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Aurin M. Chase had formed his own manufacturing business — Chase Motor Truck Co. — in 1906, and within a decade had produced about 5,000 air-cooled trucks.

For the customer who couldn’t afford both a truck for business and a car for pleasure, Chase developed a personal-use work vehicle that permitted the work body to be replaced with a seat for passengers. Not very many of the Surrey models were manufactured, but one in particular, a 1911 Model F stamped with serial number F754, was built as a passenger vehicle for Chase himself. The selling price in 1911 was $900.

It featured a 20-horsepower, three-cylinder, two-cycle air-cooled engine with a Bosch high-tension magneto. It rolled on four wheels, each with 16 wooden spokes. Solid rubber 36-by-2-inch tires supported the 1,500-pound right-hand-drive vehicle on a 100-inch wheelbase. To help soften the ride, the Chase is equipped with elliptical leaf springs at all four corners. The car has no instrumentation, and only spark and throttle levers on the four-spoke wooden steering wheel.

The two-speed planetary transmission in its advertised “dust-proof case” is operated by the three foot pedals and single lever on the outside of the car. The right pedal operates the brakes on the rear wheels and has a latch that can lock them for parking. The middle pedal puts the car in a reverse gear and the left pedal is for use at low speeds. To go faster (that would be above 5 mph), push the high-gear lever on the right side of the car to achieve speeds up to nearly 20 mph.

The “Operation and Care of Chase Trucks” manual urges the owner to “drive slow.” The manual also suggests mixing 1 quart of oil with 5 gallons of gasoline before straining the mixture into the fuel tank. A Holley carburetor then…