old man out of it the rad was missing. The old man had mounted it alongside a single cylinder hopper cooled irrigation pump in a creek away from his house. One day he found that the rad was gone and he was really pissed. Not long after this my wife and I arrived for a visit to be met with the old man toting a 12 gauge shotgun. At the time I confessed that I didn't have any idea who would steal it so the old man cooled down for a visit. Buck was well known for having sticky fingers so I phoned him when I got home and asked about the rad. His answer was  typical of Buck saying "well he didn't need it anyway "When John got the Fiat to Seattle, Buck sold him the rad for I think $100. Buck never had any money so was always trying to generate cash.

The story I recall of the Fiat is the owner of the Westwold Hotel built in the 1880s was well off by the turn of the century. In 1904 he and his wife attended the Paris Auto show where he purchased the Fiat. It was then shipped around the Horn and up to Westwold . The hotel was still there but abandoned in the early seventies. It was a huge 3 story wood structure.

Here is a story that I got from one of  the Pringle sons. John and his family traveled from Seattle and visited Weastwold for a holiday in the mid 70s. Val and John went over to the remains of the old hotel for a look around. One item that John was having a problem with during the restoration was the drive chains and sprockets were completely worn out. Chain drive cars had high wear rates in the mud and gravel of these early roads. In an old shed at the rear of the hotel was a pair of new chains still wrapped and hanging on the wall.  These are oddball metric European chains. The sprockets were rebuilt and the new chains installed. You can see them in one of the above photos. I saw the Fiat several times after the restoration and it was a beautiful car. I believe it is still in the family.

Cheers George.

[13White]

2 hours ago, G.Hoffman said:

Hi all. 

I was at the old Pringle place several times in the 50s and 60s . Twice with Paul and others . Old man Pringle was a Hermit with hair and beard over the shoulders. He was friendly once you got to know him so my wife and I used to visit a couple times a year. He had a huge yard with a sawmill and acres of junk. There was about a half dozen old cars in this collection. I rescued the remains of a 1913 Overland. The rad and one headlight are on my basement wall today as spares for my 12. The rad is the same as my 1912 only nickle plated in 1913. Paul and Rick Percy rescued a 1909 Cadillac fairly complete which I  have lost track of now..  There was a nearly complete 1915 Franklin which is still owned by Dave Proctor. Paul bought it and fixed it up as a runner before selling it to Dave.

The 1904 Fiat was a real basket case. It had been in Pringles yard for years and virtually fallen apart onto the ground. I don't recall it being burnt.  When John finally talked the old man out of it the rad was missing. The old man had mounted it alongside a single cylinder hopper cooled irrigation pump in a creek away from his house. One day he found that the rad was gone and he was really pissed. Not long after this my wife and I arrived for a visit to be met with the old man toting a 12 gauge shotgun. At the time I confessed that I didn't have any idea who would steal it so the old man cooled down for a visit. Buck was well known for having sticky fingers so I phoned him when I got home and asked about the rad. His answer was  typical of Buck saying "well he didn't need it anyway "When John got the Fiat to Seattle, Buck sold him the rad for I think $100. Buck never had any money so was always trying to generate cash.

The story I recall of the Fiat is the owner of the Westwold Hotel built in the 1880s was well off by the turn of the century. In 1904 he and his wife attended the Paris Auto show where he purchased the Fiat. It was then shipped around the Horn and up to Westwold . The hotel was still there but abandoned in the early seventies. It was a huge 3 story wood structure.

Here is a story that I got from one of  the Pringle sons. John and his family traveled from Seattle and visited Weastwold for a holiday in the mid 70s. Val and John went over to the remains of the old hotel for a look around. One item that John was having a problem with during the restoration was the drive chains and sprockets were completely worn out. Chain drive cars had high wear rates in the mud and gravel of these early roads. In an old shed at the rear of the hotel was a pair of new chains still wrapped and hanging on the wall.  These are oddball metric European chains. The sprockets were rebuilt and the new chains installed. You can see them in one of the above photos. I saw the Fiat several times after the restoration and it was a beautiful car. I believe it is still in the family.

Cheers George.

Please keep it coming; I could read stories like this all day long!!!

[G.Hoffman]

Firstly,  some one in a post above asked about Paul Bolam . Yes he is still with us however is in a home with health issues. Alzheimer has taken away his memory which is a shame for a man with his knowledge.

