FRP Model 45

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FRP
FRP Model 45 Series B Touring (1915)
FRP Model 45 Series B Touring (1915)
Model 45
Production period: 1914-1916
Class : Upper class
Body versions : Roadster , touring car , Coupé de Ville
Engines: Otto engine :
7.3 liters (74.6 kW)
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 2794-3556 mm
Empty weight : Chassis: from 1590 kg
Previous model without
successor Porter Model 45

The FRP Model 45 from 1914-1916 was a sporty American passenger car in the highest price and performance class. The manufacturer was the Finley Robertson Porter Company .

Finley Robertson Porter Company and FRP

Brand logo

Finley Robertson Porter (1871–1964) is the designer of the extremely successful Mercer Type 35 Raceabout sports and racing car with a T-head engine . In 1914 he founded the Finley Robertson Porter Company in Port Jefferson ( Suffolk County on Long Island , New York State ).

Only a small number of vehicles could be manufactured before the company was sold to the US government in 1916 for the manufacture of armaments, especially aircraft engines. A version with four-valve technology does not seem to have been implemented, but the model with the Porter model 45 resp. 46 a new edition.

Model history

The Model 45 was very well received in the professional world. The short development time and the scarce resources suggest that the Model 45 was technically closely related to the Porter-Knight racing car . This is also the common indicated wheelbase of the shortest Model 45 , Series A through. Porter made consistent use of the lightweight construction methods known at the time; Both the chassis and the engine were massive, but relatively light.

FRP Model 45 Series B Holbrook 7-passenger Touring (1915)

In the short period of its existence, the Finley Robertson Porter Company only built this one model, which was available in three series. The only difference between them was the wheelbase and the factory body. With regard to the wheelbase, there are - from good sources - different information. While it is undisputed that wheelbases with 110, 130 and 140 inches (2794, 3302 or 3556 mm) were available and that Series A is the shortest model, the allocation of Series B and C is not clear. Most sources mention Series B with the 130-inch chassis and Series C with 140-inch. Other sources see it the other way round. This view also coincides with the illustrated introductory display of the manufacturer itself. Accordingly, Series C had the 130-inch chassis and Series B the 140 -inch chassis . Because this interpretation is covered by the manufacturer himself, this article also follows it.

technology

The owner of the one well-known FRP, the Seal Cove Auto Museum , Mount Desert Island, Maine, names 454 ci, 100 bhp output, a retail price of US $ 8,000 with the Brewster Touring body (about double that of a Packard Twin Six with a comparable Performance and similar body).

  • FRP Series 45 Model A: 110 inch wheelbase, raceabout, chassis $ 5000
  • FRP Series 45 Model B: 130-inch wheelbase, runabout, chassis $ 6,500
  • FRP Series 45 Model C: 140 inch wheelbase, 7 passenger touring, chassis $ 6,800

engine

The engine was designed as a very large, water-cooled four - cylinder and weighed only 580 lb (about 260 kg). It consisted mainly of aluminum alloys. The same goes for the one-piece engine block . In addition, the crankshaft , camshaft and even the valve tappets were hollow, respectively. provided with holes for weight reduction. The engine is described as valve-in-head , i.e. with overhead valves, at the same time it is mentioned that the camshaft was also attached at the top. The current designation OHC valve control therefore applies to this design. The effect of the valve springs on the rocker arms is reinforced with additional springs.

The camshaft is driven by means of a shaft with a worm drive attached vertically to the front of the crankshaft in an oil bath. Each cylinder has one inlet and one outlet valve controlled by a rocker arm . When closed, the valves form a hemispherical closure of the combustion chamber. The chrome vanadium steel crankshaft has three bearings.

The engine is lubricated by means of a combined oil pump and centrifugal lubrication . The oil pressure can be read on the dashboard.

The water cooling works with a centrifugal pump . The V-shaped honeycomb cooler was custom built by Mayo for the FRP with a cooling surface of 20 × 26 inches (approx. 51 × 66 cm).

NACC rating 1916-1917. These values ​​were introduced in 1903 and remained unchanged except for the inclusion of twelve-cylinders.

There are slightly different specifications for the cylinder bore and consequently also for the displacement . Most sources state a bore of 4.6 inches (116.84 mm) and a stroke of 6.75 inches (171.45 mm). This results in a displacement of 448.7  ci (7353 cm³). Alternatively, a 4⅝ hole corresponding to 4.625 inches (117.475 mm) is named; with the same stroke this results in 453.6 ci (7433 cm³) or rounded 454 ci. Several sources cite this displacement. It is not possible to directly check which information is correct. However, the NACC rating calculated from the bore and the number of cylinders , which is noted as 33.86 HP, provides an indication . According to the table, a bore of 4½ inches results in 32.40 HP and 4.625 inches respectively. 4⅝ inch 34.23 HP.

The carburetor suppliers are Stewart-Warner , Longemare , Zenith and Long for the four-valve model.

Electrics

The FRP received an electrical system with 12 volts for the ignition, alternator and starter from American Bosch , New York. A two-point high-voltage magneto ignition is noted as the ignition system . The 50 amp battery was supplied by Willard .

