KNOW WHAT THIS CAR IS?

[PAUL161]

Carefull, it might not be what you think it is! Some of this particular model were built in 1952 and in 1953.

 

[toysrrus]

Hi Paul;

"Hudson Hornet"??????

I`m just taking a Fast Stab at this without doing any research or looking on Ebay:

See Ya Later & Have Fun;

Regards, Russ

 

[coldplugs]

Allstate?

 

[DrEntropy]

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif Sears' marketing dep't version of the Henry J., yup.

 

[healeylvr57]

right click on the pic and save picture as

 

[DrEntropy]

heh. Didn't need to, but that woulda confirmed it! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif

 

[PAUL161]

right click on the pic and save picture as

Hey! That ain't fair!

Boy, can't get around you guys. Here's a pic of the emblem,--------ANYWAY. Humph

Sears marketing for the car was hindered because they didn't take trade ins. Let alone the fact that Kaiser shut down production of the Henry J a short time later. It was a good cheap little car. It was just made in the starting period of the "Lead Sleds" and very few people wanted a small car. I think all of Kaiser / Frazer cars were a little ahead of their time with some of their built in safety equipment. I remember the pop out windshield. They claim that the car was so tight, on a very hot day, the windshield could pop out and lay on the hood due to it's built in release design for head on crashes.

 

[William]

Didn't Sears used to sell Vespas under the Allstate brand as well? ISTR that one of the big department store chains (Sears, Penneys, someone like that) did so.

-Wm.

 

[aeronca65t]

I had an Allstate motorbike that was made by Puch. 1962 model, I think. All I can recall is that it had the "twingle" engine.

By the way, I assumed the car was a Henry J until I saw the way the question was asked....then I *knew* it was an Allstate. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

 

[LLAngus]

Darn, I need to get on here more. I had a boss that owned an Allstate. I helped him when he couldn't get the brakes bled. When I got there *presto* I asked where the brake drums were so I could put them on to bleed the brakes. He had been trying fot two days with out the drums.
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/bow.gif

 

[coldplugs]

Didn't Sears used to sell Vespas under the Allstate brand as well? ISTR that one of the big department store chains (Sears, Penneys, someone like that) did so.
-Wm.

Sears even sold houses but I don't think they used the Allstate brand name.

 

[Sherlock]

Allstate Vespa's? Yup... Just saw one on the weekend actually, one that was for sale...

The other badge you see there on the front says "Allstate"

 

[PAUL161]

Just a little more added to the pot. My Grandfather had a Sears & Roebuck barn. It was a large barn with a hay loft and a hip roof. Sears sold many things years ago that they don't today. Remember the Allstate motorcycle? Had a weird engine. Two cylinders under one head chamber. Never could figure out the theory behind that idea. Supposedly two pistons worked as one.

 

[aeronca65t]

..... Remember the Allstate motorcycle? Had a weird engine. Two cylinders under one head chamber. Never could figure out the theory behind that idea. Supposedly two pistons worked as one.

That's the "twingle" engine that I mentioned above.
I think it was more of a gimmick than anything else.

 

[Roger]

Wasn't that a 2-stroke, with one piston opening the inlet port and the other the exhaust? I think the idea was to try to get longer effective port openings.
There have been many oddities created in pursuit of the temptations of 2-strokery!

 

[aeronca65t]

On the Puch/Allststate "twingle", both pistons rose and dropped together (and are arranged front to back and not side by side). Exhaust ports (2) are in front cylinder and intake is in rear cylinder. The head simply covered both pistons so that there was a single, shared combustion chamber (with two spark plugs).
Basically seemed pointless to me.
More info and pictures here:

https://physiology.usouthal.edu/restore/allstate.htm

 

[coldplugs]

Basically seemed pointless to me....

I agree - any possible benefit (I can't think of any at the moment) would be more than offset by the increased friction and complexity. Two cylinders doing the job of one.

It reminds me of another engine, though. Does anyone remember the "crossfire" conversions for Ford V8-60's that were used in Midgets (Kurtis et al, not MG) back in the forties? They caused 2 cylinders to fire at once, so they made the V8 act like a 4 cylinder. The sounded different but I don't know that they produced more power.

 

[racingenglishcars]

Wasn't the Henry J / Allstate sans trunk lid like the Bugeye?

 

[davelgee]

Yep, it was all about port timing, Puch never quite got it right but DKW did.
Used in conjunction with "Ladepumpe" supercharging system (basicly an active crankcase stuffer) it was a world beater in the late 30's. The DKWs of this period could outrun anything on a short course! Even the legendary BMW 'Kompressors' and Nortons of twice the capacity.
This basic idea is embodied in the rootes group's design for the under floor engine used by Commer trucks in England, made even more effective in a diesel via opposed pistons and port placement. A very good engine, killed by Chrysler corp. in their (now obvious) wisdom!

https://www.commer.org.nz/Commer%20Connections/Other.html

Cheers!
Dave G.

 

[PAUL161]

Basically seemed pointless to me....

Does anyone remember the "crossfire" conversions for Ford V8-60's that were used in Midgets (Kurtis et al, not MG) back in the forties? They caused 2 cylinders to fire at once, so they made the V8 act like a 4 cylinder. The sounded different but I don't know that they produced more power.

Yeah, I remember those. I have a 60 Offy conversion in the back of the shop. It ran at the Yellow Jacket Speedway in Philadelphia many years ago. It's not the crossfire though. All I ever heard about the crossfires was at high RPMs, they would pick up a high frequency vibration. They were in the experimental category, expensive for the times and they never proved their worth.
I have a 1932 4 cyl Ford Model B overhead valve Crager race engine back there also.