1926 Dodge Brothers Touring
Chassis Number: 685439 – Engine Number: B757793
Sold new on November 6, 1926 to the first owner in Northern California and Mr. Baer was the 2nd owner of the car which he purchased in 1947! In his 62 year ownership the car traveled very few miles and still runs very strong today! A copy of the original California Certificate of Ownership (PINK SLIP) goes with the car.
After the founding of the Dodge Brothers Company by Horace and John Dodge in 1900, the Detroit-based company quickly found work producing precision engine and chassis components for the city’s burgeoning number of automobile firms. Chief among these customers were the established Olds Motor Vehicle Company and the then-new Ford Motor Company. Dodge Brothers enjoyed much success in this field, but the brothers' growing wish to build complete vehicles was exemplified by John Dodge's 1913 exclamation that he was "tired of being carried around in Henry Ford's vest pocket." By 1914, he and Horace had fixed that by creating the new four-cylinder Dodge Model 30. Dodge Brothers cars were ranked at second place for U.S. sales as early as 1916.
San Francisco Chronicle
Published 4:00 a.m., Sunday, May 21, 2006
A CAR THAT STANDS THE TEST OF TIME / DAVID BAER ENGINEERED MISSILE SYSTEMS, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO SUNDAY DRIVING, 33 MPH IN HIS '26 DODGE IS THE RIGHT SPEED
CONTRIBUTED BY DAVID BAER
David Baer, 84, a retired defense industry engineer who designed missile launching equipment for the U.S. arsenal, lives in Los Altos. He contacted The Chronicle with a handwritten letter, in which he said, "I never learned to operate one of those new-fangled typewriter machines. Please baer with me regarding the handwriting."
I grew up in the Bay Area -- I went to Burlingame High School and then to Stanford. I spent a few years in the Navy, toward the end of World War II. Most of the time I was in electronics school.
Around 1947, I joined Westinghouse and spent time as a draftsman and then in different engineering and logistics jobs. That was the same year I bought our 1926 Dodge tourer, with its four-cylinder in-line engine and its reverse "H" manual shift. The car would go 33 mph top speed -- slightly downhill. In 1947, I was pretty young and this sounded like fun to have.
I bought it in 1947 for $40. It's probably worth twice as much today.
Actually, I've had a series of cars. I had a Ford Model T and a Packard Phaeton. Then I had several standard cars. Around 1947, I joined Westinghouse -- I had an M.S. in engineering -- and at first I was a draftsman and then got into different engineering jobs. I wound up in logistics work.
We've lived in Los Altos since 1956. My wife's father was a builder, and he built the house to my specifications. Before we had it built, we took (the plans) to an architect and he said the house looked sterile, like it was designed by an engineer.
We've had the Dodge all the time that we've been in Los Altos. I've always used it just locally, more as a toy than anything else, and I've never entered it in anything (e.g., a car show) of interest. One of these days I'll sell it, but not for a while.
I take it downtown, mostly for ice cream in the summer evenings. There's a basket that sits on the right side of the car, on the running board and fender, and it acts as the trunk. When I'm out driving the car, everybody's very friendly. I honk to them and a lot of people wave. The convertible top has been down for years. At the time the car was built, the top was called a two-men top because you needed two men to raise it. Now it requires four men to do it.
But I haven't needed any parts for the car. I have a small shop, so I can make most of the parts. Tires were readily available from Sears until a few years ago.
I worked with missiles for a long time, and there is no comparison between this car and missiles. But there is one note of interest: I was able to get a couple of major rings, about 6 feet in diameter, from a Polaris missile car, the shipping container. I use the rings in my yard, as planter rings, with agave -- it's a cactus-like plant that grows anywhere.
Mr. Baer also sent along some photos of the 1926 Dodge and wrote that in one of them, taken around 1950, "... is my wife, Norma, with the car. Fortunately, neither has changed."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cars/myride/article/A-car-that-stands-the-test-of-time-David-Baer-2496957.php#ixzz2BeaFO5h7
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