The Magnificent 1906 Packard Model S

1906 Packard Model S Runabout - from the collection of the author

The car shown on this photo is a 1906 Packard Model S (Model 24) runabout. The Model S was the only model available from Packard in 1906 and just 728 were built. The car features a four-cylinder engine with 108-inch wheelbase, and interestingly this car appears to have a 1907 type rear fender line. This is the first of Packard’s T-head four-cylinder engines with 350 cubic inches and 24 taxable horsepower. Packard used the European technique of rating their cars at the taxable horsepower. Factoring taxable horsepower varied per municipality, but the actual output of the Model 24 was about 40 horsepower.

According to The Horseless Age of September 27, 1905: “The new engine is of 4 ½ inches bore and 5 ½ inches stroke, and in accordance with the policy adopted by leading foreign makers is conservatively rated at 24 horse power, although it is claimed to develop as high as 40 horse power… The bevel gear reduction to the rear axle is calculated to give a speed of 35 miles per hour at 900 revolutions per minute of the motor… The body is of sheet aluminum construction, as are the mud guards and the bonnet. The dash is of mahogany.”

The car in the photo wears a 1907 Pennsylvania license plate, Number 2671. The state of Pennsylvania first issued license plates in 1906, the city of Philadelphia had been issuing its own plates since 1903. These early plates were actually assigned to the driver, not the vehicle, and approximately 20,000 plates were issued in 1907 – the year on the plate represents the date of issue.

I know of only one complete and running 1906 Model S Runabout that has survived and the car resides in a marvelous collection of early cars in San Jose, CA. Listed by packardsonline.com (Jim Grundy’s excellent listing of surviving early Packards), chassis 2623 is said to have been originally purchased by Frederick Russell of Lawrence, MA. The owner donated it to the Henry Ford Museum where is sat until 1972. It then traveled through the hands of some well-known collectors including Ben Moser, Norm Oliver, Charlie Lemaitre, Dick Teague, and Marshall Mathews.

A surviving 1906 Packard Model S Runabout - from the collection of the author

Big Benz races in the Inaugural Indy 500

1911 Indianapolis 500 - from the collection of the author

This wonderful image shows the No 46 Benz racing at the inaugural Indianapolis 500 – the International Sweepstakes race in 1911. Entered by E.A. “Ernie” Moross and driven by William Peter “Billy” Knipper, the car was one of two Benz’s entered by Moross. Bob Burman drove the other car, with a slightly larger displacement; regardless Knipper would finish just ahead of Burman in 18^thand 19^th places respectively.

As you’ll note, the picture also shows the No 32 Marmon “Wasp” entered by the manufacturer, Nordyke & Marmon Company, and driven to victory by Ray Harroun. The two cars illustrate the key innovations of Marmon: the use of a rear-view mirror (the first such use in racing history) and the lack of a riding mechanic. Both are attributed to helping the Marmon win the first 500.

Billy Knipper (1882 – 1968) only started three 500’s at Indy, the last being 1914 where he finished 13^th driving a Keeton racer with Wisconsin power. However, he was a well-regarded driver with considerable experience. The earliest mention of him is served as a riding mechanic to Herb Lytle for the 1905 Gordon Bennett Trophy race.  He is then stated to have won the Dugdale Hill Climb in his hometown of Rochester, New York in October 1906 driving a 60 hp Thomas. Knipper would become a team driver for Chalmers-Detroit and win the Merrimac Valley Trophy in Lowell, MA in 1909. That same year, still driving for Chalmers, he would win the 100-mile race at the new Atlanta Speedway. After his 1911 Indianapolis experience, Knipper is listed as a backup diver for the Stutz team.

During this same time Billy Knipper became an automobile dealer in Rochester, NY under the name Knipper-Kipp Company. Initially representing the Saxon Motor Company, he later sold the Jordon and Nash brands, as well as Stutz, Henderson, and Benz cars.

Ernest A. Moross also had a notable career starting out as a bicycle racer with his brother. Soon after he became a noted motor sports promoter and publicity manager to Barney Oldfield, one of the biggest names in racing at the time. Said to be a wealthy mill owner from the south, Moross is noted for purchasing Oldfields three racecars (the Blitzen Benz, the Prince Henry Benz, and a Knox) after the AAA suspended Oldfield – it was this action that prevented Oldfield from racing in the inaugural Indy 500. Moross would put Bob Burman behind the wheel of the Blitzen Benz and together they set the land speed record.

“E. A. Moross… secured a lease for the Brighton Beach Motordrom for six to eight races… possibly a 500-mile race patterned after the recent International Sweepstakes at Indianapolis.” “Mr. Moross, who is arranging the race series, is a successful Southern motor race meet promoter. He purchased Barney Oldfield’s racing cars when that driver was suspended, and then engaged Bob Burman to dive them.”

                                                                            - NY Times June 6 1911

Moross would later turn to promoting aviation contests and try his hand at politics. As with many others, Moross found himself bankrupt by the stock collapse of 1929. He and his wife moved out west to begin a small prospecting business in search of gold.