Famous Manufacturing Company

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The Famous Manufacturing Company in East Chicago ( Indiana ) was an American manufacturer of agricultural machinery , tractors , and from 1908 to 1909 a High Wheeler -Automobils. With some likelihood the company was reorganized into Famous Trucks, Inc. around 1917 , which existed until 1923 and produced a light truck. Brand names were Champion for the agricultural machinery and Famous for the van. The automobile was offered under both names.

Beginnings with agricultural technology

The company was founded in East Chicago around 1881 and made a name for itself as a manufacturer of agricultural machinery and farm equipment, especially hay and lever balers . The sale was made early from a base in Chicago ( Illinois off).

From 1906 to 1912 tractors were also manufactured under the Famous name ; however, no further information is available on this. The Famous Manufacturing Company did not use the Champion brand name for tractors; there were some 1,918 to 1,920 from another manufacturer, the Champion Tractor Company in Argo ( Illinois ).

Highwheeler

The only automobile built by the Famous Manufacturing Company was a roadster , called the 10-12 HP Model A , which was first marketed as Famous and later as Champion ; other sources suggest the simultaneous use of the two brand names. The vehicle was available as a 2/3 seater at US $ 450 and as a 4-seater at US $ 600.

The 10-12 HP Model A was a typical representative of the very simply and conventionally constructed highwheeler category and looked similar to a horse buggy with huge carriage wheels. The rear wheels were larger than the front.

As in many vehicles of this type, the purchased engine was located under the seat. It was an air-cooled two - cylinder boxer engine with OHV valve control. The bore was 4½ inches (114.3 mm), the stroke 5 inches (127 mm). This results in a displacement of 159 ci (2606 cm³). The power was 10 hp according to the calculation method at that time (hp ALAM); the number 12 refers to the vehicle tax bracket.

Power was transmitted via a two-speed planetary gear and one (possibly two) drive chain (s) to the rear wheels. Only in 1908 was a friction gear offered as an alternative .

The wheelbase was 80 inches (2032 mm), the wooden spoke wheels were 36 × 1 × inches (914 × 29 mm) at the front and 42 × 1⅛ inches (1067 × 29 mm) at the rear. The vehicles were among the last passenger cars to be fitted with solid rubber tires; these persisted in commercial vehicles well into the 1920s.

It was steered with a lever that acted on a linkage attached to the outside on the right side. This already then completely outdated technology can already be found on steam car of De Dion-Bouton to the 1880s. On the other hand, right-hand drive was still quite common in the USA during these years.

Famous Trucks, Inc.

The Famous Trucks, Inc. was founded in 1917 in Chicago and seems to be a reorganization of the Famous Manufacturing Co. to have been. RW Grotfeld was the president and CE Frederickson was vice president.

Before production began, the company relocated to St. Joseph , St. Joseph County , Michigan . A prototype Model A was created , but a Model B 10 with 1 tn payload went into series production . It was only as a chassis offered / cabin and had cost US $ 1690. This modern trucks a four-cylinder engine from Continental , a three-speed transmission and shaft drive . The wheelbase was 120 inches (3,048 mm).

Famous Trucks, Inc. closed its doors in 1923.

Remarks

  1. ↑ ALAM = Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers , the first US standards organization, from 1908 to 1911. The benefit is calculated; Cylinder bore ² × number of cylinders; the result is divided by 2.5. SAE-PS was later developed from this formula .

literature

  • Beverly Rae Kimes (Editor), Henry Austin Clark, Jr .: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805–1942. Krause Publications, Iola WI 1985, ISBN 0-87341-045-9 .
  • 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 978-078647-136-2
  • Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 , chapter Famous.
  • GN Georgano (Editor), G. Marshall Naul: Complete Encyclopedia of Commercial Vehicles. MBI Motor Books International, Osceola WI 1979, ISBN 0-87341-024-6 .
  • Albert Mroz: Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Trucks and Commercial Vehicles. Krause Publications, Iola WI 1996, ISBN 0-87341-368-7 .
  • Charles H. Wendel: Standard Catalog of Farm Tractors 1890-1980. Krause Publications, Iola WI, 2nd edition 2005, ISBN 0-87349-726-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ American Automobiles: The Champion Automobile & The Famous Manufacturing Company
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h American Automobiles: The Famous Automobile & The Famous Manufacturing Company
  3. ^ Wendel: Standard Catalog of Farm Tractors 1890–1980. 2005, p. 297 (Famous)
  4. ^ Wendel: Standard Catalog of Farm Tractors 1890–1980. 2005, pp. 187–188 (Champion)
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Kimes / Cark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805–1942. 1996, p. 558
  6. ^ Kimes / Cark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 1996, p. 273
  7. ↑ a b c d e f Dluhy: American Automobiles of the Brass Era, 1906-1915. 2013, p. 77
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 , chapter Famous.
  9. ^ Kimes / Cark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 1996, p. 558 (ill.)
  10. ↑ a b Georgiano / Naul: Complete Encyclopedia of Commercial Vehicles. 1979, p. 228
  11. ↑ a b Mroz: Ill Encyclopedia of American Trucks and Commercial Vehicles.. 1996, p. 129