1913-1914
Like we mentioned in the previous installment, Havers’ new model line was offered on a 128 inch wheelbase, and it was with this series that the Knickerbocker Speedster was born.
1913 Havers Six-55 Knickerbocker Speedster. brochure images courtesy HCFI.org
The Knickerbocker, also referred to as the Speed Car, was a remarkable cutdown. Like the other Six-55 models, everything about it was large.
The engine, also known as the “Big Six” was dimensioned with a bore and stroke of 4 inches by 5 inches for the Six-55 of 1913. Its 377 CID displacement would be enlarged in 1914 to 421 CID by increasing the bore and stroke to 4.125”x 5.25” for the Six-60.
Similar in construction to the Six-44, which was termed “the lighter car”, the 1913 Six-55 differed in its use of a company-patented single electrical system using a battery, ignition coil, distributer, a generator-starter, and powering the lighting as well. For 1914, an Eisemann magneto was added to the Six-60 (and Six-44) ignition circuits to assist with starts.
1914 Havers Six-60 engine, left side. Note the magneto atop the starter-generator system.
1913 Havers Six-55 engine. The front view shows how the electric starter engaged the engine. Note lack of magneto for this year.
The multi-plate clutch was an elegantly-engineered piece that foreshadowed the move away from leather- and cork-faced cone clutches.
Havers Six-55 and Six-60 clutch, pretty advanced contrivance for its time.
The 128-inch wheelbase chassis was similar in construction to its Six-44 counterpart as illustrated in the previous post.
1914 Havers Six-60 chassis. Note the rear stirrups for the two spare Firestone tires.
Both models featured handsome artillery wheels as stock, but wires were optional as well. Firestone demountable wheel sets were de rigueur. Many other mechanical components were also shared between the two series to save on costs.
1910 Firestone demountable rims ad. Illustrations show just how easy it was to change a tire … sort of.
Havers Motor Car went large on subtle features to make it irresistible to buyers looking for a quality conveyance in the medium-priced field:
• The engine had an electric tire pump integrated with its patented electrical system;
• Havers were equipped with a secret “security switch” that disabled the ignition and lighting systems;
• Lighting was provided by either Prest-O-Lite acetylene or with Havers’ patented electric lighting system. For the touring bodies, a direct appeal was made to female passengers in terms of comfort and convenience, comparing the back seat to that of a “luxurious Pullman (rail) car.”
More to that:
• a “Parisian Ivory Toilette” makeup kit was provided at no extra cost and found adorning each newly-purchased touring car’s robe rail;
• the rear cushion was 55” wide and upholstered in an “oriental style”;
• the running board step and the rear tonneau’s interior footwell were illuminated for safety and convenience.
For its Speed Car sporting model, the company recognized the importance of emphasizing the Knickerbocker’s speed capabilities:
“The HAVERS "SIX-55" Knickerbocker Speedster is designed for the man who wants high speed, this car being capable of doing easily 72 miles per hour.”
That Knickerbocker Six-55 Speedster offered a lot of excitement for $2250!
And speaking more generally about the Six-55 series:
“…both the Touring Car and Speedster combine a snappy style and marked individuality with every possible up-to- the-minute feature essential to service, safety and bodily comfort. They are alike dependable on the boulevard or the neglected highway, the level or the most trying grade. They far surpass what many are content to consider the ‘last word’ in motor car construction and appointment.”
This would also be true for the Six-60 series that rolled out in 1914, which again included the Knickerbocker Speedster, now priced at $2485 and fitted with a “mother-in-law” seat, also referred to as the “suicide seat.”
1914 Havers Six-60 Speed Car, a.k.a. Speedster. Note the third seat and the stirrup on the running board. By the looks of it, this seat did not retract into the body, a solution that was worked out in the next generation of (sport-bodied) speedsters.
However, the fickle finger of Fate would soon intervene and spoil the stew.
Calamity
In the evening of July 7, 1914, a fire broke out in the plant, quickly burning the final assembly section of the company. The announcement that appeared in the July 11, 1914 edition of Auto Topics (p. 717) downplayed the effect of the fire.
July 14, 1914 Auto Topics news clip regarding the fire at the Havers plant.
The local newspaper covered the story in greater depth and better reportage of the facts on the ground. Nothing beats eyewitness accounts, and The Port Huron Times Herald had it covered!
The story of the fire merited its own front page multi-column spread:
Havers Motor Car Company plant fire - front page news! newspaper images courtesy St. Clair County Library Reference Dept.
The reporter who covered the occasion gleaned plenty of information from being on scene, and the sidebar subheads summarized the text that followed:
Front page, column 1
Mr. Andrew Murphy, named in the article as General Manager of Havers Motor Car, had been cruising by the lakeside that summer evening with is wife and another couple, and they had stopped back at the plant just as the fire was breaking out. Murphy’s witness statements add important details to what the reporter had written:
Although the fire department was summoned, the reporter wrote that it took 20 minutes for the trucks to arrive, far too long of a delay. Chief Schaller had some ‘splainin’ to do:
Mr. Murphy wrapped up the report with a statement of conviction that the business would rise again from what appeared to be a total ruin:
Although Murphy had hoped that Havers Motor Car could quickly rebuild and resume, the company apparently did not have the finances in place to do so. Creditors soon made their demands known and forced Havers into receivership.
Bankruptcy hearings started in November and finished by January of 1915, with the parts and equipment being given away for a song, $7500 taking all, and it was purchased by well-known Alfred O. Dunk of the Puritan Machine Company.
Puritan, founded in 1902 at 1601 W. Lafayette Blvd in Detroit, was infamous for scooping up the remnants of bankrupt auto firms and then supplying parts for such vehicles long after their firms had departed this world. Scores of defunct companies had to sell their heritage for peanuts at these bankruptcy auctions.
Dunk may have been considered a bottom-feeder in the auto business, but his company did provide a service for those who still needed parts long after the creditors left the auction with what cash they could salvage.
A 1914 ad for Puritan Machine Co. read:
“You know it. Something has happened. Another automobile concern busted, and Dunk got it.”
1913 Havers Knickerbocker Speedster recreation using a 122-inch Six-55 chassis.
interior of the Havers Six-55 Speedster. images courtesy John Tornquist
1913 Havers Six-55 Speedster recreation on display at the 2019 AACA fall meet. Photo by “Mr. Choppers” courtesy Wikipedia
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Thanks to John Tornquist for his donation of photos regarding his recreated 1914 Havers Speedster. It was also photographed by “Mr. Chopper” at the 2019 AACA Fall Meet in Hershey, PA. Thanks to Wikipedia for the use of that photo. Beautiful speedster!
A special thanks also goes out to Janet Curtiss, MLIS, reference librarian at the St. Clair County Library, who kindly supplied The Port Huron Times Herald pages that appreciably contextualized this recounting. Stories make history come alive; we are indebted to our librarians for their support.
=NEWS FLASH=
After years of grinding it out, I have finally finished my book on classic speedsters and gathered all of the images for it. The copy is currently being edited, and the images are with a book designer to construct the book’s covers and interior. I am hoping for a December 2021 publication, so stay tuned for news and more details about my book. I promise it’ll be a Duesy!