1912 Stearns-Knight Toy Tonneau Runabout

Frank B. Stearns built his first car in 1896 at age seventeen. The son of a wealthy Cleveland industrialist, Stearns began his automotive career in his own machine shop in the basement of his family's Euclid Avenue home in Cleveland, Ohio. A man of wealth and refined tastes, his cars were known for their quality and style. The Stearns is widely regarded as among the best of cars of the early 20th century. Its reputation was built, in part, by victories in hill climbs and endurance runs.

Source - AACA Museum

Sold for $115,500 at 2015 RM Sotheby's Hershey Auction.
The F.B. Stearns Company of Cleveland, Ohio, was the first U.S. Company to embrace the Knight sleeve valve technology, beginning in 1911. They were the only company to use them exclusively to the marque's end in 1929. However, it is the Willys-Knight company that is the best-known American car to utilize this technology.

This particular example was part of the Barney Pollard Collection in Detroit. At the height of his collection, he had around 1,200 cars. To utilize space, he stacked them vertically, then built buildings over them. During the 1970s, he had several auctions which resulted in many rare cars being dispersed for restoration. Cars stored nose up often rusted out at the back; others had bent fenders.

This Stearns was purchased by Bruce Replogle in New Jersey from the Pollard Collection, where it had remained undisturbed since discovery in 1940. Mr. Replogle later sold it to Mike Kaltenecker in Idaho, who corrected a few minor modifications that had been made and returned it to a complete and original state.

Currently, there are only two known surviving 1912 Stearns Toy Tonneau Runabouts.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2015