I had to clean up my new car for a run today, so here are some photos, as requested by Eric Bruckner some time back.
1917 shooting brake. Hickory wheels, Australian oak body,canvaas top and side curtains, door curtain opens with the door.
Tailgate is hinged to swing open, leaving the rear step clear.
Chassis is extended 12" to accommodate a KC Warford. The body was set back to keep the cowl and extended at the rear to maintaim proportions.
More to come.
Allan from down under.
That is a beautiful car! I hope you have a shot gun or two to use with it!
Alan,
Beautiful car! Do you know if it was originally a shooting brake or if it was modeled after a style that was used there in Australia?
Respectfully submitted,
Hap l9l5 cut off
John, I have a 5 shot Winchester shotgun. We use it on foxes at lambing time. Not sure the T is up to the night time chase though!
Hap, the build is entirely mine. I enjoy woodwork immensely, but did not like the square box shape of a depot hack. So this one proved a challenge to get a pleasing roof line, tapered sides and a decent driving position and access. Thank you for your encouraging comments.
Allan from down under.
Alan, That is a Bute! And I've just learned a new automotive term. Shooting Break, I like it! I just bought a TT chassis yesterday with 2 aux. trans' 154" wheelbase. Might make a nice shooting brake.....uuummmm.
Some years back, there was for sale in Goliad, Texas, a similar car to this, it did not have the pretty side curtains, maybe in times past, but not then. The car had been used on the Tom O'Connor Ranch in the area. It still had a lot of the stuff that they had used while working cattle and building fence in the car. It was in reasonable condition considering how it had been used and for so many years. One of the real old timers on the Ranch said that it had been bought new, and pretty much the way it was, open to the world in back and on the sides, and only the front seat. There had been what we called a "Chuck Box" mounted in back at one time, it was also there. Still wish I had bought it, another piece of Texas History gone forever.
I've know for 50 years a shooting brake is what we here in the colonies call a station wagon but could we get an explanation of what the term shooting brake means?
I think a brake means that the back end is not sloped like a sedan or other car but just broken off.
Is the body designed for hunting (shooting)?
Allan that is beautiful. I am glad I haven't begun to make my body yet. My Mountain Wagon will be much like that but with a folding top for sight seeing.
Frank, similar to Horlick's Toady ???
Yes, he sent me the plans. But I am using a TT frame in order to make four rows of seats rather than only three.
What beautiful work, Allan, and the proportions look so balanced. A real credit to your design.
I can't be certain of the origin of the term, but I know that a Shooting Break was originally a horse-drawn vehicle. A design called a 'Break' was used to 'break in' horses to harness, and a similar vehicle proved useful as a conveyance for shooting parties, hence the 'Shooting Break'. With the advent of motorised vehicles, one designed to carry shooting parties and their equipment naturally assumed the same name. The design, much modified, in the U.K. eventually became 'Estate Car' and in Oz 'Station Wagon'.
Guys, this link will take you to a definition of a shooting brake. Check out the beautiful Silver Ghost Roller. Makes mine look rather plain!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting-brake
Allan from down under.
Shooting Brake ??
When I saw the title I figured that it was one of those auxiliary brake systems that was designed to help the almost non-existent T brake slow or stop the vehicle.
To my amazement I learned that I already own a Shooting Brake.
I'm learning more every day but not getting any smarter!
Fred D,
If you are still learning, you are already smarter than most people.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
Alan, I found that link the other day....I like yours better. In fact I cant stop thinking about the possibility's with the TT chassis I bought on Sat. I have most of the sheet metal parts to get it squared away back to the firewall. It was a wood cab truck but is mostly gone, maybe for the better. I would have to locate some regular rims and tires, It's got solids on it....
Never called 'Shooting Brake' in NZ or Aussie. There are some who like to say 'Coupeh' rather than the common Coupe, but not me.
But mixed terminology can be interesting. We always called 'fender' a mudguard or 'guards'. I always thought it was a Colonial term but have seen it used in vintage American workshop books eg. Victor Page book for Model A Ford.