Using carefully researched plans and some original components, this car was built by Howard Henderson of Kirkwood, Missouri. Completed in 2000, it competed in the SACA race in Danville, Illinois that year. Howard is offering the car for sale because he will not have room to keep it when he moves to a retirement community. Steam fans know the early Locomobile was really a Stanley Steamer. The Stanley Brothers had sold their design to Amzi L. Barber and John Brisben Walker, who named it Locomobile, coined from the words locomotive and automobile. The two new owners limited the Stanleys to a two-year "non-compete" clause, so in 1901 the brothers began producing their Stanley Steamer again in Newton, Massachusetts, and did so for 25 more years of production.
"Center tiller" steering makes Howard's car an early 1900 Locomobile. Later Locomobiles and Stanleys of the type featured side tiller steering, as illustrated in this photo of the identical twin Stanley Brothers in one of their steam-powered Surrys:
Here's an 1899 ad for a Locomobile of the era: A compact fire-tube boiler under the rear deck feeds steam to a simple, double-acting two-piston engine giving four power pushes per revolution of the engine. (A normal diesel or gasoline engine has to have eight cylinders to produce four power strokes per revolution.) The smoothness of the steam powered engine combined with its extraordinary torque at only one or two rpm's eliminates the need for clutch and/or transmission. Like all Stanleys prior to 1914, this car vents its exhaust steam directly to the atmosphere. The engine in Howard's car was machined and built by him using castings produced by a group of Stanley enthusiasts; hence the name "Day-Land" seen in photos herein. Howard will be happy to answer questions about the car from those seriously interested in bidding. You may phone him at 314.822.3980 in the USA. (Time zone is CDT.) The car is located in Kirkwood, near St. Louis, Missouri, USA. If you have suggestions for improving the description on this website, please email them to grant at grantmaclaren dot com. Thanks. Details:
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