1908 Welch Model 4-L

In the late 1890s, A.R. Welch organized the Chelsea Manufacturing Company. In 1901, A.R. Welch and his brother Fred built their first automobile. It had a two-cylinder 20 horsepower engine of the brother's design that featured hemispherical combustion chambers with its valves in small 'cages' and actuated by a single overhead camshaft, driven by a vertical shaft off the crankshaft, and rocker arms to a pair of inclined valves per cylinder. Two spark plugs were used per cylinder, with ignition by trembler coils for starting and by a Bosch magneto, driven by the vertical camshaft drive, once running.

The automobiles were displayed at the Chicago Automobile Show in 1903, and production soon followed in Chelsea, Michigan with the organization of the Chelsea Manufacturing Company, Ltd. J.D. Watson provided some financial backing and the small company produced roughly 15 automobiles per month. By 1904, the firm was in bankruptcy due to insufficient capital and slow sales. What was left of the company was salvaged by A.R. Welch and moved to Pontiac where the company was re-organized as the Welch Motor Car Company. The company was given a healthy infusion of capital and began to prosper.

The 1905 Welch automobile had a 114-inch wheelbase and was equipped with a 36-horsepower four-cylinder engine. Several body styles were offered including a Victoria, Landaulette, Limousine, Side Entrance Tonneau, and a Canopy Top Touring. Pricing was in the neighborhood of $4,000 which made it rather expensive for the period. However, automobiles were still a luxury item and often tailored to those that could afford them.

In 1909, a separate company was formed in Detroit for the production of less-expensive, smaller vehicles known as the Welch-Detroit (Welch-Pontiac). In 1910, the Welch Motor Car Company became part of General Motors. A year later, the final Welch cars were produced by General Motors.

by Dan Vaughan

Touring
Chassis number: 25

The history of this Welch Model 4-L has a known history that dates back to the late 1900s when it was owned by Louis H. Perlman, the company's distributor in New York City. Perlman used the car as a test bed for experimenting with new inventions he developed, such as a wheel rim that could be removed (demounted) from the car to facilitate tire changes and repairs. Mr. Perlman is credited with the idea for the very first demountable rim and this was the automobile he developed and tested that feature.

The car was in the care of the Perlman family until 1951 when it was acquired from his nephew's estate in Montrose, New York by Ralph Stein and Henry Austin Clark, Jr. In the Teens, the car had been fitted with front doors and the rear of its body covered with a piece of metal. Apart from these modifications the car remained largely intact and had not moved since the mid-1920s.

Ralph Buckley was tasked with restoring the Welch for Mr. Stein, preserving the original bodywork, installing a correct top and windshield, and rebuilding the engine and drivetrain. In the early 1970s, the car was acquired from Mr. Stein by Wayne and Carl Leonard, and then by Don C. Boulton.

The car has an electric starter to ease its operation. The 336 cubic-inch single overhead cam four-cylinder engine has Hemispherical Combustion Chambers with two valves per cylinder. It produces 50 horsepower and there is a three-speed selective-shift multiple-clutch manual transmission and rear-wheel drum brakes.

by Dan Vaughan