Stearns Knight Six Seven Passenger Touring
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Car producer : |
Stearns Knight |
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Model: |
Six Seven Passenger Touring |
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Year: |
1913 |
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Type: |
Tourer |
F. B. Stearns and Company (later F.B. Stearns Company) was an American manufacturer of luxury cars in Cleveland, Ohio marketed under the brand names Stearns and Stearns-Knight.
Frank Ballou Stearns (1879–1955) was an early automotive pioneer who, in 1896, built his first experimental car as a student, aged seventeen, in the basement of the family home. He built a four-cylinder car as early as 1897, but as it did not work properly he instead switched to single-cylinder engines. His father allowed him to proceed and supported him with money and a barn they converted to a machine shop.
The first production model evolved in 1898; it was a gasoline-fuel buggy-style automobile with a one-cylinder engine (horizontal under the floor), tiller steering, wire wheels, planetary transmission, and chain drive. In the same year, F. B. Stearns & Company was organized with his partners, brothers Raymond M. and Ralph L. Owen.
As early as 1901, he introduced a steering wheel instead of the tiller, and advanced to a gasoline runabout with a 4083cc (101ci) one-cylinder engine under the seat bench, and single chain drive. Until then, about 50 cars had been built.
For 1902, Stearns offered a variety of models, including a touring car model. Equipped with a front-mounted, 24 hp (17.9 kW) water-cooled flat twin and tonneau, and three-speed transmission was fitted. Notably, all vehicle controls were situated on the steering wheel.
In 1904, Stearns had a very European four-cylinder of 36 hp (27 kW), with pressed steel chassis, wheelbase of 111 inches (282 cm), and four-speed gearbox, but a distinctly American (i.e., backward) coil and battery, rather than the magneto typical in Europe.
This changed in 1905, when the 32/40 made magneto standard, as wheelbase grew to 118 in (300 cm). Stearns used the slogan Runs like A Deer in this year. 1905 brought a new car that was again bigger and which provided the only offering from the small Cleveland manufacturer. It was a huge automobile with a four-cylinder L-head engine with a block cast in pairs and mechanical operated side valves delivering 40 HP. Wheelbase of 118 inches (300 cm). It was called the model 32/40 and was available as a very expensive 7-passenger Touring that set a buyer back a hefty $4,150.
Stearns introduced a 40/45 four in 1906, with aluminum body panels, tonneau, and windshield, with "no less than 17 coats of paint", at a cost of $5,200. This car shared the wheelbase of previous year's 32/40, though the touring body now seated five passengers.
1907 was the last year in which the company offered but one single model. Again, it was a new one, and again, it was the largest and most powerful yet. The 30/60 rode on a 120-inch (3048 mm). It had a massive T-head four-cylinder engine with the cylinder block cast in pairs, displacing 536 c.i. (8783 cc) and delivering 60 HP. There were two body styles available: a Touring with either 5 or 7 seats for $4,500 each, and a 7-passenger Pullman at $4,759.
1911 Stearns Model 15/30 Toy Tonneau. It has a 4-cylinder, T-head poppet valve engine with T-head configuration with a displacement of 294.2 c.i. (4821 cc), delivering 32 HP. It features a Stearns carburetor and Bosch ignition. Wheelbase is 116 in. (2946 mm). Price when new was US$3,200 or 3,500, depending on source, which put in easily in the luxury class although this was the least expensive of 4 model line for Stearns and Stearns-Knight that year. A Toy Tonneau is an open, light body for 4 or 5 passengers.
Soon, however, Stearns turned away from performance. In 1911, the firm began installing Knight sleeve valve engines, marketed under the Stearns-Knight brand name. The firm is best-remembered for the Stearns-Knight models, introduced for the 1913 model year, with the smooth and quiet Knight sleeve-valve engine. The inaugural six-cylinder Stearns-Knight produced 44 hp by the rating system of the day, nearer 100 modern bhp, delivered through a four-speed manual transmission on a 140-inch-wheelbase chassis. The result was, needless to say, one of the most imposing American automobiles of its era – and among the fastest, capable of 70 mph. By 1914, they had a 5.1-liter four and a 6.8-liter six, electric lighting, and electric starter. This was followed by a V8, one of the first companies to offer one, in 1917.
