Premocar 4-80

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Premocar

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Premocar 4-80
Production period: 1921
Class : Upper class
Body versions : Touring car
Engines: Otto engine :
4.9 liters
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 2972-3226 mm
Empty weight :

The Premocar 4-80 was an American luxury sports car in the top price range, built only in model year 1921 . The manufacturer was the Preston Motors Corporation, which emerged from the Preston Motor Car Company in 1919 . It was historically the more important of two related models and was powered by a four-cylinder Rochester-Duesenberg engine originally built for racing . Occasionally the term Premocar Special is used .

Model history

The 4-80 is derived from the Premocar 6-40A introduced at the end of 1920 , with which it is identical except for the engine. Some of these mid-range cars were equipped in 1921 with a significantly more powerful Rochester-Duesenberg four-cylinder engine derived from racing and were sold as the Premocar 4-80 at two and a half times the price of the 6-40A . The Rochester Motors Company, Inc. in Rochester (New York) had in 1919 by the nascent in resolution Duesenberg Motor Company (DMC) means of production and rights to a racing engine, the Fred and August Duesenberg had perfected since 1912th It was used by several smaller luxury car manufacturers between 1920 and 1926. A list of these vehicles can be found in the appendix.

technology

The 4-80 is a much more powerful version of the 6-40A mid- range car . Instead of ohv - Six cylinder of If with 35 bhp (26.1 kW), a high performance four-cylinder engine of Rochester-Duesenberg used to 76 bhp (52.2 to 56.7 kW) with the 70th

Premocar 6-40A and Premocar 4-80 had a conventional chassis and rear-wheel drive .

engine

Because of its historical importance for the Duesenberg brand , the Rochester-Duesenberg Model G-3 used is quite well documented. It was the first and smaller version of this engine originally developed by Duesenberg Motors Corporation (DMC) for racing. The manufacturer had sold the machines and rights to them to Rochester Motors Company, Inc. in 1919 . With the help of Fred S. Duesenberg , who was already responsible for the original design, the engine was revised in important points. The walking beam valve control with overlong rocker arms was retained in a modified form. This also included a new cylinder head with eight instead of 16 valves, which were also realigned. A new crankshaft housing with a deeper tub made it possible to mount the camshaft higher in the housing, which meant that the long rocker arms ( walking beam ) could be kept shorter.

The displacement of this engine is 301,579 ci (4942 cc) with a bore of 4 inches (101.6 mm) and a stroke of 6 inches (152.4 mm). An output of 70–76 bhp (52–57 kW) is noted for the Premocar 4-80 . The NACC rating based on the cylinder bore is 25.6 HP.

Power transmission

The engine was attached to the front. Unfortunately only incomplete data are available. The power was transmitted to the rear axle via a three-speed gearbox (typically with unsynchronized gears) and a cardan shaft .

Chassis and suspension

The vehicle had a forward engine. It is known that the 4-80 was a more powerful version of the 6-40A and that the chassis should have largely corresponded to this model. Therefore, a conventional lead frame with rigid axles can be assumed. The wheelbase is usually given as 117 inches (2972 mm); a single source cites 127 inches (3226 mm).

A wheelbase of 117 inches has been proven for the Premocar 6-40A . There is also information about the braking system. It should have corresponded to that of the 4-80 , but this is not proven. Front brakes did not appear until the mid-1920s and were initially controversial. The brakes of the 6-40A only acted on the rear axle, with the service brake being designed as an outer-shoe drum brake and the handbrake with inner shoes. Hydraulic support is not mentioned and would have been unusual.

All Premocar had 32-inch rims, but the tires of the 8-40 , measuring 32 × 4½ inches, were one inch wider than those of the 6-40A from 1921. Whether further adaptations of the chassis and suspension to the higher engine power of the 4-80 are not known. The leaf springs on the front axle were usually matched to the weight of the engine.

Bodies

The origin of the bodies is unknown. Often they were bought in from specialized companies, others such as Maibohm Motors or the Handley-Knight Company were set up to manufacture them themselves. At that time, superstructures usually consisted of a wooden frame with sheet metal planking.

Only one body version was available for the Premocar 4-80 . Depending on the source, it was a four-seat "sport", which usually means a torpedo , or a five-seat touring ; the latter according to the same source that cites the 127 inch chassis and at a very high list price of US $ 6100. That's about three and a half times that of a 6-40A Touring. However, this source mentions US $ 3865 elsewhere.

The different information can be explained because there are no meaningful images of the vehicle.

