1914 Mitchell & 1936 Yellowstone Bus
Written by Keith Fudge

On several occasions, you have seen Coker Tire owner, Corky Coker on the Eastwood Garage segment of My Classic Car.  However, on this visit we see Corky in a totally different environment as he is at home with the cars that he loves. 

When Dennis and the crew arrived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Corky met them with a stunning pair of vintage vehicles:  a 1914 Mitchell and a 1936 White Yellowstone National Park Tour Bus!  Before Corky showed Dennis this cool pair of rides, he told him a bit about his family’s collection of classic cars.  Corky said that they have some great vintage cars including several Thomas Flyers, a 1914 Case Delivery, a 1912 Nyberg, and a 1916 National V-12!  Corky also mentioned that has recently added several examples of American muscle such as GTOs.  He is also interested in Excelsior motorcycles and antique Harley-Davidson motorcycles.  Soon it was time to look at the two awesome vehicles that Corky was going to show us.  He began with a vintage vehicle that he referred to as, “the muscle car of its day.”  This stunning 1914 Mitchell is one custom cruiser and features 27-inch wheels and a load of room for passengers.  In fact, Corky called it, “a great car for neckin’!”  The car has two spare tires mounted on the rear, and Corky explained that this was because roads weren’t so good back in the day!  Now, back to the muscle-car part of the story.  The Mitchell is powered by a 660 cubic-inch, six-cylinder, T-head engine that makes a whopping 60 horsepower!  Corky also mentioned that the engine was a dual-point that features two sparkplugs for each cylinder.  Soon, he fired up the Mitchell and he and Dennis were off for a ride!  Corky then told Dennis a brief history of Mitchell automobiles stating that the company began by building boat motors and motorcycles in its Racine, Wisconsin plant.  He said that they made cars until the 1920s.  When Dennis inquired about the blue exterior paint of this car, Corky told him that it was factory correct and that this car had sported a $4000.00 price tag when it was new!  He went on to add that Mitchell owners are a close-knit group and they all deal with the eccentricities of their cars. 

Soon, they returned from their drive to look at another classic vehicle that has quite a history.  This 1936 White Yellowstone National Park tour bus is original in every detail.  Corky said that the bus was used in the park for several years to carry tourists around the grounds.  The bus features four rows of seats that hold four passengers each.  One of the coolest features of the bus is its open roof!  There is a rollback canvas top that can be used in the event of rain, and the bus even features roll-up windows.  What you see is basically what you get with this classic:  a truck chassis, a six-cylinder flathead engine, and a low-geared four-speed transmission.  At that point, Corky asked Dennis if he would like to take “The Yellow Rose of Chattanooga” out for a drive.  Dennis said that the bus was great to drive but you sure had to have “strong arms!”  Corky said that the bus gets looks everywhere he drives it, and we can easily see why.  Until our next visit, that’s it from beautiful Chattanooga, Tennessee.  “Honor the timeless classics.  Happy Motoring!”