Well, I suspect this page will generate some conversation, at least I hope it does. I hope it also is able, over time, to clarify some of the misnomers surrounding the Sears and the age of some cars. I think the Sears has to be one of the most mis-dated cars ever built. The styling, when new, was already out of date by at least 10 years. I have seen so many people with Sears cars dated 1907 or earlier. My dad's (number 1204) use to be one of them. He called his a 1907 for many years which cannot possibly be correct based on what we now know of the Sears. But as we learn, our understanding of the Sears must also be updated to correspond which the facts. Trying to date a Sears can be difficult. Sears & Roebuck did not keep records on which serial number were built in which years. They do not have production numbers for the years the Sears was built. We have little information to go on to accurately date a Sears. This much we do know:
So let's talk about Sears Serial numbers. In order to do this, we first need to look at some of the history, so let's start at the beginning. We know that that Sears was designed by Alvaro S. Krotz. Based on an article by Don McCray in the Fall 1956 issue of The Antique Automobile publication of the AACA, it says that it wasn't until 1906 that Krotz was satisfied that he had designed a really successful car. Krotz claimed that in September of 1907, he had the first one completed and road tested, and that it was so good, he built about a dozen more of them that were used for further testing and to demonstrate to Sears that a reliable car could be built which anyone could afford. The article goes on to say that "Sears had been convinced, and in the fall of 1908 signed their first contract with Krotz." So here we have an important piece of information. If a contract with Krotz was signed in the Fall of 1908, then how many Sears could have been built in 1908? I am thinking that it would be a small number. Sears 1085 was owned by John H. Howard of Pennsylvania. It is now owned by Jim and Donna Burch. John H. Howard sold the car to James H. Roberts in 1929 for a price of $2.00. James H. Roberts is Donna's Grandfather. John H. Howard wrote one of the testimonials used in the Sears advertising brochure "What Sears Owners Say". He writes a letter dated June of 1910 that says " I received your motor car in August last;". So he recived car 1085 in August of 1909. I imagine it was ordered months before that. If we look at what the current range of serial numbers are assigned to each year according to the Sears Registry, it looks as follows:
CLICK HERE to go to the Summer 1955 AACA Article on the Sears The information appears on pages 12 & 13 of the original article (pages 8 & 9 according to the Web Page). So, could 300 cars have been assembled in 1908 for a car that had not yet been advertised? I think that is unlikely. Remember, the first advertisement by Sears on the Sears Motor Buggy (as it was first know) did not happen until 1909 when a "Special Motor Buggy Circular" was offered to customers receiving the spring general catalogue. I have never seen a copy of this first circular. The earliest ad I have seen was from the about the time of the spring 1909 Sears ''general'' catolog, number 118. Sears themselves said in the booklete created for its 100th anneversary in 1986 that less than 600 cars were built in 1909. We know that car with serial number 1641 is a Model J. Cars with Model Numbers were 1910 Model Year or Newer, so that would mean that any car with a serial number of 1641 or newer could not be a 1909. If Sears is correct, then no serial number greater than 1600 could be a 1909. The Sears was first referred to as the "Sears Automobile" (as opposed to the" Sears Motor Buggy") in the spring and summer 1910 general catalog. I feel the highest production years were probably 1910 and 1911. Another thing we know is that there were no Model letter designations for the Sears until into 1910 when the five models Appear for the first time. Sears referred to the models in the special catalog simply entitles "Automobiles" in 1910. But this is according to the Sears Documentation. So, when was the first time a different model was built? I feel that a Sears with a Model letter is likely to be a 1910 or newer Sears. This is backed up by a letter from Sears to a prospective buyer dated August of 1909 which does not mention any different model of Sears. If different Models were available, it would have been mentioned. I also believe that Sears started making the multiple models after it's move from the Hercules Buggy Works in Evansville, IN to the Sears Plant at Harrison and Loomis in Chicago. The October 6th, 1909 issue of The Horseless Age (Volume 24, Number 14) says "Sears, Roebuck & Co., Chicago, Ill., are employing about fifty men in assembling their motor buggy." I believe it is around this time that production was moved from the Hercules Buggy Works in Evansville, IN to the Chicago Plant and this announcement was about the hiring of men to accomodate this. Well hopefully we can determine what the earliest surviving sears is with either an original plate showing a model Letter, or a frame stamped with the model letter included. If you have a Sears with a model letter designation, is the letter stamped into your frame? Do you have the original plate? Is it recorded there? Lets be honest. Many Sears automobiles were restored incorrectly over the years and those that remain which were restored as close to original as possible are few. I know what my dad's car looked like when he started and it was original down to the paint. So I know what car 1204 was like and the way it is today is what it looked like coming out of the factory with a few exceptions which I am well aware of. How many cars were restored as a model J because of a picture they received? I know of a couple for sure. It is hard to restore a car properly when you do not have access to the information you need. Hopefully this website can help future generations with such problems if we do the proper research as we go and document sources of information.
Ok, so here is my opinion as it is of this writing. This is just my opinion based on looking at the avaiable information. As new information presents itself, I will update this. This is what I believe as of March 30th, 2013
|