Of the Society of Automotive Historians, Inc
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THEJO AL OF THE SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE HISTORIANS, INC. JANUARY- FEBRUARY 1982 ISSUE NUMBER 76 Editorial facets of the world of the a utomobile, a nd doubtless shall become We are now a "Journal" and a few have questioned the need for a the mecca for a ll Texan a utophiles a nd all a utophiliac (l doubt tha t's name cha nge. A newsletter tells members of an organization what a word, but it fits] travelers to Da ll as, a meeting place for everyone its members are doing and events it will have in the future a nd in the area interested in the automobile and its history. reports on those that have been held. This we most certail y do but History greets you before you even enter the shop. The exterior is we do more tha n that. We are a dairy of automotive history, a group g lorious ly Art Deco, with d oo rs imported from England a nd of individua ls tha t although widely spread geographicall y come fea turing intricately detailed bronze mullions in sixty-two sections. together in the interest of the preserva ti on, researching, a nd The large windows a re in a ntique wrought iron casements- a nd the recording of a utomotive history, past a nd present. Our interests are overal l effec t is a look tha t is s tric tl y 1930's. A step inside the s hop, ma de known and recorded in our common journa l. This first issue a nd you're a t the turn of the century. Most of the display cases a nd for 1982 features an excellent selection of period photos of the cabi nets were built about 1907, Fred estima tes, by th e Quincy duPont a utomobile during ils firs t five years of production. We have Showcase Works of Quincy, Illinois. The new cabinets in the shop member Hayden Shepley of Toughkenamon, Pa. lo thank for s haring complement the antique pieces. The device to accept negoti able th em with us. curre ncy is earl y vi ntage a ti ona! Cash Register, bullhe shop a lso · ~· accepts the usual cred it cards which neatly lakes care of the Walt Gosden postwar-to-today phase of commerical transacting. The book department, the shop's largest, includes both recent titles and significant books published in the automotive his tory Since Frederick z. Tycher (SAH #297) is a bui ld er/developer by field w hich remains in prints. Al the back of th e s hop is the a rt profession, an a utomobil e his toria n by preference, it followed that department which ran~es from 19th Century cycling broadsides lo hi s new Automotive Emporium in Da ll as would be quite something Monlaul prints lo co ll ector car posters. Wha t is in between gives a ll on several counts. ll is . ll is a lso absolutely unique. new varietal meaning to the word "ephemerae" a nd in cludes Fred terms the Automotive Emporium a bookstore/gallery, but is a rtifacts of a utomoti ve history running a marvelous gamut from a n much more th a n tha t. ll's a n eclecti c bringing together of the ma n y AAA li cense plate a ttac hment of 1918 ( ew York Automobile Jean K.F. du Pont in the first du Pont p)leaton of 1919, s he s till resides in thi s house today. Associa tion, city of Troy] to an O ldsmobile Legion of Honor plaque Letters of 1940 awarded as a n "emblem of achievement" to a pa rtic ularly aggresive Olds salesmen to the emblem for the Pan car via which From: Ralph Dunwoodie, 5935 Calico Drive, Sun Valley, evada Sam Pandolpho attempted to swindle the a utomotive public in 89431. The photo of the 1914 Rayfield Indianapolis '500' entry Minnesota after the First World War. In addition to the memorabili a, submitted by jerry Gebby in ewsletter #74 is the first I've seen of there are numerous automotive obj ets d'art - a nd a n estimable Rayfield's Indy entry. jerry slated that he had no specifications. collection of original litera ture which covers all a utomotive er as. They are as follows: 4.135" bore and 5.5" stroke, ma king a The Automotive Emporium was formally opened on Sunday, displacement of 443.6 cubic inches, L-head. The car's design was the December 6th, 1981 with a wine and cheese party to which everyone cooperative efforts of Willia m Ra yfi eld and Hughie Hug hes. The with a car club affiliation in the area was invited. The Automotive motor was built by the Ray