Shappy's Classic And Antique Car, Truck, And Motorcycle Restorations
Click on a picture for current status and more info.
ID#8096 - 1925 Duesenberg Model A Roadster
Engine #1149 Chassis #1156
Approximately 650 Model A Duesenbergs were produced from 1921 to 1926. They were
priced at an average cost of $7,500 which was a considerable sum of money at a time when a Model T Ford could be
purchased for around $500. The Model A Duesenberg was the first automobile in series production to have
hydraulic brakes and the first automobile in series production in the United States with a straight eight
engine.
The bodies of most early Duesenbergs were constructed of heavy gauge aluminum which
explains why they have remained in such remarkable condition even when left to the elements for many decades.
Approximately 35 different Model A Duesenberg body types are known to have survived to date. All were built
separately by different body builders. This particular Duesenberg was discovered in a junkyard in Long Island,
New York in the early sixties and it has remained in storage in Rochester, New York until January 2021 when Dick
Shappy purchased it with intentions to bring it back to running in its original splendor.
We have discovered that many of the parts that were promised with this car have not
yet arrived as agreed. A vigorous attempt to retrieve all the original parts is currently underway. You are
invited to follow this aspect of the restoration while we embark on the restoration of this extremely rare and
fine gem of automobile history.
ID#5090 - 1917 Reading Standard Model T-E 12 HP Twin
I have decided to undergo a full restoration on the 1917 Reading Standard Model T-E 12 HP Twin
Motorcycle and I have been assured by my grand nephew, Ryker Shappy,
that he will be aiding in obtaining information that will help with the
restoration of this rare and beautiful relic from the past.
The Reading Standard Company produced Motorcycles at 500 Water Street in
Reading, Pennsylvania from 1903 to 1924. Theirs was the first
flathead Motorcycle engine produced in America. The first V-Twins
arrived on the market in 1908 and they displaced 722 cubic centimeters. In
1913, the new flathead design had grown to 990 CCs as in the example we are
about to begin restoring as seen here. Official starting date is
November 15, 2023.
In mid September 2019, I was contacted by a friend who said he had knowledge of a
Wold War 1 airplane engine that he believed is a Curtiss which was built by Glenn Curtiss of Hammondsport, New
York. He was told that I might be interested in purchasing this engine as he knew that I had already restored
two Curtiss-built motorcycles, a 1901 Hercules and a 1909 Curtiss Twin. He also heard a rumor that I was
interested in building an aero engined race car. Well, he was right on both presumptions. I asked that he send
more info such as location, condition, availability, and, of course, price. The first photo shown in the album for this car piqued my interest
and eventually led to the purchase and the ensuing project.
The following is excerpted from the Smithsonian Air
and Space Museum: The most successful early engines marketed in the United States were those built by early aviation pioneer
Glen Curtiss of Hammondsport, New York. The first aircraft engines that Curtiss designed and built were air
cooled as were his early motorcycle engines. But to achieve higher power, he produced liquid cooled engines
beginning in 1911 with his OX-5 engines. With the advent of WW1, the United States contracted Curtiss to
produce engines to power the JN-4D "Jenny" trainer aircraft. He later produced an improved version
of the OX-5 with the OXX-6 engine. The improvements included an additional magneto for greater dependability
and a slightly larger engine bore which produced an additional ten horsepower which gave the OXX-6 a rating of
one hundred horsepower. By todays standards, 100 horsepower may not sound extremely powerful but compared to
the very powerful 77 horsepower engines that powered Cadillac cars in 1917, the OXX-6 was considered extremely
powerful and they were the most extensively used American built engines during WW1 and in the following
decade.
Produced in Logansport, Indiana, this 4 cylinder "Walking
Beam" Duesenberg engine is rated at 100HP on a 131 inch wheel base. Production of ReVere automobiles was
very
limited with only six produced in 1918, fifty in 1919, fortythree in 1920, twentyseven in 1921 and only 121 cars
produced over the
next five years. Production ended in 1926. Here Wray Schelin (l) and Dick
Shappy pose with the 1918 ReVere Duesenberg Racer at the Pro Shaper garage in
Charlton, Massachusetts December 23, 2016.
The Veterans Square Diner opened in West Warwick, Rhode Island in 1941 and was
operated for more than fifty years by the Richter family until it was abandoned and discovered by Richard
Shappy. Prior to its use as a diner, it had been an Osgood Bradley Trolley operating on the streets of
Providence and surrounding cities for approximately thirty years. As many as fifty trolley cars had plied the
streets of Providence and they were thought to be extinct until Shappy's discovery.
A meticulous
restoration has been underway since 2006. See how new life is restored to this faded old lady of the streets.
For the past three years, Dick Shappy and Sean Brayton
have been restoring one of the earliest known surviving examples of this rare and beautiful little piece of
Americana.
This project has an article associated with it. You can find it here.
ID#8176 - 1912 National 40 Speedway Roadster Model V
The National Car Company produced their cars in Indianapolis, Indiana. The
present day Indianapolis Speedway began as the factory proving grounds for
these extraordinary fine high-quality racing machines. In 1911 alone, National
placed a total of 162 1st, 2nd or 3rd place finishes, and won World Stock
Champion, World Road Race Champion, World's Fastest Straitaway Mile, and Long
Distance Champion honors. A factory brochure quoted the following, "The fame of
this car has circled the globe because of its multiplied (sic) demonstrations
of absolute reliability, speed, and perfect satisfaction." We are currently
restoring one of the very few remaining examples of this very rare and
treasured automobile.
Four cylinder 70
horsepower engine with 3 3/4 inch bore and 6 3/4 inch stroke. Piston
displacement of 298.2 cubic inches. Wheelbase 115 inches. Weight 3800 pounds.
