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Old 02-09-2017, 04:34 AM   #1
reggiedog
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Question The Jeffery Automobile Company

Has any one ever seen one of the Jeffery Auto's or maybe has one of them as they were only built from 1914 to 1917 in Kenosha, WI. And no I'm NOT looking to buy one I was just wondering if there actually still around anymore or if the earth took them like allot of these old cars they just sink into the dirt and there gone.

As these cars have to be very rare to have one of them and worth allot of money.

And I do know that the company was called Rambler before it was called the Jeffery and Co as the name change after the owner died and then the son changed the name in honor of his Dad.

And then I don't know as to when this happened but Nash Automobile Co at some point bought them out but I don't know if Nash kept the Jeffery Auto's going for a while or not but I would like to find that out.

So if anyone knows anything about the Jeffery cars let me know.

Thanks Reggiedog
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Old 02-09-2017, 04:40 AM   #2
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

Here's something:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_armored_car
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffery_armored_car
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Old 02-09-2017, 05:12 AM   #3
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

Thanks I was just headed that way but you beat me to it but as far as I can tell this car is a no go as in the US there just isn't any of them around anymore I wish as I would love to see one of them close up to find out the difference between those cars and the Model A's or T's I should say.
And to see who was more up to date on there car building as everyone thinks it was Henry Ford but I've been finding stuff that he was way behind on building some of his own cars but he was the first to start the actual assembely line so I got to give him credit for that as that was a major feat in itself back then.

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Old 02-09-2017, 05:58 AM   #4
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

There was, may be still is, a 1916 tourer here restored RHD.

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Old 02-09-2017, 07:36 AM   #5
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

Quote:
Originally Posted by reggiedog View Post
.....And to see who was more up to date on there car building as everyone thinks it was Henry Ford but I've been finding stuff that he was way behind on building some of his own cars but he was the first to start the actual assembely line so I got to give him credit for that as that was a major feat in itself.......
This article credits both Olds and Jeffery with building their cars on assembly lines before Ford.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thom...effery_Company
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Old 02-09-2017, 08:19 AM   #6
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As these cars have to be very rare to have one of them and worth allot of money.


believe it or not- not everyone wants an "orphan" car
most parts have to be machined, as there arent any. so it becomes quite difficult to restore one.

that is the beauty of the model A.............
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Old 02-09-2017, 08:23 AM   #7
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company



Car of the Week: 1916 Jeffery Touring

By: bearnest | May 5, 2014

2


By Steve Jansen
Charles T. Jeffery was a bicycle manufacturer in 1887 and sold bikes under the name Rambler. After apparently becoming bored with the business, he sold his bicycle plant but kept the Rambler name.
In 1898, he and his son Thomas designed their first automobile. In 1904 the first Model ‘L’ went into production using the Rambler name. Following Oldsmobile, they were the second company to use the assembly line method. (Ford didn’t use this method until 1908 with the Model T). The Jeffery Company was the first to replace the tiller with a steering wheel. It also took the engine and placed it in the front instead of under the seat.
In 1910, Charles Jeffery died, but Thomas continued to build Rambler autos. In 1914, to honor his father, Thomas introduced a new model and named it the Jeffery. This model was produced from 1914-1916 and it is estimated that 1,350 cars were built.


After Durant was rehired for the third time by General Motors, the CEO of GM decided to resign and buy his own auto factory. His name was Charles Nash. He purchased the factory in August of 1916. Since the Rambler name came with the sale, he changed the Jeffery logo to what we know today. This same model was continued under the Rambler logo until 1918, when a new model was introduced.
We have all heard the stories about “barn finds,” but this one is a little different. Judging from the VIN numbers, it looks like this car was built sometime in July of 1916. The history only dates back to 1964 when it was purchased and at that time the owner installed a new top (it was never taken out of the tonneau). The owner who bought the car after its barn stay had the jump seats redone and had the Speedo rebuilt. Since he didn’t know how long it had been broken he had it reset to zero. We know it read 7,600 miles when it broke. The man then took it on a short tour with his neighbor, who also owned a 1914 Jeffery. This tour was just short of 100 miles. The next time was a parade when the starter quit with a speedo reading of 103 miles.
It was determined that the starter switch was bad. After trying to get it to work, he gave up and pushed the car to the back of his garage and it soon became his storage center. It had so much piled on it that the car was virtually forgotten. After the owner’s death in 2005, the car was sold. The new owner tried to fix this switch, but gave up and also put it into storage. This owner died in January 2013 and the car was hauled to the California Auto Museum to be sold on consignment. That’s when I purchased it. The speedo still showed 103 miles.