Now to the Silver Brothers. We first got to know of them and their cars in the mid 50s. They were congenial guys and loved to visit to talk old cars. Al  Johnson and I used to visit once in a while. The old house they lost for tax sale during the depression. The city then owned the property and rented to them for $10 per month  until they died. I remember thinking wow that is cheap rent.  However their father was prominent so the city gave them a break. The street that the old house was on is still named Silver Ave. A couple things really struck me. One was the size and the condition of the 13 Peerless in the basement.[ See the photo of it above.] It and the 31 Stutz Blackhawk were in the basement and didn't suffer when the garage collapsed .The other thing I was a bit shocked about was the inside of the house. They  heated and cooked on an old wood stove that smoked for over 30 years. The kitchen had never been cleaned so the kitchen inside was as black as the inside of a cow.  Even with a single bulb it was still black. The other thing that is stuck in my mind is that one of the two , I think Will,  was deaf so used a tin horn in the ear as a hearing aid.  When you spoke to him he inserted the horn in one ear then you shouted into it.  He was the only person I ever saw using a Horn.

The winter that the garage collapsed [ Jan 1965] My wife and I spent Christmas and January on the beach in Hawaii. At the little corner store on Lewers St they sold  one day old Vancouver Sun  news papers . We watched the paper as the daily snow accumulation grew to over 2 feet in Vancouver. I called my father to ask him to shovel off the roof's of the 3 houses we had. We arrived home a few days after the Club Members had rescued the Silver cars from the collapsed garage so I missed all of that.  The day after we got home I looked out at my neighbours 2 car garage and it had collapsed onto my Model "T" and Al Johnson's Diana sedan. The two cars were under a collapsed  roof with 2 feet of wet snow on top. Fortunately the two weren't badly damaged. We rented this garage for years at $5 per month.. The "T" is still with us and the Diana is still in the Johnson family. Wow this was 55 years ago.

Cheers George.

[8E45E]

Okay, who was the early Postwar Tatra and Skoda collector in Vancouver?  I heard he had a silver Tatraplan 600 and a black one.  My dad took a photo of the silver car when it was in Stanley Park in 1973.

 

Craig

[G.Hoffman]

8E45E

I remember seeing that Tatra but I have no idea where they got to .

George.

 

Next up  are the cars . Will start with the Spuzzum Packard.  Here is a photo of it. It is a 1925 Model  333  7 passenger sedan with 23,000 miles.  It belongs to my wife. The story tomorrow.

Cheers.

[PFindlay]

On 9/24/2020 at 7:29 PM, G.Hoffman said:

The day after we got home I looked out at my neighbours 2 car garage and it had collapsed onto my Model "T" and Al Johnson's Diana sedan. The two cars were under a collapsed  roof with 2 feet of wet snow on top. Fortunately the two weren't badly damaged. We rented this garage for years at $5 per month.. The "T" is still with us and the Diana is still in the Johnson family. Wow this was 55 years ago.

 

George made reference to Al Johnson's Diana, so maybe this is a good place to tell its story...

 

The 1927 Diana was originally bought by the Dunbar family of Vancouver and must have been their pride and joy because by the time Al found it the paint had been polished right through.  It seems the Dunbars drove the car for some time and, at some point, Mr. Dunbar became blind so Mrs. Dunbar did all the driving.  Apparently Dianas were one of the easiest steering cars back in the twenties and often the choice of female drivers.  (A check of the 1932 Vancouver registrations shows about a half dozen Dianas on the city streets at that time.)

 

By 1956 Mr. Dunbar had died and the car was for sale.  Al Johnson answered a newspaper ad about it and beat out "the other guy" because Mrs. Dunbar said he had the same look in his eye that her husband had when he bought the car.  Al drove the car on the 1958 tour from Fernie to Victoria and it was a regular at club events when I was a kid in the '60s.  He painted it in 1960, shortly after George painted his Model T - the two cars shared storage in New Westminster.  As George mentioned, the garage roof came down on them in 1965.

 

GEORGE:  Rumour has it that Al took the original tires off the back of the Diana and you put them on your TT truck - and they're still there???

 

Here is a picture of Al and the Diana, probably in the late '50s.

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of pictures, both taken on the 2008 Fernie to Victoria tour, re-enacting the 600 mile tour the car had done in 1958.
 

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by PFindlay
added 1950s picture (see edit history)

[G.Hoffman]

Great photos Peter,  Yes you are correct the Dunbars had  polished the paint off the hood, fenders and other places too. In 1959 I finished my "T" in a shop I had in Surrey. When we removed the T we brought the Diana in and spent most of the winter stripping all the paint off down to bare metal. In 1960 it received about  15 coats of Nitro Cellulose Lacquer in olive green and black which was the original color. Terry and I were just talking about how well this paint has lasted 60 years and looks as good as new still.

