More Treasure from Cleveland!

Here's another peek at the Crawford Auto Collection at the Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland Ohio.

This is a 1923 Ford Depot Hack. These vehicles are the equivalent of today's hotel vans that pick up passengers at the airport. The 'Hack' and it's related models, (Express Wagons, Wagonettes & Depot Wagons), were developed for use by hotels and resorts to carry passengers back and forth from the railway depots.

In 1958, Chrysler produced 618 of these Chrysler 300D Hard-Tops. This car developed 380 HP with it's 392 cubic inch "Hemi" engine. A 300D set a new speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats, topping out at 156.387 mph. Despite it's size and weight, the 300D could hit 60 mph in less than 10 seconds.

In the early days at Sears-Roebuck, you could order almost anything through the mail-order catalog. From 1908 - 1911, Sears offered this Model "H Motor Buggy", a bargain at $395.00! It was a durable 'high-wheeler", built for rough country roads. The Motor Buggy had a 2-cylinder air cooled 12 HP engine. There were 5 variations built along with a light truck version.



Sears stopped selling these automobiles in 1911...when they discovered that it cost more to build than they were charging for it. Sears got out of the automobile business until 1952, when, for an 18-month period, they marketed the Kaiser-Frazer made "Allstate". For information on the "Allstate", go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allstate_(Automobile).



The Cleveland Motorcycle Manufacturing Company was founded by several officers of the National Screw & Tack Company, a major supplier for the auto industry. It began operations in 1915, building single cylinder 2.8 HP light weight motorcycles. They weren't meant to compete with the heavy duty Harley's or Indians. This 1918 model was one step above a bicycle, at the lowest end of the price range for motorized transport. Under new management, Cleveland Motorcycle did build a 4-cylinder version from 1923 until 1929 when the company closed.

This is one of Ford Motor Company's first station wagons. They were were the successors to the "Hacks", replacing them at the railroad depots...hence, 'station wagon'. These vehicles were built in Iron Mountain MI in the upper Peninsula, then shipped to the Murray Body Company in Detroit or the Baker-Rawlang Company in Cleveland to be finished. The body was made out of oak, it had removable rear seats and was powered by a 40 HP engine. Even though this model was introduced midway through the 1929 Model Year, they sold 5,000 of them at $650.00 each, one of Ford's most expensive autos at that time.

More photos will follow in future blogs. The Crawford Auto-Aviation Collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society is open from 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday. Parking is $5.00. Admission is $8.50 for adults; $7.50 for seniors; $5.00 for those 17 or younger; $6.00 for veterans and; half-price for active military personnel. The collection is located at 10825 East Boulevard in Cleveland, Ohio. Phone: 216-721-5722. Website: www.wrhs.org/index/php/crawford.