The First Chrysler Cars: 1924
The first Chrysler was an advanced car, primarily the work of former Willys engineers Frederick Zeder, Owen Skelton, and Carl Breer. Tobe Couture, who followed them to Chrysler, wrote about their entry at Willys in July 1920, coming in with 15 other men from Studebaker:
Walter P. Chrysler proposed to buy the car, but the deal was blocked; then Willys put the company into receivership. W.C. Durant won a spirited bidding for the Elizabeth plant, including the new car. Couture continued:
In June 1923, Zeder, Skelton, Breer, and company settled into the second floor of Building Nine of the old Chambers plant on Jefferson Avenue, 11 miles from Maxwell's engineering department and the eventual site of Chrysler's Jefferson Avenue plant. The first experimental cars were ready on September 1. Chrysler was satisfied, but Couture said the car should have four wheel hydraulic brakes (the norm of the day was two-wheel mechanical brakes); Chrysler agreed, and told Zeder and Breer to put four-wheel brakes onto the first production car. This was a serious engineering accomplishment, and hydraulic brakes are now used on every car. (Carl Breer's book goes into detail on how these brakes were designed - at Chrysler - and why patents were assigned to Lockheed.)
Chrysler reinvested $15 million of its income in 1925, $6 million in 1926, $10 million in 1927, and $19 million in 1928. Notable moves include shutting down the Maxwell name at the end of 1926, updating the car somewhat and renaming it the Chrysler Four; in 1928, the same car became the Plymouth instead, and Chrysler purchased Dodge Brothers, which was three times its size. 1925 figures include Maxwell-Chalmers.
The original Chrysler engine - an inline six
The first Chrysler cars (dubbed the Chrysler Six) had a revolutionary new six-cylinder, high-compression engine with a seven-bearing crankshaft, carburetor air cleaner, and replaceable oil filter.
Chrysler was the first to use the replaceable oil filter, which had a sight feed in the early years before going to full-flow designs; it had been invented by an inventor named Sweetland. Likewise, the air cleaner was relatively new, a mechanical, rotating, self-cleaning dry cleaner made by the United Air Cleaner Company.
As Pete Hagenbuch said:
One secret to the engine was the thought that went into the combustion chamber, to reduce detonation. In Breer's words:
Carl Breer wrote that while they achieved the ability to run on the test stand at full power for 50 hours (around 3,000 rpm), with the throttle wide open, that "was only the foundation on which we continued to build." They quickly adopted an experimental two-piece tappet from Wilcox-Rich of Saginow, which reduced scuffing of the cam and tappets.
They made numerous test heads, and the flat head worked best. The engine delivered "an authentic 68 hp" at 3000 rpm with the 50-55 octane fuel of the time, with a 4.7:1 compression ratio (the 1924 specifications called for 70 horsepower at 3,500 rpm, but from 1925 to 1927, it was listed at 68 @ 3,000. The Maxwell Four, by contrast, was rated at 28 horsepower @ 2,000 rpm. The Imperial, which used a 5" bore rather than the 4.75" bore, was rated at 92 hp @ 3,000, a substantial increase).
Other 1924 Chrysler features
The modern, attractive styling appears to have been done by Oliver Clark, one of the 18 people in the original team; he remained with Chrysler at least through 1933, when he was the company's chief body engineer. Clark would create the Art & Colour Section in 1928, and was responsible for the Chrysler emblem.
The cars also had four-wheel hydraulic brakes, developed by the in-house engineers based on an unworkable design from the Lockheed brothers. They changed the fluid and materials, and added a spring action to push the pedal back and prevent air from getting in; Carl Breer wrote, "There was practically nothing left of the Lockheed system beyond the idea of using hydraulic fluid in place of metal rods." They gave Lockheed their patents in return for royalties, so competitors would also adopt hydraulic brakes.
The brakes were connected to the fluid reservoir via a hand valve. Brakes with an automatic master cylinder finally arrived in 1927.
Chrysler pioneered the ornamental radiator cap, styled by Oliver Clark and shaped with the wings of Mercury to symbolize speed; while most people replaced their caps with one that had a thermometer built in, Chrysler put a temperature gauge onto the dashboard. (The wings were spaced to allow a gauge to be fit between them; Oliver Clark said that he styled them after a Viking's cap to emphasize the "daring and exploratory" nature of the car.)
They also clustered all the gauges in one place, under a single contoured (to avoid reflections) sheet of glass. The choke was a large switch on the right side of the dashboard, within reach and easy to operate with gloves on.
Features like this had never been offered in a mediumpriced car before, and the 32,000 first-year record sales substantiated the tremendous appeal of the first Chrysler car. The main change for 1925 was a new vibration dampener, frictiondriven by a hub on the crankshaft, for smoother performance; in 1925 or 1926, the company leaped forward with rubber engine mountings and rubber spring shackles, which dramatically cut down on vibration passed to the passengers.
The car itself weighed 2,700 lb (touring model), and could come close to 75 miles per hour, quite good for the time. The new Chryslers were not especially large, with a wheelbase just short of 113 inches, but it had a high power-to-weight ratio; styling cleverly made it look like a larger car, with tires scaled down to match the smaller body (the 1924 Chrysler used 29 x 4.5 tires while most competitors used 31 x 4 tires; in 1925, with public acceptance assured, Chrysler switched to 30 x 5.7 tires, which must have improved cornering and braking considerably). The state of the art brakes were far easier to use than the mechanical brakes in most cars - and their superior equalization meant straighter stops.
