back in 2008 I came across the next one made (according to the serial number tags, which crazy, we both photographed)
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2008/11/rare-historical-automotive-jem.html and the follow up gallery
Showing posts with label Custer Car. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Custer Car. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 07, 2023
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
I've posted every Custer bumper car and wheelchair I've found, and I've never seen the 1931 Custer Cootie Special as nicely restored as this
There is even a facebook page for Custer Cars now! https://www.facebook.com/CusterCar/
These were made between 1928 and 1931 from what I can figure out, and they were powered by a 12 volt General Electric motor powered by 2 batteries under the hood.
The Cootie was a success primarily used for transportation at beach front boardwalks & by amusement parks as a kids bumper car
Friday, December 25, 2020
Thursday, June 04, 2020
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Someone found a Custer Car
Found on https://www.facebook.com/le.chat.camera/
Compare it to the other two I've posted in the past:
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Sunday, March 27, 2011
3 models of the Custer Car, tiny, simple, and pretty much a go cart / county fair bumper car
Notice how the first and second black and white photo are the same car as this color photo I took of a Coney Island bumper car, just a small bumper addition difference
All three of the above examples are the Cootie Car model, from about 1931
I think I've posted all three of these photos (found on http://www.atomicantiques.com/) before but seperately, not realizing that they were Custer Cars Custer had been working out of the old barn behind his home until 1916, that's when he decided to start his own company and had a four-story brick building constructed, on the second floor became an oceanarium, on the fourth floor he made the first indoor miniature golf course.
About 1925, he'd developed the Custer Park Car as an as an amusement park ride, the car was battery-operated and since it could be used on any track, it was immediately popular with amusement park operators who realized they could capitalize on the national craze for amusement parks by converting any vacant lot into a Custer Car Speedway.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, November 23, 2008
A rare historical automotive jem, discovered as most are, just hanging around unoticed, the 1933 Custer Chair Car
For the new photos I just took in Jan 09, far better photos, http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2009/01/custer-chair-update-1941-engine-powered.html
The back tires are 20 x 2", United States Rubber Company... and look as old as the car!
Advertisement from the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute via: http://www.disabilitymuseum.org/lib/stills/1122.htm
The above 3 photos are of a Custer bumper car in the collection of Only Yesterday, it may be gas or electric, I don't know... but is really similar to the car in the photos that Hemmings picked up on http://www.shorpy.com/ and ran a bio and story about other models the Custer Specialty Co made. http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007/12/18/early-alternative-fuel-vehicle/ Levitt Custer's was inventive, and 1st awarded a patent in 1912 at the age of 24, for his Statoscope which registered the rise and fall of an aircraft. Approved and preferred over the competition by the Army and Navy it was Levitt's financial and professional stepping stone into business and creative success.
Custer had been working out of the old barn behind his home until 1916, that's when he decided to start his own company and had a four-story brick building constructed, on the second floor became an oceanarium, on the fourth floor he made the first indoor miniature golf course.
About 1925, he'd developed the Custer Park Car as an as an amusement park ride, the car was battery-operated and since it could be used on any track, it was immediately popular with amusement park operators who realized they could capitalize on the national craze for amusement parks by converting any vacant lot into a Custer Car Speedway.
Custer's next success was the Custer "C" Cycle, a small, paddlewheel-propelled watercraft, that was also a popular ride at amusement parks.
In the 1930's, Custer patented one of his greatest inventions, the Custer Car, which not meant for amusement parks. The Custer Car was a three-wheel motor vehicle with a small turning radius. Available with a gasoline motor or battery-operated, the car came with an unusual type of transmission: The driver moved the steering handle forward or backward, and the car would move in that direction.
The electric model was designed to be used by invalids as a sort of self-propelled wheelchair. It would travel 10 to 15 miles before it needed recharging and was quiet compared with its gasoline equivalent. This led to motorized sightseeing cars that were used during the 1939 World's Fair in New York.
http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/1996/11/04/editorial2.html
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