The Springfield Body Co. is best known as the originator of the convertible, or more precisely the convertible hardtop body in the middle teens. The firm’s “Springfield Body” or “Springfield Top” was the first commercially available automobile body that could be converted from an enclosed vehicle to an open, pillar-less touring car. A second incarnation of the firm specialized in commercial bodies and manufactured a line of suburban wooden station wagon bodies for Chevrolet and Ford chassis in the late 20s. 

The manufacturers of the Springfield top started life as the Springfield Cornice Works, a light structural steel fabricator located in Springfield, Massachusetts owned by Arthur P. Smith and managed by his younger brother Hinsdale Smith.

The younger Smith had taken an early interest in the horseless carriage, and between 1896 and 1899 he designed and patented a number of automobile transmissions (#616267, # 626444) and gasoline engines (#624555, #632763). 

Hinsdale built his own experimental horseless carriage in 1896 that was fitted with a wooden body built by the New Haven Carriage Co. The vehicle was powered by an American gasoline engine that delivered power to the rear wheels via Smith’s own transmission via chain drive. Additional prototypes were built in the next few years that were fitted with Smith’s novel spring-plate gasoline engine which was sometimes referred to as the Smith Spring Motor. 

The legendary engineer Charles H Martin moved to Springfield in 1898 to help the Smiths further develop their creations and by 1900, their first vehicle, the Meteor, was ready for production. (Among his numerous inventions, Martin’s claim to fame is the “rocking fifth wheel”. Introduced on his Knox-Martin tractor-trucks of 1910-1920, the device continues to be the only secure means of connecting a semi-trailer to a truck.) 

Martin and Hinsdale Smith formed the Automotor Co. to build the vehicle which was powered by a Dion engine that delivered power to the rear wheels via Smith’s transmission and a single chain. 16 examples of the $850 runabout were built between 1900 and 1901. 

Automotor was a subsidiary of the Springfield Cornice Works and when Martin left the firm in 1902 to go to work for the Knox Automobile Co. (also in Springfield) the name of the vehicle became the Automotor. The car was available with a planetary or sliding gear transmission which now drove the rear wheels via shaft drive. Various models were available using a combination of 16- and 20-hp powerplants. A powerful 6-cylinder touring was even offered in 1905 for a whopping $3500. 

Sales of the vehicle were dismal, however the aluminum bodywork created at the firm’s parent Cornice Works was innovative and highly regarded. The brothers decided to concentrate on that aspect of the business and reorganized the firm as the Springfield Metal Body Co. in 1903 to better reflect their new line of work. 

The firm manufactured aluminum bodies and folding tops for the regions many early automobile manufacturers who included Locomobile, Moyea, Orson, Pope-Hartford, Sampson, Stanley and Stevens-Duryea. In fact, Hinsdale Smith was a friend of Frank Duryea and helped develop the firm’s first six-cylinder chassis. As the firm’s chief designer Hinsdale Smith patented a series of improvements to both the carriage top (787798, 837138, 1066230) automobile body (D47252, D47630, 781565, 781850, 813460, 869025, 879205, 1170568, 1170570, 1170571, 1181689, 1251433, 1409962) and automobile steering knuckle (876104). 

The bodies for a Springfield-badged automobile were built in small numbers by Springfield Metal Body in 1907 and 1908. Designed by two local engineers, H.C. Medcraft and G.B. Bowersox, the car was sometimes known as the Med-Bow and manufactured by a syndicate headed by G.F. Hillman of Northampton, Massachusetts and included investors from both Springfield, Massachusetts and Springfield, Illinois. 

Springfield Metal Body Company built the body for piano virtuoso Josef Hofmann’s self-built 1909 Hofmann automobile. The body was a long demi-limousine that could be converted into an open tourer. 

Skilled coachbuilders were hard to find and the firm recruited a number of European craftsmen to fill the void. Their most famous recruit was Maurice Schwartz (1884-1961), who would go on to form the legendary Californian firm of Bohman & Schwartz. 

Schwartz was born in Austria in 1884 and learned the art of body building at the Armbruster Kaiser Koneg Hofwagen Fabrick, the Vienna firm that built carriages for the Kaiser. In 1904 Armbruster added automobile bodies to their product catalog and Schwartz had six years experience in building them when he was recruited in 1910. He stayed at Springfield for a couple of years then left to work for Willoughby in Utica, New York and Fisher Brothers in Detroit. In 1918 he moved to Los Angeles, California to work for the Earl Auto Works which was eventually purchased by the Los Angeles Cadillac dealer Don Lee. 

