1910 Oakland Series 40 Model K Touring

Established in 1907, the Oakland Motor Car Company was the descendant of the Pontiac Buggy Company, located in the Michigan community of the same name. By the time this 1910 model left the factory, Oakland had been part of William Durant's fledging General Motors Corporation for about a year. Although it was ambitiously priced at $1700 - more than twice the cost of a new Ford Model T - the Model K was regarded as a good value. Oakland's success was a bright spot in Durant's tumultuous empire, but not bright enough. With GM seriously overextended, in 1910, the board of directors called for Durant to step aside. Like other GM divisions, Oakland spawned a subsidiary brand, in 1926, named Pontiac. Unlike the others, the subsidiary survived the parent, and in 1931 the Oakland brand was discontinued. The Model K was a big touring car, weighing 2,250 pounds, propelled by a four-cylinder engine generating 40 horsepower.

This Model K was in poor condition when the project was undertaken in December 2011 by its newly retired owner. His Model K Oakland touring car wasn't exactly a total basket case when he acquired it in nearby Rock Island, but it was far from trailer ready, nor was it complete. The new owner loaded up the disassembled car and then borrowed a friend's Model K to use as a template for the fabrication of missing components.