Inter-State Fifty

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Fifty
Production period: 1911-1912
Class : Upper class
Body versions : Roadster
Touring Car
Demi - Tonneau
Engines:
Petrol engines 6.4–7.7 liters
37.3 kW
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 3150 mm
Empty weight : 1040-1360 kg
Previous model without
successor Model 45

The Inter-State Fifty was a passenger of American upper upper class that was offered only in 1911 and the 1912th

The designation is derived from the respective engine power. The vehicles were manufactured by the Inter-State Automobile Company in Muncie , Indiana .

Model history

The Inter-State Automobile Company was founded in late 1908 by Thomas F. Hart with the help of several investors and was based at 142, Willard street . The name of the company and its product was the result of a competition that Hart held in Muncie. After the Inter-State 35/40 hp , the Forty 1910 was the second model that the manufacturer brought onto the market. It was a conventionally constructed upper middle class car with a powerful four-cylinder engine that remained in the range until 1912. In 1911 the derived Fifty appeared . With a list price of US $ 2700, this offered an attractive entry into the upper class of the time . In its first year of production it received a 6.4 liter four-cylinder engine and was only available as a 7-seater touring .

1912 Forty and Fifty got bigger engines, the previous Forty was further produced as Thirty with nominally less power. The Fifty had an unchanged output of 50 bhp (37.3 kW), which it now delivered from a huge T-head four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 7.7 liters and twin ignition . It was now available in three open versions. The new fore-door bodies looked more modern, but also more massive and had doors to all seats.

For 1913 all three series were discontinued. While there was no replacement for the Thirty , the new six-cylinder Inter-State Model 45 was positioned in terms of price and performance so that it fit between Forty and Fifty and could replace both. It was only available as a Fore-door Touring .

After a bankruptcy in late 1913, a new line attempted the rescue as the Inter-State Motor Company . This was followed by a reorientation towards the lower middle class with the Inter-State Model T (1915-1918). After the switch to war production in May 1918, the Inter-State Motor Company closed for good in late 1918.

technology

The Fifty was the brand's top model. It was derived from the Forty and produced parallel to it - and in 1912 also parallel to the Thirty .

Engines

1911: Model 35 : All that is known about this engine is that it was a large four-cylinder with a 4¾ inch (121 mm) bore and 5½ inch (140 mm) stroke and thus had a displacement of 389.9  ci (6388 cm³). It can be assumed that, like all other inter-state engines, it had water cooling and a water pump and that the crankshaft was triple bearing. There is no information on valve control or on the ignition system , where both high-voltage magneto ignition or battery ignition (each with a dry battery) and double ignition are possible. The cylinder bore results in an ALAM rating of 36.1 PS. This was a common, but very imprecise, method of measuring performance.

1912: Model 50, 51 and 52 : More data is available on this four-cylinder engine. It is the largest and, with the nominally equally powerful 6.4 liter four-cylinder, the most powerful engine that Inter-State has installed in a car. This is a T-head engine that has inlet and outlet valves on the opposite side and requires a separate camshaft for each . This was a solution reserved for expensive automobiles, which was first used in the Mercedes 35 hp from 1901. Its cylinder bore is 5 inches (127 mm), the stroke 6 inches (152.4 mm), resulting in a displacement of 471.2 ci (7722 cm³). The crankshaft has three bearings. In 1912 there was double ignition in all Inter-State series, i.e. for the Fifty . Although oil pumps are mentioned for earlier models , the Fifty features old-fashioned centrifugal lubrication. This may have something to do with the susceptibility and noise development of the early pumps. The mixture preparation probably occurred before 1912 by Stromberg - carburetor , but occupies only here. The engine developed 50 bhp (37.3 kW). The cylinder bore results in an ALAM rating of 40 hp.

Power transmission

Data for 1911 are not available, conventional three-speed manual gearbox , multi-plate clutch and power transmission via cardan shaft to the rear axle is documented for the Fifty from 1912 and most other models from 1909 to 1912. On the Forty and Fifty , the rear axle was designed to "float"; H. the drive half-waves are freed from lateral forces. The outer shaft end is in the wheel hub.