The tires that came on the Diana were recapped by Mr Dunbar after the war  and stored in his basement. He had a new set installed then but realized that maybe the 600x20 tires wouldn't be available in the future so saved the old recapped ones. And yes in the 70s I installed two on my "TT"truck which are on it today. That is 93 years ago when they were installed on the  Diana.

For those not familiar, The Diana was built by the Moon Motor Car Co. The Diana was their luxury model and was named so because Diana was the Goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology. The rad ornament is the Goddess standing with her bow and arrow.

Here is the other 1959  Lacquer paint job completed just before the Diana.

[PFindlay]

21 hours ago, Modeleh said:

I don’t believe this Fiat would be the same one as the one which was at the Lemay as it was from what I understand the Anhauser Busch car.  Unfortunately I never got down there in time to view it and I believe it has gone back to Europe now after the auction a few years ago.

Were you able to get Buck’s personal photo collection? You sure have posted some great ones thanks again.

 

Thanks for confirming this about the Fiat.  I believe the Westwold car was a rear entrance (at least after restoration) and the LeMay car was side entrance.

 

Quite a few years ago I borrowed a shoebox full of Buck's pictures and scanned them all.  A lot of them show just relics in a field but they are an interesting collection.  Until a few days ago I had forgotten that I sat down with Paul Bolam at the time and recorded our conversation as he looked through the pictures.  I found the recording on my computer as I was going through the pictures.

 

This is Buck taking notes about something.  Maybe someone can ID this car.

[dictator27]

12 hours ago, 8E45E said:

Okay, who was the early Postwar Tatra and Skoda collector in Vancouver?  I heard he had a silver Tatraplan 600 and a black one.  My dad took a photo of the silver car when it was in Stanley Park in 1973.

 

Craig

I(n the early 1960's, Miles Robson, who was a Vintage Car Club member at the time, took a friend of mine and I (we were about 16 at the time) down to Walsh's Auto Wrecking, now long gone, on Main Street.  It was in an old theatre and was a treasure trove of antique car parts from the 20's and 30's.  On the theatre's stage was a large, impressive looking car from about 1930.  I can't say for sure, but I think it may have been a Peerless.  Anyone know of such a car?

On that same day, Miles took us down to a run down industrial area in Vancouver.  In the yard outside a ramshackle old house were several Tatras and at least one Skoda.  The owner was a Tatra mechanic who had come with the cars when they were imported into Vancouver.  He had bought them back from the original purchasers over time.  Miles had taken us to see them because I knew of one the mechanic didn't have.  It belonged to Michael Seale, the son of a parishioner at a church where my dad was the rector in North Vancouver.   I would often see it in the church parking lot.  It was dark grey.  The black one is still around.  For a time I did some movie extra work and it was used in a scene.  Vic Houghton was there as well with his Hudson.

There was also a dark blue late 40's Skoda in the neighbourhood at that time.  In the 80's I saw (presumably) the same car on the Sechelt Peninsula.    

[dictator27]

Sorry to hear about Paul Bolam.  Also saw the note about Bart Nygard's estate going up for auction.  I bought my 27 Dictator from him in 1966.

[fsnooks]

Newfoundland was last place(did not join CAnada TIL 1949) in North America to switch from driving on left to right side of road in 1947.

 

I assume there were would have been plenty of right hand drive cars.

Edited September 25, 2020 by fsnooks (see edit history)

[Michael J. Barnes]

Sadly for the print industry — where I once worked — the really interesting stories have moved online, to forums like these. I expect readers from all over are taking note. The thread being expanded here with such great stories could and she be repeated for every province, state, country. Well done, Peter Findlay, for giving this snowball its first push.

[PFindlay]

I couldn't find the 1958 Hoffman Model T wedding car photo, but I did come up with these circa 1966 and one from the 2008 Fernie tour.   I hear this car is on the road with a rebuilt engine just this year.

 

George tells me this car came from Ladner, where the Ford dealership building had become a hardware store.  The only hardware store in town with a good supply of NOS Ford parts.

 

EDIT: Is it just a coincidence that I have a picture with Doris behind the wheel, followed by one with a crumpled front fender?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by PFindlay (see edit history)

[G.Hoffman]

 Peter, that last photo is a nice one of the coupe probably taken on the Fernie tour in 2008. The one above that  from the news paper was before the 1966 around the Provence tour.

