Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 100 ¤
1920 King Model H Foursome Touring Chassis no. H2245 Engine no. H622
Sold for US$21,280 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 100¤
From the Minden Automotive Museum
1920 King Model H Foursome Touring
1920 King Model H Foursome Touring
1920 King Model H Foursome Touring
Chassis no. H2245
Engine no. H622
Chassis no. H2245
Engine no. H622
282.7ci L-Head V-8
Ball & Ball Updraft Carburetor
60bhp at 2,400rpm
Manual Transmission
Live Axles with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs
Rear Wheel Mechanical Contracting Band Drum Brakes
* Designed under the leadership of Charles Brady King
* King assisted Henry Ford's construction of his first cars, worked at Olds Motor Works, was a founder of the Northern car
* During World War I King supervised development of and thoroughly redesigned Ettore Bugatti's U-16 aero engine
* The King V-8 was a contemporary of the Cadillac Type 51 V-8
THE CAR OFFERED
Charles Brady King built his first vehicle, a motorized carriage, in 1896. It was powered not by the single or two-cylinder engines usual at the time but by an inline four-cylinder. King already had a successful business in Detroit making gasoline engines and was instrumental in helping Henry Ford acquire parts for his first cars. After working at Olds Motor Works he and Jonathan Maxwell formed the Northern company.
He started the King Motor Car Company in Detroit in 1911, then left during World War I when he led the War Department's project to adapt Ettore Bugatti's U-16 aero engine to U.S. production and manufacture. It became known as the King-Bugatti and was, by the time it completed its 50-hour dyno test, a significantly different concept from that created by Bugatti.
In 1915 King introduced its L-head V-8 only two months after the Cadillac V-8's debut. At 283 cubic inches it was somewhat smaller than the Cadillac's 315 cubic inches. With a claimed 60 horsepower it also was less powerful. That was reflected in the prices, $1,585 for the 1920 King Foursome Tourer, much less than the $3,590 for the 1920 Cadillac Type 59 Phaeton. That the King Model D V-8 chassis had been chosen by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps during the war as the basis for a series of light armored cars helped King's reputation for quality and performance.
Production peaked in 1916 with about 3,000 cars and steadily declined thereafter. The last Kings were built in 1925, but not in Detroit or Buffalo. They were assembled from parts shipped to England.
This 1920 King Model H Foursome Touring was acquired by Harrah's in 1968. It bears the Harrah's equipment tag number 1432. It was sold at a Harrah's auction in 1984 and was acquired from USA Auto Loan/Storage in Sparks, Nevada by the Minden Automotive Museum in 1994.
Finished in dark green with black fenders and aprons with black leather upholstery and a black leatherette top it is equipped with blue wire wheels, a rear-mounted spare and has 31 x 4½ tires. The windshield folds and the upper windshield pane is top hinged.
The paint is old and battered. The original upholstery is cracked and torn, and the top is old and stiff. The engine compartment shows evidence of an older restoration but is aged and dusty. It is an ideal and sound project for re-restoration or to be returned to running/driving/stopping condition.
It is a rare example of the King V-8 of which less than 13,000 were built over nine years and a reminder of the mechanical competence of Charles Brady King whose expertise contributed to many enduring vehicles from Ford to Oldsmobile and to the development of the King-Bugatti U-16 aero engine.
Saleroom notices
Title in transit.
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