0 On the Road: Pacific Northwest Concours d'Elegance

 by Willy Vinton      

© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

My wife Wilma and I traveled to Washington state recently to help prepare the museum's 1917 Owen Magnetic for the Pacific Northwest Concours at the LeMay - America's Car Museum. When we arrived at Murray Motor Car in Monroe on Friday, September 5, it was obvious there was still some work to be done. A few parts had to be installed and fitted, and we needed to find minor items including leather lace for the hood, some O-rings, and leather straps. With a wave of the Murray crew's magic wand, it all came together, and then we moved on to polishing.

Next we bolted on the running boards and hood. After some minor touch up, I was able to take the car for a test drive, with Paul Murray along just in case we had mechanical problems. The car ran great and ran cool with no major issues. By 10 pm Saturday night we finally had the car loaded and secured for the ride to Tacoma.

On Sunday morning we had to get to the show field before 8 am, as the event opened to the public at 9. There were about 160 cars on the field, and 11 in our class.









I have to say that once again the show staff helping our class was great to work with, and very helpful with any needs that arose. The Owen Magnetic attracted a lot on onlookers and questions about how the car operated. Not surprisingly, we heard a lot of "Did they really have hybrids back then?"





It's always thrilling when you learn your car has won an award. To show off the Owen Magnetic's unique transmission, I drove it down to the awards holding area on gas, then finished the drive to the winner's circle on electricity. I think the folks finally understood then that the car really could run on electricity alone.

Here we are receiving the First in Class award for the Pre-1920 Brass/Antiques Class. Many thanks to the organizers who put on this great event, to the LeMay - America's Car Museum for hosting the concours, and to U.S. Bank for sponsoring it. We are also grateful to everyone who came to see the cars. The event's proceeds will support the Hagerty Education Program at the LeMay.



We are also deeply indebted to Al and Paul Murray for their outstanding skill and effort restoring the Owen to concours quality. This win speaks highly of their abilities, and we are fortunate to have them work on our cars. They are presently working on our Kelsey, so stay tuned for updates on that.

Detail: On the Road: Pacific Northwest Concours d'Elegance

0 Owen Magnetic Update

by Nancy DeWitt
© Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum

In the fall of 2012 we sent our 1917 Owen Magnetic Model M-25 touring car south to Murray Motor Car in Monroe, Washington, for some work. The Owen Magnetic was one of the most unusual and technologically advanced cars of its time, and was essentially an ancestor to today’s hybrid cars. It was most notable for its attempt to defeat the problem of shifting gears by means of an electromagnetic transmission designed by Justus B. Entz.

The Owen Magnetic’s drive mechanism had no direct connection between the internal-combustion engine (A) and the rear wheels. Instead, the engine powered a generator attached to the rear of the engine's crankshaft and caused a horseshoe-shaped magnet (B) to spin. This imparted energy to a steel armature (C) fitted into the air space inside the whirling magnet, causing it to spin via magnetic imbalance. This in turn induced current in the armature (E) of a conventional electric motor (D), which provided the energy to turn the drive shaft and propel the engine's rear wheels.

This continuously variable transmission produced an unlimited number of forward speeds, leading to the Owen Magnetic being marketed as “The Car of a Thousand Speeds.” The transmission, which also served as an electric starter, regenerative brake, and battery charger, was controlled by a small lever on the steering wheel. Speed was regulated by a separate lever.

The Owen Magnetic was one of the most expensive U.S. automobiles produced at a time when the average car cost about $1,000 and a Ford Model T cost less than $400. Its exceptionally smooth, quiet ride and beautiful coachwork by Baker, Rauch & Lang appealed to wealthy clientele, especially those who had trouble shifting. Celebrities, including Italian opera star Enrico Caruso, were drawn to the elegance and smooth operation of this “aristocrat of motor cars."

What color should we paint the wheels?

The top of the block on our Owen Magnetic was cracked into the water jacket, so we sent the car back in the truck that delivered our Biddle and McFarlan. We figured while it was in Al and Paul Murray's hands we'd have them repair some body cracks and repaint the car a dark gray. By the time they are finished it will be in show condition, and we plan to display it at the Pacific Northwest Concours at the LeMay Museum before sending it back north.

Of the 974 Owen Magnetics built from 1915 to 1921, only about a dozen are known to survive. We acquired this one from J. Parker Wickham.

Coming to Fairbanks to see the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and other area attractions? Support the museum by staying right here at Wedgewood Resort. All guests receive half-price admission to the museum!

Detail: Owen Magnetic Update

0 Winner! Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

This year we had the honor of being invited to show two of our cars at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. When we have a car restored, it is done in the Lower 48 by either Al Murray (Murray Motor Car in Monroe, WA) or Allan Schmidt (Horseless Carriage Restoration in Escondido, CA). We highly recommend both. On top of their outstanding work, it is an added bonus if we can display a freshly restored car at a show before we ship it north to Alaska.

We spent two hours polishing the 1918 Biddle Town Car and 1919 McFarlan Sport Touring the day before the show. Although we arrived early at the Pebble Beach Golf Links the next morning, we delayed moving the cars onto the show grounds. It was foggy and we could literally watch the cars' brass tarnishing before our eyes from the high humidity, so we kept them inside the trucks until the last minute. Judging started at 8:30 AM and included a very thorough inspection and questioning by a team of three judges.

