Kunz Automobile Company

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Kunz Automobile Company
Kunz Automobile & Motor Company
Speedwell Automobile Company
J.L. Kunz Machine Company
Kunz Wheel Company
legal form Company
founding 1901
resolution after 1917
Seat Milwaukee , Wisconsin , USA
management John L. Kunz
Branch Automobiles

Kunz Automobile Company was a manufacturer of automobiles in Milwaukee in the US state of Wisconsin .

The company was founded by John L. Kunz in late 1901 and produced runabouts and roadsters from 1902 to at least 1905 . In 1903 and 1904 it operated under the name Speedwell Automobile Company of Milwaukee. In 1905 it returned to the original brand name, but soon afterwards ceased production of motor vehicles.

Company history

Kunz, born in Appleton (Wisconsin) in 1866 , had built his first automobile in 1897, which he was able to sell the following year. He then moved to Milwaukee and opened a successful mechanical workshop. At the end of 1901 he established the Kunz Automobile Company and resumed automobile production. Shortly thereafter, the name was changed to Kunz Automobile & Motor Company and just a few months later to Speedwell Automobile Company . In 1903 and 1904 his automobiles were sold as Speedwell . A final reorganization occurred in 1905 when the company was recapitalized with US $ 75,000 and renamed the JL Kunz Machine Company ; the vehicles were now marketed as Kunz again . The production was purely manual. According to the company, only twelve Speedwell were built in 1904 . The planned output of 100 vehicles for the spring of 1905 is unlikely to have been achieved by a long way. After that, Kunz gave up automobile production and concentrated on his workshop. In 1917 he changed the company name one last time in Kunz Wheel Company and introduced self-developed cars and trucks - wheels of resilient sheet steel ago.

vehicles

The 340 kg heavy Kunz Runabout from 1902, with a " dos-à-dos " additional bench at the back with the seat facing backwards, had a water-cooled single - cylinder four-stroke engine , the inlet of which was located above the outlet valve and which had up to 4½ hp 1400 revolutions per minute. The engine was typically mounted under the driver's seat. The car had a transmission called sliding wedge of its own design with three forward gears and one reverse gear. The power was transmitted via a drive chain. According to proprietary advertising, the car should be able to cover 175-200 miles (280-320 km) on one tank of fuel. As with the Runabout from 1901, which was built without additional seats, it was steered with a long steering lever that acted on the front axle.

The Speedwell Roadster from 1903 was again a typical contemporary small two-seater in buggy style and a further development of the Kunz with a more powerful single-cylinder engine that now had a full eight hp . The apparently inadequate sliding wedge gear was no longer used; Instead, it was driven by a two-speed planetary gear and a chain on the rear axle. The wheelbase was 1727 mm (68 inches). The steering remained unchanged. The car was then for about 1000 dollars to have.

While the previous models were clearly reminiscent of carriage construction, the carriage from 1905, now again called Kunz , has been greatly improved. The 8 hp engine remained under the seat, but the water cooler was moved from the floor of the vehicle to the front of the vehicle. Instead of the bulkhead, there was a storage space behind the radiator, which made the appearance much more modern. The wheelbase grew to 1829 mm (72 inches), and instead of the archaic cow-tail steering , there was now a slightly more modern one. The steering movement was transmitted via a linkage by means of a short lever attached to the right side of the seat. The price was reduced to US $ 675.

Model overview

construction time model Power
hp		 Wheelbase
mm		 List price
US $
1901-1902 Kunz runabout 4½ 1000
1903-1904 Speedwell runabout 8th 1727 1000
1905 Kunz runabout 8th 1829 675

Other Speedwell automobiles from other manufacturers

literature

  • Floyd Clymer: Floyd Clymer's Steam Car Scrapbook. Literary Licensing, LLC, 2012, ISBN 978-1-258-43079-5 , p. 153.
  • GN Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. 2nd Edition. Dutton Press, New York 1973, ISBN 0-525-08351-0 . (English)
  • Beverly Rae Kimes (Eds.), Henry Austin Clark, Jr.: The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 2nd Edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI 1985, ISBN 0-87341-111-0 . (English)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kimes (1985), p. 795.
  2. ↑ recognizable by the illustration of a technically practically identical Speedwell from 1903 in Kimes (1985), p. 1318.
  3. ↑ The Kunz Runabout from 1902
  4. ↑ a b c Kimes (1985), p. 1319.
  5. ↑ a b c Kimes (1985), illus. P. 1318.
  6. ↑ a b conceptcarz.com

Remarks

  1. ^ According to Early American Automobiles, a two-cylinder .
  2. ↑ a b according to the calculation method at that time, probably according to the ALAM standard ( Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers ).