Overland Speedsters - Requesting Images and Info

[rdsieber]

Dear old car community:

I've been reading about Overland and have come across random photos of Overland Speedster models, but I have not been able to find any factory catalog images. The speedsters were apparently marketed during a brief part of the Overland's history, roughly 1910-1915, and the models that may have offered a speedster were

the 1910 Model 38,

the 1911 Model 45,

the 1912 Models 58/59,

the 1913 Models 69/71,

the 1914 Model 79, and

the 1915 Models 80/81.

I write a blog called Classic Speedster, which can be found at https://ClassicSpeedsters.com/blog, and I'm gathering material to write about Overland. I'm looking in all of the usual places, but I could use some help in clarifying exactly which model years offered a speedster, and if there are any specific old auto journal references that would help clarify technical aspects of the cars.

 

If there is a current owner of an Overland Speedster or a museum that could offer some images to use in my blog, I'd be very much obliged.

 

Sincerely,

Ronald Sieber

[motoringicons]

Hi Ron-

 The "real" Overland speedster (meaning, officially called a Speedster by Overland) was built only in 1914 in small numbers and was called a Model 79S. All of the 1914 79S speedster body parts are clearly illustrated in the original Overland parts catalogs as well as the different chassis parts used for the speedster such as steering column mounts, etc. I have attached a couple of pages from the 1914 service manual. It is believed only one real 1914 Model 79S speedster exists and years ago, it was located somewhere in the northeast but might be in Texas now. I am not sure. There have been many 79S speedster copies built with varying degrees of accuracy. Recently, one was listed on the HCCA site for sale. 

 

Overland did built a very sporty looking roadster (has front doors and a roadster-style body with a rear mounted gas tank and long fenders). The roadster was called a 59R in 1912 (there is one currently for sale in the "Automobiles For Sale" section above), 69R in 1913 and 79R in 1914. The 1914 79R roadster uses the same fenders, gas tank, and steering column as the 79S speedster. Prior to 1912, there were speedster-like Overlands but they were called roadsters or runabouts.

 

Overland was a popular and well built car that sold in great numbers. For this reason, there are relatively high number of early Overland survivors, and, not surprisingly, many speedsters have been built using early Overland chassis.

 

Here is one I owned about 20 years ago. It is a 1913 Model 69 and uses the Model 69R Roadster fenders and gas tank. The speedster seats/flooring are  not authentic as Overland never made a speedster in 1913. This was a great car that I toured with for thousands of miles. Last I knew it was in Connecticut but not sure who owns it.

 

 

 

Keep up the great work on your website. I always enjoy the new blogs when they arrive!

 

Cheers. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by motoringicons (see edit history)

[wmsue]

Register to view and post to the Overland Web site & ask questions from the owners of other Speedsters.

www.wokr.org

 

Willys, Overland, Knight Registry.

 

There is a photo gallery that may offer some help to you too.

 

Good Luck,

Bill