The Pebble Concours is among the most elite car shows in North America and features some of the most beautiful classic cars in the world. There were numerous celebrities and even a Maharaja or two among the well-dressed crowd of spectators this year (Jay Leno refers to the event as "Tailgating for Billionaires"). Then there were the Alaskans and their friends--having the biggest lawn party on the 18th Green. The only thing missing to make it a true Alaska campout was a bonfire.

After a long wait that included a second visit by the judges to inspect the McFarlan, we were told to take it to the winners circle. At this point we knew we were in the top three for our class. The stage director then told the 3rd-place winner (a 1905 Clément) to go first, and when he directed the 1911 Isotta Fraschini to go 2nd we knew we had earned the coveted First in Class for A-2 Antiques. There was an audible gasp in the crowd when they learned that the car belonged to a museum in Alaska. We were also thrilled to receive the Ansel Adams Award for Most Desirable Touring Car of Its Era. What an honor! Museum owner Tim Cerny looks pretty pleased with the prizes. For some reason, the bottle of Champagne didn't make it back to Fairbanks...

1919 McFarlan Sport Touring
First in Class, A-1 Antique
2012 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
Photo by Murray Motor Car

Both the McFarlan and Biddle will be shown at the Kirkland Concours d'Elegance on September 9. This year's event will take place at the new LeMay Museum in Tacoma, WA. Please stop and say hello if you attend! Otherwise, expect to see the beautiful Biddle and McFarlan at our museum around mid-October.

We want to send out a big thank you to Al and Paul Murray of Murray Motor Car for the great job on the McFarlan, and to Allan and Beth Schmidt for their amazing work on the Biddle. Both of the cars are show stoppers and will be welcome additions to our collection here in Fairbanks. Hopefully they will arrive before the snow falls so we can get them out on the roads around town.

*Update* The McFarlan also won the Best in Class - Antiques award at the Kirkland Concours d'Elegance on Sept 9, 2012!

Detail: Winner! Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

0 Wallace Reid & His McFarlan Automobiles

by Nancy DeWitt

Our museum is full of beautiful automobiles, but as we showed in our last Restoration Update, we have some gems that have yet to make the trip north to Alaska. One of these is a big, imposing car with an impressive provenance. Our 1919 McFarlan Type 125 four-passenger sport touring (#19133) was originally owned by Wallace Reid, one of Hollywood's leading male stars. Reid appeared in at least 180 movies with the likes of Gloria Swanson, Lillian Gish and Geraldine Farrar.

Automobiles and racing were an obsession for Wally Reid, and some of his best-known films were daredevil auto flicks like The Roaring Road (1919), Excuse My Dust (1920) and Too Much Speed (1921). Women loved him for his dashing good looks (dubbing him "The Screen's Most Perfect Lover"), while men flocked to theaters to see Reid perform his own driving stunts.

Reid "adored automobiles," according to writer and friend Adela Rogers St. John. "I have seen him sit on a curb and gaze at a new roadster for hours, pointing out its lines, emphasizing its beauties, explaining its mechanical perfections." Reid collectible a series of fine cars, among them Marmons, Duesenbergs, and several McFarlans. He loved speed and was known for racing up and down Sunset Boulevard in a Stutz whose horn could play "Yankee Doodle Dandy." His carefree, reckless abandon behind the wheel led to a number of accidents, including a high-speed collision in his Marmon coupe that killed a father and seriously injured the man's wife and two children. He apparently avoided any mishaps with his 1919 McFarlan. In 1922 be ordered another McFarlan--a TV Knickerbocker cabriolet. Sadly, he never got to drive it.

Reid had been severely injured in a train accident in 1919 and given morphine while hospitalized to treat his pain. This was the era when Hollywood actors kept an exhausting schedule, cranking out multiple movies a year. Reid's studio continued to supply their "investment" with morphine so Reid could meet the demanding work schedule. Not surprisingly, this led to a serious addiction. The next two years were a downward spiral of drugs, exhaustion and alcohol abuse for Reid. His wife, actress Dorothy Davenport, finally put him in a sanitarium but the pressure of withdrawal was too much. Reid passed away at the age of 31 on January 18, 1923. Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle bought the 1923 Knickerbocker, possibly before Reid's death, and it now resides in the Nethercutt Collection in Sylmar, California.

The immediate fate of Reid's 1919 McFarlan following his death is unknown, but it eventually found its way to William Harrah's museum in Sparks, Nevada. J. Parker Wickham purchased the car following Harrah's death, and we acquired it in 2007. It is presently being restored by Murray Motor Car in Monroe, Washington. Al Murray has done an outstanding job with several of our other automobiles, including our 19010 Whiting, 1914 Moline-Knight and 1927 Stutz. At right is a photo of the McFarlan at the 2010 Kirkland Concours d'Elegance, before its restoration.


Here is a peek at the McFarlan today. Once we get it in the museum we hope to exhibit it with a display about Wallace Reid. He was one of the most famous actors of his time, and it is only fitting that he drove such a grand car.

Detail: Wallace Reid & His McFarlan Automobiles