He Collects "Case" Cars

He Collects "Case" Cars FARM HOME Cars 24-6-21 "I regard them as part of farm equipment history," says Robert Ellis, High Hill, Mo., about his collection of old Case automobiles. Ellis has bought and restored three Case cars including a 1915 25 hp "R" 5-passenger model and two 40 hp "T" 7-passenger models, one made in 1916 and the other in 1917. He occasionally displays them at old-time machinery shows. "It has been a world of fun restoring these cars and I'm really proud of them," says Ellis. "As far as I know only two people have a bigger Case car collection than I have. I bought them as pieces of junk and restored them from the ground up. We're only the third owner of our 1916 model. It's been documented from new and we still have the original bill of sale. "Case is well known for its farm equipment, but many people don't know that the company also made cars over a 16-year period, from 1911 to 1927. They built more than 26,000 cars but only about 100 are still known to exist. I became interested in restoring Case cars because our family always used Case tractors. "Case cars were handmade so they were very expensive. For example, the 1916 model T sold new for $1,290 whereas at the same time the 1916 Ford Model T sold for only about $325. Today that would be like the difference between buying a Rolls Royce and a new Ford. The company probably counted on the loyalty of its farm equipment customers to sell their cars. Although they were expensive, anyone who was a candidate for a 110 hp steam engine was probably also a candidate for a Case automobile. "The company had three radically different designs of cars. The cars made up until 1917 were equipped with 4-cylinder engines. From 1918 on they used a 6-cylinder Continental engine." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Ellis, 3 Locust St., High Hill, Mo. 63350 (ph 636 585-2248; E-mail: elliscase@socket.net).

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