Intent
The Havers brothers, Fred and Ernest, organized the Havers Motor Car Company in 1910 and used space and services available at the Port Huron Engine and Thresher Company to get their company started. Formerly of Battle Creek, Michigan, Upton Manufacturing had relocated to Port Huron in 1880, probably to take advantage of trade with Canada, as this easternmost point of Michigan sits across the St. Clair River from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada and connects to Lake Huron and beyond. Although the Blue Water Bridge would not be constructed between the two countries until 1934, the land masses were separated by only a mile or so, easily traversed by boat or barge. Smart move for Upton Manufacturing to move to Port Huron!
The red dot shows where Port Huron is located at the eastern tip of Michigan, across the river from Canada, and connected to the Great Lakes. Strategic, or what? image courtesy Google maps
Upton changed its name to Port Huron Engine & Thresher in 1894 to more accurately reflect its business of manufacturing heavy equipment and farm machinery. Its three plants included its own foundry and the facilities necessary to make steam-driven farm tractors and accessories, portable sawmills, road-building equipment, and malleable castings.
Port Huron Engine and Thresher ad from 1910.
Where they were situated gave Engine & Thresher ideal access to roads, railroads and water transport, linking them to nationwide markets as well as Canada.
There was available space in plant 3, which is probably where the Havers initially set up shop, with Fred as president and Ernest as chief engineer.
Moxie
The Havers brothers had probably observed the success of the Ford Motor Company in nearby Detroit that was rapidly taking over the low-priced car field. Closer to them was also the E-M-F concern, which also was selling in the low-priced tier. The Havers wisely chose to go upmarket, where they figured there was more room for a small company to get started.
The Havers Factory in 1912. factory brochure. images courtesy Horseless Carriage Foundation Library
Ernest designed a luxury automobile with a roadster and a touring model, both installed on a 115 inch wheelbase, pretty usual fare for a startup auto company aiming for the mid-priced field. What made Havers stand out was that they featured a 201 CID (cubic inch) six cylinder engine of 31 rated horsepower as their only power plant at a time when four cylinder engines were ascendant and considered by many as the ideal choice for power.
In an essay that first appeared in The Motor, later to be reprinted in the September 18, 1913 edition of The Automobile, its author argued that the four cylinder had spent most of the first decade of the new century refining itself while its one, two, and even three cylinder competitors dominated. By 1910 the four had won. The author “H” states:
“The up-to-date four-cylinder is a wonderfully efficient engine, and in saying this the writer is using the word "efficient" in its general sense and taking all the factors that affect the question into consideration.”
The writer was primarily considering the efficiency of casting one complete block for the cylinders that resulted in a relatively inexpensive engine. He went on to extend his point by comparing the four with contemporary sixes:
“…take the case of the single block of four cylinders as compared with the two or three sets of the six. It cannot be questioned that the advantage in construction is with the four, and this is made plain in the relative cost of a four and six cylinder. We do, in fact, today get quite well made, though not necessarily highly finished, fours at the price of a high-class single of, say, six years ago.”
In fact, several makes with pretensions to luxury had made long use of the four with some success. For instance, Packard, which opened its factory doors in 1899, started with a single cylinder auto, proceeding to a four in 1903, and then progressed to six cylinders in 1913. Cadillac opened for business in 1903 with a single, progressed to a four in 1906, and then jumped from four to eight cylinders in 1915.
However well-argued, the four cylinder engine does not have the natural balance that is inherently present in a six cylinder, something to be considered when making a luxury car. Fred and Ernest Havers must have realized this because they stepped up to using the six cylinder from the get-go. The Havers Motor Car catalog for 1911 showed Ernest E. Havers as factory superintendent and F.E. Beard replacing Fred Havers as president. In it, Havers Motor Car staked a claim as being the first of the sixes:
“It is with a feeling of intense satisfaction that we claim the distinction of being the pioneer company to market a mechanically perfect six cylinder car, with unit power plant, at a medium price.
