Locomobile

US, 1899 – 1929

(1) Locomobile Company of America, Westboro, Mass., 1899 – 1900

(2) Locomobile Company of America, Bridgeport, Conn., 1900 – 1929

Locomobile cars was one of the two companies which resulted from the purchase of the Stanley brothers’ steam-car design rights in 1899 by A.L. Barber and J.B. Walker. Walker separated from Barber and formed the Mobile concern, while his former partner did good business with the little Locomobile steam runabout. This Locomobile car (or actually the Locomobile steamcar) consisted of a welded ‘bicycle’ framework, a carriage body, a twin-cylinder simple engine and a 14in boiler under the driver’s seat. The Locomobile steamcar was tiller-steered and chain-driven and at $600 it looked a better bargain than the Locomobile car was, suffering from the crudest of lubrication arrangements and an astronomical water consumption: the boiler of the Locomobile steamcar had to be refilled every 20 miles. In spite of this W.M. Letts managed to sell 400 Locomobile steamcars in England in 1900 and 1901, at which time the four-storey Locomobile car until 1903, with bigger boilers, culminating in a 10hp wheel-steered dos-à-dos which sold for $1.600.

Locomobile cars eventually sold their Locomobile steamcar rights back to the Stanleys, but in the meantime A.L. Riker had designed a petrol Locomobile car on Panhard lines, with a 4-cylinder engine, automatic inlet valves and pressed-steel frame. Radiators of this Locomobile car were of the Mercédès honeycomb type in 1905, in which year Joe Tracy competed in the last Gordon Bennett Cup Race with a very Mercédès-like T-headed chain-driven racer Locomobile car. More successful was Locomobile cars ioe ‘Old 16’, built in 1906. George Robretson drove this Locomobile car to victory in the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup, while another Locomobile car victory was first place in the touring-car category of the 1913 Glidden Tour, this achieved with a 1909 Locomobile car that had already covered 100.000 miles. In the meantime the Locomobile car company had settled down to a long line of expensive and beautifully-made T-headed touring cars, the early Locomobile cars being chain-driven fours. In 1907 $3.800 was asked for the 3¾-litre Locomobile Model E and $4.500 for the 5¾-litre Locomobile Model H. By 1909, the bigger four had grown up to 7.7-litres, and 1911 brought the debut of the famous T-headed Locomobile 48, originally with ‘square’ engine dimensions of 114x114mm, but later Locomobile cars growing up to 8½-litres. This Locomobile cars developed 90bhp, had dual magneto ignition (later coil) and was still being listed in 1929; the price for this Locomobile car was $4.800 in 1912, increased to $9.600 towards the end of its production run. Body styles were attractive, especially the open Locomobile Sportifs and Locomobile Gunboat Roadsters introduced during World War I. There was also a smaller Locomobile 38 to the same specifications.

Locomobile cars encountered financial difficulties in 1920, and after a short spell with Crane-Simplex and Mercer in the Hare’s Motors group, Locomobile cars was acquired by W.C. Durant’s last empire in 1922. Durant continued the Locomobile 48 and added another luxury Locomobile car, the Locomobile 90 with L-head Monobloc engine, but the Locomobile car factories were utilized for the production of the inexpensive Flint. In 1925 came the Locomobile Junior 8, a competitor for the Chrysler with a 3¼-litre ohv engine, selling at $1.785. In 1929, the last year of Locomobile car production, the 48 and 90 were still available, but the staple Locomobile car was a 4.9-litre Lycoming-engined straight-9 at $2.850, a sad end for a firm which had been advertising eleven years before that ‘no stock parts or ready-made units are permitted’.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

Morgan

GB, 1905 – 1906

Morgan and Co Ltd, Leighton Buzzard, Beds.

Made by a well-known firm of coachbuilders, the Morgan car was a conventional shaft-driven car with 5.8-litre T-head 4-cylinder Mutel engine, distinguished only by the Sparks-Boothby hydraulic clutch on the Morgan car, soon abandoned in favour of an ordinary leather cone. Only about five Morgan cars were made and their lack of success resulted in Morgan cars becoming Adler concessionaires in 1907, and abandoning motor manufacture.

GB, 1910 to date

Morgan Motor Co Ltd, Malvern Link, Worcs.

