Straley donates to Overland restoration

VW County Historical Society information

Straley Realty-Auctioneers Inc. in Van Wert recently presented a check for $2,157.17 to Larry Webb, president of the Van Wert County Historical Society. The donation represents payment for five tires to be used on the 1917 Overland three-seat coupe presently being restored by the organization.

Volunteers Dave Agler and Larry Oechsle are doing most of the restoration work on the Overland Opera Coupe, which was originally owned by Charles Wassenberg and his family. After Wassenberg’s death, the car was purchased by Paul Jones and his sons, Bill and Richard.

In 1985, the car was moved to Florida and, in 2011, the Jones family offered to return the car to the Van Wert County Historical Society. The society’s trustees raised the $5,000 to purchase the automobile, as well as the additional monies to have it transported back to Van Wert.

As Agler and Oechsle began to peel off the metal exterior, they discovered that termites had destroyed much of the wood. Agler went to work cutting and carving over 200 pieces of white oak to replace the damaged car’s skeleton.

“We now have to place the metal skin over the wood and then do the interior and the top of the coupe,” Agler said. “Most of that will be leather.”

The approximate cost to complete the vehicle restoration is estimated at $15,000. Agler pointed out that there are only two known 1917 Overland coupes that have been restored, one in Nebraska and one in Oregon. Those both have six cylinders and, once the Wassenberg’s Overland is restored, it will be the only four-cylinder Overland in the United States.

“We are certainly indebted to Dave and Larry for all of their work (and) thankful to donors such as

Straley Realty,” Webb said, adding that anyone interested in helping to fund the final stages of this project should contact him or another historical society trustee.