I really don't know myself...

Saw this where you saw this... I have no idea either.

Lack of any sort of windshield sure gives some weight to being 'home-made'.

Looks like maybe from the teens or twenties? Could be anything..there were hundreds are now-obscure car marques back then.

It is relatively giant compared to the runabout next to it. Prolly a Lycoming.

Pretty early; smaller car was identified as being a '12-13, with a 90" wheelbase, suggesting a wheelbase circa 140" for the big one.

The big Duesenbergs had 142.5" WBs.

Would have to be an expensive car at this size, but it still has crank start (Cadillac would debut electric start for '12).

Body is pretty disjointed for a manufactured vehicle.

I have no guess.

Lycoming was an engine manufacturer, not whole vehicles.

Edited January 2, 201213 yr by balthazar

Huge, whatever it is...

After a lot of searching, It looks like a Scripps-Booth - nothing else I found has a grille like that.

After a lot of searching, It looks like a Scripps-Booth - nothing else I found has a grille like that.

It's way to big to be a Scripps Booth. Mercedes had a grille like that, but the fenders are so rough, it's hard to tell. And there's no Mercedes three-point star logo on the grille.

Scripps-Booth also had a grille design like that at one point, but neither are a match for this one.

Beech-Skippert Model 75 Touring Car?

Looks to me like a cobbled-together front end on something it doesn't belong to.

The radiator/grille is a dead ringer for the Scripps-booth town car - but yeah, the rest is just too big.

Not sure, but you might find an answer here:

http://www.autopuzzles.com/forum/index.php

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Looks to me like a cobbled-together front end on something it doesn't belong to.

I agree. The fenders look mis-matched, and the hood isn't quite "factory" looking...even for 1910-ish.

I'm gonna go with Balthazar's original speculation and say this is a workshop special.

It's a gargantuan (and frankly, ugly) Frankenphaeton is what it is.

OK, wasted a few more hours on this - and the Mercedes grille seems like a good bet.

One other point to note: this car is RHD.

I'm betting we can get this one figured out if we work at it.

I've been hunting for any car of this era with the styled creases under the doors - can't find a one with this detail.

Those front fenders are certainly unusual...and the left one looks different from the right one.

RHD is of little consequence circa 1912.

I've certainly looked at a lot of stuff from this vintage (tho by no means am I as familiar as I am with post-war stuff), and this thing really says nothing to me.

The details of the bodywork DO say- not OEM-built to me.

These pics have gone viral, and are being discussed on numerous boards by names I know whom are very much moreso learned in brass-era stuff than me, and there's still no strong contender for an ID... yet. IMO, it's going to boil down to ID'ing pieces of it, which will only confirm it's home-built.

I'm following this on a few boards with interest.