Collector Owns Rare 1925 J I Case Car

Collector Owns Rare 1925 J I Case Car AG WORLD Ag World 18-2-22 Many farmers probably don't know that in addition to tractors, J.I. Case also made cars in the 1920's. Herbert Wessel of Hampstead, Maryland, has proof. He owns a 1925 Case model X Suburban Coupe - the only 1925 "Model X" known to exist today. He often takes it to local tractor and car shows. Wessel bought the one-of a-kind car at an estate sale in 1988 and completely re-stored it the following year. "I traced the car back to the original owner, G.B. Gunlogson, of North Dakota. I'm the fourth owner. When I bought the car it was in reasonably good condition except for the Continental 35 hp,-cyl. engine which needed work Also the interior was in bad shape," says Wessel. "Case got in the car business when it acquired the Pierce Racine Car Company (no connection with Pierce Arrow cars), also of Racine, in about 1910. Production ended in 1927. They thought every farmer would buy a Case car because of the company's excellent reputation for tractors and steam engines. Unfortunately, Case cars sold for over $2,000 while a Model T Ford could be bought for only about $400. It was hand-built, not assembled in a production line like Fords. "Case cars were in a class with top-ofthe-line cars like Packards, Cadillacs, and Pierce -Arrows. Fewer than 30,000 were ever built. Only about 1,000 were built in 1925 of which 139 were the model X like mine. Fewer than 100 Case cars of all models and years are known to survive today. Wessel says anyone wanting more information on Case cars or any other Case equipment may be interested in the book "Full S team Ahead" by David Erb and Eldon Brumbaugh. It was recently published by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, Mich. It has complete chapter on Case cars, Also there are two Case collector clubs, each with a news magazine with a lot of information on Case machinery and cars. They are. the J.I. Case Collectors Association, Inc., 4004 Coal Valley Road, Vinton, Ohio 45686, and the International J.I. Case Heritage Foundation, Inc., 5990 Byron Road, How-ell, Mich. 48843. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Herbert Wessel, 2200 Fairmount Road, Hampstead, Md. 21074 (ph 410 374-2273).

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