1904 Oldsmobile Model 6C Standard Runabout

Ransom Eli Olds began offering his gasoline-powered 'Curved Dash' runabout in 1901 and is generally considered the first volume-produced American automobile. A fire at the factory destroyed every prototype except the 'Curved Dash' and over 11,000 examples would be produced (Models R, 6C, and B) before production ceased in 1907. The horizontally mounted single-cylinder, 1.6-liter engine had a 114 bore and 152 mm stroke, producing 4.5 horsepower at 600 RPM. The 6C and B models that followed received a more potent seven-horsepower 1.9-liter engine paired with a two-speed transmission and chain final drive.

The engine's basic layout configuration would remain unchanged during the course of production, but several improvements to the design were implemented. Spark was provided by a trembler coil, and the ignition contact-breaker was mounted on the end of the camshaft. The rocker arms had roller ends, and the two mechanically operated overhead valves were positioned side-by-side at 90 degrees to the cylinder axis. A carburetor with a float-less design replaced the mixer-type by 1902, and a manually adjustable valve in the exhaust system vented exhaust gases via the silencer box.

The later Model 'B' cars had true half-elliptic leaf springs, while the setup used on 'R' and '6C' linked the front and rear axles, and only the bottom leaf traversed front to rear (in a four quarter-elliptic arrangement). Steering was via tiller, and braking was employed on the transmission and the differential.

Oldsmobile introduced the Model 6C in 1904 and equipped it with rear brakes, a larger body, and a horizontally mounted single-cylinder engine that delivered seven horsepower.

This particular 1904 Model 6C Runabout has a history that traces to 1943, when it was acquired by Thomas Archibald of Norwalk, California. It wears a circa-1907 California Motor Vehicle Registration badge (number 9058), suggesting it resided in the Golden State from nearly new.

Mr. Archibald retained this Model 6C for half a century. It joined a western Michigan-based collection in the early 2000s and was soon given a restoration. The work included the creation of a new wooden body built by P. Gluck Woodworks of Oak Park, Michigan, and finished in the proper black and carmine red, with gold leaf pinstriping and wooden wheels wrapped in white rubber tires. The interior has been upholstered in diamond-tufted black leather.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2024