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LOT 196

1915 Reo Model ST 5 'The Fifth' Five Passenger Touring Chassis no. 73753

Sold for US$16,800 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 196

1915 Reo Model ST 5 'The Fifth' Five Passenger Touring

1915 Reo Model ST 5 'The Fifth' Five Passenger Touring
Chassis no. 73753

240.5ci F-Head 4-Cylinder Engine
Single Carburetor
35bhp
3-Speed Manual Transmission
Solid Front Axle with Semi-Elliptic Leaf Springs and Live Rear Axle with Three-Quarter Elliptic Leaf Springs
Rear-Wheel Mechanical Drum Brakes

*Two previous owners from new
*Largely original and preserved
*Ransom E. Olds' crowning achievement
*Eligible for many tour events


THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

By 1912, Ransom Eli Olds was 48 years old and ready to depart the car business having successfully founded two thriving manufacturers. As his "Farewell Car" he brought out the "REO the Fifth". In describing the car Olds said simply, "I shall let it stand as my topmost achievement." It was to be the cumulative result of R.E.'s quarter century in the car business. A rather advanced car for the time, it featured a centrally mounted sliding gear transmission—rather than an outboard lever—and pedal for both the service and parking brakes. The former's operation was incorporated into the clutch pedal with half way activating the clutch and full tilt engaging the brake.

This remarkable example of 'the Fifth' was purchased new and owned by a family in Binghampton, NY for just shy of 50 years. It would have cost them $1,050 when new. As the father of the family aged, the REO wasn't used much and was primarily stored in a barn. When the patriarch of the family died, his son decided to get the car out and take it to a local car show in Binghampton. Unfortunately at the show, the car's gas line was not turned off properly and the car got caught in a quick fire, albeit luckily, only the canvas top and wood header above the windshield were singed. At that point, the canvas top and wood header were properly replaced.

The second half of its more than a century of life was spent with the second owner, Glenn Crater of Kinnelon, NJ who purchased the car in the early 1960s after being told of the REO by a neighbor who had previously lived in Binghampton. Throughout, it is clear that this has been a very well-loved car, preserved and yet enjoyed by Glenn and his wife, who participated in many "week long" driving car tours in Canada, New York and New Jersey, many of these trips as part of the New Jersey chapter of his car club.



Saleroom notices

Please note, the title will be in transit.

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