Pioneer Staggered Roadster

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Pioneer
Pioneer Staggered Roadster (1914)
Pioneer Staggered Roadster (1914)
9 HP Staggered Roadster
Production period: 1914
Class : Cyclecar
Body versions : Roadster
Engines: Petrol engine
1.1 liters (6.6 kW)
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 2438 mm
Empty weight :
successor Partin-Palmer Model 20

The Pioneer Staggered Roadster was an American cycle car only offered in 1914 . The manufacturer was the American Manufacturing Company from Chicago (Illinois) . The vehicle did not have an official model name, but is referenced in technical literature as the Pioneer Staggered Roadster .

Cyclecar

Cyclecars are very lightly built vehicles for transporting people and, less often, goods. In addition to the buckboards , with which they have a lot in common, they are among the smallest automobiles. Light cars and, above all, voiturettes , which were also made of lightweight construction, are somewhat larger and more solidly built . Small cars of this time were built more massive than those mentioned.

Components from bicycle and motorcycle construction were often used for cycle cars. The simple technology and an increasingly available variety of suitable motors and components on the market meant that many small and very small manufacturers appeared. In addition to serious designers, there were also a number of hobbyists and tinkerers, some of whom delivered quite questionable results. Cyclecars experienced a huge boom in the USA between 1912 and 1915. The price was attractive, and cyclecars looked sporty, made an impression and enabled new groups of buyers to acquire a motor vehicle. This was put into perspective when the reputation of the vehicles began to suffer as a result of some faulty designs and quality defects that had become apparent. The flash in the pan ended completely when Ford upset the market with its fully-fledged and reliable Model T and, from 1915, demanded prices that were sometimes even below those of a cycle car.

American Manufacturing Company

The American Manufacturing Company was a subsidiary of the Partin Manufacturing Company , based in Rochelle and Chicago. Their brand names were Partin and Partin-Palmer . The Cyclecar Pioneer should complement the range below. American Manufacturing appeared independently. The parent company went into the Commonwealth Motors Corporation in late 1914 , with the American Manufacturing Company and the Pioneer brand being given up. As its successor, Partin-Palmer introduced the slightly larger Model 20 in 1915 , which was offered until the brand was discontinued in 1917.

technology

The Pioneer was a solid build at a fair price. Its failure is more related to the new market situation and the reorganization of the company than to technical or qualitative deficiencies. As a typical representative of its genre, it was made in lightweight construction with an air-cooled V2 engine , friction gear , belt drive, narrow track and a roadster body that was so narrow that the front passenger seat had to be placed a little lower and a little further back to accommodate the driver to give sufficient freedom of movement.

engine

The Pioneer's engine was a purchased V-Twin , the manufacturer of which is unknown; Well-known providers were Briggs & Stratton , Cushman , GB & S. , Model , Spacke , Speedwell and Harley-Davidson . It was air-cooled with a displacement of 69.3 ci (1136 cc) from a 3⅜ inch (85.725 mm) bore and 3⅞ inch (98.425 mm) stroke ; it made 9 bhp (6.6 kW). At that time, the tax class (the so-called NACC rating) was calculated from the borehole, 9.1 HP for the Pioneer .

Atypical for air-cooled vehicles of this time is that there was a "radiator mask" instead of a hood that sloped down at the front.

Power transmission

The transmission of the Pioneer was uncomplicated and very typical of a Cyclecar. There was a friction gear and belt drive , probably only on the left rear wheel, which made a differential superfluous.

Chassis and suspension

The wheelbase in this class is a generous 96 inches (2438 mm). From the illustration it can be seen that the engine was mounted very far forward, that the front rigid axle was suspended from a transverse leaf spring in front of the “radiator grille” and that the tank was located above the knee area of ​​the passenger compartment. From its high position, the fuel got to the carburetor by gravity. It is unclear whether there was also a transverse leaf spring at the rear or no suspension at all. Both were typical of cyclecars. No brake drums are visible on the vehicle , which suggests a brake acting on the transmission. The vehicle had wire-spoke wheels measuring 28 × 2.5 inches and left-hand drive .

Remarks

  1. ↑ Predecessor formula for SAE-PS . The NACC ( National Automobile Chamber of Commerce ) was an association of the automotive industry founded in 1913 and the successor to the ALAM ( Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers ), which introduced the first standards in US automotive engineering in 1903. The benefit is calculated; Cylinder bore ² × number of cylinders; the result is divided by 2.5. From this formula SAE-PS were later developed; it is also the basis of the British tax PS of the time.

literature

Web links

Commons : Pioneer  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Dluhy: American Automobiles of the Brass Era. 2013, p. 108 (Pioneer)
  2. ↑ a b Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 1996, pp. 1153-1154 (Palmer, Partin-Palmer).
  3. ↑ a b c Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 1996, p. 1195 (Pioneer).
  4. ↑ NACC: Handbook of Automobiles 1915–1916 , p. 212 (HP Rating)