- Rare Flint, Michigan, make
- Complete 500-hour restoration
- Comely Cloverleaf roadster
J. Dallas Dort was a good friend of William C. Durant. The pair
created the Flint Road Car Company in their Michigan city in 1886.
The firm evolved into the Durant-Dort Carriage Company, from which
"Billy" Durant side-stepped to Buick and then went on to head
General Motors, not once, but twice. The two remained close, even
as Dort, a confirmed carriage builder, stuck with horse-drawn
transport.
By 1915, however, he had become sufficiently interested in and
familiar with the car business that he created the Dort Motor Car
Company and hired Etienne Planche, who had helped to build the
first Chevrolet, as chief engineer. Production of a 105-inch
wheelbase, 17 hp Lycoming-powered four-cylinder touring car began
that year. More body styles, including a comely Cloverleaf
roadster, arrived for 1917. Priced around $1,000, Dorts sold in the
middle of Buick's price spectrum, though in nowhere near the
quantity. Production lasted through 1924. The following year Dort
sold his factory to A.C. Spark Plug, which was not yet part of
General Motors.
The Merrick Auto Museum purchased this Model 11 Dort Cloverleaf
roadster from Michael Leith of Zebulon, North Carolina, in 1998.
Painted in rich maroon with black fenders, it has new black leather
pleated upholstery and a full black canvas touring top. It is
powered by a Lycoming Model K 35-horsepower L-head four-cylinder
engine. Recipient of a 500-plus-hour restoration, it has 30 � 3�
Wards Riverside tires on wood artillery wheels, with a rear-mounted
spare.
Dort cars are sufficiently obscure that many have not heard of
them. Many of those who know the name have never seen a real car.
This Dort's new owner will almost certainly have the only one in
the neighborhood.To view this car and others currently consigned to
this auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/hf19.