In March of 1913, the Smith’s acquired the factory and assets of the Brightwood Mfg. Co., the producer of the 1910-1911 Orson automobile (aka the “Banker's Car” or “Millionaire’s Car”) and was reorganized as the Springfield Body Co. Within a year, Hinsdale Smith’s revolutionary convertible sedan would guarantee the firm a lasting place in automotive history. 

The Springfield all-year body featured removable door pillars and side windows that either slid down into the door cavity or were removed and stowed inside the car. The body debuted on the 1914 Chalmers Sedan and from 1915 through 1918, “Springfield-type” bodies were offered by at least two dozen automobile manufacturers including Auburn, Cadillac, Chalmers, Chandler, Chevrolet, Cole, Dodge, Ford, Haynes, Hudson, Locomobile, Maxwell, Mitchell, Oakland, Overland, Paige, Peerless, Pierce-Arrow, Pope, Pope-Hartford, Stanley, Stevens-Duryea, Studebaker, Toledo, Westcott and Willys-Knight. 

(The Springfield Top was resurrected by aftermarket suppliers in the early twenties as the all-weather or “California Top”, a popular accessory for touring cars, which gave them the functionality of sedan.) 

Demand for the new body style quickly exceeded the factory’s capacity, so a New York investor named Walter L. Fry was brought in to bolster the firm’s finances. In December, 1914 the firm was reorganized as the Springfield Body Corp. with a $1 million capitalization. Fry became the firm’s president, Hinsdale Smith, vice-president and chief engineer, and Arthur P. Smith treasurer. Corporate headquarters were relocated to New York City at Broadway & 55th St., a Detroit Office was established in the David Whitney Bldg. at 1553 Woodward Ave. and the firm commenced operations at a leased plant in metropolitan Detroit. 

The following news release appeared in many of the nation’s papers in late November and Early December of 1915:

“$1,000,000 Concern Takes Over Springfield Metal Body Co. 

"The tremendous demand of automobile buyers for the “Springfield” type of car is emphasized by the announcement that a new concern called the Springfield Body Company has been incorporated with a capitalization of $1,000,000 to take over the business of the Springfield Metal Body Company of Springfield Mass. 

"The corporation will be headed by W.L. Fry, New York City, as president, vice-president and director of sales, E.W. McGookin, Detroit, Mich.; vice-president and chief engineer, Hinsdale Smith, Springfield, Mass.; treasurer, A.P. Smith, Springfield, Mass. The board of directors includes as members, Walter L. Fry, E.W. McGookin, Hinsdale Smith, A.P. Smith and Frederick Fuller. 

"About a year ago, W.L. Fry, president of the new corporation, became interested in the old company. At that time, the general public was just beginning to realize that an enclosed car was a great luxury in the winter time and to grumble about the high price of limousine bodies. Manufacturers were quick to recognize this demand and all sorts of cheap, make-shift winter tops appeared on the market. 

"The only convertible body which combined the beauty, comfort and utility of both the limousine and touring car without sacrificing any of the advantages of either one was the convertible body manufactured by the Springfield Metal Body Company. 

"The great demand in Eastern cities for this type of body by users of high-priced cars, together with its already apparent popularity among owners of medium priced automobiles, convinced Mr. Fry of the practicability of the convertible body as a business proposition. 

"He realized however, that the trend of the automobile business was toward medium priced cars and that in order to reach this market which was growing by leaps and bounds, he must lower the price of convertible bodies. His problem was, therefore, one of organization – of securing men of proven ability to handle quantity of production and a large volume of sales. 

"Just how well Mr. Fry analyzed the possibilities of the market for convertible bodies and solved his problem of organization is best shown by the tremendous increase in business secured by the Springfield Body Company, amounting to 3,000% in about 120 days, which in turn necessitated reincorporation with an increased capitalization. 

"The convertible body made by this company is one of the most popular on the market and is being used by some of the biggest automobile concerns in the country. The Studebaker, Maxwell, Chandler, Mitchell and Paige-Detroit companies all furnish Springfield convertible bodies as regular equipment on their cars. 

"All for the officials of the new corporation are men with established reputations for having done “big things” in their particular lines of work. Some of them are particularly well-known in automobile circles. The Smith brothers invented, designed and constructed the first metal bodies used on automobiles. They also built the first six-cylinder motor constructed in this country. 

"E.W. McGookin, vice-president and director of sales, who is directly responsible for the great increase in business during the last four month, is known as one of the most successful distribution experts in the country. His own individual sales in seven years, were a major factor in increasing the capital of another concern from $25,000 to $11,000,000. 

