America's Star of 1909
When Brass Ruled, the 1909 Thomas Model K 6-70 Flyabout
With the spare tire located against the right front seat—the Flyabout has right-hand drive—the driver enters through the passenger’s seat. A small brass hand pump at the base of the driver’s seat must be worked to make sure the car’s lubrication system has sufficient pressure before starting the engine. This is confirmed by watching a row of tiny brass faucets set on a ledge under the cowl, each representing a lubrication point in the chassis, drip oil.
This 6-cylinder Thomas is reportedly, the only original 1909 Thomas 6-70 Flyabout in existence.
1909 was poised to be a great year for E.R. Thomas Motor Co. of Buffalo, New York. The firm’s interest in racing competitions culminated in winning the 1908 New York-to-Paris endurance run, making Thomas the most talked-about auto in the world. Individual sales became news—in spring 1909 newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst took his new Thomas Flyabout touring car to Europe.
Like so many of his pioneering contemporaries, Erwin Ross (E. R.) Thomas was in the bicycle business prior to manufacturing automobiles. During the 1890s, E. R. was the managing director for H. A. Lozier & Co. who produced the famous Cleveland bicycle. However, he recognized the huge potential in the newly evolving automobile business and left Lozier to take over the Buffalo Automobile and Auto-Bi company, which was known for its production of bicycles and motorcycle engines. In 1900 E. R. changed the company name to Thomas Auto-Bi, and by 1901 Thomas claimed to build more air-cooled motors than anyone else.
E. R. had bigger things in mind however, and the first Thomas automobiles were introduced in 1903; small runabouts described in the catalog as the happy medium between the cheaper and more expensive cars. By 1905 the Thomas Company was building bigger four-cylinder cars dubbed 'Thomas Flyers'. Thomas Flyers soon gained notoriety among the faster and more flamboyant Touring cars of their day. E. R. had an eye for flair and his huge powerful cars showed it – they were often finished in bright colors and loaded with many ornate brass accessories. The 1907 sales catalogue boasted "You can't go by a Thomas Flyer, so go buy one!"
The Thomas name endures and is most readily remembered for its most astounding victory in one the greatest automotive competition events of the time, the 1908 Le Matin sponsored 'The Great Race'. The route went from New York (in the dead of winter) across the U.S. to San Francisco, then by ship to Alaska, and across the Bering Strait, either by ship or by ice to Siberia. To be certain that the Yukon and the Bering Strait would be covered in ice, the race purposely began in the winter. Many of the dirt covered trails had never been traveled by a motorcar.
E. R. Thomas made a last-minute decision to enter a car and three days prior to the start, a stock 1907 model was selected from the factory lot. 13,341 miles and 171 days later, the victorious Thomas rolled into Paris and forever cemented its place in history.
The following year Thomas moved into 'six-cylinderism', the territory which luxury manufacturers were now pushing as the ultimate in performance and refinement, Napier, Pierce-Arrow, Rolls Royce to name but a few. For Thomas, they simply extended their existing four with two extra cylinders, but owing to their mammoth 5½ inch bore, this pushed the engine size out to 12.9 liters and provided more than 70 horsepower. At this point, this was by far the largest engine available and remains one of the largest engine ever to be fitted to an American production automobile.
The new 'six' commanded the designation Model K or 6-70 for logical reasons and Thomas priced it at $6000 in Touring form, with options of Seven Passenger Touring, 'Tourabout' or 'Flyabout'. Of the handful of options for these chassis, the Flyabout was by far the most sporting and effectively a Thomas branding for a 'Toy Tonneau'. Sitting on a 140 inch wheelbase, it was a gargantuan car even among its peers. Yet, despite its scale, the 'square' engine dimensions of 5½ by 5½ inches and with four speed transmission provided a very tractable and lively engine performance, the engine revving higher and with a broader power band than many of its longer stroked contemporaries.
Double click on image to enlarge for details
AS ALWAYS....COMMENTS & INVITATIONS with AWARD BANNERS will be respectfully DELETED!
