Beschreibung:

Inline 4-Cylinder T-Head Engine 24bhp Dual Ignition, Mechanically Operated Intake and Exhaust Valves 3-Speed Selective-Shift Manual Transmission Semi-Elliptical Front and Rear Leaf Springs Rear-Wheel Drum Brakes *Offered from the Don C. Boulton Collection *Formerly owned by George Waterman and Burt Upjohn *VCC dated; repeat London to Brighton and Glidden Tour veteran *Excellent older restoration with amazing sympathy and originality *Simply put: the ultimate American "Brighton" car THE PEERLESS TYPE 8 While Peerless would later become famous for long-wearing and conservative engineering, in its early years the company's products were anything but conservative. In 1904 they produced the model offered here, the Type 8, with a selective-shift manual transmission and a floating rear axle with bevel gears, with a "speed gear" or direct drive provided for performance. In a time of singles and twins, the Type K's engine was comprised of four individually cast cylinders, mounted on an aluminum crankcase with intake and exhaust valves mechanically operated from half-shafts, driven by "noiseless fibre gears" from the crank shaft. The light, sporting aluminum body was built by the J.M. Quinby Company to the style known in Europe as the Roi des Belges. Catalogued by Peerless in blunt Midwestern American style as simply King of Belgium, it was a first of this style by an American manufacturer on a production car. The body was beautifully constructed, with an ornately latched rear door. Peerless's advertising catchphrase of the era was no mere bragging; in its power and advanced specifications, the Type 8 was genuinely "Without an Equal." It was the most modern American production car of the late Veteran Era – and one of the fastest. THE MOTORCAR OFFERED The Boulton Collection's 1904 Peerless Type 8 is known to have been owned as early as 1945 by famed early collector George Waterman of Providence, Rhode Island. In the late 1950s it was acquired from Mr. Waterman by Don Pryor of Michigan, as an original and intact automobile. Mr. Pryor completed the car's original restoration before selling it in the mid-1960s to Burton Upjohn of Kalamazoo, Michigan. In Mr. Upjohn's ownership the Peerless was dated by the Veteran Car Club in 1968 as a 1904 model, with certificate no. 1136 and matching brass body plaque. It subsequently journeyed to England three times for the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. Back in its homeland it completed many Glidden Tours and other events, and was well-known enough to be featured, in all of its grandeur, in one of Henry Austin Clark, Jr.'s famous Long Island Automotive Museum postcards. It was also fine enough, following a cosmetic restoration and engine rebuilding by Michael Nash, that it won a National First Prize from the Antique Automobile Club of America in 1975 and Best in Show at the Greenfield Village show in Dearborn. Don C. Boulton had showed much interest in the Peerless over the years, and knowing Mr. Boulton's reputation and his love for this particular automobile, the car was offered him by the Upjohn family in 1994 and soon acquired for the collection. Clearly visible even today is the quality of Mr. Nash's restoration; unlike many jobs of its era, it was carefully performed, preserving the original wood and floor boards in the body which are still stamped with identifying numbers, indicating how fine an original automobile it was prior to the work. Similarly, the magneto box is still mounted with a New York Registered Motor Vehicle plate, no. 72086. The body and chassis are finished in a pale dove grey, accented with black and red striping, while the suspension is red to match the tufted leather upholstery. As with many tour cars some sympathetic modifications were made by Mr. Pryor for driving the Peerless on modern roads, including the installation of a Stromberg carburetor (with the governor removed), an electric starter, and modernized braking system. Even these tour features are well-integrated