1925 Wills-Sainte Claire W-6 Gray Goose Traveler Seven-Passenger Touring

Description

OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE

The Nethercutt Collection is one of America’s finest Automotive Museums and Collections, a masterpiece comprising over 250 perfectly restored American and European motor cars, along with a vast array of rare mechanical musical instruments and precious antique furniture. 

Maintaining a classic car collection of this size is never easy, and when it reaches the scale of our collection, it becomes increasingly more challenging. Our founder, J.B. Nethercutt said the following at age 91, “The recognition and preservation of beauty has been a major focus of my life. It would suit me well if what people remembered about me was, ‘Where he went, he left beauty behind.’” 

As a result, we have decided to part ways with a small group of cars from the collection and will do so in partnership with our friends at Hagerty Marketplace. Many of the cars we have decided to sell we have owned for in excess of 50 years, or have been in storage, not on display, or represent a tremendous opportunity as a restoration project. They are a compelling mix of pre-war examples that have been thoroughly well-cared for and that will easily find new caretakers who will undoubtedly cherish and use them as intended.  

As we say goodbye to this group of cars, we hope the occasion for their sale will introduce us to new collectors and enthusiasts, and we look forward to hosting you at the Museum and Collection in Sylmar, California, in the coming months, years and decades. 

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The Wills-Sainte Claire was produced in Marysville, Michigan from 1921-1927. It was named after its founder, Childe Harold Wills, instrumental in the development of the Model T as Henry Ford’s chief designer and metallurgist and the Sainte Claire River near Wills’ factory. Wills started his company with the severance pay of $1,592,128 he received when he left Ford, the result of a previous verbal agreement he had with none other than Henry himself.

He established Wills-Sainte Claire in a model industrial community along with former Ford employer John R. Lee. This was a beautifully made automobile; the first to use molybdenum steel. featured a 265 cu-in V-8 from 1921-1924 with the advanced feature of two overhead camshafts producing a modest 67 hp. Considering the car’s quality and advanced engineering, the price was a reasonable $2,475 made possible by a production goal of 1,500 cars which the company achieved in 1923.

In 1925, a long-stroke six-cylinder engine was offered. Wills was a perfectionist, which was perhaps, his undoing. His penchant for shutting down the assembly line for even the slightest improvement was just one of the reasons for the demise of the company by 1927. Will-Sainte Claire built about 12,000 vehicles total but never achieved a profit.

Highlights

• Offered from The Nethercutt Collection

• CCCA Full Classic eligible for all CARavans and Club events

• Seven-passenger touring model

• 66 hp six-cylinder engine

• 127-inch wheelbase

Features

• Disc wheels

• Vast array of part included

• Restoration project vehicle

Ownership History

Purchased from Barney Gardner, M.D.

From Cameron Richards, Vice President of The Nethercutt Collection: “This Wills-Sainte Claire Gray Goose Traveler was a donor car back in the day. Fun fact, Wills Sainte Claire was founded by Henry Ford’s first employee.”

Additional Notes

A Broad Arrow Auctions Specialist is working as an agent on behalf of the owner of this vehicle. Broad Arrow Auctions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hagerty.

Contact: Donnie Gould Phone: 954.647.0779 email: dgould@hagerty.com