Since you have posted photos of our "T" I will go with it's story.

It was bought new from the Ford dealer in Ladner. B.C. A young friend who I hung out with during high school lived in Ladner and knew that this Coupe was in a shed behind the Ladner Plumbing shop  just a block from the old Ford dealer. The car looked fairly original however the wood had suffered from the weather . This was  1955 so the car was 31 years old then. The owner wanted $50 for it. My offer was $25 however we couldn't agree so that was it. During the following week I thought about the accessories the car had on it so went back the following Saturday and upped my offer to $30. So after a bit of moaning it was a deal. One item I noticed is that it had an original Ruxtel axle

After we got it home on the end of a rope. we started it only to find out that the rods rattled something awful. At that time I had a nice 27 Chrysler and a nice original 27 Willys Knight so put the "T" away. In 57 I got serious and tore the car down for a total restoration. The old Ladner Ford dealer was by this time  a hardware store. I found that the upper floor still had hundreds of T parts in bins with the original price tags on them.  For the next 2 years I had a good stock of T parts to choose from . One day in about 1959 I went back to buy something and the old fellow announced that 2 fellows from Seattle had bought all the parts for $500 , loaded 2 pickups and the lot had gone. Prior to that I had bought a lot of pieces for fellow club members . Two new front wheel at $15 each went on Paul Bolams 08 Buick.  There was a new complete rear end with a tag on for $75.

Back to the restoration , I replaced nearly all of the body wood. 128 pieces in all.  The metal was all sandblasted, painted inside then reattached to the wood frame. The engine had a minor overhaul using parts from the old store in Ladner. This was long before repo parts were available.

The rest of the story to follow.

[8E45E]

3 hours ago, Michael J. Barnes said:

Sadly for the print industry — where I once worked — the really interesting stories have moved online, to forums like these. I expect readers from all over are taking note. The thread being expanded here with such great stories could and she be repeated for every province, state, country. Well done, Peter Findlay, for giving this snowball its first push.

This thread is a good one; especially from a province immediately next door to me.

 

I'd like to see some threads on surviving TRUCKS!  Considering British Columbia always had a huge logging and mining industry, there were hundreds of these older pre-war trucks earning their keep, including some chain-drive AC Macks, etc.

 

This Mack was used Summerland.   

 

Craig

 

[Modeleh]

This photo just surfaced on Facebook today so I thought I’d share it here.  A 1915 photo of both of the Nanaimo Fire Department 1913 American LaFrance chemical trucks and the Chief’s car at the foot of Nicol St. in front of the Firehouse building which survives today as the Firehouse restaurant.

 

Another shot of the unrestored #1 truck at the 2009 Duncan Truck show held at the Forest Museum which former owner of this truck, Gerry Wellburn created by donating his collection of steam locomotives and logging equipment to the province of B.C. The #2 truck has been restored and is still in the care of the City of Nanaimo 

[G.Hoffman]

Peter, That bent fender was not done by Doris or I . This happened in front of the stairs to the legislature in Victoria. I had just angle parked  when a pair of old gentlemen named Pennman brothers driving their 1930 Cadillac limo drove into  the  fender. I was choked but really understood that these guys were in their 80s and shouldn't have been  driving anyway. Someone was directing them to park so the whole affair was a screw up . The brothers ran a Taxi business in Victoria for years.  I fixed  it myself When I got home.

 

Now for the rest of the story.

In February  1958 I went out on a blind date with my friend Roy and his new girlfriend to meet a new babe. She was beautiful however I needed help on the T so I asked if she could sew. When she said yes and had a new sewing machine I got to like her even more. Her and I then set up in the shop to upholster the "T".   After it was upholstered it was painted, trimmed and on the road for the 1960 May tour. In 1961 we were  married and drove the T on our honeymoon to Penticton and back. On the 1960 may tour we met Annie and Art Urquart at Spuzzum and admired their 1925 Packard. They insisted we stay with them for a couple of days on our honeymoon. This started a lifetime friendship . They had no children so called us their kids. For years we joked that we spent our honeymoon in Spuzzum. The Packard is in the photo above and now resides in our basement.

We  drove  the T with the original engine until it broke the crankshaft in 2007 . I replaced it with another old one only to break that one in 800 miles. We have just got it on the road again with a new modern crank installed by James Kitchener. It has been a great car for 65 years.and has 16,560 miles on the odometer. And my new girlfriend is still here after 65 years too. Our kids and us have 5 "T"s now.

