Midwest Coach & Carriage Works has announced it will be adding the beautiful 1910 Model 70 to its list of re-manufactured Stanley bodies it produces. The Model 70 is a true five passenger touring car that embodies everything that the coffin nose, brass era Stanley's has to offer. These are excellent touring cars and real show stoppers.
1910 Stanley Model 70 located in the Stanley Museum
I contacted the proprietor, Mark Johnston, to get the latest scoop on Midwest Coach & Carriage Works and his new Model 70 project. Here is what I found out.
What got you started making Stanley Bodies? With eight variations available you seem committed to the cause.
A chance meeting with a local Stanley enthusiast, who needed an original firewall duplicated. He had taken it to our local hardware/lumber store and they weren't equipped to make the part, so they subcontracted it to my shop. Funny, I didn't even know what the piece was for, I just made an identical one and took it back to the hardware the next day. That afternoon, the Stanley owner showed up at my shop asking for a tour, after which he asked if I would be interested in producing car bodies. A bit confused at this point, I reminded him that I owned a wood shop and didn't do sheet metal work. That prompted a tour of his extensive Stanley stables, where I discovered the world of wood-bodied cars! Two weeks later I started building the little Model E Moxie Delivery as well as an EX body, and haven't looked back since. Wood and cars - it doesn't get much better than that in my book!
Do you have a running Stanley yourself?
I'm sure you've heard the old adage of "the cobbler's children having no shoes"...The Stanley community has been good to us, embracing what we have to offer, and business is brisk with our non-Stanley projects. That all equates to pretty much zero time left for a car of our own. The flip side of that is we get to enjoy being a partner in so many Stanley projects being undertaken worldwide.
In regards to the upcoming Model 70, are you going to be manufacturing the door hardware, hinges, latches, etc?
All of our resources are committed to doing one thing and doing it well, and that's custom wood coachwork. While we can fabricate the odd steel bracket or brace, in general we leave the metal components to the experts in that field. We do as a matter of course install customer-supplied hinges, latches, door hardware, but that is limited to what is required to deliver a frame and body assembly.
Will the bodies be sold all sealed and ready to accept paint?
Every Midwest Coach body is coated 100%, inside and out, with premium marine-grade epoxy, and then block sanded fair and true. The epoxy not only seals the wood against the elements, fuels, steam oil, etc., but is in itself a superb paint substrate. All our coachwork is delivered "paint-prep ready", which means no further shaping, heavy sanding, or detail work is required. Painters can expect needing to do no more than a simple "dust-off" sanding prep before the application of primer coats.
Do you work with other suppliers to provide the bonnets? I've heard there can be some lengthy waits to get one made.
As with the hinges and hardware items, we are not equipped to provide bonnets, fenders, etc. We try to keep up with any new suppliers for these items on an informational basis for our clients, however. We have seen some very nice sheet metal work end up on our bodies, so we know those services are available.
What do you think the most difficult part of recreating the Model 70 will be?
Without hesitation, the seating and doors present a true but welcome challenge. The larger touring cars are a study in beautiful, flowing lines, particularly in the massive rear seat area. As with all Stanley seats, the aesthetic beauty is brought forth through compound curves accentuated with crisp molding lines. Once the frame is complete, the squares and straight edges are put away and the task of duplicating those classic lines is the order of the day.
Is there any plans to recreate a 1913 Model 78 20 HP Roadster in the future? If not, what is the next project on the drawing board?
Midwest Coach is very much a client-driven enterprise. With 70-odd models originally produced, we have no way of predicting what the next project would be. We have some favorites that we'd like to document and add to our product line, but what's next for us is totally dependent on the next commission. It could be that Model 78, or it could be a Mountain Wagon, but whatever it is we'll approach it with the same interest and enthusiasm as any of our previous orders.
All and all Mark is a master craftsmen with a serious eye for detail. He still has an opening in his shop to start production on a Model 70 body in the coming months so if you are interested don't hesitate to give him call.