fi eld Motor Co. under Hughes Emporium is a dream Fred Tycher has had for years, a nd it's super supervision. The car weighed only 1950 lbs. It broke a cra nks haft that he had it. The automobil e and its history have long deserved a prior to q ualifying. shop like this. Rayfie ld passenger ca rs used a radia tor located aft of the engi ne as Beverl y Ra e Kimes did Croxton-Keeton, Renault a nd Mack "Bu lldog" to na me a few. Rayfi eld moved from Springfiels, Illinois to Chrisman, Illinois in New Members 1912. W.E. Givens #880 In Ra y fi eld's 1912 attempt at racing it used a stripped s tock 27354 Lawrence Dr. chassis (illustration enclosed). Dearborn H eights, MI. 48127 This js the same Rayfield tha t manufactured the well known David W. Rice #881 905 . Gainsbarough Or. Rayfield carburetor. Pasadena, CA. 91107 According to former Rayfield empl oyee, john Hobbs, (i n 1967) a pprox ima tely 400 Rayfield cars were produced. Mr. Hobbs was the Mark L. Dees #882 driver of the 1912 Rayfield race car. P.O. Box3887 jerry mentions production a lso in Peru, India na -Rayfield Beverly Hills, CA. 90212 negoti a ted a n agreement with the Great Western Automobile Co. of New Address Peru, Indiana to have Great Western assemble Rayfield cyclecars in David Wilk #848 1915 aft er deciding to assembly ra ther than ma nufacture as they 65 Fair St. had in the past. Guilford, CT. 06437 In Oc tober of 1915 Rayfi eld sued Great Western for non .... performance, whether or not Great Western actually assembled a ny Minda Bojin, Libra rian #156 Rayfield cars is unknown to me. all. Museum Science & Tech. 1867 St. La urent Blvd. Rayfield Gasoline Cars. Ottawa, Ontario M:oJe hy tho Rayfletd Motor Car Co .• Sprtngtleld, Ill. Canada K1A OM8 ja mes Perrin #293 Bo x 6098 S a nta Barbara, CA. 93111 Linda Clark #866 P.O. Bo x 24 South Dartmouth, MA. 02 748 I. Reeve Sw~ey #582 RAYFTEf,tJ .SIX-P ASSENGER ROADSTE'R. $1.850. 300 Oak Ori v~ Motor, water coo led, 2'2-25 h. p., 6 cyl., 3 x 3~. cast In pairs: Jump spark lgn!Uon rroru Bosch mo1111eto: sliding selec Ormond Beach, FL. 32074 uve ball bearing transmission , four speeds forward; direct abort drive on tltlrd: expanding special clutch, sur raced with Raymond A. Wolff #383 cooper and leather: two sets or brakes, exoandlng and co n Wolff Interna ti onal tracting on rear wheels; steering wheel at the right; gas tan~ at the rear; frame of pressed steel; front s.vrlnp semi-elllo P.O. Box 13493 Uc. rear s.orlngs %, elllpUc; wheel base 116 inches. EQuip Milwaukee, WI. 53213 ment, five lam:os. hom. Prest-0-I.Jte tank, tools, jack and repair outflt. Editor Walter E Gosden. Edi torial Office: SAH News Art Director letter. 197 Mayfair Ave, Floral John M. Peckha m Park. Long Island. NY 11001 RAYFIF.J,IJ TOY TONNEAU, $2.000. Four pa9Senger toy t on n e~tu body, gas tank under sent. Other detaJls of th e chassis tlle same as for the roadster. Publication Committee RAYFIELD JUNIOR. $1.500 . Walter E Gosden Motor. 14. - lG h. p., four cylinders, cut. in patrs. Other George B P Ward.Jr David L Lewis •·1t';at ls the same o.s for the roadster. Frederick D Roe From: Jerry E. Gebby, 310 Appalachian Drive, The Hi ghlands, Route The SAH Newsle tter is published I Copyright 1982 6, Tuscon, Arizono 85704. I'm enclosing a photo for the Mystery Car six limes a year by The Society of The Society of Automoitve pege, a REAL mystery this time, I can't furnish a solution! My last, Automotive Hi storia ns Inc. Historia ns Inc. the Rayfield car, brought mec ha ni cal date from Fred Roe, who copied some dope from a n old magazin e. In return for tha t favor I SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE HISTORIA S' OFFICERS 1982 was able to loan a photo of a Hoskins Special racing car. I have done a lot of research on this car and so far have come up PRESIDENT SECRETA RY with nothing. Michigan Motor Vehicle Dep't. discards records in the David L. Lewis Cha rles L Betts Jr 10th year. The Detroit Library passed. G-M Proving Grounds passed it all around a nd included some retirees, but nothing. 2588 Hawthorn Rd. 2105 Stackhouse Dr Cornelius Van Ra nst and Tommy Milton were co nnected with Ann Arbor, MI. 48104 Yardley. PA 19067 several US cars on prototype development but letters from both VICE PRESIDENT TREASURER deny a ny knowledge of this one.