Cheers George.

[KLF]

On 9/14/2020 at 9:30 PM, KLF said:

 

He also found another 12 Napier T48 6 cyl touring that was a similar story.He restored it as well. I don't have any pictures of it. I believe one car is in England now and the other was sold into the USA.

I found a picture of Paul Bolam's 12 Napier T48.

Ken

By the way I took this picture when I was 13 years old. The hobby never lets go!

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by KLF
added more info (see edit history)

[G.Hoffman]

Ken That is a great picture of Pauls first Napier. I thought it was an 11. The old original owner said his dad paid $9,200 for the car in Vancouver. Paul's gathering of the pieces of this car is great story. I will post it next week.  Just as a tidbit of the story is the Radiator. Paul kept asking where the rad got to but couldn't get an answer. finally when Paul had most of the car together the old fellow took Paul into his bedroom and there was the rad mounted into the window with the Napier fan and an electric  motor . He had it plumbed to the house water for air conditioning.  Paul bought and installed a modern air conditioner for the rad.

More later   Cheers George.

[keithb7]

Hi folks, a contact of mine saw this thread and asked for a little help posting here. His car has a significant history in British Columbia.

 

This Canadian built 1911 McLaughlin Model 33 Touring car was the first automobile in Ashcroft in 1911.

The original owner  Issac (Ike) Leeman was  Blacksmith and an undertaker in Ashcroft.  At that time Ashcroft was a major hub in the interior of British Columbia.

 

When Ike passed, the car was sold to the Burr family in the area. The car remained in the Lillooet and Hat Creek areas of BC for several years . In the early 1940's plans were slated to chop up the car to use its engine for a water pump. Charlie Bond from Clearwater BC learned about this. He traded a stationary engine  for the McLaughlin and become the new owner . When Charlie passed in 1988 or 89, his family requested Ed Shaw from Kamloops BC to restore the car.   Local Kamloops resident Gerry Wallin leaned of the 1911 McLaughlin that Ed was restoring. The car was registered to go to Barrett Jackson in Arizona USA. Soon to be auctioned. When Gerry learned about this, and the car's history, he  wanted to keep the car in Canada. Especially in the BC interior area. Jerry was able to secure the car purchasing it from Ed Shaw in 1990. 

 

Today Gerry still owns maintains  after the car. It's still drivable today.

 

The car and Gerry currently reside in Kamloops. Locals here get to enjoy seeing the car when Gerry brings it out to events. I recall the first time I saw it at a local car show a couple of years ago. It's a wonderful living piece of BC history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by keithb7 (see edit history)

[KLF]

7 hours ago, G.Hoffman said:

Ken That is a great picture of Pauls first Napier. I thought it was an 11. The old original owner said his dad paid $9,200 for the car in Vancouver. Paul's gathering of the pieces of this car is great story. I will post it next week.  Just as a tidbit of the story is the Radiator. Paul kept asking where the rad got to but couldn't get an answer. finally when Paul had most of the car together the old fellow took Paul into his bedroom and there was the rad mounted into the window with the Napier fan and an electric  motor . He had it plumbed to the house water for air conditioning.  Paul bought and installed a modern air conditioner for the rad.

More later   Cheers George.

That's great George. You were there and know more than anybody else about the story of this fantastic car.

Ken

[PFindlay]

1 hour ago, keithb7 said:

This Canadian built 1911 McLaughlin Model 33 Touring car was the first automobile in Ashcroft in 1911.

The original owner  Issac (Ike) Leeman was  Blacksmith and an undertaker in Ashcroft.  At that time Ashcroft was a major hub in the interior of British Columbia.

Thanks Gerry, and  Keith.  I had no idea of the history of this car.  One of the highlights of our tour in Enderby last year was was watching Gerry get the car out at our field games afternoon.  It was behaving a little poorly, as happens sometimes, but he fired it up for a good lap around the field.  We all cheered and Gerry was beaming. 

Peter

 

[13White]

4 hours ago, keithb7 said:

Hi folks, a contact of mine saw this thread and asked for a little help posting here. His car has a significant history in British Columbia.

 

This Canadian built 1911 McLaughlin Model 33 Touring car was the first automobile in Ashcroft in 1911.

The original owner  Issac (Ike) Leeman was  Blacksmith and an undertaker in Ashcroft.  At thatt time Ashcroft was a major hub in the interior of British Columbia.

