The sole surviving 'Pullman of Motorcars' ? UPDATE: not the only Rainier !)

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You know by now that we have a weak spot for unrestored cars. So we were delighted when this 1908 Rainier landed in our mailbox. Sender is restorer(!) Fred Buess from California who is not planning to do what he is good at, but to sell the car 'as is'. What a find this 1908 Rainier, a car so rare that Fred expects this is the only survivor... or ? The name alone is interesting. The cars were built was John T.Rainer, but while developing this very strong 1908 Model he must have thought that the car should be able to go up Mount Rainier. The car has a 4 cylinder T-head 50HP with a four speed gearbox with 4th as overdrive; ultra modern for a pre WWI car. Yet there was not too much reason to fear technical issues as Rainier gave 'guarantee of a year's use without repairs expenses'. As far as we know the car functioned without great problems until in the thirties the rear axle house broke where it connects to the bronze differential housing. After that the Asbury family passed the car to their loyal chauffeur Calvin Johnston who installed a Pierce rear-end while retaining all original parts which are still with the car. It must be a great experience to take this dinosaur for a ride. (photos courtesy Fred Buess; this car on ebay as from Thursday)
UPDATE by Ivan Saxton:"James Melton had a Rainier in his collection, and from the unrestored condition of this one it is unlikely to be the same car. I was lent a copy of his book with Ken Purdy "Bright Wheels Rolling"decades ago. I recall that one of the peculiarities was that the engine had hardened steel crankshaft bearings instead of tin babbit. You would think this would have been better with a good oil filter. There are six copies of the book on Alibris.Co.UK "

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