1911 Ann Arbor Convertible 3/4

The Ann Arbor was built by the Huron River Manufacturing Company of Ann Arbor, Michigan. The cost new was $975.00 plus $50.00 extra for the top, side curtains and transparent storm front. This body style is a convertible not that its top folds down in that in converts into a truck. The Ann Arbor is powered by a 4-cylinder Davis engine of 25 horsepower and produces a top speed of 27 miles per hour. It has double chain drive and the transmission is a Muncie Gear Works planetary #35 Jack Shaft, with three speeds, 2 forward and 1 reverse. It weight is 2,140 pounds. Tires are 34-inch x 4.5 inch.

The Ann Arbor 'Convertible Touring', produced by the Huron River Manufacturing Company from 1911-1912, was designed for the one-car farm family or the small merchant. With all three rows of seats in place, the Ann Arbor was a six-passenger touring car. With the second and third row seats removed, it became a pickup truck, but the Ann Arbor's versatility was never widely appreciated.

Named for the college town in which it was produced, the Ann Arbor didn't appear in vast numbers. While thousands of Model Ts were rolling out of Ford's Piquette Avenue factory in Detroit, a mere handful of cars emerged from Ann Arbor's Huron River Manufacturing Company before assembly ended in 1912.

The two-cylinder car was built on a 100-inch chassis and featured a rear section that could be removed to install a delivery box or platform. The 25 horsepower gasoline engine was capable of 25 miles per hour.

In late 1912 the Star Motor Car Company moved into the Ann Arbor factory and announced it would build only commercial vehicles.

This Ann Arbor is believed 1 of 7 vehicles built between 1911 and 1912 and is the only known survivor. Restoration of this rare Ann Arbor, the only known survivor, took its owner six years. Ann Arborite Arthur French became the car's third owner in 1965, embarking on a restoration project. The four-cylinder engine, from Davis Manufacturing, of Milwaukee, is believed to be original to the car, as are the chassis and most of the sheetmetal.

Conducted by Wysocki Enterprises of nearby Ypsilanti, the restoration entailed new seats, a new top, new side curtains, a new radiator, and fabrication of some parts for the planetary transmission.

Descriptions & pictures by conceptcarz & autopasion18 & Flicker & Other