1955 Cushman Mailster
Every now and then you simply need a vehicle that will get you to and from the grocery store, the local nursery, or just to cruise around the town and have people looking at you like you’re some sort of crazy eccentric. Or, maybe you are a retired mailman and remember driving one of these for your daily deliveries and you want a piece of your history.
The Cushman Mailster is all that and more…or less depending on how you look at it.
Cushman was started by the Cushman brothers back in 1903 in Lincoln Nebraska making motors for farm equipment. In 1936, during ‘The Great Depression’, started making scooters. Then during World War 2 making utility vehicles.
When the war was over Cushman was sitting on a lot of their 3 wheel vehicles, a lot. Somebody in the sales department was smart and went to the postal service and said, “hey, I’ve got a great idea to make mail delivery faster, easier and more efficient, it’s called the ‘Mailster’!!
Well, by the late 1950’s one third of the US Postal Service was using the ‘Mailster’ to deliver your Sears catalog to your doorstep along with your water and electric bills. And maybe the collection notice from Household Finance company. However, the mailmen really didn’t like the Cushman all that much. The Mailster was way underpowered (7.5 horsepower), was unreliable, had bad brakes and was pretty inconvenient to load and unload. And, on top of all that, they tended to tip over if you went around a corner at more than 25 MPH. They were so easy to tip over that a big dog (who we all know love mailmen?) could actually knock one over!? But…they were good enough that the New York Police Department even used them.
Negatives aside, this a very cool piece of motorized history and can be a lot of fun for somebody who lives in a small town (as do I), or a retirement community (as I don’t). But…There is another idea out there…the perfect tailgater!
Think about this, put a cooler inside, a grill in the back, a keg on the side..you have the coolest portable party machine in town!!
I found this Westcoater/Mailster on ebay and thought this would really be a fun vehicle to have. Cushman has an amazing history from basic scooters, to the mailster and truckster to some very Space Age styled scooters in the 50’s and golf carts. This is a very cool vehicle, licensed as a motorcycle. This one is a runner but probably needs the basic going through. For more info and more pictures, click on the pic’s below.
1955 Cushman Mailster