Jay Leno Stanley Steamer
Written by Keith Fudge

Each time we visit Jay Leno's garage, we're never sure just what Jay is going to show us. On this trip, he had something really special in mind: a 1906 Stanley steam-powered Vanderbilt Cup Racer! Now, Jay possesses a wealth of knowledge about these early steam vehicles, and we learn something new every time he talks about them. He also has some great examples of these cars in his garage. Before we saw today's treasure, he told Dennis a bit about Stanley racing history. On the wall of his garage, there is a large billboard of a 1906 Stanley Rocket, a racer that achieved the speed of 127 miles per hour in 1906! Jay informed us that the body of that car was literally two canoes, one mounted on top of the other.

Next, Jay showed us the Vanderbilt Cup Racer. As the car was warming up, Jay pointed out that he had added a battery and lights to make the car street legal. He also noted that this particular car is the 20 horsepower model. Jay continued to point out some of the eccentricities of the steamer including that one way to measure the power of steam cars is directly related to boiler size. This car has the largest boiler available at the time it was produced. Jay also showed us how to apply the 600-weight steam oil that serves to lubricate the pistons. While Jay extolled the virtues of this car, he still said that the Stanley was no match for the Doble, as it was by far the best-built steamer.

Finally, it was time to fire up the Stanley . Although it was a bit contrary (“virtually maintenance free,” Jay joked), nonetheless it was ready for Jay and Dennis to hit the streets of Los Angeles . After cruising the city, Jay decided to take the car on the Golden State Freeway. The Vanderbilt Cup Racer performed admirably. After their freeway adventure, Jay turned the wheel over to Dennis so that he could drive the Stanley back to the garage. Dennis noted just how powerful the car actually felt. Jay remarked that with these types of cars you can have, “a tremendous amount of fun and scare yourself to death at legal speeds!” After they arrived back at the garage, Jay released the remainder of the steam, leaving just enough to pull the Stanley back into the garage. As always, it was a gas (sorry) to visit with Jay and see some of his remarkable cars. We always look forward to our next visit.

That's it from sunny southern California . So until our next visit, remember: “Honor the timeless classics. Happy Motoring!”