Stearns (automobile)

FB Stearns and Company (later FB Stearns Company) was a manufacturer of luxury automobiles in Cleveland (Ohio ) and sold his automobiles under the name Stearns and Stearns -Knight.

Frank Ballou Stearns was an automobile pioneer who built his first car as a student in 1896 and his first production model 1898 manufactured at its factory in Cleveland. This was a gas-powered buggy with single cylinder engine (lying, underfloor ), wire spoke wheels, planetary gearbox and chain drive. In 1901 there was already a single-cylinder engine with 4083 cc capacity. 1902 Stearns offered in various models, including a touring car. This had a front built, water-cooled 2- cylinder boxer engine with 24 bhp ( 17.9 kW ), a tonneau design and a three-speed gearbox. It is noteworthy that all the controls were mounted on the steering column. The car with sturdy wooden frame weighed 1270 kg, provided space for 6 people and cost U.S. $ 3000, -.

1904 Stearns offered a very European-style car with four-cylinder engine (36 bhp / 26.5 kW), a wheelbase of 2819 mm and a four-speed transmission, but rather an American battery ignition, instead of the usual in Europe magneto ignition on. This changed in 1905, when the magneto ignition was standard with the 32/40 hp and the wheelbase grew to 2997 mm.

In 1906 Stearns a 40/45 hp four-cylinder with aluminum sheets on tonneau construction, windshield and no less than 17 layers of paint at a price of U.S. $ 5200 (!) - A.

Im probably the fastest rally car of its time, a Stearns Six ( a 45/90 hp with 12,913 cc ) won Barney Oldfield Cycling races at Mount Wilson. 1910 won Al Poole and Cyrus Patschke a 24 - hour race at Brighton Beach, where they moved over 2016 km with an average speed of 84 km / h.

Soon, however, Stearns turned away from high performance vehicles. As of 1911, the company built a pusher engines in their vehicles and sold them under the name Stearns -Knight. 1914 had a four-cylinder with 5.1 liters displacement and a six-cylinder with 6.8 liters of displacement, electric lighting and an electric starter. 1917 was led as one of the first one a V8 engine.

Stearns retired in 1919 from the business back in 1925 and sold his company to John North Willys. Willys led the company as a non-integrated subsidiary of Willys -Overland until it was liquidated in 1929.

Swell

  • Wise, David Burgess: Stearns: A Quality Car from Cleveland, in Northey, Tom, ed World of Automobiles, London: Orbis (1974 ), Volume 19, pages 2174-2176
  • Kimes, Beverly R. (Editor), Clark, Henry A.: The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1945, Kraus Publications, Iola (1996 ), ISBN 0-87341-428-4
  • Willys -Overland
  • Company ( Cleveland)
  • Former Automobile Manufacturers Association ( United States)
  • Former Company (Ohio )
Stearns-Knight John Willys
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