1908-1923 жылдар аралығындағы америкалық автомобиль өндірушісі

Defunct American car manufacturer from 1908 to 1923

The Chalmers Motor Company was an American automobile manufacturer headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1908 by Hugh Chalmers, the company was known for producing high end vehicles. Chalmers automobiles gained recognition for their toughness, durability, and engineering receiving particular praise for their performance in touring events. The company reached its peak in 1911, becoming the eighth largest auto producer in the United States. Despite initial success, the company faced challenges with increasing competition in the auto industry, and sales began to decline in the following years. In 1923, Chalmers Motor Company merged with Maxwell Motor, ultimately forming the basis for the Chrysler Corporation.

Hugh Chalmers started working at National Cash Register Company in Dayton, Ohio, at age 14 and eventually became vice president. In 1907, car maker Roy Chapin at Thomas Detroit began to make offers to Hugh Chalmers to take over the company. Roy Chapin was concerned about the Thomas Detroit's reliance on the company's sales network. Chapin persuaded Chalmers to become president of Thomas Detroit and build a solid independent sales force. Hugh Chalmers purchased ER Thomas's interests in the Thomas Detroit company. Chalmers convinced NCR salesman Joseph Fields to join him in Detroit to set up dealerships across the U. S. In 1907 or 1909, Chalmers built a factory on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit which would survive until 1991 under Chrysler while the headquarters was in Highland Park, Michigan. The stockholders voted to rename the company the Chalmers Detroit Motor Company on June 15, 1908, and later the Chalmers Motor Company on January 26, 1910. The first car was the Chalmers 30 in 1908. Sales of 3,047 automobiles resulted in revenues of $4,754,929 and profits of $1,015,823 for the year ending June 30, 1909, although the paid in capital stock was just $300,000. In the early years of the Chalmers automobile brand, specifically in 1909 and 1910, the company produced a model called the Chalmers Detroit. Production during these two years was not high, and it was not until 1911 that the Chalmers car was officially introduced. The Chalmers Detroit cars were known for their toughness and durability, and they won 69 major competitions during their production period. One of the notable competitions won by the Chalmers Detroit was the Indiana Cup, and another was the 1910 Glidden tour, where a Model 30 car achieved victory. These early Chalmers cars, particularly the Model 30 and Model 40, were praised for their engineering and performance, and they continue to be regarded as some of the best cars for touring events. Notably, the Model T Ford, which was produced from 1908 to 1927, used the same oil in both its crankcase and transmission case, a design that did not cause any bearing problems and was similar to that of the Chalmers Detroit.

Roscoe Jackson and Howard Dunham, two of Howard Coffin's employees at Oldsmobile, built a new lightweight car, the Model 20, intended to sell for under $1,000. Still, Chapin and Coffin could not persuade Hugh Chalmers to join the project. Chalmers Motors' early success was due primarily due to Roy Chapin as Treasurer and general manager, and Howard Coffin as Chief Engineer. On October 28, 1908, Chapin, Coffin, and others formed the Hudson Motor Car Company to pursue their desires to build a smaller car. Roscoe Jackson was married to the niece of Detroit department store mogul Joseph L. Hudson. Hudson invested $90,000 in the endeavor and gave the company his name. Hugh Chalmers was also a prominent investor in Hudson. In 1909–10, Hugh Chalmers and his partners sold their shares in Hudson to Chapin, and Chapin sold his stake in Chalmers Motors to Hugh Chalmers. Hudson built a factory across the street from the Chalmers plant to be close to suppliers and the railroad. In December 1909, the Chalmers and Hudson companies parted ways. Chapin's concerns about the Chalmers firm's future were well founded; over the next decade, the Hudson company prospered while the Chalmers company faltered.

The 1908 Model C "Forty" was similar to the Thomas Detroit C "Forty" from the previous year, which was very similar to the vehicle designed by Howard Coffin, the 1906 Olds Model "A". The engines were manufactured by other companies such as Westinghouse Machine Company, American, British Manufacturing Company, and Continental. In 1911 Chalmers started building most of its engines. The "Forty" engine's small radiator led to overheating. The 40 Touring or Roadster sold for US$2750 while the 40 Torpedo sold for US$3000. This was less than American's lowest price Model, which sold for US$4250.

The first 6 cylinder was introduced in 1912 and called the Model 12 "Six". The company added a "Master Six" in September 1913 and "Light Six" at a New York show in January 1914. George Dunham developed the six cylinders. The "Light Six" and "Master Six" have a redesigned engine, clutch, and dashboard. The "Six" Model Series Models 12 and 18 had overhead intake valves and a Rayfield carburetor. As a high end car, the Six came with an engine driven tire pump and a compressed air starting system.

Important improvements made their appearance in the Model 24. The Model 24, 7 passenger car, weighed 5475 pounds.

