Pratt Motor Car Company

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Pratt Motor Car Company
legal form Company
founding 1871
resolution 1915
Reason for dissolution reorganization
Seat Elkhart , Indiana , USA
management William B. Pratt
Branch vehicles

The factory around 1885
The factory in 1910
Advert for carriages from 1897

Pratt Motor Car Company was an American manufacturer of vehicles .

Company history

Frederick Brooks Pratt founded in 1871 together with his eldest son William as the FB Pratt & Co. in Elkhart in Indiana . The name was changed to FB Pratt & Son around 1874 . In 1873 or 1874 the production of carriages began .

From 1880 or 1882 the company operated as FB Pratt & Sons and from 1882 as the Elkhart Buggy Company . In 1888 it became the Elkhart Carriage & Harness Manufacturing Company . In January 1894 Frederick Pratt handed over the reins to his sons. William B. became president and secretary, and his brother George B. became vice president and treasurer.

At least from around 1900, sales mostly took place without intermediaries and dispatched by post, as Sears did.

In 1906 the first automobile was built for test purposes, which still had many defects. Series production did not begin until 1909. The brand name was initially Pratt-Elkhart and from 1911 only Pratt . As of model year 1912, the company also had a network of dealerships , albeit described as small. The previous lack of a dealer network had proven to be a disadvantage.

Commercial vehicles have come down to us at least for 1909 . Motorcycles were also made in 1911 .

In 1915 the name was changed to Pratt Motor Car Company .

A reorganization took place at the end of October 1915. The new company name was Elkhart Carriage & Motor Car Company and the brand name Elcar .

Passenger cars

From 1909 to 1910 there was only the Model 1 . It had a four-cylinder engine that was specified with 30/35 hp . A 107.95 mm bore and 120.65 mm stroke resulted in a displacement of 4417 cm³ . The engine was from Waukesha Engines . The chassis had a 297 cm wheelbase . The only superstructure offered was an open touring car with five seats.

1911 from the Model F . The dates didn't change. A five-seater touring car with front doors, a two-seater roadster and a seven-seater sedan have now been added to the range of bodies.

In 1912 the Forty followed as Pratt . The increased bore of the 114.3 mm engine still supplied by Waukesha Engines resulted in a displacement of 4952 cc. The engine output was now given as 40 hp. The wheelbase was extended to 305 cm. Are called Model H as a touring car with five seats, Model L as a demi-tonneau with four seats, Model M as a touring car with seven seats and Model N as a runabout with two seats.

In 1913 it became the Model H with the same data. It was available as a roadster with two seats and as a touring car with five and seven seats. The new Model R was placed underneath. Its engine came from Atlas Engine Works . 101.6 mm bore and 114.3 mm stroke resulted in 3707 cm³ displacement and 30 hp. The wheelbase was 290 cm. Roadsters with two seats and touring cars with five seats have been handed down. Top model was the Model C . Its engine, with a bore of 114.3 mm and a stroke of 146.05 mm, had a displacement of 5994 cm³ and an output of 50 hp. The wheelbase was 310 cm. The only body shape offered was a touring car, optionally with four, five or seven seats.

In 1914, the assortment was limited to previous top model, now Fifty or according to another source Model D called. The engine was specified with 32 hp, but made 50 hp. The range offered touring cars with five and seven seats, roadsters with two seats and Tourabout with four seats.

Another source also mentions the 60th for the period from October 1913 to 1914 . The six-cylinder Buda engine had 104.775 mm bore, 133.35 mm stroke and 6898 cc displacement.

In 1915 the Model 4-40 was the smaller of two models. The engine from the Continental Motors Company with 104.775 mm bore, 133.35 mm stroke and 4599 cc displacement was specified with 27 hp. The wheelbase was 310 cm. Touring cars with five seats and roadsters with two seats are mentioned. There was also the Model 6-50 . It had a six cylinder engine . 95.25 mm bore and 133.35 mm stroke resulted in a displacement of 5701 cm³ and an output of 34 hp. The wheelbase measured 335 cm. Customers could choose between a five- and seven-seat touring car and a two-seat roadster.

