1926 Velie (60 Series Coupe)

UN-VELIE-ABLE

As seen on Season One of FantomWorks

Velie was a brass era American automobile brand produced by the Velie Motors Corporation in Moline, Illinois from 1908 to 1928. The company was founded by and named for Willard Lamb Velie, a maternal grandson of John Deere. Velie founded Velie Carriage Company in 1902, which was successful, then Velie Motor Vehicle Company in 1908. *According to the Official Velie Register, world wide 230 Velies are known to exist as of 2010*

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Arrival

Disassembly

Strip & Metal Fab

Mechanical

Body & Paint

Detail & Trim

Finish

The Velie Motor company was formed in 1902 in Moline, Illinois. Today the Velie is remembered only by automobile buffs, but in its day it was prized for its combination of quality and low price.

Williard L. Velie saw his first automobile in 1901 when a minstrel show came to town. This inspired him to start production on his own vehicle.

One thousand cars were sold in 1909 in the first year of production. Velie developed its own four-cylinder engine in 1911.

For the first six years Velies were advertised in the John Deere catalogue as Williard Velie was the grandson of Mr. John Deere and also an executive for the John Deere Company.

Velie introduced a more powerful six-cylinder engine was in 1914.

In 1922 the U.S. Navy Dept. in New York tested 76 foreign and domestic cars. Its goal was to select the best features of automobiles motors for the adaptation to aircraft. Only eight passed the test: Duesenberg, Fiat, Packard, Brewster, Hispano-Suiza,Isotta-Fraschini and the Velie.

Velies were made from 1908 to 1928. Willard Velie died on October 24, 1928. His son closed the Velie factory in November.

The first Velie is alive and well in Red Cloud, Nebraska.