Английская Википедия:Duesenberg Model A
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The Duesenberg Model A was the first automobile in series production to have hydraulic brakes and the first automobile in series production in the United States with a straight-eight engine. Officially known as the Duesenberg Straight Eight, the Model A was first shown in late 1920 in New York City. Production was delayed by substantial changes to the design of the car, including a change in the engine valvetrain from horizontal overhead valves to an overhead camshaft; also during this time, the company had moved its headquarters and factory from New Jersey to Indiana. The Model A was manufactured in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1921 to 1925 by the Duesenberg Automobiles and Motors Company and from 1925 to 1926 at the same factory by the restructured Duesenberg Motor Company. The successors to the company began referring to the car as the Model A when the Model J was introduced. With a top speed of 71mph.
Background
Fred and August Duesenberg built aircraft and marine engines during World War I and used this expertise to design and build racing engines and to design a car.Шаблон:Sfn The Duesenberg Automobiles and Motors Company was incorporated in Delaware and founded to manufacture and market the production car while Duesenberg Brothers, a separate organization, built racing cars and engines.Шаблон:Sfn
Introduction and delay
The Duesenberg Straight Eight was introduced in late 1920 at the Commodore Hotel in New York City,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn but production of the Straight Eight did not begin until late 1921. The main reason for the delay was Fred Duesenberg's decision to redesign several aspects of the car, including the valvetrain.Шаблон:Sfn The headquarters and manufacturing facilities of the Duesenberg Automobiles and Motors Company were relocated from Newark, New Jersey, to Indianapolis, Indiana during this time. The move was completed in May 1921, but the redesign was not.Шаблон:Sfn
Design and engineering
Drivetrain
The Straight Eight was the first car in series production in the United States with a straight-eight engine.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The engine had a cast iron block, a detachable cast iron cylinder head, and an aluminum lower crankcase and oil pan.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The crankshaft ran in three main bearings.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn While the prototype Straight Eight shown at the model's introduction had horizontal valves of the type used in earlier Duesenberg-designed marine and racing engines,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn the model that entered production had a shaft-drivenШаблон:Sfn single overhead camshaftШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn which used rockers to operate two valves per cylinderШаблон:Sfn in a hemispheric combustion chamber.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
The engine used a single updraft carburetor;Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn early versions used a Stromberg unit, which was replaced by a Schebler unit.Шаблон:Sfn The carburetor was on the right side of the engine, the mixture went into a passage through the engine block to the intake manifold on the left side of the engine. Ignition was by Delco coil and breaker points, with the distributor at the end of the generator/starter unit.Шаблон:Sfn
With a Шаблон:Convert bore and a Шаблон:Convert stroke,Шаблон:Sfn the engine had a displacement of Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The standard compression ratio of five to one yielded Шаблон:Convert at 3600 rpmШаблон:Sfn and Шаблон:Convert of torque at 1500 rpm.Шаблон:Sfn
A single dry-plate clutch and an unsynchronized three-speed gearbox were bolted to the engine. The gearbox was operated directly with a central shift lever. The drive shaft was enclosed in a torque tube and drove the live rear axle through a spiral bevel drive.Шаблон:Sfn
Chassis
The chassis was based on a pressed steel ladder frame with channel-section side members and fabricated and tubular cross members. Suspension was by semi-elliptic leaf springs and Watson Stabilator dampers front and rear, with a tubular beam axle at the front and a live axle and radius rods at the rear.Шаблон:Sfn The standard wheelbase was Шаблон:Convert,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn with a wheelbase of Шаблон:Convert available for seven-passenger bodies.Шаблон:Sfn The front and rear tracks were both Шаблон:Convert wide.Шаблон:Sfn Center-locking wire wheels with 5" x 33" tires were used front and rear.Шаблон:Sfn
The Duesenberg Straight Eight was the first production automobile to use Lockheed Corporation Hydraulic brakes on all four wheels.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The brakes on the front wheels were Шаблон:Convert in diameter and were finned to dissipate heat. The fluid used in the system was a mixture of glycerine and water.Шаблон:Sfn
Reception
The initial production target was 100 cars per month. By the end of 1922, after slightly more than a year of production, fewer than 150 Duesenberg Straight Eights had been built.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Production of the Straight Eight continued through several changes in management,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn placement of the Duesenberg Automobiles and Motors Company into receivership in January 1924,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn and the restructuring of the company into the Duesenberg Motor Company in February 1925,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn until the purchase of the company by E. L. Cord in October 1926.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn About 650 Straight Eights had been built when Cord ended production in 1926.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Legacy
The Duesenberg Model X, a derivative of the Straight Eight, had a short production run in 1927. About twelve were built.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The Model X had an engine with the same bore and stroke as the Straight EightШаблон:Sfn but with a non-crossflow head. The engine delivered Шаблон:Convert. The chassis had a wheelbase of Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn
Despite its regional and worldwide automotive firsts, the Straight Eight has been obscured by the later Model J.Шаблон:Sfn It is no longer widely known by the Straight Eight name under which it was marketed and sold, having been renamed the "Model A" after the introduction of the Model J.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Notes
References
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External links
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