Model overview

model Bj. engine
Cubic capacity c.i. / cm³		 Power
bhp / kW		 Wheelbase
inches / mm		 body
4-80 1921 R4; Walking Beam
Rochester-Duesenberg  G-3		 301.6 / 4942 76 / 56.7 117/2972
127/3226		 Sport , 4 seats
touring , 5 seats

Due to rounding in the sources, the calculation of the cubic capacity can lead to apparent accuracy . The information in this table has been compiled from several sources and partially converted.

Production numbers

Automotive historians Beverly Rae Kimes and Henry Austin Clark, Jr. name a total of 563 Premocar cars built, 223 of them in model year 1921. Production of the 4-80 was minimal; Fred Roe estimates it to be 5 to 20 vehicles.

Motorsport

Racers Bob Robinson , Laurie Stone and Ralph Hankinson had limited success on Premocar 4-80 in the southern states . Statistical details are missing, however. Robinson drove races at Duesenberg in 1928 and 1929.

The Premocar 4-80 today

There are no known existing Premocar vehicles.

Vehicles and vehicle brands with Rochester-Duesenberg engines

Roamer Model D4 Touring with a Rochester-Duesenberg four-cylinder engine (1920).

Mentioned but cannot be proven beyond doubt:

A surviving vehicle that was mistakenly made by Biddle ( Philadelphia , Pennsylvania; 1915-1922) in earlier literature . is now seen as Argonne .

Remarks

  1. ↑ The NACC rating was a 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 was the first to introduce this standard in the US automotive industry in 1903. It therefore corresponds to the NACC formula. The benefit 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 the basis of the British tax-PS at that time.

literature

NACC rating.
  • Don Butler: Auburn Cord Duesenberg. Crestline Publishing Co., Crestline Series , 1992, ISBN 0-879-38701-7 .
  • Fred Roe: Duesenberg - The Pursuit of Perfection. Dalton Watson Ltd., Publishers, London W1V 4AN, England, 1982, ISBN 0-90156-432-X .
  • 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 .
  • GN Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. Dutton Press, New York, 2nd edition (hardcover), 1973: ISBN 0-525-08351-0 .
  • Beverly Rae Kimes: Pioneers, Engineers, and Scoundrels: The Dawn of the Automobile in America. Ed. SAE ( Society of Automotive Engineers ) Permissions, Warrendale PA, 2005; ISBN 0-7680-1431-X .
  • Tad Burness: American Car Spotter's Guide, 1920-39. MBI Motorbooks International, Osceola WI, 1975; ISBN 0-87938-026-8 .
  • National Automobile Chamber of Commerce (NACC): Handbook of Automobiles 1915–1916. Dover Publications, 1970.
  • Dr. Emil Merkert: Passenger cars, buses and trucks in the United States of America with special attention to their relations with railways and highways. Julius Springer publishing house, Berlin (1930), hardcover; without ISBN

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 1996, pp. 1245-1246 (Premocar).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Roe: Duesenberg - The Pursuit of Perfection. 1982, p. 65.
  3. ↑ a b c Carfolio: Premocar 6-40 A Touring, 1921 MY.
  4. ↑ a b c d e Carfolio: Premocar 4-80 Touring, 1921 MY.
  5. ^ A b Roe: Duesenberg - The Pursuit of Perfection. 1982, p. 63.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 1996, p. 1246 (Premocar).
  7. ↑ Classic Car Database: 1923 Premocar 6-40-A Series, 117 in. Wheelbase ; If XP Valve-in-head
  8. ^ A b Classic Car Database: 1921 Premocar 6-40-A Series, 117 in. Wheelbase ; If Valve-in-head
  9. ^ Roe: Duesenberg - The Pursuit of Perfection. 1982, p. 66.
  10. ↑ Champcarstats: Bob Robinson.
  11. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, pp. 62-63 (Argonne).
  12. ^ A b Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, pp. 1344-1345 (Shaw).
  13. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, p. 355 (Colonial).
  14. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, p. 803 (Kenworthy).
  15. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, p. 966 (Meteor).
  16. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, SS 1286-1287 (Revere).
  17. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, p. 1289 (Richelieu).
  18. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, pp. 1297-1299 (Roamer).
  19. ↑ a b c Roe: Duesenberg - The Pursuit of Perfection. 1982, pp. 63-66.
  20. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, p. 1564 (Wolverine).
  21. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, p. 961 (Mercury).
  22. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, p. 1344 (Shad-Wyck).
  23. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1805-1942. 1996, pp. 124-125 (Biddle).