Vehicle Description
At the turn of the last centuries, from the 1800's to the 1900's
America was a vast and largely empty country. There were pockets of
industry in the Northeast and the upper Midwest but the rest of the
country was agrarian with small pockets of habitation separated by
square miles of homestead land and barely above subsistence level
farms. Offers welcome and trades considered As Amazon
revolutionized commerce in the early 21st Century, commerce a
century ago was revolutionized by Sears, Roebuck and Company. Its
voluminous catalog, 532 pages in1895, was the source of items that
small general retailers couldn't stock while also serving a
well-known alternate function in outhouses. Sears, as it was known,
offered to supply nearly everything a family, ranch or farm needed,
arriving reliably at Post Offices or Railway Express depots that
were ubiquitous throughout America's network of railroad tracks.
Roads, as we know them today, did not exist between the coasts.
There were wagon tracks across the prairies, etched by years of
horse- and oxen-drawn wagons where potholes and high centers were
the norm. Into this environment Sears, Roebuck introduced its first
automobile in 1908, a simple buggy-based vehicle, a high-wheeler
with an opposed 2-cylinder engine and an ingenious infinitely
variable friction transmission. The wood spoke wheels were huge,
creating generous road clearance. Sears vehicles arrived at Railway
Express depots knocked down and crated with detailed assembly
instructions that could be effected by a mechanically inclined
farmer with the screwdrivers and monkey wrenches every farm in the
period had. It was a buggy-styled vehicle that was familiar to its
audience, but without expense of maintaining the horse when it
wasn't working. Sears, Roebuck offered their Motor Buggy from 1908
to 1912 making this 1913-dated Sears Model K one of the last built.
It has been thoroughly restored with a red chassis and wheels, dark
green body with gold striping and the standard features of the
Model K, top of the line for the Sears with green painted fenders
(with red inside the fenders), running boards and a cover over the
handy utility body for groceries and bags of feed behind the buggy
seat. It has the 14 horsepower 127 cubic inch air cooled opposed
twin engine and infinitely variable ratio friction drive
transmission with dual chain drive to the rear wheels. "Cushion"
rubber tires are a distinguishing feature of the Model K (another
$20 to the $475 price would have added pneumatic tires). The engine
and undercarriage are in clean, orderly condition, with a light
patina that is appropriate for the age and quality of the
restoration. Steering is by a tiller with a bulb horn on it from
the lefthand side of the leather upholstered seat. Instrumentation
is confined to a clock. There are black-painted brass kerosene
lamps and a similarly black-painted tail and utility light. A badge
on the body identifies it as equipped with a "Motsinger Faultless
Plug Switch" to choose between a pair of batteries or a battery and
a magneto. Sears Motor Buggies were, in essence, agricultural
machinery. Designed and constructed to be built and maintained by
tech-savvy (not a term used in 1913, but nonetheless applicable)
farmers, their restorations are usually consistent with harvesters
and tractors. This Sears is better that that. There are a few
cracks on the wooden body panels and some of the iron pieces are
thoroughly repainted but show evidence of prior pitting. The seat
upholstery shows some use and the top, probably a later addition
that is not included in the Model K's standard specification, is
sound but older. The patent leather dashboard (the shield in front
of the occupants' feet that traces right back to horse drawn
buggies where the dashboard deflected dirt thrown up by horses'
hooves) is in excellent condition. It is indisputable that taking a
ride or participating in a parade will make every onlooker smile.
On display the infinitely variable friction transmission and
otherwise simple mechanics will fascinate spectators. It is a
fascinating piece of American history, a rare and charming machine
from a bustling period for the American motoring industry when
everyone from barnyard engineers to the nation's most successful
retailer tried their hand at the automobile business. For
additional details please view this listing directly on our website
https://hymanltd.com/vehicles/7644-1913-sears-model-k-motor-buggy/
