porter

~ Stanley Linked to Chicago Mob
and
St. Valentines Day Massacre? ~

Subject:
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2001 22:46:13 -0600
From: "Todd S. Porter" <ToddSPorter@msn.com>
To: <jw[at]stanleysteamers.com>

Here are some pics and a news paper clipping on a 1922 Stanley we recently aquired through an estate liquidation. It has an interesting history, as it was owned by the Clark brothers (James Clark was brother in law to George "bugs" Moran and one of seven killed in 1929 St Valentines Day massacre, Chicago, 1929)

We are currently researching the possibility it was at the scene, actually being the getaway for the surviving brother, and the possibility it was one of six cars used in the famous 1000 bullet drive by asasination attempt on Al Capone at the Hawthorne Hotel.

It was certainly a car used on a daily basis to transport bootleg liquor and gangsters like Bugs, the Clarks, and others around 1920's Chicago.

**********************

-----Original Message-----

From: John Woodson [mailto:jw[at]stanleysteamers.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2001 5:15 PM
To: DCarman254@aol.com; Robert Pat Farrell
Subject: Re: 1922 Stanley,St Val....

DCarman254@aol.com wrote:

Thanks for posting the car on the site. I am coming along with the research at
a better pace now that i've learned that the jim clark killed in
chicago,1929 was really named albert kachellek and the brother of the
original owner of the car. ill keep you posted.Its been a real pleasure to
come in contact with the steam community and learn about these fascinating
cars. they are very cool, and i would like to get this one out on the road this
spring/summer, because we hope to place it in a museum once the research and
refurbishing are completed!

I guess the model we have is a 1922 740D as noted on the pic w/jj.
Do you Know how many of this type are known to exist? There seem to be so many
people interested in them, about how many stanleys do you think are still
roadworthy today?

Is the diagram shown for a 740 on your site representative of our car to your
knowledge?

How could I know if Carl Amsley did the new boiler ,and to what specs? can he
be contacted on the internet?

-------------------------------

--- John Woodson wrote---

There may be 200 roadworthy Stanleys, and perhaps another 200? in hibernation. I assume that the
diagram that you are referring to is the piping diagram by Luke Chaplin. This diagram is
representative of the condensing models, like yours.

I am pretty sure about the 23" boiler replacement, as I did speak with Jim after his trip towing the
Stanley to Carl Amsley's shop in Pennsylvania. He described the drive as exciting at times, as he
had no trailer brakes. I lost touch with Jim after this, and your recent email about acquiring this car
is the first news I have received since. I did not even know that Jim had passed.

Carl Amsley built/restored/repaired a great many Stanleys, and he had amassed the largest
collection of spares until he passed about 2 years ago. I do not know if Carl actually built the boilers
or not. Some photos of the estate sale can be seen here

A copy of this correspondence will go to Pat Farell, a very well informed Stanley
owner/operator/historian. Perhaps he can help to fill in the blanks.

Please update us when you can.

----------------------------------------------------------

Subject:   RE: 1922 Stanley,St Val...
Date:    Wed, 17 Jan 2001 07:36:00 -0800
From:    "Robert Pat Farrell" <farrelrp@gte.net>
To:     <DCarman254@aol.com>, "John Woodson" <jw[at]stanleysteamers.com>
CC:      "Mark S. Herman" <mark.herman@snet.net>

The '22 Stanley sedan is a very famous car with the mob .A famous Icon from the day of the
"Valentine's Day Massacre". Something like Babe Ruth is to base ball. A very important surviving piece of history!

Presently there are well over 600 Stanleys/Locomobiles surviving from the almost 18,000 cars produced over the 30 years they were in production. White built a little over 18,000 cars in the only 10 years that they were building steam cars. There are several collectors that have many Stanleys. Allen Blazick, for one, has over 50 of them. I am only a beginner with 5. Roadworthy or turn key, the good guess would be over 200.

If a person were given a day to get the car running, the figure would be about 350. That leaves over 250 more with bad boilers, engines messed up, or just basket cases. Of our own 5 Stanleys, 3 are turn key and 2 are projects that will take a year to get going. I fit the profile. At the 1999 Mt Washington Auto Road Centennial, there were over 80 steamers there and most all were operating. Almost all of them were from the Eastern U.S. With a turn out like that, maybe there are well over 200 Stanleys in the world that are turn key.

There are7 known survivors of the 1922 Stanley model 740 D that are listed in the 1990 Sprague register.
not counting yours. That makes it at least 10 that have survived as a guess would have it. Figuring at least
30 % weren't registered. The information is gathered on a volunteer basis and not everyone was told that a
register was being assembled at the time. In the 1990 Sprague Register, James Jones listed his Stanley
sedan as a 1920 model 735 serial number 20163. The first two digits are for the year of manufacture in this
case 1920. Is Jim Jones' serial number in error in the book? If the Stanley was a 1922, it would have a serial
number of 22163.

The Sprague Register was edited by Mark Herman. He could only use the information that he was given. If
the information was given in error, then that often is how it was listed.

From your friend in SSsssteam