Overland 79R
Roadster

1914 was Overland's high-water mark: only Ford sold more cars in America that year, and the Overland cost roughly double a Model T for a more spacious, more powerful automobile aimed at buyers who wanted a step up from Henry Ford's utilitarian formula.

• This car is the 19,116th of 45,005 produced for the 1914 model year at the Willys Overland auto plant in Toledo Ohio.
• This car cost $950 new, when the average annual income was around $690 (for a man). It was not ordered with the $125 optional Gray & Davis electric starter, so it must be hand crank started.
• Power came from a 35-horsepower four-cylinder engine with individually cast cylinder jugs — a more elaborate, and expensive, construction method than the Model T's single-block casting. Displacement is 240.5 cubic inches, with a bore of 4.125 inches and a stroke of 4.5 inches.
• The engine is lubricated by an unpressurized splash oil system.
• The engine is cooled by unpressurized water circulating by thermal action rather than a water pump.
• Ignition is provided by a Bosch DU4 high tension magneto.
• Fuel is supplied by a Schebler L carburetor, fed from a 32-gallon gas tank. The car goes about 10 miles to the gallon.
• The car is right-hand drive. There was no standard in 1914, so car manufacturers differed on which side they thought the steering wheel should be.
• The transmission is manual, with 3 forward speeds and reverse. The gears are not synchronized, so double-clutching is necessary when changing gears.
• This car travels comfortably down the road at 45 MPH, with a top speed around 55 MPH. However, the car has brakes only on the rear wheels (mounting 33 x 4 tires), so it is imperative to limit speed to safe road conditions.
• This car was purchased new in 1914 by J Hoadley of Middletown Springs, Vermont. He drove it about 22,000 miles until his death. The car changed hands three more times, and only driven about 600 more miles, when I purchased it in 2011. The car is now routinely driven on several car tours each year, often covering more than 100 miles a day for multiple days.
• The car is mostly original, including motor, body, frame, headlights, leather seat, wood floors, and dash instruments including speedometer. A new leather seat bottom and canvas top were made in the early 2020s. The original seat bottom and side curtains are safely stored.
• The motor, transmission, and rear axle were overhauled by David Liepelt in 2020.

The Overland Automobile Company was founded around 1903 by Claude Cox in Terre Haute, Indiana, and moved to Indianapolis in 1905. John Willys rescued the company from near bankruptcy in 1908, changed the company name to Willys-Overland, and moved production to Toledo, Ohio. By 1912, Willys had built the company into the country's second-largest automaker.

1914 was a transition year for trim: cars built that season moved from the brightwork of the true brass era toward nickel plating, and this Overland is trimmed in nickel rather than brass.