 

When Ike passed, the car was sold to the Burr family in the area. The car remained in the Lillooet and Hat Creek areas of BC for

several years .  In the early 1940's plans were slated to chop up the car to use its engine for a water pump. Charlie Bond from Clearwater BC learned about this. He traded a stationary engine  for the McLaughlin and become the new owner . When Charlie passed in 1988 or 89, his family requested Ed Shaw from Kamloops BC to restore the car.   Local Kamloops resident Gerry Wallin leaned of the 1911 McLaughlin that Ed was restoring. The car was registered to go to Barrett Jackson in Arizona USA. Soon to be auctioned. When Gerry learned about this, and the car's history, he  wanted to keep the car in Canada. Especially in the BC interior area. Jerry was able to secure the car purchasing it from Ed Shaw in 1990. 

 

Today Gerry still owns maintains  after the car. It's still drivable today.

 

The car and Gerry currently reside in Kamloops. Locals here get to enjoy seeing the car when Gerry brings it out to events. I recall the first time I saw it at a local car show a couple of years ago. It's a wonderful living piece of BC history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s a great story and an exceptionally beautiful car! And interestingly enough it originated in the same town as the White. It’s something to think that they shared the same roads way back when. Here’s a photo of the White taken around Ashcroft back then. One time an “expert” told me the bail handled lamps I have are not correct. I showed him the photo and he said they must have changed them back in 1920. Lol

[G.Hoffman]

Nice to see the 11 McLaughlin Photo again. About 50 years ago I visited with Charley Bond in Clearwater to  look at the car. It was a very nice original car in running order. It didn't look as nice as it does now as it originally was a Nickle and Black car.  I didn't realize it originally came from Ashcroft.

In the 50s George Wood brought a completely original but well worn 1922 Packard 7 pass touring out of Ashcroft. It belonged to a Caribou stage company since new. George wanted to trade me for my 1912 Overland at the time. I went over to Carson 's shop and he had the Packard running.  It had been in a shed in Ashcroft since the depression. I have often wondered where it got to now. It could be in the Slim Jens Collection.

The 11 is a very nice car. Keep polishing Gerry.

Cheers. George.

[G.Hoffman]

How about a few photos. Here is a B.C. Icon.

Getting ready to race the Royal Hudson in Surrey. Our young friend Andi was operating and looking down from the firemans side of the locy. In the background is the diesel pusher they had to help get them up the Surrey hill, a two and a half percent grade. Here they found that the diesel had died so the Hudson worked her heart out to drag the train with the dead diesel up the hill. When they stopped here they wondered why they nearly stalled on the hill.

Photo #2 is John Reilly's 13 Cadillac. It was also sold new at Begg Motors and was bought by the Dunsmuir Coal Co and used as a company car at the Union Bay operation. It too was a $3,000 basket case when John bought it in the 70's. For years it was allowed to rot  in Campbell River.

# 3 is our 1924 Stutz coming out after being in a Coquitlam garage on blocks since 1951.  It was bought new by a theater owner on Granville St. It was the first North American production car to have four wheel Hydraulic brakes.. And it sure does stop. Paul Bolam on the right in the green jacket. This was in 2011.

Cheers

[Dave14Cadillac]

To my old buddies North in B.C.

The past 2hrs. spent has been FANTACTIC reading and viewing pics. of your B.C. Auto history

Thanks again,

Dave Ellis

[G.Hoffman]

How about a few more photos.

We brought these out to blow the dust off of them.

In front is the 1910 Russell now owned by our Daughter Sandra who Vern Chose to own the car back in 2010. Vern wanted to keep the car locally so we have it in the basement, heated so that the wood body won't crack.

Behind it is our 1912 overland from Rolla B.C. just north of Dawson Creek. We bought it in 1959 for $125. plus shipping $75 via PGE. railway.

Behind that is the 1924 Stutz, the barn find in 2011. Imported new in Vancouver with the  wire wheels, Balloon tires and Hydraulic brakes. introduced for the 24 model year.

Behind that is Doris's 1925 Packard from Spuzzum.

Then in the end is the 26 "T" 4 door ex Jack Chidgy  car from Seattle. Brought to Surrey in 1974.

The steam tractor was sold new in Brooks Alberta. It is a 1913 Gaar Scott which we have had for over 40 years. It is all original and operates each summer.

[G.Hoffman]

Hi Dave,  Good to hear from you. I am now in competition with you in the 14 Cadillac catagory . Jim did a stellar job in restoring the 14 from a real junk pile. He had to quit driving due to health issues so we made a deal 2 years ago.

How about a photo of your car?

