A list of all the failed car companies that dotted the USA between say 1900 and 1920 would be incredible. Companies that turned out a few examples, companies that turned out a prototype and went broke, and those like Holsman Horseless Carriage that trundled along for a few years before folding all have interesting stories. The most famous Holsman car was a machine called the “high wheeler” and at a glance it looked just like the high wheeled horse drawn carts that people bounced around in behind their four legged friends. This is the engine used to power those cars. A horizontally opposed, air cooled, two cylinder that began life rated at 4hp and then by the time the clock struck 1910 it was rated at 10.
The huge wheels were a function of the horrid roads that most people had access to. Being able to bump through pot holes, ruts, and other obstructions on the largely dirt paths, the company sold most of their cars in the midwest where the roads were arguably the worst in the country, where they even existed at all. Holman Horseless Highwheelers used a single tiller to control most of the vehicle’s functions. One of the most interesting things regarded changing gears. Shifts had to be made between the ignition events of the engine! We’re guessing this was a low RPM affair.
This engine is missing stuff and is in pretty rough shape, the flywheel is cracked, and who knows what the inside of the bores look like but it is a really cool piece of history. We had never seen one before stumbling upon the example you see above and below on eBay. That lead us to look up the Holsman company and here we are. Perhaps our favorite shot below is the look inside the crankcase where you can see the two beefy rods. One of the caps is off but we’re not sure if it is gone or if it was just removed for inspection.
Hopefully some with serious dough and a love for automotive history will buy this and then bring it back to its former glory. All smoking, banging, 10hp of it.
Scroll down through the photos and then hit the eBay link –
