The 1934 McQuay-Norris Streamliner is a pretty unique car, but that’s not just because of its somewhat odd design. With just six units built from 1933 to 1934, you’d be hard-pressed to find something like it on the street – even more so with the fact that it’s the only one out there today.
Jeff Lane owns this Streamliner. Several units were built as promotional vehicles for the McQuay-Norris Company in St. Louis, Missouri. The company manufactures replacement pistons, rings, bearings and other parts used to rebuild engines.
This unique classic car body is made by the Hill Auto Body Metal Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. It is made of steel and aluminum on a wooden frame, while the curved windshield is made of plexiglass. It sits on top of the Ford chassis.
Since the promotional vehicle was also used as a test car, there were multiple gauges on the dashboard that were used to monitor various engine components – primarily to show customers why McQuay-Norris Company products were better than others. But that’s nothing unusual about the cabin – the driver sits further back from the front, almost near the center of the vehicle. The two bucket seats have a compartment for luggage at the back.
Since the vehicle is built on a Ford chassis, it is also powered by Ford engines – specifically the 3.6-liter Ford Flathead V8 producing 85 horsepower (63 kilowatts). This power is sent to the rear wheels via a 3-speed manual transmission. Top speed is rated at 80 miles per hour (128 kilometers per hour).
The only surviving 1934 McQuay-Norris Streamliner can be found at the Lane Motor Museum. Founded by Jeff Lane himself in 2002 and opened to the public in 2003, the museum houses the cars he has collected over the years. Lane started collecting cars in his early 20s and to this day, he is still on the lookout for technically significant or uniquely different vehicles to add to the museum.