Cheers George.

[G.Hoffman]

Hi again, how about a couple more photos.

A few years ago I sold my big engine collection to a fellow on the Island. There was a car tour on the same weekend. With the 13 ton engine delivered we brought the 12 overland home on the truck. At the ferry terminal several people asked if the truck could handle the car. Made a neat picture anyway.

Our big Rumely spent part of its life here in Prince George B.C. where it was parted out. It was shipped to PG in January 1944 to operate a sawmill. It is a 1911  36--120 horsepower plowing engine. It would plow with a 14 bottom gang plow at 1.9 miles per hour.  In the field it weighs just over 25 tons and is the largest model offered by Rumely in 1912. and 13 only. Once the heavy  sod was turned these big girls were obsolete. The photo was taken in Forest City Iowa with our two grandsons bringing it back from a day of plowing. We hauled it to 3 shows ending at the 25 th anniversary  show of the Rumely club in Forest City Iowa.

Sorry for contaminating the thread Peter.

Cheers.

[PFindlay]

Yes, back to surviving B.C. cars.  When it comes to local Rolls-Royce history, John Peirson is the go-to guy.  John has passed along a few articles from his "Canadian Ghost Stories" collection.

 

This is 1912 Silver Ghost chassis 1915E with a Barker tourer body and the location is Stanley Park.  This car came to Vancouver in 1913 and was owned by John William Stewart.  He was a surveyor, railway builder, and first president of the PGE Railway.  

 

In 1916 Stewart headed up a battalion of railway workers for overseas duty and by the end of the war he was a Major General.   He kept the Rolls until at least 1925 but sometime after that it ended up at a used car lot on Kingsway.  Eventually two men bought it, scrapped the body, cut down the frame,  and mounted the power plant on a platform of logs.  This they used to winch trees off the coast and into the water to be sold at the sawmill.  Sometime in the 1960s it was sold to the USA.

 

In the 1980s the frame was rebuilt by Joe Loecy and the body of a Barker landaulette was cut down to make a tourer body.  The finished product was shown at Rolls-Royce meets in 1991.  Since then it has passed through several owners and is likely still in the USA.

 

General Stewart in his 1912 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost (Vancouver Public Library photo)

 

 

Landaulette body before a few modifications

 

 

After restoration.

 

Thanks, John!

 

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by PFindlay (see edit history)

[PFindlay]

20 hours ago, KLF said:

I found a picture of Paul Bolam's 12 Napier T48.

Ken

By the way I took this picture when I was 13 years old. The hobby never lets go!

 

Our local Napier expert is Steve Diggins, who sent these pictures of Paul's Napier in its early days.  Steve says:

 

Hi Peter, here are a couple of photos of Dr. Boyce's Napier in Kelowna. This is the one Paul Bolam restored. The first photo shows Dr. Boyce, his wife and the nurse with the car. The second photo shows the car in what I am sure is a May Day Parade [centre car].

Steve

 

Dr. B. F. Boyce of Barnard St. in Kelowna had registration number 4173 .  He renewed it through 1916 and then the registration stops.  Perhaps the car had been in an accident or was taken out of the province.  However, it seems to have ended up in Vancouver by the 1960s.

 

 

 

 

[KLF]

Harry Parr lived in Cloverdale. I don't know where he found this L29 Cord that he restored. I do remember it was missing the rumble seat lid and he couldn't find one. Eventually he had to make it. I had a ride in that rumble seat when I was 13 or so. I remember being amazed at how quiet it was. No rear end noise! Don't know where the car is today. That's my Dad's 27 Auburn next to it.

Ken

[13White]

57 minutes ago, KLF said:

Harry Parr lived in Cloverdale. I don't know where he found this L29 Cord that he restored. I do remember it was missing the rumble seat lid and he couldn't find one. Eventually he had to make it. I had a ride in that rumble seat when I was 13 or so. I remember being amazed at how quiet it was. No rear end noise! Don't know where the car is today. That's my Dad's 27 Auburn next to it.

Ken

I can’t believe it; I have a very early memory of riding in the rumble seat of that car myself! It was at a May tour at the Tally-Ho in Nanaimo in the 1960’s. It made an impression on me with how quiet it was as well. I have never seen that car since that ride. 

Edited September 28, 2020 by 13White (see edit history)

[PFindlay]

This is from Fred Grey:

 

Buck Rogers found the remains of a Hudson speed roadster in lower mainland and brought it home.  When asked about it he described it as 1912 Hudson speed roadster, according to Paul Bolam.  Paul told me that it was sold to someone in Qualicum. That would have been Jack Haliday. Apparently Jack found some parts including a good frame from a 1912 Touring.  