25 gallon gas tank. Extra 5 gallon oil tank for high speed driving. 32 x 4 1/2
tire size. Made in Trenton, New Jersey.
A four cylinder seventy horsepower two seat sports car.
Considered to be "the first American sports car" along with the Stutz Bear Cat.
Made in Trenton, New Jersey.
ID#3063 - 1934 Duesenberg Model J-505 Convertible Sedan, Body by
Derham
The newly found Duesenberg J Convertible Sedan stirred
up a lot of interest since the story of its acquisition appeared in the March 3rd 2005 issue of Old Cars
Weekly Vol.34, No.9. Because of the interest
that article
generated, we are showing our web site visitors how nicely the restoration is proceeding. Detailed
information is posted as the work is completed.
ID#3024 - 1930 Cadillac V-16 Model 4380 Convertible Sedan
Model 452A 16 cylinder 452 cubic inch engine model 4380 convertible sedan. Also
known as "all weather phaeton". Two hundred and fiftyeight of these
magnificent autobiles were produced in 1930-1931. No expense was spared in the
meticulously completed restoration of this vehicle.
This car was purchased in 2002 from Steve Grisbee of
Cheyenne Wyoming, and it has undergone a complete show-quality body-off restoration that took seven years
to complete. Although several of these Demi Tonneau cars have been restored at our facility, the one
pictured here started off as the best original example that we had ever seen. With the restoration finally
complete,we feel that it is the highest quality example of 1911 Cadillac Demi Tonneau available on the
market today.
A seven year complete body off restoration was completed in
November 2018 on this car with no expense spared. The photos in this album
document that restoration.
"This new big 7 horsepower White Twin is the most powerful motorcycle yet known, with unlimited speed.
It will be the boss of the road and the pride of the boulevard."
"Its exceptionally beautiful appearance will appeal to the thousands of riders who enjoy long trips and
pride themselves on their neat appearance when touring."
"Several of the most noted gasoline experts in the United States have pronounced this new 7 H. P. Twin
Cylinder Motor to be positively the most mechanically perfect internal combustion engine of the age."
color white
wheelbase 55 1/2 inches
weight 225 lbs.
height 29 inches
In April of 2009, Dick visited the Horseless Carriage
sponsored event that is held annually in Bakersfield, California. While looking for spares for the many
pre-war era cars that Dick is restoring, he noticed six vintage motorcycles displayed for sale on an open
trailer. Dick began negotiating for the purchase of the 1912 Yale 7P Twin and a 1912 Emblem Twin. No deal
was made at that time with the gentleman who owned them, but Dick was definitely interested. After doing a
little more research on both machines, Dick learned that the 1912 Yale Twin was the biggest and fastest
produced at the time and was, indeed, the most desirable Yale of that year. A few weeks later, Dick ran in
to the same gentleman at the meet in Oley, Pennsylvania. Both motorcycles were still available. A deal was
made, and, here below, you will see a detailed accounting of the restoration of the beautiful 1912 Yale
motorcycle.
On October 21st 2006, Dick Shappy attended the Otis
Chandler auction in Oxnard, California. His main purpose for attending this auction was to purchase the
1911 Flying Merkel 50-50 V-Twin motorcycle.
After being outbid, Dick soon bought a "basket case" version of the same model, and is now restoring
it.
This project has an article associated with it. You can find it here.
This car was purchased several years ago from the Dragone
collection. Most of the correct parts for it have been found and are being
fitted, after which, the project will be disassembled. Paint work, bright work,
upholstery, et cetera will be finished, and the car will be reassembled.
This four foot by four foot section of "burly red wood" was recently purchased, and it will be used on the interior doors, dash, and rear seat face. Expert wood craftsman, Bob Dwyer, is posing with the red wood section.
In 1909, Percy Pierce introduced a four cylinder
motorcycle similar to the Belgian-built FN. The quality was very impressive, and so was the price --
$400.00 which was a staggering amount of money for that period. In 1910, a two-speed clutch and
transmission were added at an even higher price. Sales were low and production ceased in 1913. The Pierce
Arrow register lists only fifteen of these machines as surviving today. We are very proud and privileged to
be restoring the one listed here.
We have begun a "ground up" restoration of this 1917 Indian
twin. We also have two other PowerPlus cycles ready for restoration when this
one is completed.
ID#7288 - 1933 Cadillac V-16 Convertible Coupe, body by Fisher, engine # 5000011
In 1998, Dick Shappy began the restoration of this rare (only
one) and desirable automobile. It won "Best of Show" on Father's
Day, July 5, 2005, at the New England Cadillac LaSalle show at the Portsmouth Abbey in
Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
The 1914 Flying Merkel V Twin was poweed by a 1,000 CC 7-9 horsepower engine.
Merkels were produced from 1902 to 1916 and are highly collectible and are
considered to be tops in reliability, speed, and performance for that era. The
sales price of $305.00 in 1914 slowed production as the sale price of a Model T
Ford had dropped to only $345.00.
If you were the richest girl in the world and were given the
opportunity to have a custom car designed and built for you, what would you
have built? Miss Doris Duke (Nov. 22, 1912 -- Oct. 28, 1993), the tobacco
heiress, was born in 1912 and, in 1937 at age twenty-five, she visited the
Rollston body company in New York City where she commissioned those prestigious
body builders to produce her dream car.
She was chauffeured many times from her estate at Duke Farms in Hillsborough,
New Jersey to her mansion at Rough Point in Newport, Rhode Island in this
beautiful 1938 V-12 Packard Landaulet by Rollston.
In 2007, Dick Shappy found the car in need of total restoration. Click on the
photo to see us document the meticulous restoration process that this "one off"
custom beauty underwent.
.jpg "1911 Cadillac Demi Tonneau")