This starter switch in question is a Bijur. I had never seen one before. This switch is the reason the car has so few miles and probably why I have it today. It is a heal start switch, meaning you press it down with your heal. It is both electrical and mechanical; as the button is pressed, there is a resistor dropping the 6-volt system down to 3 volts, turning the starter very slowly. The mechanical arm engages the drive gear into the ring gear to avoid a clash. At the same time they mesh together, 6 volts are applied to the starter. This is a 6-volt positive ground system with voltage always applied to the starter, then a second cable leaves the starter and terminates on the switch to complete the circuit.
After my repairs were made, the compression was checked and all cylinders had the same compression of about 15 lbs. I was then able to scope the cylinders and found the hone marks still on the cylinders and no ring ridge. I scoped the crank case and to my surprise everything was still shiney. I changed the perfectly still-clean old oil and and put Marvel Mystery oil both in the crank case and cylinders. I cranked her over a few times for about three days and then again checked the compression. It was up to 25 lbs. At that point, I filled the vacuum fuel pump with gas and the old girl that sat for 50 years fired right up.

It took about three days to rebuild the fuel pump, clean the gas tank and seal it. While doing this, I ran the car about 20 minutes using the old technique of the gas can on the seat with a hose to the carburetor. Today, one year and almost 500 miles later, the compression is sitting at 50-55 lbs.
The car came with three of the original Firestone non-skid tires and two of them still had the red tubes. The 34 x 4 tires are getting hard to find, so I switched to period correct Goodrich tires. With a few minor exceptions, the old girl has been trouble free and starts right up every time.

Jeffery owned 50 percent of the Seaman body company and Seaman supplied the body for this car. When Nash purchased Jeffery he purchased the other half of Seaman, which continued the Nash bodies until the end of production.
The last time that I checked the Nash roster, this is the only 1916 Jeffery listed. It sold new for $1,000 plus another $35 for the jump seats that made it a “7 Passenger Touring.” The engine and transmission were built by Jeffery, which makes it a manufactured and not an assembled automobile.
I don’t know for sure that this is the last 1916 Jeffery in the world, but it sure sounds like it. Of course, you don’t ever know what might show up on eBay.

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Old 02-09-2017, 08:34 AM   #8
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Now thats a heck of a car and a great story !
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Old 02-09-2017, 09:51 AM   #9
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Thanks for sharing. Indeed a great story and a very nice classic auto!
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Old 02-09-2017, 09:56 AM   #10
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

Didn't Jeffery also build trucks for the military around WW1? I thank I remember my grandfather talking about using them while chasing Poncho Villa along the border just before we interred WW1. I may be mistaken on the name though.
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Old 02-09-2017, 10:51 AM   #11
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

Great story! I had never heard of Jeffery before, but I have heard of the old (1st) Rambler, but never realized there was any connection between the original and the later Nash-Rambler. Thanks for posting!
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Old 02-09-2017, 11:05 AM   #12
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

Ron:

Do you live in the US if so what state and do you still own the car today as I would love to see it as I have a Late 31 Deluxe Tudor Model A and I have always been interested in the Jeffery cars reason is my name is Jeff.

And it's spelt the same as the car is but I didn't know all of the information that you sent on here as I have some of the info that you have on there but not all of it and I love the story that go's with it.

And yes Jeffery did make stuff for the military for ww1 as I have pictures of some of the vehicles that Jeffery company made and the link for them is still on here it's right below Reggiedog right on top as I'm the 1 that started this.

But Ron I have a question for you also now you don't have to tell me but I'm just curious here now you said you owned the car since 2013 so you still own it today and you said part of what you had to the car so your saying the paint job on the car is also original or did you or someone else have to repaint it over the years.

I know you said something about the fabric being replaced so since you owned the car and getting the car running is that all you had to do to the car as with my car I had to take it to the frame and start all over from the start as I'm still doing that today.

Thanks let me know Reggiedog
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Old 02-09-2017, 11:43 AM   #13
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Great, cool story. Thank you for sharing that with us.
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Old 02-09-2017, 11:45 AM   #14
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sorry Reggie, I dont own the car........... as you see, it is a featured story I found on the internet, as you were asking if any existed.............
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Old 02-09-2017, 12:51 PM   #15
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

It's amazing to research how many automobile manufacturers there were back in those early days. American Ingenuity at it's BEST!
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Old 02-09-2017, 12:52 PM   #16
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

The text of the magazine article says that he took this car on a tour with a neighbor that had a 1914 Jeffery, so there must be at least two of them still around.
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Old 02-09-2017, 02:19 PM   #17
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http://theoldmotor.com/?p=70515
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Old 02-09-2017, 03:18 PM   #18
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

Ron:

I get it now; So now the question go's out to everyone that owns one of these fine old cars.

What I was asking is this about how much do this cars go for now a days since they all sold for over a 1,000.00 new I was just wandering on how much they all go for now in todays market in the US.