Performance data

The FRP is said to have reached a speed of 88 mph (over 140 km / h) and consumed 12 to 14 mpg (between about 17 and 20 l / 100 km). This top speed was achieved, according to a report in The Automobile, during tests with the prototype on the Long Island Motor Parkway , which is also where the Vanderbilt Cup was held.

Four-valve technology and outputs up to 170 bhp are occasionally mentioned. The Old Motor mentions a report in The Motor Age dated March 31, 1917 that a four-valve head was to be developed. The report is not available; an actual realization cannot be proven. After all, this data seems to have found its way into some reference works. This is confusing because production ended in 1916 and has not started again. The later Porter was built from components that had been procured for the FRP.

Power transmission

The power is transmitted via a conventional four-speed manual gearbox with an externally mounted gear lever, the top gear of which is directly designed. A single disc cone clutch is also used. The cardan shaft is led to a differential designed as a bevel gear .

Depending on the model, the rear axle ratios are 2.25: 1, 2.6: 1 and 3: 1.

Chassis and suspension

The vehicle is designed as a right-hand drive. Regarding the chassis, it is mentioned that it is also made of chrome vanadium steel. Henry Ford's metallurgist Childe Harold Wills had such an alloy for the Model T Ford developed. Contemporary illustrations show a massive conventional ladder frame with rigid axles at the front and rear. Semi - elliptic leaf springs are used on the rear axle, and are visible in illustrations on the front axle . The rear axle is described as full floating . Accordingly, it is designed in such a way that its half-waves are relieved of transverse forces. The outer shaft end is in the wheel hub .

The foot brake acts on drums on the rear axle and the handbrake lever on the outside of the chassis acts on another brake drum on the gearbox.

Like almost all components, FRP also manufactured the worm steering itself. There were three chassis with different wheelbases to choose from: Series A with 110 inches (2794 mm), Series C with 130 inches (3302 mm) and Series B with 140 inches (3556 mm).

Both artillery wheels and wire spoke wheels are noted. Wheels measuring 36 × 5 inches were planned; Demountable rims , i.e. removable rims , were common in this car class .

Bodies

FRP Model 45 Series B Holbrook Town Car (1916)

The longer versions, especially the one with a 140-inch wheelbase, were less intended for sporty cars, although a seven-seater, open touring was also available ex works. They mostly served as the basis for closed representation cars. Holbrook supplied the Touring and Town Cars shown in the catalog . For customers who wanted an individual body, the bare chassis was also available, which was clad by the bodybuilder of their choice. One of the two FRPs obtained has a Brewster structure . This vehicle is said to have cost US $ 8,000, of which US $ 3,000 was for the body. It is unusual that this seven-seater only has two doors. The front seat bench is accessed through a door on the left-hand side; the driver had to slide over to the right-hand side behind the steering wheel. The external levers for gear shifting and handbrake blocked direct access. The rear seats were accessible through a second door on the right.

The 1918 sales catalog included four Holbrook bodies , including a Town Car , a Touring and a Speedster .

Overview model 45

Model
N.ACC rating 		construction time engine Cubic capacity
ci / cm³ 		Power
bhp / kW 		Wheelbase
inches / mm 		body Price from
US $
Series A
33.86 HP 		1914-1916 R4; ohc
F.RP 		448.7 / 7353 100 / 74.6 110/2794 Raceabout Speedster 2 Pl. 5000.-
Series C
33.86 HP 		1914-1916 R4; ohc
F.RP 		448.7 / 7353 100 / 74.6 130/3302 Runabout 2 pl. 6500.-
Series B
33.86 HP 		1914-1916 R4; ohc
F.RP 		448.7 / 7353 100 / 74.6 140/3556 Touring 7 pl.
Town Car 2 pl. 		6800.-

Production numbers

There are no exact figures about the number of pieces. What is certain is that material for 10 vehicles has been purchased. Depending on the source, between 3 and 12 pieces were produced; the Seal Cove Museum names nine. Two copies of the runabout are said to have been built. The low number of units is due on the one hand to the production of practically all components in-house and the discontinued production after the government took over.

FRP Model 45 today

For a long time it was assumed that an FRP no longer existed. Two vehicles are now known: a very early Speedster Series A from 1914 and a Touring Series B from 1915.

The better known is a Series B with chassis number 5. It has a seven-seater, two-door Brewster touring body . This vehicle was purchased in October 1975 by Tom Dawson for the collection of William F. Harrah (1911–1978). For years, an FRP had been at the top of their search list and even offered a reward. In 1977 the vehicle was restored and documented in the workshop of his museum. This collection of up to 1400 vehicles, including many individual items such as this FRP, is considered the largest in the world at this time, and the restorations carried out in-house set standards. In a greatly reduced form, the collection still exists today as the National Automobile Museum ( William Harrah Collection ). After Harrah's death, his company, which included the car collection, was sold. In his book Harrah's Automobile Collection, One man's tribute to the great automobiles of the World , Dean Batchelor describes the purchase for the collection. The vehicle was also the subject of an article in Harrah's company newspaper Harrahscope ( Harrah's Finds 'Most Wanted' Auto; Elusive FRP Touring ). As a result, a large part of the collection was auctioned off at several auctions. A Bugatti Royale and this FRP were also sold . Several changes of ownership followed. The vehicle was part of the collection of the renowned Collier Automotive Museum in Naples (Florida) . After the cream and green colored vehicle in a 1993 article about brand FRP in Automobile Quarterly had been presented, Vol. 31, no. 4, it came in 1994 to the Seal Cove Auto Museum on Mount Desert Iceland ( Maine ). According to the museum, it has specialized in historical vehicles between 1895 and 1917.

