Car Of The Week: 1911 Oldsmobile Autocrat ‘yellow Peril’

Among surviving brass-era American cars, few have a story as rich as that of the 1911 Oldsmobile Autocrat known as “Yellow Peril.” Bought new by John Henry Greenway Albert, it began as a standard touring car before becoming a one-off competition machine with custom coachwork and unusual mechanical experiments. But racing was only part of its life. The car also became part of the public identity of an Old West town, and survived with an unusually complete record of ownership, restoration and continued use.

Creating ‘Yellow Peril’

Albert, a Maryland-born mining engineer with a taste for speed and experimentation, bought the Oldsmobile Autocrat new in 1911 and quickly reworked it for competition. With help from his chauffeur-mechanic, Columbus Ridge, he replaced the original body with aluminum speedster body work, enlarged the radiator core and added an experimental gas-induction system of his own design. Before long, he was running the car on tracks and road courses in Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere along the East Coast.

The car’s best-known outing came in the Labor Day “Free For All” at Benning Race Track in Washington, D.C., in 1915. Later accounts say Albert lost control on the rain-slick course, slid off the track and rejoined the field from far behind before charging back through much of the pack. Then an engine fire near the finish ended the run. Some details are hard to verify, and Albert’s own recollections may have grown a little more colorful over time, but the episode became central to the car’s legend and helped secure its place in early American motorsports lore.

Outside of the racing universe, “Yellow Peril” made its mark on a more local level. Much of the car’s lasting identity was shaped in Tombstone, Ariz., one of the most storied places in the American West. There, dreams of quick wealth in a supposed “Eldorado” had long since given way to the harder realities of life in a desert mining town, a contrast captured in the nickname “Helldorado.” Albert, who prospered there as a mining engineer, brought both money and mechanical curiosity to the project when he bought the Autocrat and set about turning it into something very much his own.

Albert’s changes went beyond looks. He rebuilt the rear in a pointed speedster form using aluminum, then devised an unusual gas-induction system that used exhaust heat, hydrogen and free oxygen to create a vapor drawn into the engine by vacuum. The goal was not extra power so much as cleaner running and less carbon buildup over time.

The car was then painted bright yellow, and Albert gave it the now-famous name “Yellow Peril” and then raced it widely along the East Coast. By his own telling, his only defeat came on that Labor Day 1915 in Washington, D.C., when he skidded off course. The car then suffered the engine fire that may have been tied to his experimental induction system.

Albert was deeply attached to his cars, especially “Yellow Peril,” and when it was no longer a serious competition machine, he found a new use for it. Drawing on Tombstone’s famous nickname, he helped establish the town’s annual Helldorado Days festival each October. For parade duty, the car was modified again with a mother-in-law seat so it could carry the Helldorado Queen.

Albert died on Aug. 13, 1968, leaving behind a lasting civic legacy in Tombstone and with “Yellow Peril,” by then closely tied to the town’s identity. In the decades that followed, the car passed through several owners, was carefully restored and eventually appeared at RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction in August 2017, where Ted and Mary Stahl acquired it.

Even today, the car remains operable both as a Brass Era machine and as a ceremonial parade car. Its huge engine, 38-in. wheels and imposing size make it feel very different from anything that came later.

That combination of competition use, civic afterlife and continued enjoyment invites closer attention to the model itself, and to the technical features that Albert installed upon it.

Model and Mechanical Details

Marketed as the Autocrat, the Oldsmobile Series 28 was a mid-range four-passenger model produced in Lansing, Mich., for the 1911 and 1912 model years. Derived from the company’s flagship Oldsmobile Limited, it employed four of the Limited’s large T-head cylinder jugs rather than the six found in the Limited.

The Autocrat was available in five body styles painted the standard colors of Brewster Green, Royal Blue or Cardinal Red while interiors were hand-buffed leather (some models, such as roadsters, could be ordered any color requested by the customer). Standard Autocrat features included 8-in.-diameter headlamps; side lamps; taillamps; Trauffault-Hartford shock absorbers; an Oldsmobile dragon horn; and a tool set. Oddly, a top assembly on open cars and a windshield were optional. An air-type self-starter system was also optional. The base price for an open Autocrat touring, roadster or tourabout was $3,500, a huge sum in 1911, while the limousine was even higher in price at $5,000.

The Autocrat received early publicity when Oldsmobile entered two factory prototypes in the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island, where team captain Harry Stillman finished 11th. Just 1,000 Autocrats were produced for 1911, making them rare when new, and even more so 115 years later.

“Yellow Peril” is powered by the Autocrat’s T-head inline four of 471 cubic inches factory rated at 40 hp and backed by a four-speed sliding-gear manual transmission. It rides on a 124-in. wheelbase with a solid front axle, semi-elliptical leaf springs, a full-floating rear axle and later hydraulic rear brakes. 

A Tale of Survival

In 1962, Albert undertook a modest cosmetic refurbishment that included new paint and tires, and he continued to display and operate the car until his death in 1968.

After Albert’s death, the Oldsmobile passed through a well-documented chain of owners committed to preserving, restoring and driving it. His widow kept the car for several years before selling it in 1976 to collector Thomas Hubbard, who wrote about it in the Antique Automobile Club of America’s Antique Automobile publication. Hubbard soon sold it to Curtis Graf of Texas.

Under Graf’s ownership, “Yellow Peril” returned to competition in the Great American Race, running in 1984, 1985 and 1986 and finishing in the top ten in 1985. Ahead of those appearances, Graf restored the car’s mechanicals with help from Tom Lester’s respected machine shop and restoration facility. The worn cylinder jugs were recast from molds taken from the originals, and Stan Francis of Colorado rebuilt the body.

The car subsequently passed to William Lassiter, who maintained it in running condition and exhibited it at select events. In 1999, it was acquired by Phil and Carol Bray of Grosse Ile, Mich., who were touring enthusiasts and drove it more than 15,000 miles in major events, including the 2001 Trans-Continental Tour and the 2002 Red Rock Tour. Following another 2008 restoration, the car appeared at the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance, where it received Best in Class honors.

Later, Ted and Mary Stahl acquired “Yellow Peril” for the Stahls Motors & Music Experience in Chesterfield, Mich., where it remains today. Ted Stahl had long been friends with Phil Bray and during one visit, Bray lifted the hood so Ted could get a closer look at the car’s remarkable engine and oversized T-heads. That longstanding friendship, along with their mutual passion for historic automobiles, influenced Ted and Mary’s decision to purchase “Yellow Peril” when the opportunity arose.

Despite multiple restorations and plenty of touring miles, the car still retains much of its original equipment, including its original engine, drivetrain and a substantial amount of its early bodywork. That makes it not just an authentic road-going competition car, but an unusually well-documented one.

Experience ‘Yellow Peril’

The 2026 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance will provide a fitting setting for the reunion of Curtis Graf and “Yellow Peril.” Graf and “Yellow Peril” will be joined on the concours field by Jeff Stumb, executive director of the Stahls Motors & Music Experience, who retired from his role as director of the Great Race in 2025 before entering his present post with the Stahls organization.

Stahls Motors & Music Experience
Chesterfield, MI 
www.stahlsauto.com
586-749-1078

Stahls’ Automotive Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, restoring, and exhibiting significant twentieth-century vehicles for educational purposes.

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