8E45E 1,110 Posted November 5, 2020 Share Posted November 5, 2020 On 11/2/2020 at 6:41 PM, 1937hd45 said: That is just an early 1950's model not so sure how accurate the plans ar. Somewhere around her is a magazine with a Colby underslung chassis photo. When I find it I'll post it. This is turning into one of the best threads on the Forum. Bob Some on the 1913 Henderon underslung here: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=hqOjcs7Dif8C&dat=19130223&printsec=frontpage&hl=en Scroll to end, where the Auto Show section is for a short article on 'underslung' chassis construction. Craig 1 Link to post Share on other sites
BobinVirginia 187 Posted November 6, 2020 Author Share Posted November 6, 2020 I’m pretty sure this video is the engine being prepared for the car of Sam Mann Link to post Share on other sites
AHa 528 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 (edited) This looks interesting. Is this the Comet V8? Edited November 7, 2020 by AHa (see edit history) 1 Link to post Share on other sites
AHa 528 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Here's another picture of the Comet Underslung, a special built race car. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
AHa 528 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Here is the 1904 Buffum Greyhound. Sorry for the picture size. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites
StanleyRegister 241 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Lots of nice detail on the Comet here - https://theoldmotor.com/?p=145777 The Old Motor is also a great place to find period photos of the American Underslung, including a monstrous limousine that is even quirkier than the coupe that appeared earlier in this thread. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
1937hd45 3,131 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 There may not be an Underslung in my future, but there was a Regal in my Grandfathers past. Bob 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Benoit 54 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Veering off topic here are some Regal photos from 1919 in Sydney. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
alsancle 4,689 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 Someone active on this forum had a Regal. Was it Dave Coco (trimcar)? I can't remember. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
StanleyRegister 241 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 I had a chance to drive this Regal when it was for sale - https://hymanltd.com/vehicles/5760-1913-regal-underslung-model-n-roadster/ . It was really peppy. You can see the shift lever is in a terrible spot, protruding way out into the passenger compartment and sitting just under your right knee. It made driving difficult. I later realized that it must have been installed backward, and its offset bend was meant to take the lever out of the way toward the outside of the car. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites
JV Puleo 3,983 Posted November 7, 2020 Share Posted November 7, 2020 7 hours ago, alsancle said: Someone active on this forum had a Regal. Was it Dave Coco (trimcar)? I can't remember. If I remember correctly he sold it to Jan Bruijn in the Netherlands who restored it as an "unrestored" racer. Jan passed away some time ago so I've no idea where it is now but probably in Europe somewhere. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
A Woolf 97 Posted November 8, 2020 Share Posted November 8, 2020 A new American Type 644. This was the "smaller" six that they offered in 1913/14. Chassis was 132 inch wheelbase with a four passenger touring body. Alan 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Benoit 54 Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 Here are a few pictures from gallica.bnf.fr of the Stabilia, a French underslung car. The drawing is from a 1905 issue of Le Chauffeur and the photo is from a 1912 issue of La Vie au Grand Air covering the Paris Motor Show. The founder of Stabilia, Edouard Vrard, previously worked at Leon Bollee so perhaps he was involved with the design of the Leon Bollee underslung racecar of 1899. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites
BobinVirginia 187 Posted November 9, 2020 Author Share Posted November 9, 2020 (edited) 26 minutes ago, Benoit said: Here are a few pictures from gallica.bnf.fr of the Stabilia, a French underslung car. The drawing is from a 1905 issue of Le Chauffeur and the photo is from a 1912 issue of La Vie au Grand Air covering the Paris Motor Show. The founder of Stabilia, Edouard Vrard, previously worked at Leon Bollee so perhaps he was involved with the design of the Leon Bollee underslung racecar of 1899. I’d never heard of those cars. Fantastic illustrations showing the lowered roll center of the car. Thank you for sharing! Edited November 9, 2020 by BobinVirginia (see edit history) Link to post Share on other sites
alsancle 4,689 Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 Just a doodle I did when I was fourteen. I seem to like the underslung arrangement also. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites
1937hd45 3,131 Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 ^^^^^^Nice artwork for a 14 year old, but I see it as having huge rivets and a rail road inspection vehicle look, and not a sports car. Bob 1 Link to post Share on other sites
alsancle 4,689 Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 6 hours ago, 1937hd45 said: ^^^^^^Nice artwork for a 14 year old, but I see it as having huge rivets and a rail road inspection vehicle look, and not a sports car. Bob Bob, those are drill holes. Think SSKL. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Skelly 68 Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 no, it's what Pontiac copied for the '63 "swiss cheese" Catalina Super Dutys 2 Link to post Share on other sites
1937hd45 3,131 Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 Ok, They look underslung to me. Bob 1 Link to post Share on other sites
AHa 528 Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 How in the world did we get from American Underslung cars to railroad wheels! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
StanleyRegister 241 Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 Here's the American factory Speedster advertised in Life magazine on Nov. 5, 1908. This smallest of their cars, and the largest limousine, were both the highest-priced in the line, at $5000. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
AHa 528 Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 I posted several pictures of this car over on the Period Race cars to relieve some stress thread. They are either on the final page or close to it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
StanleyRegister 241 Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 The catalog picture of the American Speedster, from the NY Public Library - nicer than the newspaper scan. Most speedsters have the hood & seat right down against the frame - the Underslung's frame is too far away! 2 Link to post Share on other sites
A Woolf 97 Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 The photos of this American dealership were sent to me by Stanley Register. It is a very cool building. Pay particular attention to the roof line and the ornament on top of the building. The cars in show room appear to be Type 34 Tourist's. They are probably 1912 models since they have gas lights. This was in Warren, Ohio. Can anyone add to the story of this company? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
A Woolf 97 Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 Here is one image from the 1913 IAMA Tour from Indiana to California. American entered two Type 644 cars. There are a lot of images of this tour on the Detroit Public Library website. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
A Woolf 97 Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 More images from the IAMA Tour. Note the cross on the windshield of one of the cars. There was a doctor on the tour and he was a passenger in one of the Americans. Alan 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
StanleyRegister 241 Posted November 15, 2020 Share Posted November 15, 2020 There are at least 61 individual and group photos in the Detroit Public Library's online collection that show one or both of the American Underslungs on the 1913 IAMA tour. The whole collection of IAMA tour photos is fabulous - crystal clear, and you really get a feel for the guys, the cars, and the driving. https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/search/catch_all_fields_mt%3A("indiana automobile") This was the third annual reliability run by the Indiana manufacturers, and the most ambitious tour route yet. The Americans had done well in 1912, and were carrying numbers 1 and 2 because they were the first cars entered for the 1913 run, held in July. It's kind of bittersweet in hindsight to think that the company would be bankkrupt less than 9 months later. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
StanleyRegister 241 Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 (edited) On 11/15/2020 at 10:22 AM, A Woolf said: The photos of this American dealership were sent to me by Stanley Register. Further research has uncovered the fact that this building was at 133 Lincoln Ave. in Youngstown, OH. Randolph D Anderson ran a vulcanizing business in Youngstown at the same time that he was an American dealer. The building still existed as late as 1950 - anybody out there lived in Youngstown that long ago? Edited November 16, 2020 by StanleyRegister corrected typo (see edit history) 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites
mdsbob 10 Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 This is an Underslung Traveler from Pebble Beach in 2010. Maybe someone can fill in details about this car. Seems like this was a debut of either a freshening up of an older restoration or completion of a stalled restoration. Where is car today? 2 Link to post Share on other sites
StanleyRegister 241 Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 (edited) This 1913 Type 56a Traveler was discovered by Cameron Peck in Illinois in late 1947 (beating out James Melton), and flipped to Frank Miller. It showed 7000 miles and still had its 1912-1925 license plates. Miller cleaned it up, got in, and drove it for about 25 years. Originally red, Miller got Ralph Buckley to paint it Orleans Blue within a year or so of his purchase. In 1973 or '74 it was sold to Philip Peterson in Massachusetts. More photos of this car at Pebble are here - https://www.conceptcarz.com/profile/10699,18729/1913-american-underslung-traveler-type-56-a.aspx Edited January 1 by StanleyRegister Updated history of purchase and color (see edit history) 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites
mdsbob 10 Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 While this car appears to be "identical" to the photo of the car in the National Auto Museum in Reno. I note several differences in the cars. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
modela28 15 Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 59 minutes ago, mdsbob said: While this car appears to be "identical" to the photo of the car in the National Auto Museum in Reno. I note several differences in the cars. The most obvious difference to me is in the paint scheme and color. The two "reds" look different, but it could just be lighting. Also, the car in Reno does not have the edges of the fenders painted black as the Pebble Beach car does. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
StanleyRegister 241 Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 Does anyone know when the car was on display at the NAM? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
1937hd45 3,131 Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 1 hour ago, StanleyRegister said: Does anyone know when the car was on display at the NAM? Is it one of the two the collection once had and sold at one of their auctions? 🙂 Bob 1 Link to post Share on other sites
StanleyRegister 241 Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 (edited) As far as I've been able to figure, Harrah's had 5 American Underslungs at various times. - 1913 22-A Scout, now in the Stahl collection - 1913 34-A Tourist, sold by Hyman a few years ago, shades of blue - 1914 642 roadster, referred to earlier in this thread, light blue - 1914 644 touring, auctioned by Bonhams in 2015, shades of green - 1914 644 touring, now in the Louwman collection, gray & black I've always been puzzled by the display of the red car at the NAM. I have to assume it was prior to 2010, as mdsbob pointed out, at Pebble it had a new top, black lips on the fenders, and plated rim clamps. Edited November 26, 2020 by StanleyRegister replaced Amelia with Pebble (see edit history) 1 Link to post Share on other sites
mdsbob 10 Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 The picture I posted of the car at Pebble in 2010 is the same car Stanley Register posted photo of when it was blue and is the Miller/Peterson car. Is it's where about know today? Maybe A Woolf can add some info about this car. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
StanleyRegister 241 Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Same family ownership in 2011 - that's the latest I have. https://signaltribunenewspaper.com/11245/community/winners-of-bixby-knolls-dragster-expo-announced/ 1 Link to post Share on other sites
BobinVirginia 187 Posted November 28, 2020 Author Share Posted November 28, 2020 I’d like to thank all of you for the conversation here! I’m learning a lot about a car that’s just like a legend to me!!! Link to post Share on other sites
A Woolf 97 Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 Wish I could add some more information about the ex Miller Type 56A American but I can't. Stanley Register has a done a good job of covering the background. It is a one-of car and probably one of the best preserved Americans. Alan 1 Link to post Share on other sites
A Woolf 97 Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 Speaking of Bill Harrah and Americans, a gentleman who knew Walt Seely recently related a story to me about Seely and the American he acquired from the Deemer family. Bill Harrah apparently wanted to own a pre-1911 American Underslung. As the above list shows Harrah owned several Americans but no early cars. The American Seely owned was probably the best documented and most desirable of the earliest Americans. The story goes that Harrah proposed to trade a Duesenberg to Seely for his 1910 American. Just about the time Seely was supposed to get on a plane and go to Reno to work out the deal Harrah passed away and it didn’t happen. I tend to believe the story because very few of the earliest cars have survived. Plus the production of those early cars was pretty limited. The photos are mine and were taken at Hershey a bunch of years ago. The gentleman in the photos is Walt Seely. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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