This Morgan car was the best-known, and best, of the British 3-wheelers that were popular while the horsepower tax gave the Morgan cars an advantage. H.F.S. Morgan’s tricycle was also the first of its type, this Morgan car going into production in 1910. At the front of a tubular chassis frame was an sv, air-cooled V-twin motor-cycle engine of 1.100cc by JAP, transversely mounted. Transmission of the Morgan car was by dog clutches and chains, providing two forward speeds. The steering was direct. The front wheels of the Morgan car, had independent front suspension, by sliding pillars and coil springs. There were two seats. A reasonable amount of power plus light weight meant an excellent performance of the Morgan cars. The Morgan car was safer than most 3-wheelers because its road-holding was above average. This recipe made the Morgan car popular with sportsmen, for whom the Morgan Grand Prix model was produced in 1914: the first catalogued competition Morgan car. Soon afterwards, an exiguous four-seater Morgan car, the forerunner of the Morgan Family model of the 1920s, was listed.

After World War 1, Morgan carscontinued to cater for all markets. Names changed, but the Morgan Sports or Morgan Standard model was the normal two-seater, also available in De Luxe form; the Morgan Family model was the more capacious type Morgan car, and the long-tailed Morgan Aero, later the Morgan Super Sports, was the Morgan car intended for serious speed work. Engines of Morgan cars were water- or air-cooled to choice, most being supplied by JAP, or by Blackburne in the case of the competition Morgan cars. From 1925 all the latter’s power units had overhead valves. By 1927 the Super Sports Morgan car could attain 80mph in standard trim, while the less sporting Morgan cars now had internal expanding front wheel brakes and electric starting. Geared-down steering and (if required) three forward speeds followed on Morgan cars in 1929. Even so, Morgan cars were losing customers to new, cheap sports cars such as the M-type MG. Three speeds and reverse in a normal gearbox (though still with chain final drive) were available from 1931 and standard on the Morgan car after 1932, and a modified 8hp Ford 4-cylinder engine could later be had in the Morgan car instead of the twin. Four years later the first 4-wheeled Morgan car was introduced, the excellent little Morgan 4/4. This Morgan car used an 1.122cc 4-cylinder Coventry-Climax engine with overhead inlet valves, developing 34bhp. The Morgan car was still light in weight, and retained the Morgan independent front suspension, so the performance and handling qualities of Morgan cars were well up to form. The Morgan car could attain 75mph. The twins were last catalogued in 1939.

Just before World War 2, a 1.267cc Standard 10hp engine with ohv head was substituted in the Morgan 4/4. When this was no longer available, from 1950, Morgan fitted a tuned Standard Vanguard unit in the Morgan car giving 70bhp. In this Morgan Plus Four, as the Morgan car was renamed, performance became still more lively, and when the 90bhp Triumph TR2 engine became available in 1954, maximum speed of the Morgan car rose to 100mph for the first time. With the advent of the Morgan Plus Four, there was no longer a small Morgan car, but this gap was made good in 1955, when the Morgan Series 2 4/4 arrived. This Morgan car used the very hard-wearing 1.172cc sv Ford Ten engine which had powered F4 Morgan. (The latter was the last 3-wheeler Morgan car, which had been made until 1950.) The result was a cheap, pleasant and reliable sports Morgan car of the old school. Later, the ohv Ford 105E engine was substituted. The latest version Morgan car had a 1.599cc 98bhp engine, a 4-speed all-synchromesh gearbox, front disc brakes, and the traditional Morgan suspension. The Morgan Plus Four kept pace with Triumph’s TR engine development, also acquiring disc brakes and, eventually, the 2.138cc 105bhp TR4 unit. A streamlined coupé, the Morgan Plus Four Plus of 1964, was a brief deviation from the classical Morgan car line which met with little approval and was discontinued after only 50 of these Morgan cars had been sold. When Triumph changed to a six during 1968, Morgan cars adopted a new engine for their bigger Morgan cars, and the Morgan Plus Four became the Morgan Plus Eight, powered by Rover’s 3 ½-litre 160bhp V8 and capable of 125mph. The 1973 versions of the Morgan car use the 4-speed all-synchromesh Rover gearbox in place of the Moss box previously fitted.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS, TRN

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com