Need I.D. on this tiller-steered buggy

[West Peterson]

Note the chains on the rear wheels of this car.

[26pack]

Could it be a Sears?

[Terry Bond]

Nice picture West - Sears it is. I'm guessing early too (1908). This one even has the correct lamps on it!

Terry

[Steve Braverman]

It's definitely a Sears. I don't know how to tell if it's an early or late from this view. The engines are different, and can easily be spotted from the side of the car. Sears built cars from about 1908 to about 1912 or 1913. I've driven my father's Sears in the snow, and can say that chains would really be handy.

[Guest EMF-Owner]

As already stated, it's definitely a Sears. I would say it is not a first year car, meaning it is 1910 or newer. Here are my thoughts as to why:

The car has a straight front axle. The early cars (1909) had front axles that curved upward to the outside of the spring mounts, and met the spindle brackets in the middle. You can see in this picture that the square or diamond shaped axle meets the spindle holder at the bottom.

The wheels fellows are attached to the rim between every spoke with a square nut in the picture. The early cars only had this at 4 points along the fellow, not between every spoke.

The 1909's or at least the early cars only came in one model (Model G I believe, though I do not think they were advertised as a model G. This is the model that best aligns with the early cars). The early cars did not have running boards, only a step plate.

Another interesting thing to note is that the front of the piano box body does not have the Sears tag that you see on so many restored Sears. The tag is suppose to be on the rear of the body. This picture clearly show the absense of this tag.

This is a great picture. Thanks so much for sharing it.

My father has a 1909 Sears.

John

[1937hd45]

Thanks for the info John. I noticed the lack of the Sears tag right away, guess if enough cars are restored incorrectly you get to take that as normal. Were fenders standard or an option? <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

[Guest EMF-Owner]

Fenders were an option, but ussually based on the model number. If memory serves, the Model G was the bare bones, no fenders, top etc. Even on a model which may not have had fenders, you could still purchace them.

The early Sears like my father had no model designation, either on the plate on the back or on the stamping on the frame. On these, I believe all these things were options, including fenders, top, lights. My dads car had rear fenders originally, but there was no markings in the original paint of any front fenders having ever been mounted. I guess it was up to the buyer as to what they wanted. Believe me, you would want fenders on that car.

I agree with what you said about cars having been restored wrong for so long, and it becomes the norm. Sure, it is nice to have that Sears tag up front at a car show so people can see what kind of car it is. I prefer the car to look as close as possible to the way it rolled out of the factory. That is just my preference for my cars.

I love my dads Sears. I have probably driven it more than he has over the years. It is laid up now with a loose rod and I doubt my dad will ever do anything to fix it. I have offered to fix it for him, but that did not fly. I hope to drive it again some day.

John

[Steve Braverman]

My dad's Sears is a model J. That is apparently the most common model. It came with a top, fenders and running boards. It is registered as a 1910, but we think it is later than that. The car number is 3448, which is one of the highest we've seen. My father has owned the car for about 40 years, and has driven it extensively. He probably also has the largest collection of original Sears literature.

A few years ago, it was getting real sluggish, so I tore the engine down and replaced the rings and reseated the valves. Now it's a real ball of fire. It was clocked at 25 mph by one of those "Your Speed Is" signs that the police leave around. 90 years of running with no air filter took its toll, but the lower end was still like new. This is probably the most reliable car we have in our collection. Here's a picture of my dad and his Sears.

[Steve Braverman]

Here are more pictures of the Sears while apart. This is the car with the body removed, getting ready to drop the engine.

[Steve Braverman]

Here is a view from behind showing the friction drive.

[Steve Braverman]

This is the bare chassis.

[Steve Braverman]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

The 1909's or at least the early cars only came in one model (Model G I believe, though I do not think they were advertised as a model G. This is the model that best aligns with the early cars). The early cars did not have running boards, only a step plate.

</div></div>

One more thing to add. A friend has an early Sears, and it's the long wheelbase truck model. So they did offer different models. It is quite different from my father's car and has the early engine which is quite strange. The opposed cylinders are not offset like every other engine, but instead the rods are "bent" to meet the crank journals. I don't know why they did it that way, but I've been told that the early engines had many problems. They are easily identified from the side of the car by the heads. The early cars had fins on the heads aranged like the slices of a pie, where the later heads had straight fins.

[Guest EMF-Owner]

sdbraverman,

Thanks for the great pictures of your fathers Sears.

I have never seen any mention of any other model for the first year of production. The Sears was first mentioned in the Fall 1908 Sears catalogue as something coming and first offered in the catalogue in 1909, and then as only a Sears. No Model numbers or even a statement saying other models available. In 1910 the catologue lists other models. That does not mean there were not other models that first year, just that I have seen not mention of it. Also, if you look at the serial number on the Sears, you will see that the ID plate has the Model Letter and Number stamped into it, and the car also has the Model letter and number stamped into the frame crossmember under the floorboords. These numbers should match. The early cars did not have a model associated with the number on either the plate or the frame. In fact, the ID plate is a bit different on the early cars.

My dads car has the earlier style engine, but with fins that run parallel, not the star pattern (I think). At one time, we were trying to figure out when the star pattern cooling fins were used. I have seen them on cars with serial numbers higher than my dads. The engines (or at least the earier engines, not sure about the later engines like yor fathers) were built by the Reeves company.

I have only seen a few of the long wheelbase models (model P I think). A guy in our club has one but calls it something other than a Sears and gets mad at you if you suggest it may be a Sears. He believes the car was built in 1900. It has the earlier style engine in it, but a rather high serial number.

I have always wanted to put together a website like the E-M-F Homepage for the Sears automobile. I started to a few years ago, but never quite got it online. Maybe someday.

Thanks again for the great pictures!

John

[Guest 1956Packard]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here is a view from behind showing the friction drive. </div></div>

Thanks for the pictures! Sorry for a basic question, but what material provides the friction on the friction drive 'discs'?

Geoff

[Steve Braverman]

The flywheel has a steel disc attached with screws, that I assume is replaceable, but it hasn't worn out yet in almost 90 years. The drive wheel has a soft material like brake lining but different. I'm not really sure what it is.