"That the increase in business secured by this company is not even larger than the phenomenal record of 3,000%, is solely because of the lack of manufacturing facilities which is responsible for the loss of over $1,000,000 worth of business during the last few months. Plans are under way, however, for the erection of an enormous production plant in Detroit, but this will not interfere with the operation of the Springfield plant which will continue to run at full capacity as long as there are no further labor troubles. 

"It has been reported that a large amount of the stock of the new company has been taken up by both New York and Western investors.”

“1916 Cole Motor Company's Latest Offering Is Cole-Springfield Body.” ... "For rain or snow or extreme cold, the Cole-Springfield body is Ideal.” 

On April 4th, 1916 The Wall street Journal reported that: "...following the sale of $750,000 in 8 per cent preferred stock in February, the business of the Springfield Body Corporation, formerly the Springfield Metal Body Company of Springfield, Mass., has increased handsomely. Deliveries on contract in March increased 50 per cent of February, and April will probably show a gain of 33 per cent in March." 

Prior to the reorganization most of the firm customers had been located in New England. The Detroit office brought in lots of new business and a September 16th, 1916 newspaper article announced “A thousand percent increase in orders during the last twelve: That is the sensational record made by the Springfield Body Company, of Springfield, Mass.” 

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette published an interview with the Firm’s president in its Sunday Auto Supplement on September 10, 1916. 

“No Secret About It: Simply Makes The Best Auto Bodies In the Country 

“A thousand percent increase in orders during the last twelve months – that is the sensational record made by the Springfield Body Company of Springfield, Mass., builders of automobile bodies. Although extraordinary production records are by no means uncommon, since the development of the automobile industry, the record of the Springfield Body Company is so phenomenal that the writer attempted to learn from Walter L Fry, president of the concern, the secret of its unusual success. 

‘No secret about it’ said Fry, in his quick decisive manner. ‘We’ve got the only real convertible automobile body in the world – by that I mean a limousine and touring body in one – and moor car owners, as well as the manufacturers, are clamoring to get it. It answers for the first time a demand which has existed since the motor car became a popular means of conveyance. Any sane person would like to own a car which is just as comfortable in winter as in summer, but there are, comparatively speaking, mighty few of them who can afford town both a costly limousine and an open touring car. Some of them tried the cars with the detachable tops, but they did not answer the demand because they did not give good service. They warped and they rattled. They didn’t look right. They didn’t seem to be a part of the car. There was something wrong in the appearance of the affair, but the average owner couldn’t tell just what it was. He was simply dissatisfied. 

‘The Springfield Body Company, however, had a real limousine body with a permanent top, which was so constructed that all of its glass sides and framework could be instantly removed and the body turned into an open model for warm and hot weather driving. The roof of the body still remained up, its graceful lines adding to the striking appearance of the car, and at the same time shielding the passengers from the scorching rays of the sun. The manufacturers of costly cars quickly adopted the Springfield type body, but, of course, expensive cars are manufactured in comparatively small quantities which necessarily meant that our production of convertible bodies would be on the same scale. That meant that we had to charge a big price for them. 

‘Eventually, the manufacturers of medium-priced cars began coming to us with appeals for the all-year-round type of body at a price which would permit them to continue to sell their orders for our bodies as standard equipment on their cars would increase our production to such an extent that our manufacturing cost would be so lowered we could put a minimum price on our product. We decided to make the attempt and build the bodies in quantities. 

‘The rush started from that minute. Even now we can’t keep up with the demand, but our manufacturing facilities are growing as fast as our production increases and we hope soon to be able to handle immediately every order which comes in. 

‘If there is a secret to our success, it is simply that we build a product which appeals to every automobile owner in every section of the country. 

“Already the companies which have adopted the Springfield type body as standard equipment include: The Abbott-Detroit, Cadillac, Cole, Davis, Haynes, Interstate, Marmon, Mitchell, Oldsmobile, Overland, Paige-Detroit, H.A.L Twelve, Reo, Stearns, Studebaker, Velie, Westcott and Winton.” 

A few months later, the Springfield Body Corporation brought suit alleging patent infringement against the Fisher Body Corp. In a November, 1916 news release, Fisher Body’s president, Fred J. Fisher, stated that his company had been advised that there was no infringement, and had he thought there was he would have abandoned that part of his business “since it does not constitute over 2 percent of our entire line”. 

The two-year old Springfield Body Corporation did not survive the economic depression of 1917 and the firm suddenly and silently disappeared. Existing patents were reassigned to the Edward G. Budd Corp., and Budd took over production of the convertible body. 

