An exceptionally rare restoration project.

SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Eshelman Motors Corporation

Origin: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Production: est. 12

Motor: Wisconsin THD vertical twin

Displacement: 67.3 cu. in.

Power: 18 hp

Length: 4.5 ft.

Identification No. 58S-122-004

By the late-1950s, Cheston Eshelman was making efforts to upgrade his tiny automobiles. The Sportabout, a somewhat larger version of the Adult Sport Car, boasted seats for three adults, while sitting abreast. As with the earlier cars, however, the capacity was much exaggerated. The Sportabout featured electric starting and could be had with a canvas top and doors.

Now named Eshelman Motors Corporation, the firm offered three even larger fiberglass-bodied vehicles: a coupe, a pickup truck, and a delivery van. All had hinged doors and were powered by Wisconsin air-cooled vertical twin engines. A full electric system made an ammeter necessary, and expected speeds evidently warranted a speedometer. The chassis consisted of angle iron rails topped with a sheet of plywood. Plywood also fashioned the firewall. The fuel tank was relocated to the rear. The advertised price was $1,395, nearly three times that of the original Sport Car.

Only about a dozen of these models were produced, making this coupe a very uncommon find. Partially disassembled, it is in need of complete restoration. This example is shod with 5.70–18 pneumatics tires, which are very old and in need of replacement. There is also a very rudimentary coil-spring suspension. The car appears largely complete, save for some of the seating. Not merely unusual, it may be the rarest Eshelman extant.