So, the backstory of this car.
It was purchased new in 1914 by a rather well to do family in Decatur MI. The new owner, J.E. Goble, even felt compelled to claim the car as his by signing the inside of the coil box cover at some point in time....
In 1915, the road up to Pikes Peak CO was completed, and 1916 brought the inaugural annual race to the top. There is some uncertainty as to whether it was for the first or second race, but, J.E. Goble, in either 1916 or 17, took his wife on a long summer road trip cross country from MI to CO to see the race. (Works the old imagination considering what stories they had with that road trip!!!). In preparation for the trip, Gobles made some modifications to the car, some of which I've never seen in my day.
(I'll cover each mod in separate posts).
The second owner was a neighbor of the Gobles, who was 7 at the time they bought it new. He was instantly in love, and as he got older he continually begged to buy the car...finally being successful in 1930...when he was in college. The car was moved to the family farm, covered & stored in the barn....where...due to life's circumstance, it sat for decades. Ultimately, the car became a retirement project in the late 60's/early 70's.
This pic was taken when it was rolled out of the barn for the first time in the 60's (apologies for the poor quality, pic was taken looking thru a slide)
The engine was rebuilt, and the sheet metal was painted. The wood on this thing remains solid, as are all metal panels. It has minimal rust, just surface spotting, no cancer, all seams intact.
Unfortunately, the man went blind before he was done...and...it was rolled back and recovered in the barn yet again. Per the son, these pics were of the car being stored back in the barn after the initial restoration.
His son decided it was time to sell...where I am now the next care taker of this piece of history.....
