Pic-A-Day (618) Albert Mach Fine Art - 1916 Westcott Model-42 Touring

[Albert Mach]

Pic-A-Day (618) Albert Mach Fine Art
1916 Westcott Model-42 Touring

My friend Nathan Osmun-Tanner provided the following historical information.

    Westcott is an assembled make which originated in Richmond Indiana by Burton Westcott in 1909.

     Being an assembled make meant that much of the components of a Westcott were purchased through component suppliers rather than making the components in house. Although manufacturing automobiles was new to Westcott, manufacturing mechanical products were not new. As with many other early automotive starts the Westcott was the outgrowth of carriage building. Since 1896 Burton Westcott along with his father John, and brother Harry, had been manufacturing carriages at the Westcott Carriage Company in Richmond, Indiana. Beginning in 1909 the carriage business was reorganized and renamed the Westcott Motor Car Company. Under this name the company not only built cars, but also continued to build carriages. Westcott manufactured cars in Richmond, Indiana through 1916. Beginning in 1917 the Westcott automobiles were made in Springfield, Ohio and remained there until the end of the company in 1925.
     Westcott began with building only three cars per day in 1909, however, there was immediately demand for their product and they were soon six months behind on delivering orders. From the early years of Westcott the company had a reputation of building high quality cars that were dependable. As an example of their quality one Westcott was documented in 1912 of traveling over 7,000 miles in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin with repairs totaling less than $10. This is at a time when very little roadway outside of cites had any pavement and rural traveling could be very brutal on a car.
     The peak of Westcott was 1920 with a total of 1,850 cars sold. Due to the success of that year Burton decided that for 1921 no changes should be made. Also for this year Burton was elected as the mayor of Springfield, Ohio and held that position until his death. Along with being mayor and president of Westcott Motor Car, Burton was treasurer of his father’s agricultural business called American Seeding, he was director of the Lagonda National Bank of Springfield as well as managing other business interests. Although it seemed as though Burton’s fortunes were limitless, the reality of the 1920’s brought competition from the automotive giants of Ford and General Motors. The company had new models, features, and engines for 1922 and 1923 but to remain competitive, Westcott lowered their prices for 1923. During this year Burton lost is wife. 1924 bought options such as balloon tires and four wheel brakes. These features became standard for the 1925 models, however this was at the cost of price increases which hurt the company’s ability to compete. In January of 1925 Westcott Motor Car Company went into receivership with debts owed to suppliers in the amount of $825,000. In April of 1925 the company and its assets were sold, yet due to transactions not being completed until September, the company had some time to build cars which had been previously ordered.

     With all of his business interest Burton Westcott died penniless in 1926.
This Westcott Model 42 is from the last year autos were made in Richmond, Indiana. The original upholstery on this car was an early man made fabric called Pantasote. Pantasote was used as a substitute for leather and was made in New York, NY. Other man made substitutes for leather existed, but Pantasote was resistant to mold and mildew as well as being nonflammable. This Westcott has a tag at the driver’s door sill which contains a Westcott tag identifying the manufacturer of the upholstery. The engine is an inline flat head six cylinder built by Continental Motors of Detroit, Michigan. The build date on the engine tag is December 2, 1915. The transmission is a three speed manual. This Westcott also features a light on the back of the front passenger’s seat to provide some illumination for the passengers in the back seat. This is a feature hard to find in other touring makes of the time. Westcott was proud of their product and placed the name of the make not only on the radiator, but also on all four wheel caps and the plate at the base of the gear shifter. This Model 42 rides on a 121 inch wheel base and weighs approximately 3,000 pounds. Its price as new was $1,445.00 which when adjusting for inflation is in the range of $31,500.00 today.
    As common with many other small automobile manufacturers few Westcotts are left today. This Westcott was donated by Robert Lewis of Rocky River, Ohio.

This was seen at the Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, IN.
http://www.automobilemuseum.org/