1905 Cadillac Model E

The Cadillac marque was birthed from the remnants of the Henry Ford Company and championed by Henry M. Leland who would later found the Lincoln Motor Company. Henry Ford had left the company bearing his namesake following a dispute with his investors, William Murphy and Lemuel Bowen. Henry M. Leland of Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing Company was tasked with appraising the equipment and plant in preparation for liquidation. His recommendation was to continue production using Leland's single-cylinder engine which had been built for Ransom E. Old's Olds Motor Vehicle Company, later to be known as Oldsmobile. The directors agreed and the company was renamed Cadillac after French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, who had founded Detroit in 1701.

The first Cadillac automobiles were completed in October 1902. These two-seat motor carriages were powered by a single-cylinder engine delivering 10 horsepower. A few months later in January of 1903, the Cadillac was on display at the New York Auto Show where it received over 2,000 orders.

Henry Leland was a firm believer in precision manufacturing, and this was evident in the Cadillac automobiles and, later, the Lincoln marque that he founded in the late-1910s. In 1905, Leland & Faulconer Manufacturing merged with the Cadillac Automobile Company, forming the Cadillac Motor Company.

The Cadillac Model E was introduced in January 1905. Its small, 74-inch wheelbase placed it between the Model C and the Model B and F. The one-cylinder engine produced just under 10 horsepower, which was adequate to carry the 1100 lb Runabout vehicle at a comfortable speed. The Model E came in different body styles, with seating for two or four.

The 1.6-liter engine was the same that could be found in Cadillac's other vehicles of the era. The cylinder was horizontal, pointing rearward, and cast from iron. It had a bore and stroke that measured 5 inches. It utilized a patented variable-lift intake valve licensed from Alanson P. Brush.

by Dan Vaughan

Runabout

Cadillac founder, Henry Leland, developed his skills as a fine machinist under firearm manufacturer, Samuel Colt. He moved to Detroit in 1890 to produce precision gears and was soon making steam engines for street cars. After developing the gas engine for the 1901 Curved Dash Olds, he attracted a group of financial backers who partnered with him to form the Cadillac Motor Company, named for the French explorer who had discovered Detroit in the early 18th Century. Cadillac pioneered the interchangeability of parts prior to Ford's assembly line. Its cars won many awards, leading to the advertising slogan, 'Standard of the World.'

by AACA Museum

Runabout
Engine number: 8289

The Cadillac Model D was a new model for 1904 and used a conventional layout with a front-mounted, four-cylinder engine offering 30 horsepower and resting on a 110-inch wheelbase chassis. The single-cylinder Model E was a two-passenger runabout and the Model F was a four-passenger tourer or delivery vehicle, and both models wore a modern 'engine hood' in the style of the latest front-engine cars. This was purely a design feature as the actual engine resided under the seat.

This particular Model E Runabout was acquired by its current caretaker in 2013. Its previous owner had purchased it from Les Schuchardt in South Dakota. Much of the car's restoration was performed by Mr. Schuchardt, including an exacting recreation of the original 'beetleback' wooden coachwork, as well as a mechanical rebuild. RM Auto Restoration later completed the restoration and painted it in a traditional dark green, striped in yellow.

This Model E was given a top with the correct brackets and accessories, although the top was not standard equipment. It has the correct headlamps and a steering column-mounted bulb horn.

by Dan Vaughan