1910 Sears Motor Buggy

[Big John]

Thanks Ken, you confirmed my thoughts about the speed control and reverse action.  If the center of the flywheel were dished a little you could achieve a true neutral with no additional wear on the friction wheel.  Very cool, thanks again for taking us through this project. 

[kenlwest]

3 hours ago, Big John said:

Thanks Ken, you confirmed my thoughts about the speed control and reverse action.  If the center of the flywheel were dished a little you could achieve a true neutral with no additional wear on the friction wheel.  Very cool, thanks again for taking us through this project. 

The friction wheel can be moved away from the flywheel with one of the hand levers.  I will show the detail on that in the coming days.

[kenlwest]

Here is a picture of the LH side differential housing.  The housing dangles from a frame-mounted bracket, and swivels fore/aft, allowing the friction wheel to engage/disengage from the flywheel.  Also note the castle nut at the end of the shaft.

[kenlwest]

The chassis, minus control levers and cables.  Also a preview of body and seat.

[kenlwest]

Added the axle bearing hubs.

[kenlwest]

Rear chain sprocket with the brake shoes nested inside the drums.

[kenlwest]

The speed control lever.  It moves the friction wheel across the face of the flywheel.

[kenlwest]

The carburetor in place.

[Kenmojr]

On 8/10/2023 at 11:58 AM, kenlwest said:

To all,

Early Automobile subjects are not very common in this forum.  Having worked in Automotive Design for over 35 years, I have always been intrigued with the innovation and development that these early subjects brought to the market.  The Sears Motor Buggy has an interesting story that I hope to tell through this thread.

The Sears Motor Buggy was produced from 1908 through 1912.  The predecessor to the Sears Motor Buggy was the Krotz Motor Buggy.  Alvaro Krotz was an innovator and entrepreneur who left his mark on several industries including telephones and automotive tire development.  When Sears Roebuck decided to get into the auto business, they partnered with Krotz to build the car, and renamed it the Sears Motor Buggy.  Here is a link to the Krotz/Sears story.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/alvaro-krotz

I hope you will find this an interesting build.  There is enough information out there to build a reasonably accurate model. 

What a great and novel idea! I too would love to see more Model Ts and pre Model Ts, earlier cars / horseless carriages. As well as some pre and post era WWII Grand Prix racers.

[kenlwest]

The exhaust system is assembled in 1 piece.

A picture showing the rear deck lid in place.  Also note that the seat rests on a thin wooden platform.

[kenlwest]

Parts to be finished and installed next; listed from top down:

Speed control lever

Tiller handle

Pedal assembly

Tiller column, throttle and ignition timing levers

Umbrella hold down straps

Clutch lever

Starter crank handle

Pedals

Oil cups and spark plugs

Steering rod

Flywheel guard

Ignition box

[kenlwest]

Tonight I printed the top, (called an umbrella back in the day).

 

[kenlwest]

Here are the top hold down straps, with brackets and buckles.

[kenlwest]

Using the top as a fixture to assemble the bows and hardware.

[kenlwest]

A quick check to see how to top fits the seat.

[NOBLNG]

Absolutely amazing amount of detail you are putting into this piece Ken! I sure wish I had your CAD skills.? That drive system is still very popular today in snowblowers. The friction wheel crossing over the center line of the drive disc reverses the direction of travel. Super nice work you are doing!?

Edited August 31, 2023 by NOBLNG

[Rattlecan Dan]

Outstanding! Astounding dedication to accuracy and detail. My complete admiration to your build and skills.

[OldNYJim]

Amazing work!  I bet that roof and the seat were NO walk in the park to model.  Nice job!

[kenlwest]

Assembled the exhaust, brake cables, pedal bar, starter crank, and speed lever.

[kenlwest]

Control column and steering tiller.

[kenlwest]

Drag link is in place.  Also, if you look close, you can see the spark plugs, and the cylinder oil cups.

[kenlwest]

May be hard to see, but the timing and throttle rods are in place.  Please ignore the bad paint on top of the frame.. that will be covered by the body.

[kenlwest]

The speed control wheel disengagement rods are in place.  These rods are pushed rearward by depressing the left pedal on the floorboard, thereby pushing the speed control wheel away from the flywheel (cutting power to the rear wheels).

[kenlwest]

Left side fenders and step.

[kenlwest]

It's starting to take form.