Or where ever doesn't mater what country as it would be kind of neat to know what they all cost in different country's in todays market that is.

Reggiedog

Last edited by reggiedog; 02-09-2017 at 03:25 PM.
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Old 02-09-2017, 05:38 PM   #19
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

Reggiedog, you might have already done this but if you bring up Jeffery Automobile in the internet there are so many articles and different pictures of the Jeffery.Thomas Jeffery is even in the Automobile Hall of Fame.
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Old 02-09-2017, 08:22 PM   #20
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

This is the RHD 1916 one.



The body is also by Seaman which is unusual here as most bodies seem to have been built locally at that time.

"Drive" is worth reading on the early days.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-r...ne/drive-ford/
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Old 02-10-2017, 06:49 AM   #21
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I do service work for a collector in Santa Cruz who has a 1914 Jeffery with the big 6 cylinder engine. It's an amazingly well engineered car. One of the fascinating aspects of it is the starter: The flywheel is wound as an armature, and the flywheel housing is wound with field coils. It has four 6volt batteries and a switch that you use to select whether they are connected in series for starting ( 24volts) and parallel for running at 6 volts. when you step on the starter, the engine just starts turning over, with no starter motor or ring gear noise. Its quite powerful too. I rebuilt the transmission and was super pleased with the attention to detail and the fine finishes to the machine work. Every nut and bolt is finely detailed and obviously made by hand. The owner is thinning his herd and told me he would sell it, as I was interested in it once. New, it was as expensive as a Cadillac. He is asking $125K for it, which is less than half what a '14 Cadillac would sell for. Its in concours condition, restored from a very low mileage original and has the optional Rudge wire wheels.

Last edited by pat in Santa Cruz; 02-10-2017 at 07:09 AM.
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Old 02-10-2017, 07:13 AM   #22
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Ron:

I get it now; So now the question go's out to everyone that owns one of these fine old cars.

What I was asking is this about how much do this cars go for now a days since they all sold for over a 1,000.00 new I was just wandering on how much they all go for now in todays market in the US.

Or where ever doesn't mater what country as it would be kind of neat to know what they all cost in different country's in todays market that is.

Reggiedog
Last edited by reggiedog; Yesterday at 03:25 PM.

with so few of them out there- it is very difficult to put a price on one.
but as I mentioned, just because it is rare, doesnt necessarily translate into value. Orphan type cars are all over the place.
As an example, A Tucker is extremely rare and goes well over a million. Cars from the mid teens dont have nearly the following, but of course an early Mercer raceabout can sell for a couple of million. A 1916 Mercer touring sold at the AACA auction at Hershey for 67k in the fall, which is a very desireable car. But since it is only the touring, has nowhere near the value of the raceabout...........

so it's anyones guess, but not as much as you might think.




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Old 02-10-2017, 01:04 PM   #23
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Ron,

So it really could be anywhere in that price range or higher then that.

Reggiedog
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Old 06-19-2021, 12:38 PM   #24
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Default Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

I saw one at Hershey 30+ years ago. I wish that I had snapped a picture of it.
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Old 06-20-2021, 07:10 AM   #25
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Old 06-20-2021, 02:06 PM   #26
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Sweet!
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Old 06-20-2021, 04:02 PM   #27
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definitely not factory, but still great lines!
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Old 06-20-2021, 04:08 PM   #28
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https://m.facebook.com/WisconsinAuto...57&__tn__=EH-R

The Wisconsin Automobile Museum in Hartford, WI used to have 1917 Jeffery on exhibit. It also explains how they were purchased by Nash.
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Old 06-20-2021, 06:20 PM   #29
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Smile Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

Now that is something to think about, and what a great picture of the car wish I had one myself.

Reggiedog
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Old 06-22-2021, 09:02 AM   #30
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Smile Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

Just curious here after Nash bought the Jeffery Automobile Company out, how long did Nash Motor Company last after that, and than again who bought Nash Automobile Company out and what year was that.

That they bought the Jeffery Company out, and than when was the Nash Company was Bought out what year. was that some say it was Ford that Bought them out and then some say it was Chevy that bought them out so who was it?.

And what years did all of that happen first the Jeffery Company and then the Nash Company, as the Jeffery Company only lasted 4 years I think before they were bought out by Nash and then who bought Nash out.

I'm too young to know this stuff but I would really like to know this stuff

Reggiedog
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Old 06-22-2021, 11:26 AM   #31
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_Motors
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Old 06-22-2021, 12:54 PM   #32
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Smile Re: The Jeffery Automobile Company

Katy,

Thanks for the info that's a big help in my studies as I have been working on the Ford Plant in Milwaukee, WI. as that's been a lot of fun also I just started the Jeffery and Nash Company's.

And this will be a big help in my studies of the two Companies.

Thanks again Reggiedog
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