Walter L. Fry would go on to establish the Fry Products Co, one of Detroit’s largest suppliers of OEM seat covers. He became famous in 1937 when he joined his employees in a sit-down strike ordered by the UAW. One year later he closed down the firm rather than deal with the UAW. 

Hinsdale Smith had little trouble finding another job and was appointed general manager of the Aeromarine Plane & Motors Co. of Keyport, New Jersey. Coincidentally, Aeromarine was owned by Inglis M. Uppercu, Cadillac’s sole New York City distributor and soon-to be owner of the Manhattan coachbuilder, Healy & Co. 

On the strength of orders from the US Army and Navy, Aeromarine constructed a new factory in 1917 adjacent to Raritan Bay in Keyport, New Jersey and Smith was hired to oversee the construction. During World War I, Aeromarine made observation planes for the Army Signal Corps and trainers for the Navy. 

In August of 1917, the Wright-Martin Aircraft Corp. proposed a $6 million scheme to manufacture airplanes for the US Government at the former Springfield Body Corp. plant which was currently on the market for $2 million. In the proposal, a holding company called Goethals, Jamieson, Houston & Jay Inc. would run the plant for Wright-Martin, (Houston was an officer of Wright-Martin) and their product would be combat aircraft that would be fitted with Hispano-Suiza aircraft engines. The Aircraft Production board was uninterested in the proposal and nothing came of it. 

Things did not go well for Hinsdale Smith in New Jersey, and he returned to Springfield within the year to take another stab at the body building with his brother. In 1918 the pair sought out contracts from the regions automakers, bought a factory in West Springfield and formed the Smith-Springfield Body Corp. 

The newly organized Smith-Springfield Body Corporation issued $300,000 of 6-year 7% gold notes in November of 1919 backed by the Empire Trust Co. of New York.  

Hinsdale Smith was the firm’s new president, and his brother Arthur P. Smith vice-president. The firm was organized under the laws of Delaware for the purpose of building automobile bodies. The stock offering stated that the firm “owned 5 acres of land located on the railroad within ¾ of a mile of the center of Springfield upon which it was erecting a modern factory to be fully equipped with machinery for the most efficient production of automobile bodies and ready for operation by January 1 next. The Company has also obtained ones year’s option on a further five acres of ground immediately adjoining the present site.” 

When Rolls-Royce of America, Inc. commenced production of the Springfield Silver Ghost in their East Springfield, Massachusetts plant, Smith-Springfield was selected as one of the automaker’s chief body suppliers.  

The 10 sub-contractors who supplied bodies for the Rolls-Royce Custom Coach Work program included Biddle and Smart, Brewster, Holbrook, Merrimac, New Haven Carriage Co., Smith-Springfield and Willoughby. Much speculation has been focused on the remaining two builders, who are thought to be the Amesbury Body Co. of Amesbury, Massachusetts and the Springfield Body Corp. of Springfield, Massachusetts (not affiliated with Smith-Springfield). 

In late 1921, LeBaron’s Ray Dietrich was hired as a consultant and spent close to a month designing and engineering the firm’s Rolls-Royce bodies. 61 Smith-Springfield bodies were built for the Springfield Silver Ghost chassis between 1921 and 1923. 

LeBaron selected Smith-Springfield to build them a sporty dual-cowl phaeton for Milton Budlong, the New York City Lincoln distributor, to display at the November 1921 New York Auto Salon. The caveat was that the car needed to be built in just 18 days, and Smith-Springfield delivered the completed car, on time. 

Springfield made a few low-volume production bodies for other manufacturers such as the air cooled Fox which was built in Philadelphia, PA but by late 1922, most of the plant was devoted to Rolls-Royce body program and at the end of the year Rolls-Royce of America purchased the entire operation. Smith-Springfield’s craftsmen became the backbone of Rolls-Royce’s Custom Body Works, which were relocated from the West Springfield factory to the former Knox Automobile Co. plant on Waltham Ave. in 1923. 

Newton H. Manning, Smith-Springfield’s sales manager became assistant manager of the Rolls-Royce body plant, a position he held until 1928 when he was hired by LeBaron-Detroit as the firm’s general manager.

The vacant Smith-Springfield plant wouldn’t stay empty for long as a group of local businessmen purchased the plant, and resurrected the Springfield Body Corp. hoping to cash in on the earlier firm’s good reputation. 

A January 10th, 1923 press release announced that the newly formed Springfield Body Corp. intended to purchase two additional body plants, the first in Pontiac, Michigan the second in Bloomfield, New Jersey, to compliment the firm’s West Springfield, Massachusetts factory giving the new firm the capability to produce as many as 15,000 automobile bodies annually.

