Searchmont engine

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Searchmont Wagonette (1901)
Searchmont Type VI touring car (1903)

The Searchmont Motor Company was an American automobile manufacturer in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) .

description

The company grew out of the Keystone Motor Company at the same location, which was bought out in 1900 by Theodore C. Search (owner of the Stetson Hat Company ), Spencer Trask, and other businessmen. The managing director Edward B. Gallaher stayed with the company as plant manager and the Keystone Wagonette model, a two-seater runabout with a single-cylinder rear engine, was continued as the Searchmont Wagonette until 1902.

In 1902 Trask made contact with the French racing driver Henri Fournier , who had won the Paris – Bordeaux and Paris – Berlin races in a Morse in 1901 and spent the winter in the east of the USA. Trask wanted to use its fame and renamed the company Fournier-Searchmont , although Fournier returned to France and was never involved in the company.

Using as many parts as possible from the wagonette, which was attractive at US $ 750, a two-cylinder model with a front-mounted engine was created in 1902, for which Searchmont charged US $ 2000 to 2250. A Type VI with 8 HP and a Type VII with 10 HP were derived for 1903 from these Types III and V with 12 HP (according to the calculation formula at that time). Due to the high production costs of over US $ 1100, - per vehicle sold, they cost US $ 2000, - or 2500, -. At that price, the Searchmont was not competitive; a Ford Model A with an 8 hp two-cylinder engine cost US $ 850 when it was launched in 1903 as a two-seater and 950 with a detachable tonneau . The most expensive Oldsmobile , the Light Tonneau with 10-hp single-cylinder engine, was, in 1904, including removable tonneau for US $ 950 - to have the largest Elmore , Model 8 Touring with a two-cylinder engine of 10 horsepower, US $ 1400, - and Premier of Indianapolis ( Indiana ) only asked US $ 1250 for its 16 hp four-cylinder.

In addition to Gallaher, Lee Sherman Chadwick was particularly involved in the development of the Searchmont . How many of Fournier's ideas flowed into it is unclear; outwardly it bore a certain resemblance to the Mors. It is likely that the Searchmont's pressure lubrication system was traced back to Fournier. It was the first in a US automobile. Viggo V. Torbensen also worked as a consulting engineer for a short time ; He had previously worked for the De Dion-Bouton Motorette Company in New York City , and in 1901 he set up his own business with Torbensen Motor Car Company , which produced automobile components and between 1902 and 1906 also built some automobiles that found local buyers. Meanwhile, Torbensen became known as a leading manufacturer of drive axles.

Chadwick also constructed a four-cylinder model with 32 hp (based on the calculation method used at the time). Although material for its production had already been ordered, it could not go into series production because Trask had speculated on the stock exchange and the other shareholders were no longer interested in continuing the company. About 100 of the two-cylinder models remained. Department store pioneer John Wanamaker took over this inventory for only US $ 750 per vehicle and easily sold it in his Wanamaker's department stores in Philadelphia and New York City for US $ 1200. Charles Yale Knight bought one of these cars and later fitted it with the first valve motor of his own design.

Chadwick bought all of the four-cylinder components he could get on and began manufacturing it as the Chadwick Type 9 in Philadelphia. The Searchmont Motor Company ceased operations.

Models

model Construction period cylinder power wheelbase Superstructures List price
1900-1901 5 bhp (3.7 kW) 1321 mm Runabout 2 seats US $ 650
Wagonette 1900-1901 1 10 bhp (7.4 kW) 1321 mm Runabout 2 seats US $ 750
Wagonette 1902 1 5 bhp (3.7 kW) 1321 mm Runabout 2 seats US $ 750
Type III 1902 2 row 12 bhp (8.8 kW) 1676 mm Runabout 2 seats US $ 2000
Type IV 1902 1 6 bhp (4.4 kW) 1778 mm Runabout 2 seats US $ 1200
Type V 1902 2 row 12 bhp (8.8 kW) 1981 mm Touring car 4 seats US $ 2250
Type VI 1903 2 row 8 bhp (5.9 kW) 1981 mm Touring car 4 seats US $ 2000
Type VII 1903 2 row 10 bhp (7.4 kW) 2057 mm Touring car 4 seats US $ 2500

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 .
  • 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 .

Web links

Commons : Searchmont Motor  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 1334 (Searchmont).
  2. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 573 (Ford).
  3. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 1061 (Oldsmobile).
  4. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 529 (Elmore).
  5. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 1242 (Premier).
  6. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 1473 (Torbensen).
  7. ^ Kimes, Clark: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942 , 1996, p. 1335 (Searchmont).