Eric Minoff
Vice President, Head of Department - US
LOT 67 ¤
1922 Wills Ste. Claire A-68 Roadster Chassis no. 4354 Engine no. 5557
Sold for US$73,920 inc. premiumLot to be sold without reserve
Lot 67¤
1922 Wills Ste. Claire A-68 Roadster
1922 Wills Ste. Claire A-68 Roadster
Chassis no. 4354
Engine no. 5557
Chassis no. 4354
Engine no. 5557
265.5ci Single Overhead Camshaft V-8
Dual Throat Zenith Updraft Carburetor
67bhp at 2,800rpm
3-Speed Manual Transmission
Live Axles with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs
Rear Wheel Mechanical Drum Brakes
* Overhead camshaft V-8 engine
* Sophisticated design, engineering and materials
* Harrah's Gold Star restored
* A rich reward for remedial attention and creativity
THE WILLS STE. CLAIRE A-68
Childe Harold Wills, a practical engineer whose mother read Byron's epic poetry, was a draftsman in Ford's first car-building venture. Wills rejoined Ford in 1903 at the inception of the Ford Motor Company becoming, to all intents and purposes Ford's first chief engineer. Wills was noted for his careful engineering and particularly for the emphasis he placed upon development and use of high strength materials for reliability and weight reduction. Extensive use of vanadium alloy steel is credited with much of the T's reputation for toughness, and the material's advocate within Ford was Wills.
Wills' deal with Ford had him earning 10% of Henry Ford's dividends from Ford Motor, eventually capped at $1 million per year. It was an immense amount of money, even by today's standards. In the first years of the century, it was a fortune every year. But in 1919 Ford and Wills had had enough of each other. Wills cashed out, taking a further $1.6 million with him. He was set for life.
Set, that is, except that he wanted to build his own automobile incorporating the improvements Ford had rejected. He established a model community around the site of a new factory in Marysville, Michigan. His continuing metallurgical research had discovered that molybdenum made an even stronger steel alloy than vanadium and its extensive use in the car he designed contributed to its light weight. The first Wills Ste. Claire appeared in 1922, powered by an innovative 60° 265 cu.in. V8 with shaft driven single overhead cams producing 65 bhp at 3000 rpm.
Wills, however, indulged his perfectionism now that he was running his own company. The cars were elaborately engineered, and Wills would stop production every time he or his staff came up with an improvement.
The market wasn't ready for Wills' concept, however, and even after setting a San Francisco-New York record of less than 3½ days in 1926, Wills Sainte Claire was out of business in 1927. Childe Harold Wills worked as a respected auto industry consultant and Chrysler employee until his death in 1940.
THE CAR OFFERED
There is absolutely nothing in the aggregate not to like about this Wills Ste. Claire. It is an early Harrah's Gold Star restoration, acquired in 1976 from Joseph D. Strople in North Pasadena, California and restored in the Harrah's shops. Known for their research and meticulous adherence to original specifications, Harrah's restorations like this are cherished by collectors and carry an indisputable provenance.
Finished in classic Royal Maroon with black fenders, it has black leather upholstery and a black cobra grain top. Disc wheels that were favored by Wills carry 32x4½ tires. There are Miro-Tilt headlights, a top-hinged windshield with a manual wiper, rumble seat, single rear-mounted spare and a Waltham speedometer.
The older paint is still excellent for its age as are the bright trim, interior and top. There is some paint aging, and the engine is dirty with fluid leakage even though it has been drained of fluids in the National Automobile Museum during its generations on display.
But all of those pales when considering the jewel-like 60° V-8 with its shaft-driven single overhead camshafts on each bank. It is simply impossible for anyone who appreciates advanced, sophisticated, ingenious engines not to marvel at this 1922 masterpiece. Unfortunately, despite being displayed dry without coolant for years at Harrah's and the National Automobile Museum, some metal worm has eaten through the Wills Ste. Claire's intake manifold water jacket leaving a colorful but dysfunctional residue, and a big hole.
It is a marvelous automobile, highly engineered and built with cutting edge materials, that will reward a concerted effort to acquire and repair it.
Footnotes
This vehicle is titled under it's engine number, 5557.
Additional information
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