440ci T-Head Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Carburetor
64bhp at 1,500rpm
3-Speed Manual Transmission
Front and Rear Leaf Spring Suspension
Rear Drum Brakes

*From the Estate of Harold Coker
*Freshly completed restoration
*Evocative marque from the Brass Era
*Ready to show or tour

THE THOMAS COMPANY

Like so many of his pioneering contemporaries, Erwin Ross (E. R.) Thomas was in the bicycle business prior to manufacturing automobiles. During the 1890s, E. R. was the managing director for H. A. Lozier & Co. who produced the famous Cleveland bicycle. However, he recognized the huge potential in the newly evolving automobile business and left Lozier to take over the Buffalo Automobile and Auto-Bi company, which was known for its production of bicycles and motorcycle engines. In 1900 E. R. changed the company name to Thomas Auto-Bi, and by 1901 Thomas claimed to build more air-cooled motors than anyone else.

E. R. had bigger things in mind however, and progression of his company was swift, from building 'French Front' single cylinder voiturettes in 1903, first a raised radiator three cylinder car was added in 1904, for which the term 'Flyer' was coined and rest became history as growth into increasingly large four cylinder automobiles developed.

But the Thomas name endures and is most readily remembered for its most astounding victory in one the greatest automotive competition events of the time, the 1908 Le Matin sponsored 'The Great Race'. The route went from New York (in the dead of winter) across the U.S. to San Francisco, then by ship to Alaska, and across the Bering Strait, either by ship or by ice to Siberia. To be certain that the Yukon and the Bering Strait would be covered in ice, the race purposely began in the winter. Many of the dirt-covered trails had never been traveled by a motorcar.

E. R. Thomas made a last-minute decision to enter a car and three days prior to the start, a stock 1907 model was selected from the factory lot. 13,341 miles and 171 days later, the victorious Thomas rolled into Paris and forever cemented its place in history.

The incredible performance of the Thomas boosted sales and in September of 1909, the light six Model M was introduced for the 1910 model year. The Model M was a much-improved development from the previous year's Model L, with a new T-head engine replacing the L-head. The massive engine required a bigger hood and radiator, giving the car much more presence. While sales literature called the Model M a 40-horsepower, factory charts showed these engines developed a maximum of 64 horsepower at 1,500rpm. To demonstrate the incredible flexibility and reliability of the newly designed six cylinder, a Model M was taken on a demonstration run after all of its gears except high and reverse were removed from the transmission. The car was driven from Buffalo over the Berkshires, the White Mountains, the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks and back to Buffalo - all in top gear!

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

This 1910 example is offered from the well-known private collection of Harold Coker, who died in 2015 and had a particular fondness for the famed Thomas marque. Over the course of his career of collecting, he took great pride in resuscitating and restoring a number of these cars and remained always on the hunt for surviving cars and parts that could aid a rebuild or form the basis of a new project.

The car we present here is understood to have been built from parts collected over 40 years, most pertinently including an original 640 engine, from which it takes its identity. The coachwork was beautifully handbuilt in the popular skimpy Flyabout form, and true to his eye for the looks of a car, Harold Coker chose the appealing scheme of a two-tone green paintwork and offset it with a tan leather interior upholstery and canvas top. The color scheme is undeniably a success.

"The Magic of a Name" is frequently the defining aspect of an automobile, and the Thomas Flyer is one such title which encapsulates the most sporting cars of the Brass Era. This well-restored example offers an appealing entry to the brand and to touring events for pre-teen age automobiles.