To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVEEstimate:
$5,000 - $8,000
- Quality replica built by Gaslight Motors in 1960
- Four-horsepower Clinton engine
- Electric lighting and folding top
- Formerly of the Merrick Auto Museum Collection
Although curved-dash Oldsmobiles have most certainly been the most
reproduced of old cars, they are certainly not the only. Another
such re-creation is the Gaslight Motors Rambler, produced in 1960.
A full-scale replication, it had a hand-crafted wooden body, like
the original car. Power came from a four-horsepower,
single-cylinder air-cooled Clinton engine located under the seat.
An automatic clutch connects to a two-speed transmission with
reverse. Final drive was by single chain to the rear wheels.
The cars had a 12-volt electrical system, with starter and
generator, full lighting, and turn signals. A folding top was
standard equipment. Brakes were internal, expanding on the rear
wheels. Customers desiring to register their cars for street
operation could order optional four-wheel brakes, which rendered
them legal in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, New Jersey, and Maryland.
New Jersey also required the optional high-low beam headlamps,
while California insisted on the windshield-and-electric-wipers
accessory package.
Gaslight Motors Corporation, of Lathrup Village, Michigan,
contracted the construction to American Air Products Corporation in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which also built the "Merry Olds," a
scaled-down curved-dash Oldsmobile, during the same period.
This Gaslight Motors Rambler was acquired by the Merrick Auto
Museum Collection around 2000 from William Chapman of Wauseon,
Ohio. It remained a part of the collection until being sold in Fall
of 2019. It is very tidy in gloss black with white accent striping.
The seat is upholstered in black vinyl, all in very good condition,
and the folding top is present. The car has the lighting package,
parts of which appear to be sourced from Harley-Davidson. Neither
the windshield nor the four-wheel-brake option is installed,
however.
Now 60 years old, this delightful Gaslight Rambler is itself older
than the car it replicated when it was built. This gives new
meaning to the term "antique automobile."To view this car and
others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM
website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/0520.