Model 24 was the first Chalmer's engine to use a long stroke T head, and the company claimed that it could not be stalled as it used a chain that ran with the engine that would restart the machine when it was about to stall. The exhausts were on the right, the intakes on the left, and the enclosed valve functioning elements contributed to the motor's silent operation. The motor was brand new, and it came with T head cylinders, an electric starter, a new forced feed oiling system, and enclosed valve parts. The engine and the gearset were still one unit. One set of disks in the multiple disk clutch featured cork inserts. The torsion rods were redesigned, and the rear springs were lowered. For the first time in a Chalmers model, the steering wheel was shifted to the left side, with the levers in the center. Also for the first time, the gasoline tank was carried in the back and fed by a pressure feed. The spare rims or wheels are kept in the back of the vehicle. It had a slightly smaller motor, a 2 inch larger wheelbase, and was $225 less in roadster and four and five passenger models; $325 less in six passenger models; $100 less as a limousine; and $50 more as a coupe when compared to the 1913 six. In addition, on the 1913 model, the new Chalmers Entz combined electric starting and lighting system replaced the air starting method, and a single bosch ignition replaced the prior dual types ignition. The cylinders in groups of three were castings with water jacket spaces around the cylinders and around the valve seats and partly surrounding the valve stem guides. The jacket heads were built into the water heater or return pipe to the radiator as one piece and in the head of the combustion chamber was a 2 3/8 inch threaded plug which when removed gave access to the entire combustion chamber for carbon removal without removing the cylinder castings. The water entered each cylinder group's rear face, which was the hottest section. The cylinder had a bore of 4 inches and stroke of 5.5 inches which gave an S. A. E. rating of 38.4 horsepower, a piston displacement of 414.7 cubic inches, and a stroke bore ratio of 1.333 to 1. The 24 was part of a trend toward long stroke engines with smaller piston displacements, which provided more economy and more horsepower per unit of piston displacement. In addition, the connecting rods, which were produced of nickel steel instead of open hearth in 1913, were 40 percent lighter and had a narrower section. Even though the pistons were longer than the previous year's model, which was necessary by the longer strokes employed, they were lighter. In addition, they were higher quality castings with four section rings. Each slot had a complete outside ring, but inside it was a sequence of arc shaped segments creating an inner ring. Each segment was forced externally by a small leaf spring, which was employed to keep the outer ring from pressing against the cylinder wall unevenly. The constant pressure obtained by this construction of piston ring results in good compression being maintained for a longer period than was possible with the older type. The 40 percent carbon crankshaft had curved cheeks that helped to move the weight into the middle of the shaft axis and provide optimum rotational balance. Three bronze plain bearings supported the shaft with a babbitt alloy liner. Intake and exhaust valves were made of tungsten steel, which was also used in racing automobiles, helped prevent pitting. Both valve sets have a 7/16 inch lift and 85 pound pressure springs and are 2 1/8 inches in diameter. A new oiling system used a gear pump in the crankcase sump that fed oil to a large diameter pipe that went from end to end and within the crankcase. Three branches led to the crankshaft bearings from this conduit. Instead of flowing into the sump, the overflow oil from these bearings was sent out the opposite end of the bearing, where it entered through a short pipe and dropped into little trays integral with the sides of the crankcase base, where it flowed into the oil troughs beneath the connecting rods. The scoops on the connecting rods dipped into these troughs. The final overflow from the troughs was recirculated in the sump. On the left side of the crankcase, in the web between the front and rear legs, an upgraded form of accessible oil strainer was installed. Timing gears were oiled directly from the front bearing's overflow via a short pipe that poured the oil onto the crankshaft's pinion.

The multiple disk clutch was improved by inserting cork inserts in one set of disks and operating the entire clutch in oil. A torque rod upgrade supported the clutch at the forward end by a curved leaf vanadium steel spring, saving 25 pounds in weight over the previous model.

The model 24 chassis came with a single wheelbase length and seven interchangeable body designs, all of which were held in place by eight small stamped brackets on the outside of the frame side members, four on each side. This mounting was created to decrease body squeaks and to make demounting easier. The steering components on the front axle had a twofold tilt. The knuckle pins pointed slightly outward and there was a backward inclination of 1.5 to 2 degrees. The frame was 1/16 inch thicker and heavier than before. The side members were lowered in front of the back axle but not inswept at the dash. The front springs were 39 inches long with 2 inch leaves. The three quarter rears were put beneath the axle not because it provided lower body suspension, but because it provided approximately double the spring movement radius. The top leaf was 52 inches long with 2 /14 inch leaves and was made of vanadium steel.

The Chalmers Entz combination electric motor and generator was introduced in the Model 24 to crank the gasoline engine while also charging the storage battery. Instead of being mounted alongside the motor, the motor generator was housed under the right front seat and was powered by a short propeller shaft that extended forward to the near rim of the flywheel and carried a small sprocket that was driven by a silent chain from a large sprocket on the flywheel. The generator was made in the Chalmers factory and was an 18 volt system. The complete unit was about 230 pounds in weight, 100 pounds for the motor generator, 100 pounds for the battery, and 30 for the driving parts and attaching brackets.

