Trip to Grandma’s – The Whippet

“Grandma’s”

Left to Right, Top to Bottom:

Frances Hinkelbein Batho, Jane Crouch, Bob Thayer, Jim Thayer, May Crouch, Gertrude Batho, Grandma Hinkelbein, Edna Thayer, and Ray Thayer.

 

As Told by Frances Hinkelbein Batho Seiley

to Kathryn Seiley

“We were going on vacation,” my mother begins. She has difficulty remembering things now and has never told any of us much about her family and growing up. These things just never seemed as important as everything else that was going on in a family with six children of varying ages and personalities. My older sister and I continue to press Mom to tell us about her life, our grandparents and great-grandparents even though it usually ends up in frustration, with little resolved. This story, though short, she tells with a quiet smile to me of an eventful trip to Grandma’s.

 

“Dad had a Whippet. It wasn’t a new car, but it was a nice car. Especially since many people didn’t have cars in those days. You could see the pride on Dad’s face as we loaded up the car one Easter holiday and headed from Boston, over the Mohawk Trail, to Grandma’s in North Adams” she recalls. “I must have been about 8 or 9 at the time. I remember the Mohawk Trail was a long winding road, with many hills and valleys, and lots of curves before getting to Grandma’s. And it took a long time, especially on this trip.”

 

“The Whippet was a 4-cylinder car, I remember that” she continues, “and soon after we started on the trail we lost one of the cylinders, and the car slowed down. A little farther down the road another cylinder went out. Now we were down to just two cylinders and trying to go up and down mountains, and maneuver around winding curves. Dad was having a heck of a time and we thought it was awful how slow we were going. It got worse when one of those two cylinders blew out – we were down to one cylinder.”

 

“Late that night we finally got to Grandma Hinkelbein’s house on just one cylinder. We were all so tired we went straight to bed. The next morning Dad took the car to the shop to get fixed. When he told his story to the mechanics they just shook their heads in wonder over how Dad had managed to get that car 150 miles on one cylinder.” She concluded her story by saying, “That sure was a good car.”

John N. Willy’s told his dealers that the Whippet title was intended as a generic name for the broad class of vehicles of which this is the forerunner. It would to be light, fast, economical and stylish. Production of the first and the most popular of the Whippet car family, the 4-cylinder Model 96, was introduced in June of 1926. By September 1926 overseas releases reached around the world to Australia. The car was equipped with 4 brakes, water pump cooling and pressurized lubrication, with European styling. It was compact, yet roomy, low center of gravity, good looks, performance and economy.

 

The 1926 models carried the Overland radiator badge and Overland hub caps. In 1927 that was changed to carry the Whippet or Overland Whippet name. In 1927 the 6-cylinder Overland 93, renamed the Whippet 93A, was introduced to the market.

 

With a wheelbase slightly bigger than that of the Model T Ford the Whippet made its mark by the resulting performance from a high bore 2.2 litre engine. Henry Ford announced his Model A in late 1927 to offset the sales lost on the Model T to the Whippet series.

 

Production of the Whippet Model 96 ended in December of 1928 being replaced with the Whippet Model 96A which had a longer stroke and more horsepower. The same engine powered the Willy’s 77 during the depression years and the Willy’s Jeep during World War II. Believe it or not, Whippet even manufactured a tank!

 

Although short-lived in production this series of car lives on in the hearts of automobile enthusiasts as sales prices for series rank high. A 1928 Whippet Cabriolet Model 96 recently sold for $14,000. That’s quite a markup from the original $725 price tag. It’s just one more reason to hang onto these good old cars.

Published U.S. Legacies April 2004