*1908 Model S "Gunboat Runabout" period speedster*
Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:43 pm
I had originally posted this car in a another day in another thread on N, R and S aftermarket bodies. I didn’t want to really hijack the thread, so I figured I would move that to its own thread for some history, as several asked about it.
My 1908 Model S roadster was converted into this little “Gunboat Runabout” as I call it between 1912 and 1914 by Winslow Shelby Pierce Jr (1894-1950) when he was 17. The car is heavily modified and sports a number of homemade additions and improvements that Winslow patented including the suspension and his own spring loaded cotter pins. We believe that (according to a few stories) the car was originally fitted with a 1907-'09 era Stevens-Duryea small 4cyl and transmission (like the Model XXX 30hp) that came from the family's older car at first but was swapped for an early RHD T engine later on in the late 1960s when the Stevens engine was taken by a local museum Curator, then denied.
The car was finished off with a Wood framed body, skinned in hardware cloth, cotton batting and canvas that was doped and painted battleship grey with a red chassis. Winslow gave it the name “Betelgeuse”. Winslow went on to marry in 1921 and started working for Timken Bearing Co. as an Engineer in 1925. He owned and drove “Betelgeuse” almost daily until his death in 1950. It was then given to his home town Heritage museum that kept it for a time and sold it. It vanished for almost 50 years before surfacing at the Hershey swap meet in 2002 when fellow member Dan Haynes purchased it. It was passed on to me in 2018.
Winslow Pierce Jr was the sone of Winslow Shelby Pierce Sr. (1857-1938) who was a prominent attorney for the railroad industry. Specializing in corporate law, he represented Missouri Pacific Railway Company, Texas and Pacific Railway Company, St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company and Union Pacific RR Company, for each of which he is general counsel. He was able to purchase a huge estate in Bayville (Long Island) NY (Not far from Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill, so there is a good bet Teddy saw this car a time or two) and build an 80 room mansion called “Dunstable” there in 1903. The Carriage house at “Dunstable” is where “Betelgeuse” was built and apparently still stands today as a museum.
W.S. Pierce Sr
"Dunstable"
His grandfather, Winslow Smith Pierce (1819-1888) was born in Boston and an early California pioneer. He was a doctor educated at Harvard Medical School. He later moved to California in 1849 and served as the first California State Comptroller from 1849-’53. He turned down the Democratic Nomination for US Senate in 1860 and returned to Illinois. He invested in Coal and Steel and built a large fortune.
The Goal with the car is to return it as close to its 1912-’14 appearance as I can. It may get a slight color change (two tone gray with red striping) just to break up the battleship grey a little, but I have not decided yet. If any has or knows of any period photos of this car, I would love to see them for my research.
The car also came with this wild T cylinder head that Dan and I can't find much on. Its a Rotory Valve head and a design i have not seen before.
It consists of a two-piece head that contains a spiral gear drive shaft that runs off the nose of the cam via special timing cover and bevel gear shaft drive, which spins four round vertical rotors that each seal against an inner combustion chamber casting.
Upper Head and rotors
Lower Head and chambers
These rotors are sealed with spring loaded "Rings" and seats on the inner chambers. The openings on the carefully timed rotors will line up with the ports in the head and inner chambers to allow fuel/air in, or exhaust out. a Stock T timer is run off the back of the Rotor drive shaft up against the firewall.
Based on the patent info Dan found for it, this appears to be (and I feel it most likely is) the Patent Prototype for the patent office and may be the only one. Eventually I want to get this on a motor to test run as I really want to hear it!
I do not believe it was on the S as its too big for the engine bay.
My 1908 Model S roadster was converted into this little “Gunboat Runabout” as I call it between 1912 and 1914 by Winslow Shelby Pierce Jr (1894-1950) when he was 17. The car is heavily modified and sports a number of homemade additions and improvements that Winslow patented including the suspension and his own spring loaded cotter pins. We believe that (according to a few stories) the car was originally fitted with a 1907-'09 era Stevens-Duryea small 4cyl and transmission (like the Model XXX 30hp) that came from the family's older car at first but was swapped for an early RHD T engine later on in the late 1960s when the Stevens engine was taken by a local museum Curator, then denied.
The car was finished off with a Wood framed body, skinned in hardware cloth, cotton batting and canvas that was doped and painted battleship grey with a red chassis. Winslow gave it the name “Betelgeuse”. Winslow went on to marry in 1921 and started working for Timken Bearing Co. as an Engineer in 1925. He owned and drove “Betelgeuse” almost daily until his death in 1950. It was then given to his home town Heritage museum that kept it for a time and sold it. It vanished for almost 50 years before surfacing at the Hershey swap meet in 2002 when fellow member Dan Haynes purchased it. It was passed on to me in 2018.
Winslow Pierce Jr was the sone of Winslow Shelby Pierce Sr. (1857-1938) who was a prominent attorney for the railroad industry. Specializing in corporate law, he represented Missouri Pacific Railway Company, Texas and Pacific Railway Company, St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company and Union Pacific RR Company, for each of which he is general counsel. He was able to purchase a huge estate in Bayville (Long Island) NY (Not far from Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill, so there is a good bet Teddy saw this car a time or two) and build an 80 room mansion called “Dunstable” there in 1903. The Carriage house at “Dunstable” is where “Betelgeuse” was built and apparently still stands today as a museum.
W.S. Pierce Sr
"Dunstable"
His grandfather, Winslow Smith Pierce (1819-1888) was born in Boston and an early California pioneer. He was a doctor educated at Harvard Medical School. He later moved to California in 1849 and served as the first California State Comptroller from 1849-’53. He turned down the Democratic Nomination for US Senate in 1860 and returned to Illinois. He invested in Coal and Steel and built a large fortune.
The Goal with the car is to return it as close to its 1912-’14 appearance as I can. It may get a slight color change (two tone gray with red striping) just to break up the battleship grey a little, but I have not decided yet. If any has or knows of any period photos of this car, I would love to see them for my research.
The car also came with this wild T cylinder head that Dan and I can't find much on. Its a Rotory Valve head and a design i have not seen before.
It consists of a two-piece head that contains a spiral gear drive shaft that runs off the nose of the cam via special timing cover and bevel gear shaft drive, which spins four round vertical rotors that each seal against an inner combustion chamber casting.
Upper Head and rotors
Lower Head and chambers
These rotors are sealed with spring loaded "Rings" and seats on the inner chambers. The openings on the carefully timed rotors will line up with the ports in the head and inner chambers to allow fuel/air in, or exhaust out. a Stock T timer is run off the back of the Rotor drive shaft up against the firewall.
Based on the patent info Dan found for it, this appears to be (and I feel it most likely is) the Patent Prototype for the patent office and may be the only one. Eventually I want to get this on a motor to test run as I really want to hear it!
I do not believe it was on the S as its too big for the engine bay.
