1922 Locomobile Model 48

The Locomobile Company of America was founded in 1899 by John B. Walker, editor and publisher of Cosmopolitan, after acquiring designs for a steam-powered vehicle produced by Francis and Freelan Stanley. The name 'Locomobile' was a combination of 'locomotive' and 'automobile.' Mr. Walker was soon joined by Amzi L. Barber, who acquired half of Walker's interest in the company, but this partnership was brief, last just two weeks. Barber moved production of the Locomobile to Bridgeport, Connecticut and Walker left to found Mobile Company of America at the Stanley works in Tarrytown, New York.

Locomobiles initially used steam power but by 1904 had switched to internal combustion.

The company's most important model was the Model 48, designed by Andrew Riker and introduced in 1911 as the 'type M.' Mr. Andrew Lawrence Riker had been hired by Locomobile in 1902. he had built his first electric car in his family's basement at 40-years-old and, by 1889, had established the Riker Electric Vehicle Company, which became one of America's largest manufacturers of electric automobiles and trucks. While employed at Locomobile, Mr. Riker developed both a two- and four-cylinder automobile with both engines having a manganese bronze block and gear case and a chassis made of heat-treated steel. Both the engine and chassis were vigorously tested, separately, before the two were joined together. Every aspect of the vehicle was thoroughly inspected, as quality and durability were paramount. With a set production of 'Four Cars a Day,' Locomobile proudly declared that their vehicles were 'The Best Built Car in America.' Performance was equally important, and the company demonstrated its capabilities by winning the 1908 Vanderbilt Cup race.

The Model 48 had a conventional chassis pressed from chrome-nickel steel, had a wheelbase of 143 inches, and until 1915, could be specified in either left- or right-hand drive configuration. The suspension was via chrome-nickel-tungsten steel leaf springs, semi-elliptical in the front and 3/4 elliptical at the back.

The 429.4 cubic-inch, seven main bearing engine had a 4.5-inch bore, 5.5-inch stroke, side valves, and its T-head cylinders were cast in pairs, bolted to a bronze crankcase which contained a drop-forged alloy steel crankshaft, and had a nonremovable cylinder head. An aluminum intake manifold mated up with a bronze-bodied carburetor. The 48.6 horsepower tax rating it produced earned it the name 'Model 48.' The four-speed gearbox casing was cast in manganese bronze and the exhaust valves were chrome-cobalt steel. The coil and battery ignition ignite dual ignition through a pair of 6-cylinder distributors.

The bodies were designed by Locomobile's own Custom Body Department under the direction of former Kellner designer J. Frank de Causse. Additionally, the rolling chassis could be supplied to independent coachbuilders to receive coachwork to the client's wishes. Since Locomobile did not have body-building facilities of its own, it relied on coachbuilders to create the bodies, although they specified that the coachbuilder's nameplate not be affixed.

De Causse preferred simple, yet elegant styling with simple curved fenders that followed the wheels' radius, flowing gracefully into the running boards and balancing the bodies' flat panels. Edges were highlighted with raised beads, and compound bends were avoided.

The post-World War I recession was financially devastating to Locomoible during the early 1940s, and it was unsuccessfully merged with Mercer and Simplex before being bought by Durant Motors in 1922, with limited production continuing until 1929. Until the mid-1920s, the Model 48 was Locomobile's only offering. The Model 8-66 Junior Eight was added in 1925 which employed a more contemporary straight-eight engine and was listed at a more reasonable price. The company moved even further downmarket in 1926 with the introduction of the Junior Six. The Junior Six was produced for only a single year, but the larger Model 90 - also introduced in 1926, remained in production until 1929. The Model 8-70 was introduced in 1927 and was powered by an eight-cylinder Lycoming engine. The Junior Eight 8-66 was phased out in 1928, and the 8-86 and 8-88 were added in 1929.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2022