LOT 70
1912 Everitt Six 48 Touring Car Chassis no. P6259
Sold for US$67,200 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 70
From the Clive and Janet Cussler Car Collection of Scottsdale
1912 Everitt Six 48 Touring Car
1912 Everitt Six 48 Touring Car
1912 Everitt Six 48 Touring Car
Chassis no. P6259
Chassis no. P6259
358cu in, Side-Valve Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Carburetor, 48hp
3-Speed Manual Gearbox
Front and Rear Leaf Spring Suspension
2-Wheel Disc Brakes – see text
*Believed to be the sole surviving Everitt Touring car
*Restored with the assistance of Tom Lester
*Includes a number of technical upgrades to enable usability
*Successfully campaigned in HCCA and AACA tours over the last 2 decades
THE CAR OFFERED
Walter E. Flanders was, by all accounts, one of the best production men in Detroit at the birth of the American automobile industry. Like Henry Leland, he came from Vermont and possessed the same innate sense of machinery. His skill delivering a sizable crankshaft order on time caught the attention of Henry Ford, and Flanders later moved to Detroit where he set up Ford's early factories and production systems. But Flanders had bigger ideas and, seemingly unaware of the Model T's imminent introduction, set out on his own with two partners, salesman William E. Metzger and coachbuilder/financier Barney Everitt. They set up E-M-F to build a quality middle market automobile "on a scale heretofore unattempted."
In mid-1909 Metzger and Everitt parted ways with Flanders, taking with them E-M-F chief engineer. William Kelly. In an equitable fashion, the new car was named the Everitt, and was built by the Metzger Motor Car Company. A strong debut saw some 2,500 units of their 'new' Four-30 pre-sold before production even commenced. The following season saw the introduction of a Four-36 model and for 1912 a Six-48 was offered.
This exceptionally rare Everitt dates from that snapshot period when Everitt and Metzger were on their own and gained enough traction to introduce the Six-48 Model. Amazingly, it is thought to be the sole survivor today of the touring car.
Its restoration dates to the year 2000, Ralph Lehtola of Dania, Florida having discovered the car in a barn in the Mid-West taking it back home to commence a rebuild. He cleverly enlisted the help of none other than engineer Tom Lester to work on the engine and technical aspects with him. Perhaps not too surprisingly, this was improved in several 'Lester' ways to make it an all-round more usable touring car, the clutch received hydraulic assistance to aid fatigue on long distance tours, while the brakes were discretely upgraded to discs sitting inside the existing drums. An electric starter motor was also added, and an oil pump was fitted to improve reliability of its lubrication.
The Everitt has since proven itself to be a typically reliable Lester product, providing a very usable tour car for Mr. Lehtola, its next owner Marshall Armstrong who acquired the car in 2005 and more recently for Clive and Janet Cussler. It has completed several HCCA and AACA tours successfully and is described by Janet as being regularly exercised and maintained.
Additional information
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