1919 Meisenhelder 6-55

Roy Mitzel Meisenhelder was born in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on June 29, 1886, to William Henry and Elizabeth (Kuhl) Meisenhelder. In the years immediately following World War I, he worked as a sheet metal worker at the Pullman Motor Car Co. of York, Pa. The Pullman company was one of seventeen automobile manufacturers located in the York area, and it was one of the most successful, with approximately 12,000 motorcars built between 1905 to 1917.
The Pullman Automobile
Albert P. Broomell's York Motor Car Co. produced the Pullman automobile in the former York Carriage Co. factory. Initially, the York Motor Car Co. attempted to build a six-wheeled automobile. An example with six-wheels was built in the early 1900s and was given the trade name of the Pullman Palace Car Co., hoping to capitalize on the railcar builder's reputation for quality and luxury. Conventional four-wheeled designs followed in 1905.

When the Pullman Motor Car Co. entered receivership in 1917, Meisenhelder established his own company that focused on radiator repair and sheet metal fabrication. During the 1920s, a small number of custom automobiles were built by Meisenhelder using chassis and mechanical components from other automakers and affixing his styling elements and faux grille. At least four examples were built using the Paige chassis.

The sole surviving example wears a roadster body and is known as the Meisenhelder Model 6-55 roadster. It was built atop a Paige Model 6-40 chassis built around 1919. The Paige 6-40 had a 117-inch wheelbase and was powered by a six-cylinder Continental engine.

The Paige 6-66 Series
Paige was planning to build a new series known as the '6-66' Series equipped with a more potent engine. As they moved closer to that goal, they built a prototype 'speedster.' A racing version, driven by Ralph Mulford, set a world speed record (102.83 mph) for its class at Daytona. Fifty production examples followed and were known as the 'Daytona Speedster.' (The original prototype did not use the 'Daytona' name, only the fifty production examples that followed.) They were advertised as the 'World's Fastest Car.'

The Paige 6-66 show car rode on disc wheels, had Westinghouse air springs, a special dashboard layout, and a mother-in-law seat, all on a long wheelbase chassis. The Continental six-cylinder, 331.4 cubic-inch engine offered approximately 100 horsepower. The speedster body was similar to the style of the current Stutz Bearcat and Mercer Raceabout.

Following mergers, Paige-Detroit became a part of what is now known as Daimler-Chrysler.

The Meisenhelder Custom
The Meisenhelder Custom has many similarities to the Paige Speedster, with both having similar boat-tail speedster bodies, rear-mounted spares, disc wheels, short running boards (albeit, the Meisenhelder is longer and with a unique design), squared doors, running board seats, and similarly sloping windscreens.

Among the unique features bestowed upon the Meisenhelder were its custom split windscreen, a V-shaped custom radiator, and cast-alloy running boards with running board seats (on both sides). There are three spare tires, one in the back and the other two mounted on the hood, directly behind the front wheel. The running board begins immediately following the side-mounted spares.

Additional items cast and created by Roy himself include the lanterns, bumper brackets, hubcaps, and interior trim rims. Many of the original casting molds used still exist. The polished disc wheels add to its unique period style.

This Meisenhelder Roadster was owned by a collector in York, PA, until the current owner purchased the car in 2008.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2023