Premocar 6-40A

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Premocar

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Premocar 6-40A
Production period: 1920-1923
Class : Middle class
Body versions : Touring car , roadster , sedan , coupé
Engines: Gasoline engine :
3.2 liters
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 2972 mm
Empty weight : (Touring car) 1284 kg

The Premocar 6-40A , which appeared in late 1920 for the 1921 model year, was an American mid-range passenger car produced by Preston Motors Corporation, which emerged from Preston Motor Car Company in 1919 . It was the more important of two models and around 550 copies were built by 1923.

Prototype 6-40

From prototype Premocar 6-40 is only known that it has a six-cylinder - valve engine system Fischer / Mondex Magic received. This engine was developed by the Swiss designer Martin Fischer , but never achieved the importance of the much better known Knight valve engine. In Europe it was only used by De Bazelaire from Paris and the Delaugère & Clayette 2.7 liter Type SS ("SS": Sans Soupapes; valveless) from Orléans . There also seems to have been a collaboration with the Swiss Industrial Society ( SIG ). The Aristos Company in New York City tried the superclass -car Mondex Magic with 40 and 60 HP fishing engines to market. The Palmer & Singer Manufacturing Company also experimented with the engine shortly before it closed in 1914.

The vehicle was to go on sale at a list price of US $ 2290. In terms of time, the Premocar prototype can be classified in the period after the reorganization from 1919 to summer 1920. Only one vehicle seems to have been built with this engine. The assumption is that it was this prototype. It was apparently used by the city of Birmingham to drive high-ranking visitors. Among them were US President Warren G. Harding - probably in October 1921 - and the composer John Philip Sousa .

Model history

The Premocar 6-40 was the brand's "volume model". A few examples were equipped in 1921 with a significantly more powerful Rochester-Duesenberg four-cylinder engine derived from racing and were sold as Premocar 4-80 at two and a half times the price. Both had a conventional chassis and rear-wheel drive . The 6-40A's engine is reasonably well documented because it was used by various smaller car manufacturers. These include Apperson , Maibohm / Courier , Fremont and Handley . For the Premocar from Alabama, most of these manufacturers were only indirect competitors in what is still a strongly regionalized market.

Also typical of the time, the body variants offered or at least their names changed from model year to model year. Premocar had its best year in 1921 with 223 vehicles sold. The vast majority of them were probably 6-40A .

technology

The weight of the 6-40A Touring was listed as 2831 lb (1284 kg) in 1921.

engine

The six-cylinder engine was purchased from Falls Motor Corporation in Sheboygan Falls ( Wisconsin ). It is an in- line engine with OHV valve control ("valve-in-head"), triple bearing crankshaft , centrifugal lubrication with oil pump and thermosiphon water cooling . The mixture formation was performed by Stromberg - carburetor ; A Zenith carburetor is also documented for 1921 .

The displacement of this engine is 195,825 ci (3209 cc) with a bore of 5.13 inches (79.4 mm) and a stroke of 4.25 inches (108 mm). For the Premocar 6-40A an output of 35 bhp (26.1 kW) @ 2100 / min is recorded, which results in a specific output of 10.9 bhp / liter. Another source cites a flat rate of 40 bhp, which corresponds to 29.8 kW. The NACC rating based on the cylinder bore is 23.44 HP

Power transmission

The engine was attached to the front. Unfortunately, only incomplete data is available which, unless otherwise stated, applies to the shortened model year 1923. It can be assumed that they are also applicable to the earlier years. The power was transmitted to the rear axle via a three-speed gearbox (typically with unsynchronized gears) and a multi-disc dry clutch and cardan shaft . This was designed to be semi-supporting; d. H. the drive shafts took up part of the weight of the vehicle. The differential had spiral teeth. In 1921 it was geared down with 4.66: 1, in 1923 with 5.09: 1. No information is available for 1922. It should be noted that the manufacturers usually offered other ratios as an option.