As it converged into the cowl, the hood was expanded and heightened. The hood transition into the body was made easier by turning off the dash lights and replacing them with a combination headlight that featured two bulbs, one for headlights and the other for dash lights, located above the lens exits.

The roadster, four and five passenger bodies were priced at $2,175, the six passenger at $2,275, the coupe at $2,850, and the limousine at $3,680. In addition, $80 was fitted with McCue wire wheels. A $75 package that featured a Kellog tire pump, an extra rim casing, tube, and tire cover was also available. Mohair top, rain vision windshield, demountable rims, speedometer, rear tire carrier with spare rim, electric horn, electric starter, and electric lighting were all on the normal list. Brewster green, grey, and meteor blue were the standard colors for open cars. Closed automobiles were only available in the color valentine coach blue.

The Model 32 A "Six 40" was the company's first overhead camshaft engine. The engine was a Weidely Motor Company with its overhead camshaft (OHC) design. When comparing these later OHC Chalmers power plants to the T head or L head engines of the pre World War I period, their specifications cannot be ignored. The Chalmers' two roller bearing crankshaft F head engine of 1910 had been a surprising performer, with a streamlined intake manifold feeding the cylinders via extremely large intake valves located in the head. The exhaust side valves were in a pocket, leaving a lot of room in the cylinder head for the inlets. In 1915, Chalmers made a great step forward with the incorporation of a full overhead camshaft Weidley engine, which pioneered the idea of driving the overhead camshaft from the middle of the crankshaft instead of from the front or the rear. The model 6 40 had a bore and stroke of 3.125 and 5 inches, respectively, and camshaft rigidity was obtained by using a 2.25 inch diameter. The location of the camshaft drive in the center made it necessary to have four main bearings instead of the usual three. Tubular connecting rods were also used, which was a very advanced idea for its day.

The "Six 30" consisted of Models 35 A ("5 15" for 5 passenger and 115 inch wheelbase), 35 B (or "7 22" for 7 passenger body and 122 inch wheelbase), 35 C, and 35 D.
The car's balanced crankshaft and a new Morse silent timing chain gave it a reputation for a quiet and smooth ride. Later designs introduced a lower silhouette, one piece windshield, and even disc wheels. To overcome the poor fuel available at the time, the "Hot Spot" and "Ram's Horn" were introduced in 1918 to improve engine performance. The "Six 30" came in a wide variety of body styles and wheelbases to seat between 2 and 7 passengers. +ModelProduction YearsAdvertised H. P. SAE HPCylBore (in)Stroke (in)Tire Size (in)Wheel Base (in)32 A1915–?4023.463 1/8534x412032 B1916–?4023.463 1/8534x412435 A1916–?3025.463 1/44 1/232x411535 B Standard19173025.463 1/44 1/234x4
33x4 1/212235 B Special1918–?3025.463 1/44 1/234x4
33x4 1/212235 C Special mid 19173025.463 1/44 1/232x411735 C Standard1918–?3025.463 1/44 1/232x411735 D Special?3025.463 1/44 1/233x4 1/212235 D Standard1918–?3025.463 1/44 1/233x4 1/212235 C Speedster1917305563 1/44 1/232x411735 C1920–22305563 1/44 1/232x411735 B1922305563 1/44 1/233x4 1/2122Y1923305563 1/44 1/232x4122/117

Chalmers introduced two mechanical devices in 1917 to overcome lower gasoline volatility. The "Hot Spot" and "Ram's Horn" warmed up the air fuel mixture.

In late 1923 customers could purchase the Model Y with an optional hydraulic four wheel brake system for $75 based on hydraulics that had been initially developed for Lockheed.

The couturière, costumier, journalist, and pundit, Lucy Duff Gordon lent her name to advertising for brassieres, perfume, shoes, and other luxury apparel and beauty items. In 1916 she signed a contract to design interiors for limousines and town cars for the 1917 Chalmers Model 35 B. The design was an attempt to improve sales by marketing a more luxurious design. The Town car had no protection for the driver and the sedan had removable door posts to create a look of an open hard top. Duff Gordon had little other interest in the exterior and focused on improved interior materials such as a mahogany dash and finer cloth.

Chalmers marketed the company's visibility by hiring professional drivers and entering races. In the first two years, they won 89 first place wins, 32 second place trophies, 21 third place victories in road races, and hill climbing events, and reliability contests. The best known as the Vanderbilt Cup in 1909 and the Glidden Trophy in 1910. The Chalmers "30" won more motoring contests in proportion to the number entered than any other car regardless of price. It was never defeated in any race by any car in the same power and price class. The Chalmers won 89 firsts, 32 seconds, and 21 thirds in two years of races. A Chalmers won the 1909 and 1910 Glidden Tour. Other wins included the Vanderbilt Cup Races (1909), Crown Point Races, Candler Trophy Races, and Pikes Peak hill climb.