23-year-old steam car mystery solved!
In 1987, Old Cars Weekly featured its first of many references to a vintage photograph of a mysterious mid-1930s coupe. What made this car so mysterious was its engine –…
In 1987, Old Cars Weekly featured its first of many references to a vintage photograph of a mysterious mid-1930s coupe. What made this car so mysterious was its engine - the car was powered by a Stanley steamer engine. The initial mystery photo from May 1987 elicited responses throughout the year, and then readers' pens and typewriters cooled with no solid answers. In 2000, interest picked up again when the car was pictured at the 2000 fall Hershey meet. Still, no one could explain the strange combination.
It turns out that, in 1987, the late Lado Peroutka penned a letter intended for Old Cars Weekly to explain the history of this unique car, but he never sent it. Lado died in 2000 and his son, Roger, found the letter. Roger is also an Old Cars Weekly subscriber and knew of this mystery Oldsmobile-Stanley hybrid. He recently submitted his own memories, and the nearly forgotten letter his father wrote. Now, this mystery has been solved. Check out the June 24 General Motors-themed issue to read all about it.
Related resources
Read about prewar cars in Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942
Get prewar prices in the new 2011 Collector Car Price Guide
Check out Oldsmobile art
Get a book to identify old cars
Angelo Van Bogart is the editor of Old Cars magazine and wrote the column "Hot Wheels Hunting" for Toy Cars & Models magazine for several years. He has authored several books including "Hot Wheels 40 Years," "Hot Wheels Classics: The Redline Era" and "Cadillac: 100 Years of Innovation." His 2023 book "Inside the Duesenberg SSJ" is his latest. He can be reached at avanbogart@aimmedia.com