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Farnham and Nelson Bodies

When I was a kid family vacations were car shows, tours and swap meets. To entertain myself at swap meets I would search for vintage car advertisements. I found a Locomobile ad with a body I had not seen before. It had a low windshield and a dual cowl, I was excited and needed to know more about it. I bought the ad for $1.00. I asked around and found out the body builder was Farnham and Nelson. Fast forward to 1996, I was looking through Hemmings Motor News and there was a 1919 Loco with the same body for sale. The timing was bad so we didn’t buy it. Years go by and my dad gets a call from Bill Ruger Jr, he has a Locomobile he wants to sell, it’s the same 1919 Farnham and Nelson bodied Locomobile. His dad Bill Sr. had given it to Fran Roxas for a full restoration but unfortunately passed away. Bill Jr wasn’t interested in keeping it because they don’t have much room up front and was too uncomfortable for him to drive. We didn’t want to restore it so we put it back together. There are two other Loco’s with this body, a 1917 and a 1920, both with cape tops. Ours has a full top. Our 1919 and the surviving 1920 are only one body number apart…#9607 and #9608. This dual cowl body was designed by J. Frank de Causse and built by Farnham and Nelson. It first appeared on a Locomobile chassis in 1916. It is the first dual cowl design. If the owners of the other two cars want to chime in that would be great.

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Oct 30, 2026

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Replies (13)

· 2d

Bill, what a great story. I know Locomobile was the first to have that dual cowl concept. Others quickly adopted it because it’s just a fantastic look.

Interesting that your family’s car was at Fran Roxas’ shop. Fran just passed away earlier this month. The number of fabulous cars that have passed through his hands is enormous.

I hope owners of the other two cars might see this and chime in.

· 2d

This 1916 Crane Simplex used the same body however it was put on in 1919 after the closed body was removed.

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· 2d

Bill, Steve Babinsky showed this at Pebble in August. Super cool. 564 cubes so bigger engine than a Model 48.

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· 2d

They are great!

· 2d

Boston Globe October 1917.

· 2d

The Boston Globe
Sun, Mar 30, 1919 ·Page 19

· 2d

https://www.jphs.org/20th-century/farnham-and-nelson-is-manufacturer-of-auto-bodies.html

· 2d

This is another F & N dual cowl they promoted in Vogue magazine.

· 1d

Here is a write up that was done on the 1917. It was an 18 year restoration.

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· 21h

When we brought my dad's Packard to the Virginia CCCA Grand Classic in 2019 this car was there. I thought it was the coolest thing ever and I knew nothing about Locomobile. Went and talked to the owner and got the whole story. This is the original color.

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· 19h

I have not seen it in person yet but I have been told John McAlpin did an amazing job. Personally it is not my favorite color but it was the right thing to put it back to original IMO. I hope to see it in person someday.

· 19h

There are several videos of this car on YouTube that have been created and posted over the years, but there’s one in particular that’s very lengthy and it interviews John McAlpin, where he gives lots of firsthand details about the car. It’s super interesting. I will try and find it and post it.

· 17h

I've seen in in person a few times. It is really really nice. Here are some more photos from the Wilbraham Hill Climb in 2023.

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