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Details
Photo Credit: James Mann
FROM THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM B. RUGER
1925 WILLS SAINTE CLAIRE W6 ROADSTER
Chassis No. 20448
Engine No. 20512
Beige with black fenders and green leather upholstery and beige soft top
Engine: single overhead camshaft, in-line, six cylinder, 274ci, 66hp; Gearbox: three-speed manual; Suspension: solid axles with semi-elliptic leaf springs front and rear; Brakes: four wheel hydraulically-actuated drums. Left hand drive.
Childe Harold Wills, a practical engineer whose mother read Byron's epic poetry, was a draftsman in Ford's first car-building venture, the Detroit Automobile Company. Wills rejoined Ford in 1903 at the inception of the Ford Motor Company becoming, to all intents and purposes, Ford's first chief engineer. Wills was noted for his careful engineering and particularly for the emphasis he placed upon development and use of high strength materials for reliability and weight reduction. Extensive use of vanadium alloy steel is credited with much of the T's reputation for toughness, and the material's strongest advocate within Ford was Wills.
Wills' deal with Ford had him earning 10 of Henry Ford's dividends from Ford Motor, eventually capped at $1 million per year. It was an immense amount of money, even by today's standards. In the first years of the century it was a fortune. But in 1919 Ford and Wills had had enough of each other. Wills cashed out, taking a further $1.6 million with him. He was set for life
Set, that is, except that he wanted to build his own automobile incorporating the improvements Ford had rejected. He established a model community around the site of a new factory in Marysville, Michigan, 54 miles up the Saint Clair River from Detroit, to build it. His continuing metallurgical research had discovered that molybdenum made an even stronger steel alloy than vanadium and its extensive use in the car he designed contributed to its light weight. The first Wills Sainte Claire appeared in 1922, powered by an innovative 60 degree 265 cu.in. V8 with shaft driven single overhead cams producing 65 bhp at 3,000 rpm.
Wills, however, indulged his perfectionism now that he was running his own company. The cars were elaborately engineered and Wills would stop production every time he or his staff came up with an improvement. The company was out of business less than two years after production started but Wills reacquired control of it in 1923. In 1925 a six cylinder engine was produced. Intended to be lower cost it still had an overhead camshaft and other advanced features and only one horsepower less than the V8.
All Wills Sainte Claires featured magnetically operated dipping headlight reflectors, a backup light (said to have been instigated by Wills' predilection for backing over fire hydrants) and a courtesy light on the left cowl to aid night time entry and exit.
The market wasn't ready for Wills' concept, however, and even after setting a San Francisco-New York record of less than 3½ days in 1926, Wills Sainte Claire was out of business in 1927. Childe Harold Wills worked as a respected auto industry consultant and Chrysler employee until his death in 1940.
Wills Sainte Claire may have survived for only six model years and produced only 12,200 cars but Bill Ruger recognized in its cars the engineering quality, materials excellence and innovation which characterized his own designs. His collection included two examples of C. Harold Wills' work including the 1925 W6 Roadster offered here.
Bill Ruger purchased his 1925 Wills Sainte Claire W6 Roadster in January 1980 from Robert A. Beebe in Birmingham, Michigan and shortly after commissioned a comprehensive restoration. It has been carefully maintained in climate-controlled storage since and is believed to have covered only some 100 miles in that time. Handsomely presented in beige with black fenders, green leather and a fine beige cloth top and top boot, it has a rumble seat, also upholstered in green leather while the brightwork is finished in nickel. Wills Sainte Claire was one of the first marques to be equipped with four wheel hydraulically-actuated brakes, which this 1925 model has. For easy starting and reliable running it is been fitted with an electric fuel pump, inconspicuously placed below the dash along with an ignition switch. The brake wheel cylinders were all rebuilt by the renowned firm of White Post Restorations in May 2002. Well finished throughout, it shows expected minor evidence of its restoration's age but overall is in exceptional condition.
The Wills' body design is attributed to Al Leamy and complements the light weight and solid construction of the chassis and drivetrain, an attractive and distinctive automobile with the top up or down. The W6 models have a 127" wheelbase which, with lightweight and well controlled axles fitted with Bosch shock absorbers, gives a comfortable and controlled ride even over the sometimes irregular secondary roads of New Hampshire. It is capable of cruising at 55-60 mph.
It is believed that only some fifty Wills Sainte Claires survive, but those that do are among the best engineered and highest quality automobiles of the Twenties and are recognized by the Classic Car Club of America as Full Classics, making them eligible for the full range of CCCA events, tours and shows. This 1925 W6 Roadster, chosen by Bill Ruger to be part of his highly selective collection of superbly engineered automobiles from the most competent and committed designers, is surely one of the best.
