One of the great joys of writing for Barn Finds is the fact that we get to see and research some very rare and unusual cars, and this 1913 Henderson Model 44 Roadster is just such a car. The reality is that there are only six examples of this model known to exist today, and if this rolling chassis and engine could be proven to be what it is claimed to be, that would make this the lucky seventh. The Henderson is located in Union, Illinois, and is scheduled to be auctioned off on April 18th. You can find more details here on Barn Finds Classifieds. The bidding has been set to open at $10,000.
As you can see from this photo that I located on the Cobble Beach Concours d’Elegance Facebook page, the Henderson Roadster was a simple yet attractive vehicle. The history of the Henderson Motor Car Company was short but sweet. It was formed by a pair of brothers, C.P. and R.P. Henderson, in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1912. The brothers had worked for the Cole Motor Car Company before striking out in 1912 to form their own company. Their aim was not to build cars for the masses but to create something a bit more luxurious than your average offering from companies such as Ford. During 1912 and 1913 they produced one base car, but it was available in four model variants. The Model 44 was a 2-seat Roadster, while the Model 46 was a 4-seat Tourer. The Model 48 was a 7-seater, and the Model 56 was a 3-seat Roadster. The company’s range underwent a few changes over the 1914 year, but by 1915 the brothers had fallen upon hard times, and their venture was abandoned. After the company closed, the two brothers returned to work for Cole once again. I have to admit that the photos that the owner supplies of this one have me a bit perplexed. The steel in the chassis has a different appearance in different areas. I can’t be completely sure, but it does look like the chassis has been repaired or modified at some point. With information on the Henderson being so scarce, I am hoping that one of our readers is able to fill in the blanks on this for us. If this chassis is confirmed to be legitimate, then the next owner will face plenty of work having many parts such as body panels fabricated, so it might be necessary to approach the owner of one of the existing cars in a bid to obtain measurements and photos to ensure accuracy with the finished product.
The engine photos manage to muddy the water even more with this car. According to my research, the Model 44 was powered by a 280.6ci 4-cylinder water-cooled engine supplied by Buda that produced 44 hp. This was hooked to a 3-speed manual transmission with a conventional shaft drive to the rear end. As you can see from this photo, this is definitely an air-cooled engine, while the owner mentions in the listing that the vehicle is missing its transmission and chain drive. The engine does have a link to the Henderson family. It seems that the Henderson Motorcycle Company was formed by a pair of brothers, and these were two of the sons of one of the gentlemen who had formed the car company. Henderson Motorcycles was based in Detroit, Michigan, and produced their offerings from 1911 through until 1931. Their motorcycles were favored by the police and performance enthusiasts due to the power that was produced by their range of air-cooled, inline 4-cylinder engines. I have been able to find enough information to confirm that the engine in this vehicle originated from the motorcycle manufacturer. However, I can find no records of a Henderson Motorcycle Company engine ever finding its way into a Henderson car. The engine is said to turn freely, but it doesn’t currently run.
If this vehicle can be confirmed to be a Henderson, then it is a rare and significant car. The Henderson Motor Car Company only produced 44 examples (what is it about that number?) of the Model 44 Roadster during 1913. With only 6 vehicles known to exist today, that rarity is beyond question. Information on the Henderson is quite sparse, but with so many car companies coming and going during the early years of the 20th century, that is nothing that is unusual. I am really hoping that we have a reader who can shed some further light on this one because I would love to know more about it! In the meantime be sure to take a look at the auction here.
Found a Hemmings article about a Henderson “Mighty Midget” racecar that used the motorcycle engine. Also, the “Pickers” once found a Henderson Cyclecar (with body) that sold for $15K.
Great write up Adam.
I guess one could call this “the ultimate patina” for sure.
You need to get in touch with Wayne Carimi, as he could get you all of the specifics, I’m sure.
What a fantastic piece of history and write-up, Adam! Well done, my friend.
Been there, done that. Have a 1912 Stoddard Dayton chassis. No body.
And N 1857 Studebaker. Yes, 1857.
The research can take lots of time.
Filling in the blanks is fairly easy. It isn’t a Henderson car. It is a cobbled together cyclecar with an early Henderson motorcycle four. The chassis which has 3/4 elliptical springs up front is shortened and “z-ed” with a section inserted between the rails with long 1/4 elliptics at the rear is unique, but not a Henderson.
This cyclecar as presented was photographed at the Davenport 2012 swap-meet as post on the Fast is Fast blog on September 3, 2012:
http://fastisfast.blogspot.com/search/label/Davenport%202012
I’ll post another comment with spec details and a photo of a 1913 Henderson. These automobiles were a cut above others which makes clear that a real Henderson 44 chassis and components would be an exciting find as Adam pointed out.
