1907 Brush Model BC Runabout

Description

BEING SOLD WITH TITLE

• 1 of 1 Prototype/Debut 1st Year of Brush
• Runs and Drives
• Overall in good condition on Older Restoration
• Touted as ”Everyman’s Car”
• Wooden Chassis and Axles
• 6HP 1 Cylinder Engine
• Two Gas-Powered Headlamps
• Gas-Powered Light in the Rear
• 60-Inch Tread
• Heavily Documented!

A whopping $485 would buy you this Runabout back in 1907. Don’t you wish cars cost that much today? This Model BC sports a bright red paint body with a deep maroon chassis and black leather seat and top — all in good to very good condition. This car runs and drives, and the brass is in very good condition. 

These Brush models were built with a wooden chassis and even wooden axles in a time when they were losing favor, but this one is in good shape, showing no visual signs of stress. One interesting and thoughtful note was that Brush designed his 6-horsepower single-cylinder engines to run counter-clockwise to make hand-cranking it safer on the user. This is a cool piece of history that shows the ingenuity of those early inventors.

The American company Brush Motor Car Company operated from 1907-13. The company was founded by Alanson Partridge Brush who designed a light car with a wooden chassis (wooden rails and iron cross-members), friction drive transmission and ‘underslung’ coil springs in tension instead of compression on both sides of each axle. The frame, axles, and wheels were made of oak, hickory, or maple, and were either left plain or painted to match the trim. Powered by a water-cooled single cylinder engine They were an entry level car, simple, reliable, and easy to operate.

Two gas-powered headlamps provided light, along with a gas-powered light in the rear. The frame, axles, and wheels were made of oak, hickory, or maple, and were either left plain or painted to match the trim. Wider axles were available for use in the Southern region of the United States, where a 60-inch tread fit wagon ruts on country roads. The horn was located next to the engine cover, with a metal tube running to a squeeze bulb affixed near the driver. A small storage area was provided in the rear, with a drawer accessible under the rear of the seat.

According to a contemporary review from Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal in 1907, author Hugh Dolnar described the recently introduced Brush as a “…very, very new and also very, very old, as will be seen from the detailed construction illustrations below…” In his critique of the Brush, Dolnar was referencing the decision to use wooden axles.

In addition to the Runabout, Brush advertised a $600 “Package Car” (also advertised as the “Delivery Car”) based on the same chassis as the runabout. Also offered was a “Coupe” model for $850. It is unknown how many (if any at all) of these models were ever produced or sold by Brush.

Details

• Stock # 363084
• Engine 6 HP
• Trans Automatic
• Mileage N/A
• VIN 363084
• Exterior Color Red
• Interior Color Black Leather
• Drivetrain RWD
• Condition Used
• Year 1907
• Make Brush
• Model Model BC
• Style Runabout
• Engine Cylinders 1