America's Star of 1909
When Brass Ruled, the 1909 Thomas Model K 6-70 Flyabout
With the spare tire located against the right front seat—the Flyabout has right-hand drive—the driver enters through the passenger’s seat. A small brass hand pump at the base of the driver’s seat must be worked to make sure the car’s lubrication system has sufficient pressure before starting the engine. This is confirmed by watching a row of tiny brass faucets set on a ledge under the cowl, each representing a lubrication point in the chassis, drip oil.
This 6-cylinder Thomas is reportedly, the only original 1909 Thomas 6-70 Flyabout in existence.
1909 was poised to be a great year for E.R. Thomas Motor Co. of Buffalo, New York. The firm’s interest in racing competitions culminated in winning the 1908 New York-to-Paris endurance run, making Thomas the most talked-about auto in the world. Individual sales became news—in spring 1909 newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst took his new Thomas Flyabout touring car to Europe.
Like so many of his pioneering contemporaries, Erwin Ross (E. R.) Thomas was in the bicycle business prior to manufacturing automobiles. During the 1890s, E. R. was the managing director for H. A. Lozier & Co. who produced the famous Cleveland bicycle. However, he recognized the huge potential in the newly evolving automobile business and left Lozier to take over the Buffalo Automobile and Auto-Bi company, which was known for its production of bicycles and motorcycle engines. In 1900 E. R. changed the company name to Thomas Auto-Bi, and by 1901 Thomas claimed to build more air-cooled motors than anyone else.
E. R. had bigger things in mind however, and the first Thomas automobiles were introduced in 1903; small runabouts described in the catalog as the happy medium between the cheaper and more expensive cars. By 1905 the Thomas Company was building bigger four-cylinder cars dubbed 'Thomas Flyers'. Thomas Flyers soon gained notoriety among the faster and more flamboyant Touring cars of their day. E. R. had an eye for flair and his huge powerful cars showed it – they were often finished in bright colors and loaded with many ornate brass accessories. The 1907 sales catalogue boasted "You can't go by a Thomas Flyer, so go buy one!"
The Thomas name endures and is most readily remembered for its most astounding victory in one the greatest automotive competition events of the time, the 1908 Le Matin sponsored 'The Great Race'. The route went from New York (in the dead of winter) across the U.S. to San Francisco, then by ship to Alaska, and across the Bering Strait, either by ship or by ice to Siberia. To be certain that the Yukon and the Bering Strait would be covered in ice, the race purposely began in the winter. Many of the dirt covered trails had never been traveled by a motorcar.
E. R. Thomas made a last-minute decision to enter a car and three days prior to the start, a stock 1907 model was selected from the factory lot. 13,341 miles and 171 days later, the victorious Thomas rolled into Paris and forever cemented its place in history.
The following year Thomas moved into 'six-cylinderism', the territory which luxury manufacturers were now pushing as the ultimate in performance and refinement, Napier, Pierce-Arrow, Rolls Royce to name but a few. For Thomas, they simply extended their existing four with two extra cylinders, but owing to their mammoth 5½ inch bore, this pushed the engine size out to 12.9 liters and provided more than 70 horsepower. At this point, this was by far the largest engine available and remains one of the largest engine ever to be fitted to an American production automobile.
The new 'six' commanded the designation Model K or 6-70 for logical reasons and Thomas priced it at $6000 in Touring form, with options of Seven Passenger Touring, 'Tourabout' or 'Flyabout'. Of the handful of options for these chassis, the Flyabout was by far the most sporting and effectively a Thomas branding for a 'Toy Tonneau'. Sitting on a 140 inch wheelbase, it was a gargantuan car even among its peers. Yet, despite its scale, the 'square' engine dimensions of 5½ by 5½ inches and with four speed transmission provided a very tractable and lively engine performance, the engine revving higher and with a broader power band than many of its longer stroked contemporaries.
Double click on image to enlarge for details
AS ALWAYS....COMMENTS & INVITATIONS with AWARD BANNERS will be respectfully DELETED!