The second surviving vehicle is a Series A Raceabout painted black . Little is known about this racing car; In 2002 it was exhibited at a dealer stand at the Rétromobile , one of the most important trade fairs for veteran and collector vehicles in Europe. According to the seller, the vehicle should come from the reserve stock of the Harrah collection.

Porter Model 45 and 46

Porter Model 45 7-passenger Touring (1919)

After the war, Porter became Curtiss' chief engineer in Garden City, New York . His car was produced as Porter Model 45 and 46 by the American & British Manufacturing Corporation in Bridgeport (Connecticut) from 1919 to 1922. Now with 125 HP and a unified chassis of 142 inches (3607 mm) wheelbase. The chassis alone cost US $ 6750, - plus body prices of up to US $ 10,000. 36 chassis were delivered in these three years.

Remarks

  1. ↑ This advice goes back to the ALAM ( Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers ), which was the first to introduce standards in the USA. The power is calculated: cylinder bore ² × number of cylinders; the result is divided by 2.5. The formula initially applied to one, two, four and six-cylinder engines and was expanded to include eight and twelve-cylinder engines from around 1912 by the successor organization NACC ( National Automobile Chamber of Commerce ). The formula is also based on the British tax horsepower at the time. The rating was replaced by the SAE-PS in the 1920s . When the method was introduced, reasonably accurate values ​​could be calculated. Only around 10 years later, the discrepancy between calculated and measured performance is considerable. With the FRP it is 33.86 HP against 100 bhp.
  2. ↑ Weight and design of the body as well as the selected gear and rear axle reductions have a considerable influence on the possible maximum speed; In addition, the Long Island Motor Parkway , which opened in 1908, was considered to be one of the best roads in the state with its cross-free concrete carriageway.
  3. ↑ To make work easier after a flat tire, only the removable wheel rim and tires were replaced, the hub and wooden spokes remained on the vehicle. Such demountable rims were common in the 1910s and 1920s, but were initially not available on wire-spoke wheels.

literature

  • Beverly Rae Kimes (ed.), Henry Austin Clark Jr.: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI 1996, ISBN 0-87341-428-4 .
  • Robert D. Dluhy: American Automobiles of the Brass Era: Essential Specifications of 4,000+ Gasoline Powered Passenger Cars, 1906-1915, with a Statistical and Historical Overview. Mcfarland & Co Inc. publishers, Jefferson NC, 2013; ISBN 0-78647-136-0 .
  • GN Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. Dutton Press, New York, 2nd edition (hardcover), 1973; ISBN 0-525-08351-0 .
  • "The Automobile," November 12, 1914: FRP 100-horsepower chassis, $ 5,000. ; online at The Old Motor, May 12, 2014: The FRP - Finley Robinson Porter's Masterpiece .
  • National Automobile Chamber of Commerce : Handbook of Automobiles 1915–1916. Dover Publications, 1970.
  • Automobile Quarterly, Volume 31, No. 4, Summer 1993. (FRP)
  • Dean Batchelor: Harrah's automobile collection: One man's tribute to the great automobiles of the world. Publisher: GP Pub, 1984; without ISBN. is not available.

Web links

Commons : FRP Model 45  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l "The Automobile," November 12, 1914: FRP 100-horsepower chassis, $ 5000.
  2. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 619 (FRP)
  3. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 958 (Mercer).
  4. ↑ a b c d Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 620 (FRP)
  5. ↑ a b c The Old Motor: The FRP - Finley Robinson Porter's Masterpiece .
  6. ↑ American Automobiles: The FRP Automobile & The Finley-Robertson-Porter Co.
  7. ↑ a b c d Dluhy: American Automobiles of the Brass Era , 2013, p. 79 (FRP)
  8. ↑ a b c d e f Seal Cove Auto Museum: 1915 FRP.
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Classic Car Database: 1918 FRP 45B Series Standard Specifications.
  10. ↑ a b c d e Supercars: 1914 → 1916 FRP Series B
  11. ^ A b c Conceptcarz: FRP Series B (1915) .
  12. ↑ a b c d Carfolio: 1917 FRP 45 16 Valve technical specifications.
  13. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 1238 (Porter)
  14. ↑ a b Coachbuilt: Holbrook.
  15. ^ Trombinoscar: FRP Model C 7-pass Touring (1915).
  16. ^ Hemmings: William Fisk Harrah.
  17. ^ Trombinoscar: FRP Model B (?) (1914).