Trouble is, by the time you finish making all the missing parts, at what point do you admit it’s only a replica?
I think 6 examples known is looking at it the wrong way. A better way would be: “The Henderson is about as rare as Dual Jetfire’s 54 Nash Ambassador Custom Country Club Lemans!”
The specifications were exceptional beyond the 4.6 liter 44 hp engine with electric start and electric dynamo lights and single lever control before an age of automotive standardization. The shaft drive was from the engine to the Stutz transaxle. That is the 3 speed and reverse transmission and rear axle were a Stutz manufactured unit that one could separate for repair/service if required.
This 1956 photograph of a 1913 Henderson shows the Henderson frame with downward curved front rails and the semi-elliptical front springs. At the rear there is a rakish curve of the rails up and over the axle assembly for clearance and again semi-elliptical springs. With fenders, running boards, and the body to frame panels removed one can just see the trans/axle. The Henderson was equipped with McCue wire wheels with six bolt pattern and of course no front brakes which only became common place in the early twenties:
https://historicindianapolis.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/1956.photo_.1913.Henderson.roadster.jpg
An excellent view of the 1913 Stutz trans/axle can be seen in a factory drawing on “theoldmotor-dot-com” site – see the July 7, 2014 article “The Stutz – The Car That Made Good in a Day – Part II.
Well, it most certainly is not a Henderson Model 44 Roadster nor is it anything to do with the Henderson Motor Car Company !!
It could me an early Midget or it could be something inspired by the contraption put together by a certain Gus Petzel !!
It seems that in 1925, a chap by the name of Gus Petzel took up the challenge of going from San Francisco to New York in a “baby car”. He seems to have made his own car at the cost of $2000, an impressive baby beast that used the Henderson 4 cylinder motorcycle engine and had a top speed of 80 mph on track and still gave 52 miles on a gallon of gas. It used 21 x 4 wheels from “an airplane”, had a 3 speed transmission (looks chain drive) and had a mere 60″ wheelbase. Apparently the feat was well published in the media of the day and Google Books also gives quite a few hits with his name. Some reference can be found on the following links:
http://theoldmotor.com/?p=140175
http://theoldmotor.com/?p=140175
https://www.ancestoryarchives.com/2015/04/smallest-auto-in-world-gibson-special.html?m=0
http://www.spiritracerclub.org/voyage-de-geant-pour-gus-petzel-et-sa-baby-car/
Could this little car be the original Gus Petzel car ? Looks unlikely, since the pictures of the original suggest some kind of a lever (brake or gear) on the outside while our little car has it inside. The seller seems to suggest it has chain drive, though the differential seems to be shaft drive (though chain drive differentials do exist). The seller could measure it out for us and try to give more details to unravel the mystery !
It could (more likely) also be an early midget racer of the type that was popular in the the early teens. One example was sold by Bonhams in 2017 as part of the Bothwell collection, which can be found herein:
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24733/lot/435/?category=list
One seems to be on display in a museum here (though it seems much more modern than this one):
https://www.museumofamericanspeed.com/97henderson.html
And we can see a very early video of some racing here (the tire change is incredible !!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2PpeKjB1ok
Whatever it is (and it would be fun to find out exactly what it is), it is quite a charming little car and would most certainly be tons of fun to drive around, quite like one of the modern cyclekarts !
Lovely find !!
To round out the Henderson information here are photos of four existing cars from the Fountainhead antique Auto Museum which owns the unrestored car that was converted to a light pickup after fire damaged the rear bodywork. In addition to their car there’s the red opera coupe, the 1913 model 56 5 passenger touring car, and the restored roadster:
http://fountainheadauto.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-dose-of-hendersons.html
Click on photos to enlarge.
I imagine someone may find value in the cobbled together home made faux-Henderson, but the 10K ask seems a mighty stretch.
This car obviously did NOT have any chain drive, missing or not, as the obviously shaft-driven differential housing on the back axle demonstrates. Looks like what we have here is some kind of “bitsa” project that did not quite make it out the door. At least not under its on power!
That looks like a chain drive differential, like used in a Harley Servi Car
Cars like this are yard art, the guys that would restore it are to old or died
That beautiful motor would make a great centerpiece for a retro motorcycle build. A builder who knows how to honor period-correct features could create an amazing bike.
It might be worth something for the engine as Henderson motorcycle engines are not very common.
Rear wheels and axle are from Harley 45 Servicar. Frame homemade, Gearbox from engine cut off making the engine useless unless you are going to install a prop on it or use it for parts. No one produces a trans case as they were cast part of the block. Engine alone would be worth double the asking price if it wasn’t hacked. The rest is a piece meal project pretending to be something its not. Still COOL as heck, but NOT one of 6 nor a real Henderson car.