My Mechanix Illustrated collection has been growing lately, mostly filling gaps in the 1950s and 1960s, but I’ve also been adding some issues from the magazine’s predecessor, Modern Mechanix, and finding awesome little nuggets of information in ’em all. One of the more recent additions was this Modern Mechanix issue from December 1936, which includes gems such as the above photo, which depicts Ben Harris and his homebuilt front-wheel-drive car.
Designed to serve as an example of artistic and functional design as well as mechanical ability, a newly developed auto attains a speed of 110 m.p.h., and is said to travel 30 miles on a gallon of gasoline. It was designed by Benjamin F. Harris III, an industrial engineer in Chicago, Illinois.
Three years time was required to construct the car which incorporated many novel features. It is equipped with a front drive transmission and has independently sprung rear wheels. Fully retractable headlights and an exhaust aperture built into the body reduce air resistance.
The powerplant is a specially built V-8, geared engine equipped with two carburetors. The auto weighs 1,500 pounds and is 12 feet long, 5 feet wide. With a wheelbase of 86 inches, the wheel tread is 50 inches. The auto has remotely controlled filler caps and concealed hood latches and locks.
AutoPuzzles.com has an archived thread with more information about the Harris Streamline Special. Apparently, the car still exists!
Next up, a car that probably isn’t still around, Bill Simmermon’s plywood car from Williamstown, New Jersey. From his letter to the editor:
I am sending some photos of a little car I recently built from ideas obtained from MM combined with some of my own.
The little car has been approved by the Motor Vehicle Department here. It is powered by a Briggs and Stratton washing machine motor, and does from 14 to 16 m.p.h. on good road.
The body consists of three pieces of plywood, the doors, windows, and other openings being cut out after assembly. I will be glad to answer any questions your readers may care to ask with reference to my little car.
We actually mentioned this vehicle, albeit briefly, in a recent post. It’s W. Everett Miller’s Arrowhead, built by Advance Auto Body Works of Los Angeles, the same coachbuilder that produced the Studebaker RV. We went on a brief hunt for a photo and more information then, but didn’t turn up much, even though it’s allegedly still around.
Resembling a tear drop in its ultra-streamlined shape, a novel automobile has been developed by W.E. Miller, a Los Angeles, Calif., designer. The latest discoveries in streamlining and auto designs have been incorporated in the construction of the car. The auto, used for advertising purposes, has seats for three persons. The body is mounted on a three-wheeled chassis.
The car got its name – and the text on its fin – from the Arrowhead Spring Water Company. The caption for the photo notes that it cost $8,000 to build.
Finally, some ads of interest: above, for Harley-Davidson…
…for the Smith compressor head for Ford Model A four-cylinder engines…
…and finally, for the Typhoon supercharger for the Ford flathead V-8. Apparently, it was less a supercharger and more an air cleaner scoop.
