1911 Sears Motor Buggy Model G Runabout

1911 Other Makes Sears Motor Buggy - Horseless Carriage Additional Info:

I am selling my 1911 Sears Motor Buggy. I acquired the little car about four years ago from an old-time collector in Amarillo, Texas. The car was displayed for several years in the Museum of the Plains in Canyon, Texas. The chassis number is 3370 and the engine number is 4370. The air-cooled 14 horsepower engine is of the rarer offset variety, which was used late in production by Sears & Roebuck.

The car was assembled in Chicago, Illinois in 1911. Period sales literature spoke of the car being ordered by the customer from the Sears catalog and it being shipped in a crate to your local railroad depot where you had to put it together in front of curious onlookers. Once together, you added oil (which came with the car) and some gasoline from the general store, cranked it, and waved to the crowd as you drove away. I wonder how many of these cars were towed home behind an old horse to be started up in private (lol).

The little car runs and I have driven it on occasion for short distances. However, it is a rare car for which parts are generally unavailable so I am very protective of her engine (meaning that she stays in static display most of the time). Yes, she leaks oil (it is an oil loss system like most other cars of the period). I do not know when, of if, anyone has attempted a rebuild of the engine. I suspect that the car was found in the early 1960s and brought to running condition then. Since acquiring the car, my main focus was to clean up and stabilize the mechanicals as best I could.

The car has tiller steering, which is tricky at times because modern drivers (aka me) have a tendency to overcompensate. It has the original spark lever. The throttle lever was missing when I purchased the car, so I created one based on help from other Sears owners.

The wooden body appears to be a mixture of old and new wood. It is fairly sturdy, but the paint is showing its 30-40 year age. It has cracks and scratches in many places. I have touched up what I could over time. I call it “patina.” The body is very lightweight.

The black vinyl upholstery is in good shape and is comfortable for a buggy. It looks good with the car and looks fairly correct for the car. I added the folding top a couple of years ago. The Model G runabout was the least expensive option that Sears offered. It did not come with a top; however, the Texas sun gets hot in the summer and I think it adds a lot of “old timey character” to the car.

In addition to the above, I have done the following to the car:

• Cleaned the Kinwood mechanical oiler and fitted the engine with new oil lines and fittings

• Had the original gas tank cleaned and sealed (it sits under the seat on the passenger side)

• Since the original ignition system was gone, I created a new one based on a brass-era wooden Model T Ford coil box and two coils (one for each cylinder). It works well. The car runs off a battery located under the seat and connected into the coil box.

• The original fiber disk friction wheel was worn out, so I replaced it with a new one from Paper Pulleys in Columbus, Tennessee

• The original wood wheels were dried out from sitting in West Texas for decades. I had a wagon wheelwright make me some new ones using the original hubs and other salvageable hardware. Like the original wheels, the new wheels have solid rubber tires.

• When I got the car, someone had clumsily installed a 1920s Holley NH carburetor on the car. I replaced it with a correct brass Schebler D carburetor.

• I installed diamond pattern rubber floor mats

• The car had no lamps when I acquired it, so I fitted a period correct license plate bracket and installed three reproduction E&J kerosene lights (two lamps on the front plus a tail lamp)

• I replaced all the wiring on the car

• I added a Sears-style horn fabricated from a period curved-dash Oldsmobile horn

• I added a correct Motziger ignition switch (non-functioning)

The buyer will inherit what Sears spare parts I have gathered up including spare brand new wheel bearings (which have been obsolete for decades and are extremely difficult to find), a leaf spring and a muffler. I will also toss in several spare Schebler D carburetors that can be used for parts in the future if you need them.

The little car will come with several frames of Sears Motor Buggy literature that I have collected. These advertisements are extremely difficult to find and are a literal treasure in and of themselves.

The car comes with a BILL OF SALE only. That is the way it was sold to me and the caretakers that came before me. Car is sold on an “as-is where-is” basis, no warranties implied or guaranteed. It is a 106-year old vehicle.

I hope that you will consider bidding on the little car. She needs a new caretaker. I have approximately $38,000 in the car. I am selling the car to thin the herd. At six antique cars, the regular maintenance is becoming a full-time weekend job. Time to downsize a bit.

Car is being listed on multiple sites. I reserve the right to end this listing early.

Thank you for looking!