You can see from what he ended up with, it was a mix of some parts, namely the Dodge front wheels and wooden spoke rears(????).  The Dodge wheels fit Dave Proctor's car as they were the correct size for one of his cars. They were given to Dave as new wheels were made the correct size for the Hudson. They only fit the speed roadster.

Jack Haliday had this car at Cathedral grove in 1982 according to the picture from Steve Harris.  The car then went to Jack Shepard, Nanaimo, who had it on a May tour to Victoria.
It overheated and had some magneto problems.  Overheating would be understandable as the car did not have a dust or lower pan. The fan was part of flywheel.  Jack Shepard had the car taken to Wayne's toy Box, Erringinton to be restored.  It was 90% complete when [Jack passed away and] it was offered to Nanaimo Chapter but they declined and I bought it, and completed it, fulfilling Jacks wishes.  Bit of a long story but it shows some of the enthusiasm that members have had for a ling time.

 

The car has since sold to the USA.

 

 

Jack Halliday after he got the Hudson on the road, 1982.

 

Jack Shepard was the next owner and had much work done.

 

The Hudson made brief appearances on our 2015 tour in Kamloops.

 

Fred Grey finished off the restoration that began when Buck rescued the Hudson about 50 years earlier.

 

 

[8E45E]

5 hours ago, PFindlay said:

Fred Grey finished off the restoration that began when Buck rescued the Hudson about 50 years earlier.

 

 

Was that photo taken at the Quilchena Hotel in Merrit?

 

If so, I'm glad to see it still survived all these years after the Coquihalla was opened.  First time I was there was on a Studebaker Drivers Club Zone Meet tour in 1984, about a year-and-a-half before 'The Coq' opened, which took a lot of road traffic off the old #5.   

 

Craig

[PFindlay]

3 hours ago, 8E45E said:

Was that photo taken at the Quilchena Hotel in Merrit?

Yes, we held our "Billy Miner" tour there in 2015.  We drove north to Kamloops then back via the Douglas Lake Road, somewhat following Billy Miner's getaway route after his (botched) train robbery at Kamloops.   It was a good tour.  First and last night were at the Quilchena Hotel and they were very good to work with.

[KLF]

I took these 2 B&W pictures of the Silver Brothers Pierce Arrows. The roadster is 1915 and I believe the Pierce in the trailer is the 1917. After the garage collapsed the cars were taken to Carson Trucklines warehouse where these pics were taken. George Woods eventually inherited the 15. Alex Thompson inherited the 17. Both cars were eventually restored and remain in a collection in BC today. The colour picture is the restored 17.

Ken

[PFindlay]

John Peirson has sent another "Ghost Story" about a Rolls Phantom II which, although it was not originally sold in B.C., has a long and interesting history here.

 

The car, chassis 137GN, was sold to J.A. Wattie in England in 1929.  It had a Thrupp and Maberly limousine body put on it and was delivered in 1930.    In 1933 Wattie moved to Victoria and brought the Rolls - and his chauffeur - with him.  

 

Wattie died in 1939 and the car was put up for sale at National Motor Co. in Victoria.  Times were tough and the market was not good for a large 10 year old luxury car.

As best John can determine, the car eventually sold to the Superintendent of the E & N  Railway, who had railway wheels fitted so that it could serve as his personal transportation car during inspection runs.  But apparently the idea would not have met the approval of his boss, and the car was sold to Mayo Singh.  

 

Singh was a prominent member of the Indian community and owned a lumber business and a short stretch of rail line on Vancouver Island.  He died in 1955.  His son recalls that the Rolls was used on the tracks but there was no way to turn it around, so the return trip in reverse gear was a little slow.

 

The next owner was Doug Holman, who put Packard wheels on the car and eventually sold it to Hank Remple for $250.   He drove it for a year and then sold it to a friend in Calgary.  The car was restored in the 1990s and may still be there.

 

John says there may have been other owners of the car but details are sketchy or conflicting.  VCCC member Bhagwan Mayer knew Mayo Singh (as well as Remple and Holman) and recalls the car with its railway wheels on it.   Mayo's daughter-in-law, Joan Mayo, tells some of the story of the car in her book "Paldi Remembered."

 

 

                                                                    The Rolls on the track

 

                                                    The Rolls, fitted with Packard wheels.

 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2020 by PFindlay
typos (see edit history)