Charles C McElwain, director of the Safe Deposit & Trust Co. of Springfield, MA, was chairman of the board of directors. Other directors included Harry G. Fisk, vice-president of the Fisk Rubber Co., Chicopee Falls, MA, Frank A Woods, director of the Safe Deposit & Trust Co. and Farr Alpaca Co. of Holyoke, MA., and Victor M. Tyler president of the Acme Wire Co. of New Haven, CT and director of the Gotham National Bank of New York. C.S. Dame was the firm’s initial president and Frank M. Livingston, its controller. 

Following the preliminary announcement of the formation of the Springfield Body Corporation came a Jan 28, 1923 statement that a purchase contract has been made for a large plant in northern New Jersey with a capacity of from 5,000 to 7,500 custom jobs per annum, with an option secured on another plant with a yearly capacity of 10,000 bodies in the Detroit district. 

The new firm is thought to have built a number of bodies for the Roll-Royce Custom Coach Work program, but no firm evidence has been uncovered. In fact, little evidence of the firm having produced any bodies for firms other than the Peerless Motor Company of Cleveland, Ohio exists.

Springfield kept themselves in the headlines and on March 21, 1923 Springfield Body Corporation stock reached an all-time high of 49 1/8. However, a follow-up to the March 21 item dated March 28, 1923 stated: “The rise in shares of Springfield body was influenced by reports that a contract had been closed calling one of the largest orders ever booked by that corporation. Confirmation was lacking” 

Peerless chose to introduce a new line of Springfield-built luxury bodies in 1924, and they chose the Winter 1923-24 New York Auto Show and Auto Salon for their introduction. A fair amount of publicity resulted from the introduction of a radio-equipped Peerless sedan at the Springfield booth. Springfield boasted that it was the first vehicle to include a radio as standard equipment.

The following year, Springfield exhibited two Peerless sedans at the winter 1924-1925 New York Auto Salon. The New York Times took notice of the firm’s “…five-passenger car being finished in brown, with a hairline black striping and a centerline of gold.”

Known polygamist George Brinton Caldwell was listed as the firm’s president as late as 1925, but within the year, the town of West Springfield foreclosed on the firm’s body plant for non-payment of taxes. 

The following item appeared on the AP wire: 

“August 14, 1926 – Town Bids In Plant for Arrears In Taxes. (AP) For non-payment of taxes of $6,445 the plant of the Springfield Body Co was today bid in for the town of West Springfield by tax collector Raymond A Sweeney, when no bidders at the tax sale. Negotiations were supposed to have been virtually completed for the transfer of the plant to the Sikorsky Manufacturing Co for the manufacture of airplanes, but complications arose and it is now said the sale is unlikely.”

Five months later Samuel T. Freeman & Co., Auctioneers held an auction of the Springfield Body Corp.’s West Springfield real estate, machinery, equipment and supplies. The sale of the firm’s brick 1-story 25,000 sq ft Circuit Ave plant and 5-acre parcel (which included a railroad siding) took place on Tuesday, February 1, 1927.

In 1924, the Smith brothers took the proceeds of the Rolls-Royce sale and purchased the former Stevens-Duryea factory in East Springfield and commenced production of commercial bus and truck bodies. The firm produced a few series-built wooden suburban bodies in the mid-to-late 1920s and early 30s. Springfield offered the regions Chevrolet with a popular suburban body starting in 1925. Similar in style to those built by Babcock and Mifflinburg, bodies were also available for Dodge and Ford chassis.

In 1929 an unusual body was offered by Springfield called the "No.5 Estate Station Body". The hardwood framework of this body was covered with sheet metal panels and painted the same color as the hood and cowl. The extra-wide full frame doors were then edged with stainless steel or nickel-cadmium strips. The roof edge was edged with these strips, and they were used at the belt line in single and double rows for decorative purposes. Instead of side curtains, pull-up windows were used which consisted of a large wooden framed piece of canvas in which large isinglass panels were sewn-in. The windows were raised by pulling them up out of their door pockets and snapped into place with fasteners.  These isinglass windows were placed in all 4 doors as well as the rear quarter windows and tailgate. The same body was offered in 1930 as the No 35 Estate Wagon. Although regular Springfield woodies were sold in large numbers, few of the new pocket-window design were sold, and none are known to exist today.

Unfortunately, the firm did not survive the Depression.

Hinsdale Smith continued to be active in the automotive field into the 1940s and held 35 patents when he passed away in Deerfield, Massachusetts on March 7, 1959 at the age of 89.

© 2004 Mark Theobald - Coachbuilt.com

 

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