1905 Rambler Type One Surrey

Thomas B. Jeffery was an Englishman who had immigrated to the United States. Like many early automobile builders, he was in the bicycle building and selling business. He had begun the manufacture of bicycles in 1878 and it was not long before the Gormully & Jeffery concern was one of the largest manufacturers of bicycles in America with branches in Boston, Washington, and New York, along with its home factory in North Franklin and Pearson Streets in Chicago. By the 1890s there was even a branch in Coventry, England. The products were marketed under the trade name Rambler, and rivaled Pop-Columbia for the number one position in the American market.

Mr. Jeffery built his first motor car in 1897. The experimental prototypes he built in 1900 and 1901 incorporated unique innovations - steering wheels and front-mounted engines. One was a Stanhope and the other was a runabout. Each was the work of Jeffery's son Charles and was shown at the Chicago International Exhibition and the first New York Auto Show in Madison Garden. The cars completed a round trip from Chicago to Milwaukee that summer.

After Phil Gormully's sudden death, Jeffery sold his interest in Gormully & Jeffery to competitor Pope, and bought a factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin formerly owned by the Sterling Bicycle Company.

In 1902, Jeffery and his son built one-cylinder automobiles called 'Rambler'. Although the early designs had steering wheels and a front-mounted engine, the elder Jeffery had second thoughts, switching to a tiller steering and its engine mounted under the seat. The steering wheel had been on the left side of the vehicle - the tiller, however, was on the right-hand side. This conservative design paid off as 1,500 were produced at $750 each in 1902. Only Ransom Olds sold more cars.

Bigger and more reliable models followed. His vehicles were built on assembly lines and were the second manufacturer to adopt them (Olds was the first).

In 1904, Jeffery began outfitting his vehicles with steering wheels that were powered by a twin-cylinder, 18-horsepower engine. By mid-year 1905 the company discontinued its single-cylinder cars.

Thomas Jeffery died in 1910. His son, Charles, took over the business. He changed the name from Rambler to Jeffrey, in honor of his father, in 1914. Two years later, in 1916, the firm was purchased by Charles J. Nash, who in 1917 gave the name Nash to these automobiles. Nash re-introduced the Rambler in 1950 as a compact-model line.

Rambler Surrey, Type One
This restored example is powered by an air-cooled, two-cylinder engine (one located under the front footboard, one under the rear footboard) that offers 18 horsepower. There is a single lever to the right of the operator which starts the automobile. It is chain driven, with one pedal making it stop and another putting it into reverse. The timing of the explosion of the fuel mixture is controlled by an automatic governor at exactly the proper moment at all speeds of the engine.

The seats are of all hand-rolled genuine leather. The vehicle cost about $1,350 when new.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2019