Another source names two other models for 1915. The Six-Forty was a smaller six-cylinder model with a Continental engine. 88.9 mm bore and 127 mm stroke resulted in a displacement of 4730 cc. The Eight-Fifty had an eight-cylinder engine of Herschell-Spillman . With him 76.2 mm bore and 127 mm stroke resulted in 4633 cm³ displacement. The engine developed 74 hp.

year model cylinder Bore
( inch )		 Stroke
(inch)		 Bore
(mm)		 Stroke
(mm)		 Displacement
(cm³)		 Power
( hp )		 Wheelbase
(cm)		 Structure and price ( US dollars ) swell Third party supplements
1909-1910 Model 1 4th 4.250 4.75 107.950 120.65 4417 30/35 297 5-seater touring car: 1600 Also called 30-35
engine from Waukesha Engines,
rating 35 hp, engine power 42 hp
From September 1909 to 1910
1911 Model F 4th 4.250 4.75 107.950 120.65 4417 30/35 297 Fore-Door touring car 5-seater: 1800
Open touring car 5-seater: 1750
Roadster 2-seater: 1750
Sedan 7-seater: 2000		 Also called 40
engine from Waukesha,
rating 35 hp, engine power 42 hp
1912 Forty 4th 4.500 4.75 114.300 120.65 4952 40 305 Model H 5-seater touring car: 2100
Model L Demi-Tonneau 4-seater: 2000
Model M 7-seater touring car: 2100
Model N Runabout 2-seater		 Also called 40
engine from Waukesha, type KU 4,
classification 40 HP
1913 Model C 4th 4.500 5.75 114.300 146.05 5994 50 310 4-seater and 5-seater
touring cars : 2150 7-seater touring cars: 2300		 Also called the
Waukesha Motor 50
1913 Model H 4th 4.500 4.75 114.300 120.65 4952 40 305 Roadster 2-seater: 1850
Touring car 5-seater: 1850
Touring car 7-seater: 1950		 Also called 40
engine from Waukesha, type KU 4,
classification 40 HP
1913 Model R 4th 4th000 4.50 101.600 114.30 3707 30th 290 Roadster 2-seater: 1400
Touring car 5-seater: 1400		 Also called 30
engine from Atlas Engine Works,
classified 33 hp
from March 1912 to 1913
1913-1914 60 6th 4.125 5.25 104.775 133.35 6898 Buda Motor
From October 1913 to 1914
1914 Fifty
(Model D)		 4th 4.500 5.75 114.300 146.05 5994 32 310 Touring car 7-seater: 2300
Roadster 2-seater: 2100
Tourabout 4-seater: 2150
Touring car 5-seater: 2150		 Also called the
Waukesha Motor
until 1915
1915 Model 4-40 4th 4.125 5.25 104.775 133.35 4599 27 310 5-seater touring car: 1950
2-seater roadster: 1950		 Also called the Four-Forty
engine from Continental
1915 Six Forty 6th 3.500 500 88.900 12700 4730 Continental engine
1915 Model 6-50 6th 3.750 5.25 95.250 133.35 5701 34 335 7-seater
touring car : 2250 5-seater touring car: 2150
2-seater roadster: 2150		 Also called the Six-Fifty
engine from Continental
1915 Eight-Fifty 8th 3000 500 76.200 12700 4633 74 Engine from Herschell-Spillman,
engine output 74 HP

Notes: Kimes source gives all data except bore, stroke and displacement. Quelle Dluhy confirms everything except for the superstructure, instead only names five-seater touring cars and their price.

  • An early passenger car from 1909 or earlier

  • Pratt-Elkhart

  • Pratt-Elkhart Model 1 from 1911

  • Pratt from 1913

  • Pratt Model 6-50 from 1915

Advertisement for a delivery truck from 1909

Car production figures

year Production number
1909 53
1910 133
1911 125
1912 186
1913 193
1914 203
1915 191
total 1084

Source:

motorcycles

Advert for motorcycles from 1911

The only model was called the Pratt 4 . It had a single cylinder - four-stroke engine that was specified with 4 hp.

literature

  • Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 1240-1241 (English).
  • George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 3: P-Z . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 1263-1264 (English).

Web links

Commons : Pratt Motor Car Company  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 1240-1241 (English).
  2. ↑ George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . Volume 3: P-Z . Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Chicago 2001, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 , pp. 1263-1264 (English).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Mark Theobald: Coachbuilt (English, accessed June 1, 2019)
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j William S. Locke: Elcar and Pratt Automobiles. The Complete Story. (PDF; accessed June 1, 2019)
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j 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 & Company, Jefferson NC 2013, ISBN 978-0-7864-7136-2 , p. 110.
  6. ^ William S. Locke: Elcar and Pratt Automobiles. The Complete Story. (English, accessed June 1, 2019)