WITHOUT RESERVE
FROM THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM B. RUGER
1925 WILLS SAINTE CLAIRE W6 ROADSTER
Chassis No. 20448
Engine No. 20512
Beige with black fenders and green leather upholstery and beige soft top
Engine: single overhead camshaft, in-line, six cylinder, 274ci, 66hp; Gearbox: three-speed manual; Suspension: solid axles with semi-elliptic leaf springs front and rear; Brakes: four wheel hydraulically-actuated drums. Left hand drive.
Childe Harold Wills, a practical engineer whose mother read Byron's epic poetry, was a draftsman in Ford's first car-building venture, the Detroit Automobile Company. Wills rejoined Ford in 1903 at the inception of the Ford Motor Company becoming, to all intents and purposes, Ford's first chief engineer. Wills was noted for his careful engineering and particularly for the emphasis he placed upon development and use of high strength materials for reliability and weight reduction. Extensive use of vanadium alloy steel is credited with much of the T's reputation for toughness, and the material's strongest advocate within Ford was Wills.
Wills' deal with Ford had him earning 10 of Henry Ford's dividends from Ford Motor, eventually capped at $1 million per year. It was an immense amount of money, even by today's standards. In the first years of the century it was a fortune. But in 1919 Ford and Wills had had enough of each other. Wills cashed out, taking a further $1.6 million with him. He was set for life
Set, that is, except that he wanted to build his own automobile incorporating the improvements Ford had rejected. He established a model community around the site of a new factory in Marysville, Michigan, 54 miles up the Saint Clair River from Detroit, to build it. His continuing metallurgical research had discovered that molybdenum made an even stronger steel alloy than vanadium and its extensive use in the car he designed contributed to its light weight. The first Wills Sainte Claire appeared in 1922, powered by an innovative 60 degree 265 cu.in. V8 with shaft driven single overhead cams producing 65 bhp at 3,000 rpm.
Wills, however, indulged his perfectionism now that he was running his own company. The cars were elaborately engineered and Wills would stop production every time he or his staff came up with an improvement. The company was out of business less than two years after production started but Wills reacquired control of it in 1923. In 1925 a six cylinder engine was produced. Intended to be lower cost it still had an overhead camshaft and other advanced features and only one horsepower less than the V8.
All Wills Sainte Claires featured magnetically operated dipping headlight reflectors, a backup light (said to have been instigated by Wills' predilection for backing over fire hydrants) and a courtesy light on the left cowl to aid night time entry and exit.
The market wasn't ready for Wills' concept, however, and even after setting a San Francisco-New York record of less than 3½ days in 1926, Wills Sainte Claire was out of business in 1927. Childe Harold Wills worked as a respected auto industry consultant and Chrysler employee until his death in 1940.
Wills Sainte Claire may have survived for only six model years and produced only 12,200 cars but Bill Ruger recognized in its cars the engineering quality, materials excellence and innovation which characterized his own designs. His collection included two examples of C. Harold Wills' work including the 1925 W6 Roadster offered here.
Bill Ruger purchased his 1925 Wills Sainte Claire W6 Roadster in January 1980 from Robert A. Beebe in Birmingham, Michigan and shortly after commissioned a comprehensive restoration. It has been carefully maintained in climate-controlled storage since and is believed to have covered only some 100 miles in that time. Handsomely presented in beige with black fenders, green leather and a fine beige cloth top and top boot, it has a rumble seat, also upholstered in green leather while the brightwork is finished in nickel. Wills Sainte Claire was one of the first marques to be equipped with four wheel hydraulically-actuated brakes, which this 1925 model has. For easy starting and reliable running it is been fitted with an electric fuel pump, inconspicuously placed below the dash along with an ignition switch. The brake wheel cylinders were all rebuilt by the renowned firm of White Post Restorations in May 2002. Well finished throughout, it shows expected minor evidence of its restoration's age but overall is in exceptional condition.
The Wills' body design is attributed to Al Leamy and complements the light weight and solid construction of the chassis and drivetrain, an attractive and distinctive automobile with the top up or down. The W6 models have a 127" wheelbase which, with lightweight and well controlled axles fitted with Bosch shock absorbers, gives a comfortable and controlled ride even over the sometimes irregular secondary roads of New Hampshire. It is capable of cruising at 55-60 mph.
It is believed that only some fifty Wills Sainte Claires survive, but those that do are among the best engineered and highest quality automobiles of the Twenties and are recognized by the Classic Car Club of America as Full Classics, making them eligible for the full range of CCCA events, tours and shows. This 1925 W6 Roadster, chosen by Bill Ruger to be part of his highly selective collection of superbly engineered automobiles from the most competent and committed designers, is surely one of the best.
WITHOUT RESERVE
Special notice
This lot is offered without reserve.