Original alternative energy cars

Although Motorfest exhibitor Bill Lloyd owns ten elderly cars that run on alternative energy, he makes the point that they may use alternative energy but they are definitely not efficient.

Bill has been collecting cars for over thirty five years and favours steam and electric powered machinery.  His first purchase was a 1922 Stanley Steamer, a marque which, along with the White, was probably the best known of all steam powered cars.

Bill’s love of all things mechanical came from his father who was a mechanical engineer and would take young Bill to the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Harris Street, Ultimo - forerunner to The Powerhouse Museum, just along the street.  Bill studied to be a mechanical engineer then changed to being a patent attorney instead, but he has retained his interest in automotive power.

Among his collection is a very rare 1900 Locomobile which he bought when he learned that the car had been sold and was about to be sent out of Australia, having spent all its life here.

Bill has a few other Stanley Steamers from 1907, 1916, 1922 and 1923, but the rarest car in his collection is a 1924 Doble.  Unlike the Stanleys, which take about 20 minutes to get going from cold, the Doble has a flash boiler and an electric control system, which gets the car underway in about 90 seconds.  Bill once drove the Doble to Melbourne and back for a steam rally.  It cruises happily and almost silently at close to 100 kph.

Bill says there were probably only about thirty-five of the Dobles made, there may be fifteen left in the world and his is the only one in Australia.  Bill bought it from the estate of the late Robert Homes à Court in 1992 as one of about ten steam cars in that collection.   At the same time, Bill also bought a 1907 White Steamer.  Coincidentally, the White and Doble had been bought by Robert Homes à Court from the same US collector, so these two cars have been stable mates for over 60 years.

Of the Stanleys, Bill reckons there might be fifteen or twenty in Australia.  The 1907 non-condensing Stanley steamer is a sprightly performer and can still do about 100 kph, leaving a cloud of exhaust steam behind.  It gets about one mile per gallon of water, so with a thirty-five gallon tank, long distance travel has to be carefully planned.  Bill says that when asked about the lack of distance per tank, one of the twin Stanley brothers said that thirty miles was more than anyone would ever want to travel in one day!!  However the 1916 car, which has a condenser, gets about five miles per gallon and has a twenty gallon tank.

Don’t forget that the water first has to be boiled and the “primus” style vapourising burner gives you about 10 miles per gallon.  Most steamers used kerosene, which was about half the price of petrol, so the fuel costs were often better than the petrol cars of the time.  Kerosene is now almost impossible to find in bowsers, so most steamers are now running on petrol, or a mixture of petrol and diesel.  During the war, owners often converted them to run on waste oil, wood or coke.

Bill’s 1915 Detroit electric car was well known in Sydney for many years as it was one of several owned by prominent  solicitor Arthur Allen, who drove one of them every day from his house in the Eastern suburbs to his office in the city.  He had at least three such cars, of which one is now in the Powerhouse Museum.  The other two, including Bill’s car, were subsequently owned by Roy Doring, an auto electrician at Rockdale, who drove one of them regularly.  That car is now in a museum in Perth.  Bill’s car also spent some time in the Gilltrap’s Auto Museum on the Gold Coast.  Bill remembers having a ride in the car when visiting the museum as a teenager, not realising that he would one day come to own it.

Bill bought the Detroit in 1993 and has spent the intervening years progressively restoring the car.  Most recently, he installed 14 new Trojan deep cycle 6 volt batteries, giving a total of 84 volts.  These propel the car at a sedate maximum speed of about 40 kph in total silence.   Bill calculates he can get about 90 kilometres from an overnight battery charge.   The car draws about 30 amps in flat running, but it’s not uncommon to see the amp meter go off the 150 amp scale when slowly creeping up a steep hill.  Amongst other recent repairs, a new set of rear wheel bearings were bought off the shelf.  Not bad for a 1915 model! 

Bill believes in using his cars whenever possible and whichever car is in the garage gets driven at least once a week. 

The 1915 Detroit and the 1907 Stanley will be on display for NRMA Motorfest at the corner of College and Park streets with the other veteran cars.

Written by Bill Loyd & John Flower