|
The
story of Willys’ rescue of the Overland concern, then
his rebuilding the company into one of the giants of
automobile history, has in it elements (such as
Willys’ driving cars from the assembly line and
selling them as they were built) which scarcely can be
credited but are true. Willys himself was a salesman and
was a genius at his work. Also, he was smart enough to
hire the best engineers to do the designing, interfering
himself only on one major point: the only attempt to
mass-produce the fabled Knight sleeve-valve engine.
The
Museum counts itself fortunate indeed to possess an
excellent collection of Overland automobiles, including
at least one, which is believed to be unique.
The
Overland company, in the years following Willys’
rescue of the corporation and before America’s entry
into the Great War, produced so many different models of
automobile that, even today, historians are confused as
to what was made, when and how many for, at one time,
the company was producing no less than eleven different basic models! The Museum’s Overland collection
illustrates a bit of this diversity in its three 1916
models alone, for there are on display a Model 75
touring car, a Model 83B touring car and a Model 83B
hearse. The 83B hearse, on the same chassis as the
touring, is a wonderful example of wood sculpture, with
the whole rear part of the vehicle hand-carved to look
as much as possible like one of the earlier horse-drawn
hearses. This machine was operated until 1950; Rossburn
undertaker Harold Alexander owned it, like the
Museum’s horse drawn hearse.
The
Model 75 is actually a Model 75LH, or left-hand model,
for the right-versus-left-drive controversy was not yet
settled at the time it was built. The Model 75, at $850
one of the cheapest (and most durable) cars on the
market, is the forerunner of the more common Model 90
Overland. Its black lacquer finish, rounded radiator
shell, drop and axle were Overland characteristics of
the period. The Model 75 is an
original, which saw daily service until 1930.
The
Museum also displays a 1917 Overland Model 85-6 Touring
car, a 1918 Model 90 Touring, a famous member of the
Overland family and one which is well-remembered by many
old-timers even today. The $795 Model 90 is powered,
like all early Overlands, by a four-cylinder engine, in
this case a 179-cubic-inch, 18.2-hp of the company’s
own make; Auto Lite electrics, Connecticut ignition are
from outside suppliers and the cantilever springing is
pure Overland, with huge 31x4 tires to complete the
picture. These were all very reliable automobiles.
In
the middle 1920s the Overland Company decided to bring
out a new machine in direct competition with Ford’s
aging Model T; this was the Whippet, one of the least
powerful, but most remembered, cars of the 1920s. The
Museum displays one .of the very first Whippets, a 1926
with Serial Number 161! Also displayed is a 1929
Whys-Knight coupe, which looks much like a Whippet, but
is much heavier and bigger. The big difference is under
the hood, for this
Willys-Light
is powered by a 6-cylinder Knight sleeve-valve engine,
which provides a great amount of nearly silent, smooth
power and is a
wonder to drive. Also to be seen is the Museum’s 1908
Overland Roadster, one of the earliest Overlander
existing in Canada and a very rare car indeed. It runs
perfectly, too!
Wlllys-Overland
survived the Great Depression and made a lasting
impression on the world during World War II with their
fantastic little 4-wheel-drive utility car known the
world around as the Jeep. Whys-Overland today is a part
of American Motors and is still producing cars for the
world.
Overlands
and their successors have been built in Canada since
1914; this is the largest collection of antique
Overlands known to exist in Canada at this time.
|
