Only Model A (1912)

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Only

Image does not exist
A, B
Production period: 1912-1913
Class : Sports car
Body versions : Roadster , touring car
Engines: Otto engine :
7.3 liters (67 kW)
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 2845 mm
Empty weight : 1000 kg
Previous model Only Model A (1909)
successor Metropol Model C

The Only Model A and B from 1912–1913 were sporty American passenger cars. The manufacturer was the Only Motor Car Company in Port Jefferson , Suffolk County , New York . Suffolk County is on Long Island .

Model history

The Only Motor Car Company was founded in 1909 by local business people. Their first model was the Model A Racytype Roadster with an unusual single-cylinder engine. The designer of the sports car, which was also offered as a four-seater for a short time, was the Frenchman François Maurice Richard .

The vehicle did not sell well despite its attractive price. In 1912 Richard developed a successor as a four-cylinder model with a very large displacement, high performance and a significantly longer wheelbase. The new model appeared in two versions from the start. There was again a Speedster with the Model A Raceabout . Model B was a touring . The number of seats was not mentioned; Usually such vehicles were designed for five people. The prices were very attractive at US $ 1,000 for the Roadster and US $ 1,250 for the Touring.

After a short production time, the management decided to offer the vehicle under the new brand name Metropol . A new company was also formed, Metropol Motors Corporation . In addition to the damaged image of the Only , the impending bankruptcy was probably the main reason for this maneuver; a new company could continue to produce without being affected. In fact, that had Only Motor Car Company close in the spring of 1913, its assets were in July at the Maxim Tri-Car Manufacturing Company sold which there presented their 1911 and previously in Thompsonville (Connecticut) produced Tri-Car far built. This vehicle was quite obviously based on the German Phenomobile .

technology

The Only -Vierzylinder were compared to their single-cylinder predecessors improved in many ways vehicles that drew attention to himself with an impressive performance of 90 bhp (67 kW) at cost effective prices. The technical data of the Only four-cylinder models are unfortunately only partially available. Multiple occupied but that they are very closely related with the Successor of Metropolitan Model C are. The sources are better at Metropol . Where the sources do not provide any other specifications, the technical data were used accordingly for both series. The designer of all Only and Metropol vehicles was François Maurice Richard , who was later also responsible for the RiChard and the La Marne .

engine

The engine was designed as a very large, water-cooled four - cylinder . Side valves are mentioned by one source, another specifies this for the successor Metropol Model C with the same engine data as T-head control . At the time, this was a variant of side control with inlet and outlet valves on opposite sides of the engine block, which was quite common for high-performance engines. The bore was 4¼ inches (approx. 108 mm), the stroke ⅞ inches (200 mm). This resulted in a displacement of 446.9  ci (7323 cm³). The carburetor was made by himself, probably according to Richard's patent. There is no information about the ignition system of the Only . Two ignition systems are used for the Metropol .

The long-stroke engine resulted in a very low tax class. This is due to the fact that only the cylinder bore was used for their calculation, but not the stroke. So these data are calculated, not measured. Most sources cite a rating of 30 hp, a single 28.9 hp.

Power transmission

The power was transmitted via a conventional three-speed manual transmission , a cone clutch and probably drive chains ; at least a box on the running board in front of the Metropol's rear fender suggests this. There is no concrete information, but that was also the power transmission that was common at the time for vehicles with such high performance. The more modern cardan shaft with power transmission to a differential on the rear axle was already known, but was initially only suitable for light vehicles.

Chassis and suspension

Hardly any information is available on Only Model A. A wheelbase of 112 inches (2845 mm) is known. The tires were 32 × 3½ and the vehicles were right-hand drive.

The Metropol Model C is known to have semi - elliptic leaf springs all around . and the rear axle was designed to be full floating . Accordingly, it was designed in such a way that its half-waves are free of transverse forces. The outer shaft end is in the wheel hub .

body

Unfortunately there are no illustrations. It is known that Model A Raceabout had a "Speedster" body typical of the time and Model B was a touring, which was the best-selling design at the time.

The vehicles weighed around 2200 lbs (1000 kg).

Model overview

model construction time engine
Cubic capacity c.i / cm³ 		Power
bhp / kW 		Wheelbase
mm / in 		body Price
US $
Model A
30 HP 		1912-1913 4 row; T-head
only 		446.9 / 7323 90/67 112/2845 Roadster 2 pl. 1000.-
Model B
30 HP 		1912-1913 4 row; T-head
only 		446.9 / 7323 90/67 112/2845 Touring 5 pl. 1250.-

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 .

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 .
  • Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers : Handbook of Gasoline Automobiles / 1904–1905-1906. Introduced by Clarence P. Hornung, Dover Publications, New York, 1969.
  • National Automobile Chamber of Commerce : Handbook of Automobiles 1915–1916. Dover Publications, 1970.

Web links

Commons : Metropol Vehicles  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 1089 (Only)
  2. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 940 (Maxim Tri-Car)
  3. ↑ a b c Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 966 (Metropol)
  4. ↑ a b c d Carfolio: Only Model A technical specifications.
  5. ^ Carfolio: Metropol Model C technical specifications.
  6. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 1288 (RiChard)
  7. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 835 (La Marne)
  8. ↑ a b c d e f Dluhy: American Automobiles of the Brass Era , 2013, p. 105 (Only)
  9. ↑ a b c d Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 1090 (Only)
  10. ↑ a b c Classic Car Database: Standard Specifications 1914 Metropol C Series.