58L-Y8 Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 For Sale: 1923 Rickenbacker B-6 4dr Sedan - $34,899 - Lexington, KY 1923 Rickenbacker B-6 - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle... (craigslist.org) Seller's Description: 1923 Rickenbacker B-6 5 Passenger SedanRickenbacker produced very high quality, attractive automobiles and pioneered a 4-wheel drum brake option for $150.00, which this car has. The mechanical 4-wheel braking system developed by Rickenbacker works great. It is very similar to today's drum brakes except the linkages have been replaced by hydraulics.Other innovations include putting a flywheel on the front of the motor.Eddie Rickenbacker was an ACE WW1 pilot who shot down 26 German planes. While battling them he noticed their planes ran smoother and handled better than his and wondered why. Inspecting a downed German airplane, he realized their engineers used a flywheel on the front of the motor for balance making it run smooth, so he designed his engines that same way.DescriptionHe also equipped the engine with a velocity style air cleaner that separates and feeds clean air only to the carburetor. Rickenbacker engineers estimate, without the air cleaner, 1 pound of dirt/ hour is consumed by a 2500 lb car going 35 MPH on a dirt road. Pre-cleaning the air reduces maintenance and wear on the engine's components considerably. The headlights have an electromagnet system to create high and low beams.My understanding is there are only two 1923 Rickenbacker five passenger sedans registered in the US and none equipped like this one is. Car has the optional shocks on all 4 corners, a beautiful trunk, high and low beam headlights, a rear seat heater, custom made full car cover, and more. The paint is deep maroon with black fenders and roof. This was a “rust-free” California car before the complete restoration was done and, aside from some minor oxidation on the shock housings, the car is close to perfect. FYI. The "Hat in the Ring" logo is beautiful and came from Eddie Rickenbacker's fighter squadron. Make offer. odometer: 33132 Contact: Jack (585) 8-8-zero-0-2-twelve Copy and paste in your email: 1e891901bf833ecfbe063e4b32e8109a@sale.craigslist.org I have no personal interest or stake in the eventual sale of this 1923 Rickenbacker B-6 4dr Sedan. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 @zepher here you go! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Nice find, Steve! I always like seeing the unusual cars. Thank you for sharing it. Somewhere on our forum is a Rickenbacker owner. I hope he sees this posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5219 Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I know that the Rickenbacker was a very advanced car for its time, but is this an early version of a padded dash? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Very neat to see! If you like biography, I would really recommend his autobiography. He lead a fascinating life and cheated death more than a few times. Drove racing cars for the Dusenbergs before WWI, later owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was President of Eastern Airlines. Spent several days in a life raft mid ocean at one point and suffered numerous terrible crashes. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 (edited) 14 hours ago, Grimy said: @zepher here you go! Thanks for bringing this one to my attention. I have put the word out to a few Rickenbacker owners to see what happens, maybe we can find it a home next to another Rickenbacker. Edited January 24, 2022 by zepher (see edit history) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 12 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said: Nice find, Steve! I always like seeing the unusual cars. Thank you for sharing it. Somewhere on our forum is a Rickenbacker owner. I hope he sees this posting. John: I was shocked to find a Rickenbacker for sale on Craigslist too! Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 And, why do cars like this always come up when I am not able to make the purchase? I plan on moving in about a year so I am busy trying to consolidate and shrink my garage and number of vehicles, not add to it! But we'll see, I just might end up with this thing if no one else seems interested in picking it up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 13 hours ago, 5219 said: I know that the Rickenbacker was a very advanced car for its time, but is this an early version of a padded dash? No, simply a short styling trend. Almost an identical design was used in 1925-27 Pierce-Arrow Series 80 closed cars. Padding under the fabric is minimal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I spoke with another Rickenbacker Club member and he said this car has been for sale for a little while now, says he thinks the price is too high, that is why there have been no takers. Car is known to the club and is listed in the database. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5219 Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 I read his autobiography when I was in High School. I also read his book "Seven Came Through", which was about his World War II adventures when his B-17 crashed in the Pacific. He was an amazing man! I don't imagine his books are much read these days. After the end of the Rickenbacker car, he went to work for Cadillac, visiting the dealers and training and upgrading their service facilities. After that, he founded Eastern Airlines. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Price is not high at all. Apparently the demand is not there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 This car has been for sale for quite some time now. I have seen it listed on several websites. Usually no price listed, but I knew it was well beyond my reach. A few of the listings mentioned it was well known to the Rickenbacker crowd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 (edited) On 1/24/2022 at 11:05 PM, mike6024 said: Price is not high at all. Apparently the demand is not there. Unfortunately, RIckenbackers are a very niche car. There are less than 40 known to survive from all production years. The vast majority of people have never heard of a Rickenbacker automobile. Edited January 26, 2022 by zepher (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 (edited) 12 hours ago, zepher said: The [v]ast majority of people have never heard of a Rickenbacker automobile. Would the white paint on the steel-disk wheels be correct? They seem unusual in that color, but there are a lot of historical facts that are little-known to collectors today. Do you have any ads or catalogue artwork from the era, or, even better, documentation? Edited January 26, 2022 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 1 hour ago, John_S_in_Penna said: Would the white paint on the steel-disk wheels be correct? They sure look out of place on that car. Kind of like wearing white socks with a black suit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 !925 photo has white 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkEE Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 What seems unusual about this car is the absence of the provision for a spare tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted January 26, 2022 Share Posted January 26, 2022 16 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said: Would the white paint on the steel-disk wheels be correct? They seem unusual in that color, but there are a lot of historical facts that are little-known to collectors today. Based on pictures posted here and pictures that I have seen over the years, Rickenbackers did have white or a very light colored disc wheel on some cars. But the upholstery fabric doesn't look right to me, although I am not as well versed on the '22 and '23 model years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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