“The motor car is no longer the plaything of the rich… the Havers Six is the first strictly high-grade six-cylinder car to be offered at a price at which thousands of cars of inferior workmanship, material and design have been and are being sold.”
It was clear that Havers Motor Car was making a bold statement! But…. it wasn’t entirely true that Havers was the six cylinder pioneer, as there were already other medium-to-high priced vehicles out there featuring sixes as well. In fact, by 1910, there existed 15 manufacturers who used only sixes.
1910 Kiine Kar ad from The Automobile.
1910 Matheson Six as appeared in The Automobile.
However, like Kissel and other makes with luxury ambitions and obsessive standards, Havers would rework, retool, and perfect the engines that they purchased from engine suppliers of the period. So, was Havers Motor Car implying that the competing makes that came out earlier with a six in place produced “less-than-mechanically-perfect sixes” for the medium-priced field? Was Havers splitting hairs, massaging the truth, or what?
Oh, well, that’s advertising!
1912
For 1912, Havers moved to another location in Port Huron, purchasing the former E-M-F Studebaker plant. As with many automobile startups, Havers was considered an assembled car because it purchased major components for its drive train. Although not specified in its catalog, the 1911 cars may have used Beaver engines, but by 1912 Havers was openly acknowledging using Continental. The Continental was a choice made by many manufacturers of the period.
Havers was confident of its product:
“For 1912, we present three Models, which differ in the body only, all being built on the same size chassis. The long wheel base - 122 inches, the large wheels - 36 x 4 inches, and the double drop frame give our cars a rangy, thoroughbred appearance. The six-cylinder long stroke motor develops 44 horse power, and is in every way correctly proportioned to the requirements of city streets, or the extended cross country run, where hills and all kinds of road conditions test and bring out the true quality of a car.”
1912 Havers Six-44 Roadster
Among other refinements, Havers also introduced a company-patented self-starter which used its generator as a starter motor as well. An illustration of the 1913 version can be seen below on the 6-55 engine.
The Six-44 engine (44 horsepower) for 1912 would be continued through 1914. With internal bore-stroke dimensions of 3.75 inches x 5 inches, this 331 CID engine used a Bosch dual-ignition system, a Disco acetylene starter, and was fed by a Stromberg carburetor. Its crankcase was cast aluminum and enclosed the flywheel and multiple steel-plate clutch.
1912 Havers Six-44 331 CID engine. Note the three pairs of cylinders, common practice for the period.
Its power was transmitted through an enclosed driveshaft (torque tube) that connected to a full-floating differential via a ball-and-socket universal joint.
Havers Six-44 Rear Axle setup.
As seen in the image above, Havers’ solution to rear suspension challenges was its use of both longitudinal half-elliptic as well as transverse springs and radius rods; shocks were not yet in common practice.
The 122 inch chassis was a conventional double-drop forged steel design, with a conventional rear brake system supplemented by an emergency brake.
Havers Six-44 Chassis overhead view
The Havers Six-44 Chassis as seen from the side.
Havers produced and sold about 200 cars for 1912, a modestly positive testament regarding how well they were received in an expanding automobile market that experienced recurring economic contractions as well. Therefore, 200 units meant a victory for this small luxury car company!
1913-1914
Unbeknownst to Havers and others, 1913 would prove to be another economic tidal shift toward recession. For 1913 (and also for 1914), Havers would continue the Six-44 in relatively unchanged features as well as model offerings.
Yet Havers Motor Car was riding on positive news regarding its 1912 sales, so in 1913 it dove right in with a bold statement - the Six-55 series - and a goal of selling 1200 units total. This new 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 on a 128 inch frame. In a word: big!
The Knickerbocker, also referred to as the Speed Car, was a remarkable cutdown. Like the other Six-55 models, everything about it was large. We’ll get into that a bit more in the next episode, as well as cover the unfortunate fate of the Havers Motor Car Company.
Thanks to the HCFI.org archives and the AACA Library for their help in images and information.
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Next posting I’ll give an important announcement about my upcoming book on classic speedsters. Stay tuned and don’t miss it!