Chassis and suspension

Typical rear axle suspension (1912) with three-quarter elliptical springs ("Underslung" design with an axle attached above the springs)

All Inter-State built between 1909 and 1912 are right hand drive . While Forty and Thirty shared a chassis with a 118-inch (2997 mm) wheelbase , a 124-inch (3150 mm) wheelbase is used for the Fifty in both model years (1911 and 1912).

As far as can be seen, it was a conventional ladder frame that had been derived with some certainty from the 35/40 . The vehicle had rigid axles at the front and rear. These were suspended from semi-elliptical springs at the front and three-quarter elliptical springs at the back. Contemporary photos show wooden artillery wheels with ten spokes at the front and twelve at the back; where spare tires are visible, they appear to be mounted on removable rims . This was a step towards a little more comfort in times of non-removable wheels: You only had to replace the rim and remove the defective tire at home and repair it or take it to a specialist. For the Fifty , tires measuring 36 × 4½ inches were provided.

The foot brake pedal acted on the inner shoe brake drums on the rear axle; the handbrake operated an external shoe brake , which was attached either to the rear axle, to the gearbox or to the differential .

The gas tank held 20  US gallons (75.8 liters).

The 1912 chassis number for Thirty , Forty and Fifty was written in front of the driver's seat in the vehicle. It has four digits and consists of numbers between 4104 and 6000; the specific model cannot be read from this consecutive production number.

Bodies

Below is a brief explanation of the now unusual looking body designations of the Inter-State Thirty and Forty . Inter-State used a separate model number for each combination of chassis and body, which is broken down in the model overview.

Fore-door touring

In its first year of production in 1911, the Fifty was only available as a touring , open five-seater with usually two rows of seats and an emergency roof. Larger versions often had jump seats that could be folded out of the back wall of the front seats or from the floor, or three rows of seats. The touring was also called the double phaeton in Europe . At first there were only doors in the back; began when such enforce forward, these vehicles have been during a short transition period Fore-door Touring called to them from quickly outmoded Touring delineate. The same approach was used with other body shapes such as the tonneau and even the roadster, although this had no “front” doors. The term "touring" gradually disappeared in favor of Phaeton (more in the US) and Torpedo (more in Europe). During the transition period in which the Inter-State was built, the torpedo was usually a four-seater design with four doors and a smooth transition from the bonnet to the body.

As a Touring, the Inter-State Fifty weighed 2,300 lbs (1,045 kg) in 1911  ; In 1912, the new fore-door superstructures should have been responsible for an increase in weight to 3000 lbs (1360 kg). Thirty were 500 lbs (225 kg) lighter.

  • Touring without front doors: Thomas Flyer (1910)

  • Fore-door Touring: ALCo Six (1912)

Fore-door roadster

Another version was the roadster . Similar to the runabout , this was originally an alternative name for a motor buggy , ie a two-seater "carriage without horses" with the motor under the seat or in the rear. When the engine in front caught on in the early 1900s, both terms were used analogously. Even if we have got used to two-seater roadsters today, this was by no means the rule until well into the 1930s. In the times of the Inter-State , an additional single seat, double seat or bench was often attached to the rear. In this form, the 4-passenger roadster was also referred to as the Tourabout . The transition to the lightly built Toy Tonneau is fluid. Inter-State offered the Roadster as a Forty with either three or four seats; the Thirty no seat number was noted. The roadster was handled in the same way as fore-door touring, although it had no “front” doors.

  • Stoddard-Dayton Model 10C 4-passenger Roadster (1910).

