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Rare And Bare: 1918 Chalmers Motorcar

In the early days of automobiles there were hundreds of brands. A few survived, others merged and many failed. Chalmers merged with Maxwell which was bought by Chrysler. Originally, the first Chryslers were to be called Chalmers. There doesn’t appear to be much left of this old Chalmers listed on eBay, but hopefully someone with the expertise and means will save it. At $2,595 the seller is being reasonable about the price. It just needs a few things like a radiator, steering wheel, gauges, hood, upholstery and such. And then there’s the wooden body frame.

This big 6 is said to be quite advanced for its time. There’s no word on it’s condition but it’s most likely stuck.

There’s no doubt this would be a massive project and would have to be taken on by a dedicated and capable person with very deep pockets. It’s a very rare car, but it’s difficult to determine a restored value. Perhaps there’s a collector out there who would like this for their collection.

Comments

  1. Avatar redwagon

    ok for more than a dozen reasons that come to mind right away – no.

    second from the description …..

    “Also, there has been mentioned a Chalmers Classic Car Club, which is likely found on the internet, and resources for parts. I will include that information (such as what I have received) to the winner.”

    why the heck would you not share that with everyone right now so that if someone is crazy enough to be on the fence, but does not know of these groups, they could get a better sense of the support that is out there?

    third, based on the pictures i see here i cannot agree that it is ‘relatively complete’ even if “relatively’ is used in a broad sense. the very next sentence, “Many parts are present, some that are missing are: radiator, steering wheel, gauges, hood, and upholstery.” seems to make my point.

    any bidder had better love this car and want to make it their own. this 1920 chalmers model 35-c, in much better shape, arrived at auction and promptly sold for $2,300 under the estimated minimum of $10,000. that’s right a much more complete vehicle (heck it even had paint!) of the same manufacturer and model sold for $7,700 at auction.
    http://www.conceptcarz.com/events/eventVehicle.aspx?carID=14754&eventID=192&catID=1481

    if you love it, buy it and restore it and maybe even drive it. that would be such a great story. i just do not see it happening with this type of effort.

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  2. HoA Howard A Member

    Yeah, but it has only 6,700 original miles,,,,,( I know, that was a low blow), too far gone. Gonna have to use your imagination on this one. Can you believe, it looked like this once. Parts for some lucky person.
    http://www.autogallery.org.ru/k/c/16chalme.jpg

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  3. Avatar Ike

    Steam punk rat rod! Blown 502,2-4s,18″ R. Tire…Just kidding. A collector / deep pockets, should restore. Take it to shows, where All can pay Addmisson $ to enjoy.

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  4. Avatar Capt Doug
    • Avatar Capt Doug

      I tried to put this in but ran out of edit time

      http://www.chalmersregistry.com/Mission.htm

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    • Avatar redwagon

      wow this one has been for sale for a bit of time. started at 22k, then 17.5k then 6.5k and now 2.5k. I think the market is speaking ……

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  5. Avatar Dolphin Member

    It’s a continuing story: the market speaks and says that many of the guys who know and care about a car like this Chalmers have died off and continue to die off, unfortunately. And it looks like it has already served as a parts car for other ones like it.

    The time to sell this car quickly and easily passed a while ago, and the chances of a sale are further reduced as time goes by. I hope it sells to a dedicated buyer, but it will take some luck for that to happen, even with a low price.

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  6. Avatar brakeservo

    Yard Art

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  7. Avatar Randall

    Bury it and let it rest in peace.

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  8. Avatar john gamble

    I bought it and am going to restore this 1920 Chalmers. the engine was free and had very little wear in the cyl. Opened the transmission and it looks like new. At this point I only need hood and radiator..

    Like 0

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