Chassis and suspension

The vehicle had a forward engine. Since nothing else is mentioned, a conventional ladder frame with rigid axles can typically be assumed. The wheelbase of 117 inches (2972 mm) is consistently verifiable. Here, too, further data are available for 1923, which can with some certainty be transferred to the previous model years. Accordingly, the 6-40A had semi-elliptic leaf springs all around and a worm steering system . 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. The wheels of the 6-40A were 32 × 3½ inches in 1921; for 1922 and 1923 32 × 4 inches are noted. For the model year 1921 wooden wheels are proven; Images show them as so-called " artillery wheels ".

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. The sales prices practically exclude hand-made products; It was therefore a series-production body, which at that time usually consisted of a wooden frame with sheet metal planking. The variants offered can be found in the model overview below.

Model overview

model Bj. engine
Cubic capacity c.i. / cm³		 Power
bhp / kW		 Wheelbase
inches / mm		 body Prices
US $		 Remarks
6-40 1920 R6; Slider
Liz. Fisherman 		Touring , 5 pl. 2290.00 prototype
6-40A 1921 R6; ohv
falls 		195.825 / 3209 35 / 26.1 117/2972 Roadster , 2 pl. 1295.00
6-40A 1921 R6; ohv
falls		 195.825 / 3209 35 / 26.1 117/2972 Touring, 5 pl. 1295.00
6-40A 1922 R6; ohv
falls		 195.825 / 3209 35 / 26.1 117/2972 Roadster, 2 pl. 1295, -
2250, -
6-40A 1922 R6; ohv
falls		 195.825 / 3209 35 / 26.1 117/2972 Touring, 5 pl. 1295, -
2250, -
6-40A 1922 R6; ohv
falls		 195.825 / 3209 35 / 26.1 117/2972 Sedan 1995, -
6-40A 1923 R6; ohv
falls		 195.825 / 3209 35 / 26.1 117/2972 Roadster, 2 pl. 1095, -
2250, -
6-40A 1923 R6; ohv
falls		 195.825 / 3209 35 / 26.1 117/2972 Touring, 5 pl. 1095, -
2250, -
6-40A 1923 R6; ohv
falls		 195.825 / 3209 35 / 26.1 117/2972 Coupe 1750, -
6-40A 1923 R6; ohv
falls		 195.825 / 3209 35 / 26.1 117/2972 Sedan 1825, -

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. They are based on the original by the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers developed NACC rating .

Production numbers

Model year number of pieces Remarks
1920 100 Model year 1921
1921 223 including approx. 5-20 Premocar 4-80
1922 147
1923 93
Total 563

The adjacent production figures by model year are based on information from automotive historians Beverly Rae Kimes and Henry Austin Clark, Jr. in the Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 .

Except for the shortened model year 1923, Premocar always produced more than 100 units per year. Production of the 4-80 was minimal.

The Premocar 6-40A today

There are no known existing Premocar or Preston vehicles.

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.
  2. ↑ Information on the number of seats according to the Classic Car Database
  3. ↑ The ALAM existed from 1903 to 1912. The formula is also known under the name "NACC formula" of the successor organization National Automobile Chamber of Commerce . It was also used by the British Royal Automobile Club and is declared under RAC Horsepower . A NACC table with common motor sizes can be found at the end of this article.

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, p. 991 (Mondex-Magic).
  2. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, pp. 1147-1148 (Palmer-Singer).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 1246 (Premocar).
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Carfolio: Premocar 6-40 A Touring, 1921 MY.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Classic Car Database: 1922 Premocar 6-40-A Series, 117 in. Wheelbase ; If Valve-in-head
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Classic Car Database: 1923 Premocar 6-40-A Series, 117 in. Wheelbase ; If XP Valve-in-head
  7. ↑ a b c d e Classic Car Database: 1921 Premocar 6-40-A Series, 117 in. Wheelbase ; If Valve-in-head
  8. ↑ a b Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, pp. 1245-1246 (Premocar).
  9. ^ Dluhy: American Automobiles of the Brass Era , 2013, p. 35 (ALAM).