Our story begins on May 3, 1924, when Joe Sunnen purchased a used Hupmobile. This eight-year old car was all he could afford at the time. We can only guess why he chose a 1916 Model N, five passenger touring car. The Hupmobile turned out to be a solid, well built vehicle powered by a a sturdy four cylinder, 243 cubic inch (4.0 liter) engine, having good pulling power. Joe had limited means, so the vehicle had to serve as hotel room, kitchen, and delivery truck during his planned trip through the mid-west. He needed more storage space and seating for two people, so the hupmobile touring body was a good choice for a starting point.
Joe removed the rear section of the touring body by sawing through the center of the rear door sills. Four bolts held this section in place. Once these were removed, Joe had the basis for his “Camper Conversion”. This was one of the earliest, if not the first such conversion of a motor car into a “housecar”.
By June 1, 1924, Joe had constructed a wood and angle iron body covered with waterproof convertible material. Joe took a rather basic approach to the coach-work. Used Lumber, tin, angle iron and fasteners were employed to produce a shelter over the former touring car, extending from the windshield to several feet beyond the rear axle centerline. Joe used nails for connecting his woodwork and hundreds of tacks to attach the body covering and tin. The end result was less than aerodynamic, but certainly practical and well suited to his needs.
Once the car was complete, 28-year-old Joe and his wife, Cornelia, packed the camper body with 500 of his new Valve Lifter Tools, clothes, cooking, camping gear and all the staples for life on the road. On June 3, 1924, they set out North from St. Louis with $10 in cash and high hopes. They spent seven weeks on the road selling two or three tools each day, at %2 each. This covered food and gas for the Hupmobile, but the trip was far from being a success. Things changed dramatically when Joe arrived in Mankato, Minnesota, on Monday, July 21. He and his wife had spent the weekend in Minneapolis. (The Sunday Minneapolis Journal was one of the newspapers found lining the storage compartment of the original camper body.)
On Monday, Joe paid a visit to a large distributor of shop tools and secured an order for all of the remaining valve lifter tools. The distributor also ordered 1,000 additional tools! A jubilant Joe Sunnen made a beeline for home and began designing and manufacturing more tools for the rapidly expanding Auto Engine Rebuilding Trade. Today Sunnen is a Global Corporation with more than 800 employees. It all began with one trip in converted 1916 Hupmobile.
