If you’ve seen one 1940s Hobart Weldmobile you’ve seen them all. Wait, what?! Despite it’s homemade appearance, this 1940s Hobart Weldmobile is a factory piece. No, really. This rare and unusual vehicle is listed on eBay with a buy it now price as shocking as the vehicle itself: $25,000. I know. They’re rare, keep that in mind. It’s located in Copan, Oklahoma and I probably wouldn’t try to drive it home, even if it were immediately driveable. Thanks to Fred H. for submitting this find!
Hobart made its first welder in 1925 and it was a very important company during WWII having made over 100,000 welders and 45,000 generators to help the allies win the war. This unusual vehicle is basically a welder and a generator all rolled into one, sort of. It’s also a pretty mean looking machine!
There isn’t a ton of information on these “Weldmobiles” but there were a few examples made and this one appears to be the bigger of the two. I believe that it’s the “Hobart “Big Wheeler” self-propelled DC arc weldmobile model SP-418-W”, according to a welding forum that I found some information on. W stands for wide as opposed to the NW narrow model. The smaller one used regular car tires from what I understand.
A lot of these welding rigs used Chrysler company drivetrains and the seller says that this one has a “Chrysler Straight IN-LINE 8, (FLATHEAD 8) Cylinder” engine. This is, or was, a drivable welder, basically. Companies used them for field work, sometimes literally as in farmers would use them to weld machinery or anything made out of steel that they needed to fix when it couldn’t be brought back into a shop. Mining companies and oil companies also used these weldmobiles. It’s pretty ingenious but it’s not something that really could be driven on public roads for any length.
Oil pipeline companies used portable welders out in the field and since this one is in Oklahoma, it was in fact used in the oil industry. The seller’s family was in the welding business making refinery tanks and they say that this weldmobile ran five years ago. It has been in their family for generations and he just inherited it. The SP-418s were 40 volts and 400 amps and the SP-618s were 60 volts and 600 amps. This one has 400 amps and 40 volts according to the seller so it has to be the SP-418. Have any of you seen a Hobart Weldmobile? I would absolutely love to restore this and blow a few minds at car shows.
What’ll it do in the quarter?
Better yet, will it even do the quarter?
Have real shock value…
More like, what will it do to a quarter.
Steve R
With no sides to the hood it’s a bit like the clear hooded car in ‘Grease’… to quote Travolta… ‘it’s electrifying’.
The $25,000 price shows the degree to which unbridled irrational greed has taken over. To whom does this appeal? Twenty Five Grand worth?? This is just like that rusted out Pantera shell, pure fantasy pricing . . .
But you can’t put a price on the patina.
A price wouldn’t stick to the patina.
Did you read the add? Says she doesn’t know what it is worth.She is leaving it up the the Ebay community to determine it’s worth. Did you notice the ‘Make Offer’ part of the add? Doesn’t sound like ‘unbridled irrational greed’ to me. One of the most honest adds I’ve seen in a long time.
It will appeal to pipeliners. Who have a lot of tangible cash
I’ll bet the Hobart rig was used by the HC Price Pipeline company from Bartlesville, Oklahoma back in the 1920’s. The company is still around as the Price-Gregory Co. The top Pipeline welders in the world come out of Local 798 based in Tulsa. Here is another lighter-duty rig.
I rather buy a Zamboni to drive on ice rinks 😅
This will never sell unless one gets the buyer really anebreated or flying high ..
Folks we’ve reached the plateau on greed and asks
!!!💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰😜👀😄🍻😮
If someone bothers to come look at it, it’s doubtful you’d need to get them inebriated to sell it. This will appeal to a very narrow, very specific audience. As for what it’s worth or will sell for, I’ve no idea.
Change the rear axle and you have a rat rod ,sen worse 😁🤔
Of course people collect them
I just noticed the WD-40 can on the bumper. I admire the optimism
“…I would absolutely love to restore this and blow a few minds at car shows…”
Thanks Scotty. Me too, but
may B not at “the car show” but all tricked out totally original shinny next to the same era tractors: a shinny lill red IH Farmall “A”, big green Deer 750, may B a yellow Ferguson w/black new tires! yeah…
I think I could bond with this vehicle..
Now THAT, I would have loved to drive to high school with.
Especially welding class.
I’d venture to say, not one HS in the US offers a welding class anymore. Maybe in Canada. :)
Incorrect, Howard. The company I work for in Rochester NY hires local high school welding students. They attend classes in the morning and work afternoons alongside our full-time welders gaining experience on very complex assemblies. And just today I visited a brand new vocational school in Buffalo with training facilities for 40 welding students. It is a great skill to have. I no longer do actual welding but it led me to a career in Materials Science and Quality Management. I started as a rod-burner in 1972 and I have never been out of work or collected an unemployment check.
This is where I thought this would go. I agree with Brent, the greed thing is going a bit far, especially with this( we’ll save those comments for the rusty Jaguar hulks), and it’s a huge dilemma for someone acquiring these things, what to ask for it. Nice try, but note to seller, sorry, nobody wants this.
Rare doesn’t always mean valuable. Maybe she can trade it for that 30000 dollar cuda convert. I think it was close to her asking price.
A friend has a Hobart factory built welder trailer that has a 6 cyl.flathead Mopar engine. Problem is that the pistons were not the regular pistons made of aluminium. The were cast iron. He can find any to replace the broken one he has. He’s had the thing since the sixties. Never has run.
lance,
Tell your friend to contact EGGE machine in Texas, they are set up to make short runs of virtually any piston. I collect VERY RARE cars, and EGGE was able to make pistons for a prototype engine of which there was only ONE made.
“…Tell your friend to contact EGGE…”
/or/
http://www.wiseco.com/Catalogs/Automobile.aspx
or, or, or. Some R less expensive than others too. I’ve seen em chuck a standard piston in a lathe & machine to size too…
Even trade for the wrecked 930-
Noooooooope.
While I get the owner may not know what it is worth (very damn little I would guess) it does seem that the Barret Jackson syndrome has spread out to even the welding rig genre now. How sad that what used to be an affordable hobby has now been turned into something that most middle class folks have to stretch to acquire.
Interesting website on the restoration of one. Not sure it’s this one, but interesting nonetheless.
http://hobartweldmobile.blogspot.com/
Found this info while looking up info for a SP-418W I found today. It’ newer than the one in your listing. Still looking for more info on it. Planning to get it into the shop and determine condition.