The Parry (1910) and New Parry (1911–1912) were both Brass Era cars built in Indianapolis, Indiana by the Parry Auto Company. During that time, they produced 3500 vehicles. Two cars are known to exist. A Model 40 from 1910 and a Model 41 from 1911.
Origin
David Parry was the third generation of Parrys to settle in America; his grandfather, Henry Parry, was a Welsh engineer who moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thomas Parry was born in Pittsburgh in 1822 and traveled to Indiana to begin farming. He married Lydia McLane and had five children during this time. David M Parry was born on March 26, 1852, on the family farm near Laurel, Indiana, and grew up there. At the age of 16, Parry began working in the hardware business and worked his way up to owning his hardware store in New York, which he ultimately sold to aid his father in 1882. David's wife of seven years, Cora, died the same year, leaving him with young children. He went to Indiana and bought a stake in the Woodburn Charvin wheelworks, where he began constructing farm tools.
David Parry hired his brothers Thomas, Saint Clair, and his brother Edward as the firm grew swiftly. During this period, Parry married Hessie Maxwell, and the company was renamed the Parry Manufacturing Company, which had grown from 40 to 2400 employees. They had a total of nine children, seven of whom were born to them. The Parry manufacturing company was most known for selling horse-drawn buggies worldwide. Parry would occasionally travel worldwide with his family, promoting both US products and Parry buggies. The Parry manufacturing company would transition from buggies to car truck bodywork, primarily Ford Model T and Model TT vehicles.
His brothers and partners in the Parry Manufacturing Company preferred to stay with carriages. These same brothers would later finance the Comet cyclecar. In 1919, they joined the Martin firm to form Parry Martin, which was later purchased and amalgamated with General Motors' Chevrolet subsidiary to produce truck bodywork.
Overland
David's first involvement with automobiles was one of Henry Ford's early investors. Later, he was connected with the Overland Automobile Company, a part-owner and president from 1906 to 1909 when John Willis sold the company. In 1909, Parry sold his remaining land shares to Willis, later overseeing the successful Overland automobile's construction. Parry then began planning for his own motor company, which he founded in July 1909.
In 1906, David Parry gained control of the Overland Company, and thus officially got into the auto business. By 1908, he sold the company to John North Willys, since Parry had lost everything, including his house, in the Panic of 1907.
Parry Auto Company
In 1909, David Parry announced the formation of the Parry Auto Company, based in the former Standard Wheel Company buildings in South Indianapolis. On July 28, 1909, the firm was incorporated, with aspirations to produce 5000 cars in the first year. David Parry, William Teasdale, Parry's son-in-law, Warren Oaks, another son-in-law, and Maxwell Parry, Parry's son, were the company officers.
The beginning payroll included 389 employees, but the company laid plans to expand that number to 3000. "Now, if the Parry Auto Company can turn out 5,000 cars for the year 1910, it will have established a world's record for the first year of any such business," David Parry stated.
Only two models would be available for the 1910 model year. Although they had stated that they would produce 35 cars per day to reach 5000 units, production had only reached about ten vehicles per day by November 1909, and by February 1910, production had only reached about 18 cars per day.
Model 40 (1910) The touring would be blue, while the roadster would be gray. The critical components of a four-cylinder Parry motor was a 4.25-inch bore and 4.5-inch stroke, a recycling splash oiling system, a high-tension magneto, and a specially developed Schebler carburetor were the critical components of the 1910 Parry. A butterfly accelerator valve and flange attachment were included in this particular carburetor. The car's rims were 27 inches in diameter. The roadster and touring models were priced at $1285 and $1485, respectively, and included leather facing cone clutches and expanding internal bands for emergency brakes.