This 1904 Winton 20 HP Rear-Entrance Tonneau, chassis number 3452, is said to have been acquired new by a family in Bono, Ohio, by the name of Mulnix, according to history compiled by the owner and her late husband. A 1909 photo in the 2004 Winton Bullet’n newsletter, an excerpt of which is on file, shows the Mulnixes gathered around the Winton, along with their 1905 Autocar and 1905 Yale, near Lake Erie in Lakeside, Ohio. The consignor’s historical account—also included in the newsletter—picks up in the 1950s, when a Mr. Openlander is said to have acquired the Winton sans seats, which were being used as a swing at the house where the car was found and unknowingly left behind.

The Winton then reportedly passed through five more collectors, including Leonard Davis of Pontiac, Michigan, who is said to have located a set of original seats for it. The consignor and her late husband acquired the Winton in 1992 in “remarkably complete” condition, marking the beginning of a long and cherished relationship. They named the car Finbar—“fair-haired one” in Irish—because they liked the sound of it. The following year the owners embarked on a multi-year restoration, encompassing exhaustive research and correspondence with Winton enthusiasts and experts worldwide, including noted marque specialist Peter Kesling.

An aerospace engineer for Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado, the late owner created meticulous and exacting schematics for various wood panels and parts, all intact within the car’s history file. He then machined each part with his own mill and lathe. Refurbishing the brass, paint, body, engine, transmission, upholstery, carpet, and top was contracted out, with the late owner completing much of the final assembly. “He was a perfectionist,” said the consignor of her husband, “had to have everything original and everything right.”

Reportedly finished in red from the factory, the late owner’s painstaking research unearthed Primrose Yellow as period correct for a Winton, said to have been a color the company introduced to differentiate 1904 models from its predecessors. The consignors chose the lovely shade for Finbar, adding maroon accents and upholstery to complement it.

With the restoration completed by 1998, the owners showed the Winton locally, winning First in Class at that year’s Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance in Portland, Oregon. But judging and accolades were not their focus, preferring to enjoy Finbar on the road, which they very much did on a 55-mile jaunt from Medicine Bow to Laramie, Wyoming, during a leg of Peter Kesling’s fraught 2003 “Re-Run” of the famous first transcontinental drive by Dr. Horatio Nelson in a Winton, recounted in the 2004 Winton Bullet’n.

Finbar also completed the New London to New Brighton Antique Car Run in Minnesota multiple times. As a proven high-horsepower finisher, it is ready for the next owner to embark on the process of getting a passport and inspection for future London to Brighton Veteran Car Runs in the United Kingdom. With so few surviving and with so much of its originality intact—including its exceedingly rare Winton carburetion—this 20 HP Rear-Entrance Tonneau is certainly a find for the early automotive enthusiast. Included are a history file with correspondence, detailed schematics, period Winton brochures, and numerous restoration photographs, as well as a 1989 Walker trailer built specifically for the 1904 Winton.