1913 Overland Model 79T Touring



 This Touring (serial #14717) was made by the Willys-Overland Company in Toledo, Ohio. The Overland automobile was first developed by Claude E. Cox in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1903 for the Standard Wheel Company. The company moved its automobile division to Indianapolis in 1905, and Cox acquired the rights to his designs, continuing production with the help of local entrepreneur, David Parry. In 1907 or 1908, the company was sold to John North Willys, the owner of a dealership that sold Overlands and other automobiles in Elmira, New York.
 In 1909, Willys added four other plants to manufacture the automobiles, including a factory in Toledo. At that time, nearly 1,200 workers were reportedly employed at the plant in Indianapolis, and 400 were employed in Toledo. In 1912, Willys reorganized the company as the Willys-Overland Company; and from 1912 to 1918, Willys-Overland ranked second only to the Ford Motor Company as the largest manufacturer of automobiles in the United States. Willys-Overland made the Overland automobile until 1926, when it was replaced by the Whippet.

This Overland Touring has a series of three patents on its nameplate under the hood, including:
657650, a patent for an automobile vehicle published by Leonard Huntress Dyer on September 11, 1900, which you can view as a pdf here;
885986, a patent for a transmission gear for a motor vehicle published by Leonard Huntress Dyer on April 28, 1908, which you can view as a pdf here; and
921963, a patent for an automobile vehicle published by Leonard Huntress Dyer on May 18, 1909, which you can view as a pdf here.


An Overland ad with an image of the
Model 79T from the February 21,
1924 The Literary Digest. 



 Although you cannot see it, this Overland Touring has a Kinwood Radiator made by the Kinsey Manufacturing Company of Toledo, Ohio. This company was originally created by Isaac Kinsey, Sr. in Dayton, Ohio. A friend of John North Willys, Kinsey moved his company to Toledo in 1909 and became vice-president of Willys' Overland automobile company. The Kinwood radiators, along with other Kinsey products, were designed by Thomas J. Kehoe. The Kinsey Manufacturing Company also made hoods, fenders, tanks, tool and battery boxes, and other items for automobiles.



Notes
A narrative of the Overland automobile, including Cox's involvement in the Overland's design and Willys' acquisition of the company, can be found here.
More information, as well as photographs and other publications, can be found on the Willys-Overland-Knight Registry, which can be accessed here.
Information on the situation in 1909, particularly the number of workers in Indianapolis and Toledo, is from The Automobile, vol. XXI, no. 1 (July 1, 1909), p. 36.

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