Highlights
- London to Brighton Veteran Car Run eligible, previously completing the event in 2018
- Matching numbers
- Photo-documentation restoration
- Accompanied by a sizeable history file
The Appeal
In Britain, the ‘Red Flag Act’ of 1865 dictated that all mechanically propelled vehicles must be preceded at a distance of sixty feet by a person waving a red flag. An Act Of Parliament Thirteen lifted some restrictions, but it was 14th November 1896 in which the Light Locomotives on the Highway Act removed the need for a person to walk ahead of a vehicle and raised the speed limit for 'light locomotives' (not exceeding two tons) from four mph to fourteen mph.
Britain’s first motoring organisation, ‘The Motor Car Club’, marked this momentous occasion with the so-called ‘Emancipation Run’, driving their motor cars the sixty-mile distance from London to Brighton in order to demonstrate their practicality now that the rules and regulations facilitated their use unaccompanied.
To this day, the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is held on 14th November every year, and pre-1904 vehicles are the only ones allowed to enter. Participation in such a prestigious and historically significant event is highly coveted, so this 1904 Oldsmobile Model R Curved Dash Runabout is your ticket to take part. It’s already completed the run in 2018.
The Model R was Oldsmobile’s first-ever model, launched in 1901. It represents the genesis of American automobile manufacture and is also credited as one of the first mass-produced automobiles. You certainly won’t be the only example at the start line of next year’s Veteran Car Run. The Curved Dash was intended as a city car, predominantly for short distances, and was priced relatively competitively for the time. The fact the model sold well means expertise and parts for these cars are still available today, if you know where to look, making the prospect of owning this 121-year-old motor car far less daunting than it might otherwise be.
Previously restored to a high standard and complete with the all-important VCC dating certificate, this Oldsmobile is ready for a new custodian. The vendor demonstrates that the 5 hp engine runs well and an accompanying photo album details the extent of the restoration work.
The History and Paperwork
- Chassis no. 16047
- UK registration ‘BS8077’
- Reportedly matching numbers
- Successfully completed the 2018 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run - confirmed by a certificate from the RAC
- UK V5C document present
- Photo album documenting the restoration process
- VCC dating certification received in 1991 accompanied the car
The Condition
- Older restoration continuing to hold up well
- Highly original
- Wire wheels fitted with Excelsior tyres
- Paraffin-fuelled brass lamps in very good condition
- Buttoned leather upholstery exhibits very little wear
- Smart wooden coachwork
- In exceedingly good condition for a 121-year old car
You can see why this was known as the ‘Curved Dash’ model. While we understand the ‘dashboard’ to be inside the cabin of more modern vehicles, at this time the workd was still used in the same sense as a horse-drawn carriage in which this forwardmost piece of bodywork prevented road grime from being flung up onto the passengers. The curved dashboard performs the same purpose here.
As with several motor cars of this era, you don’t sit ‘in’ it so much as ‘on’ it. In this case, there’s a Chesterfield sofa-like bench seat with buttoned leather upholstery which appears in very good condition. What there is of bodywork presents very ell in the original trademark black colour scheme with red accents. We note light patina in places, as befits a vehicle of this vintage.
The Mechanics
- 5 hp horizontal single-cylinder petrol engine
- Two-speed semi-automatic planetary gearbox (with reverse)
- Tiller steering
- Three pedals for acceleration and braking
- Ignition advance/retard and decompression levers
- Chain drive
- Longitudinal leaf springs run the length of the vehicle
- 20 mph top speed
- Offered in running, driving order
Modern motorists will bs surprised to find there’s no steering wheel, or conventional pedal setup. Driving one of these cars is a steep yet rewarding learning curve and an experience driver will be able to coax up to 20 mph from it - very respectable for the era.
The car successfully completed the sixty-mile London to Brighton Run in November 2018 - which many of the starters do not. The vendor demonstrates that it continues to run well and we’re informed that the Oldsmobile drives as it should.
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