  • EMF Model 30 Fore-door Roadster (1912)

Demi-Tonneau and Fore-door Demi-Tonneau

Simplex Fore-door Toy Tonneau (1911)

The tonneau is one of the oldest body shapes and goes back to appropriately constructed carriages. Access to the rear (“tonneau”) was mostly via a door in the rear, more rarely on one side. The seating arrangement was often (but not necessarily) “U” -shaped, often with a folding seat attached to the inside of the door. Often the seats were arranged lengthways to the direction of travel. "Demi" or also close coupled means that the rear compartment was shortened and the back seat was moved forward, which looked sportier. Sometimes this type is also referred to as a toy tonneau . The addition Demi is also available in connection with other body designs such as the touring, the sedan and other variants with two rows of seats. Analogous to the fore-door touring , there was also the fore-door tonneau .

Model overview

model Fifty Model 35 Fifty Model 50 Fifty Model 51 Fifty Model 52
construction time 1911 1912
engine R4 R4 T head
Displacement 389.9  ci / 6388 cc 471.2 ci / 7722 cc
power 50 bhp / 37.3 kW
wheelbase 124.0 in / 3150 mm
body Touring , 7 pl. Fore-door Touring, 7 pl. Fore-door Demi - Tonneau Fore-door roadster
price US $ 2700.- US $ 3400.-
Remarks Also 35A. Engine only 1911;
incomplete data.

Production numbers

Model year number of pieces
1911 839
1912 1012
Total 1851

These model year production figures are based on information from automotive historians Beverly Rae Kimes and Henry Austin Clark, Jr. in the Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 . They include the series Forty (without 1910), Fifty (1911-1912) and Thirty (only 1912); a breakdown by model or body variant is not possible, the Fifty should naturally have the smallest share.

Racing

The winner of the first Indianapolis 500: Marmon Wasp , driver Ray Harroun (1911)

A racing car called the Bulldog 50 took part in the first edition of the Indianapolis 500 . Driven by Harry Endicott (1883-1913), he finished 16th and missed a cash prize. Endicott was the brother of the more famous racing driver William "Farmer Bill" Endicott (1876-1944), who took part in the same race. Harry Endicott was killed in a car accident in 1913.

Harry Endicott's dark blue painted Bulldog 50 with light gray wheels and chassis and the start number 3 has been preserved. The Inter-State Motor Car Registry serves to exchange information between the few owners of an Inter-State .

Remarks

  1. ↑ The ALAM ( Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers ) was the first US standards organization. The power is calculated: cylinder bore ² × number of cylinders; the result is divided by 2.5. SAE-PS were later developed from this formula . It is also based on the British tax PS of the time. Their problem was that the factor 2.5 became less precise with increasingly higher speeds.

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 0-7864-7136-0 .
  • GN Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. Dutton Press, New York, 2nd edition (hardcover), 1973; ISBN 0-525-08351-0 .
  • National Automobile Chamber of Commerce : Handbook of Automobiles 1915–1916. Dover Publications, 1970.

Web links

Commons : Inter-State  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog. 1996, p. 771 (Inter-State).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Dluhy: American Automobiles of the Brass Era. 2013, p. 87 (Inter-State).
  3. ↑ a b Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog. 1996, p. 772 (Inter-State).
  4. ↑ a b classiccardatabase.com: Standard Specifications 1910 Inter-State Forty.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j classiccardatabase.com: Standard Spec <ifications 1912 Inter-State Fifty.
  6. ↑ a b classiccardatabase.com: Standard Specifications 1911 Inter-State Fifty Model 35A.
  7. ↑ a b c classiccardatabase.com: Standard Specifications 1912 Inter-State Forty.
  8. ↑ a b NACC: Handbook of Automobiles 1915-1916 , 1970; P. 12 (PS rating according to ALAM / NACC).
  9. ↑ a b c classiccardatabase.com: Standard Specifications 1912 Inter-State Fifty.
  10. ↑ a b classiccardatabase.com: Standard Specifications 1912 Inter-State Thirty.
  11. ↑ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog. 1996, p. 773 (Inter-State).
  12. ↑ a b conceptcarz.com: 1911 Inter-State Fifty "Bulldog" Indianapolis Racers.
  13. ↑ findagrave.com: Harry Endicott .
  14. ^ Inter-State Motor Car Registry.