Chrysler and Maxwell sold 137,666 cars in 1925, from the $895 Maxwell Four Touring to the $2065 Chrysler Six Sedan. In 1926, with the Maxwell Four gone, they sold 170,392 cars; there were now four Chrysler models, the 58, 60, 70, and bored-and-stroked Imperial 80, all named after their top speeds. The Chrysler 58 was essentially an improved Maxwell (which would later be sold as the Plymouth), and sold for $845; the most expensive car was now the Imperial seven-passenger limousine sedan at $3,595. The situation remained similar until 1928, when DeSoto, Dodge Brothers, Plymouth, and Graham Brothers were added.
For 1925, the price went up by $60, while the weight went down by 150 lb; the tires were bigger and the engine rated slightly differently but the model, Chrysler 70, was unchanged. After 1925, the wheelbase was listed as exactly 112 inches, though whether it was changed or simply rounded down is unclear. For 1927, the Chrysler 60 ran on a 109" wheelbase, barely longer than the Maxwell/Chrysler 50/Plymouth's 106", and weighed in at just 2,690 lb - while the 70 went up to 3,090 lb (these figures are for closed cars and are heavier than the 1924-25 figures); the 60 used a 54 horsepower version of the Chrysler Six, with a smaller bore and stroke (3 x 4.25).
Walter P. Chrysler's story
In a 1924 interview, Walter P. Chrysler wrote about his requirements:
The result was good enough that Studebaker made a serious offer to buy Maxwell, and Chrysler actually made a deal with them to sell it before being dissuaded by Frederick Zeder, who refused to sign - and said if a deal was made without his signature, he would call Carl Breer and have the blueprints destroyed.
The original Chrysler started production on December 20 as a six-cylinder in six body styles; the much-improved "good Maxwell" was still sold in four-cylinder form, though its name was dropped in favor of Chrysler in 1925. In 1928, the Plymouth Division was created, selling Chrysler's fours; and the Chrysler line became once more exclusively sixes until 1930, when Chrysler started selling an eight-cylinder car, along with its sixes. One sensational achievement was the sale of an eight cylinder at under $1,000 in 1933 (the least expensive was $895 F.O.B. Detroit); even the top line Imperial was just $1,275 in that year.
During the first year of production, 33,000 cars were built. It was a record for first year production at that time and Chrysler production moved from last place to third place in the industry by 1928.
Also see:
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The first Chrysler was an advanced car, primarily the work of former Willys engineers Frederick Zeder, Owen Skelton, and Carl Breer. Tobe Couture, who followed them to Chrysler, wrote about their entry at Willys in July 1920, coming in with 15 other men from Studebaker:
Walter P. Chrysler proposed to buy the car, but the deal was blocked; then Willys put the company into receivership. W.C. Durant won a spirited bidding for the Elizabeth plant, including the new car. Couture continued:
In June 1923, Zeder, Skelton, Breer, and company settled into the second floor of Building Nine of the old Chambers plant on Jefferson Avenue, 11 miles from Maxwell's engineering department and the eventual site of Chrysler's Jefferson Avenue plant. The first experimental cars were ready on September 1. Chrysler was satisfied, but Couture said the car should have four wheel hydraulic brakes (the norm of the day was two-wheel mechanical brakes); Chrysler agreed, and told Zeder and Breer to put four-wheel brakes onto the first production car. This was a serious engineering accomplishment, and hydraulic brakes are now used on every car. (Carl Breer's book goes into detail on how these brakes were designed - at Chrysler - and why patents were assigned to Lockheed.)
1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sales # | 137,688 | 170,392 | 192,083 | 360,399 |
Sales $ | $137 mm | $163 mm | $172 mm | $315 mm |
Profit | $17 mm | $15 mm | $19 mm | $31 mm |
Chrysler reinvested $15 million of its income in 1925, $6 million in 1926, $10 million in 1927, and $19 million in 1928. Notable moves include shutting down the Maxwell name at the end of 1926, updating the car somewhat and renaming it the Chrysler Four; in 1928, the same car became the Plymouth instead, and Chrysler purchased Dodge Brothers, which was three times its size. 1925 figures include Maxwell-Chalmers.
The original Chrysler engine - an inline six
The first Chrysler cars (dubbed the Chrysler Six) had a revolutionary new six-cylinder, high-compression engine with a seven-bearing crankshaft, carburetor air cleaner, and replaceable oil filter.
Chrysler was the first to use the replaceable oil filter, which had a sight feed in the early years before going to full-flow designs; it had been invented by an inventor named Sweetland. Likewise, the air cleaner was relatively new, a mechanical, rotating, self-cleaning dry cleaner made by the United Air Cleaner Company.
As Pete Hagenbuch said:
One secret to the engine was the thought that went into the combustion chamber, to reduce detonation. In Breer's words:
They made numerous test heads, and the flat head worked best. The engine delivered "an authentic 68 hp" at 3000 rpm with the 50-55 octane fuel of the time, with a 4.7:1 compression ratio (the 1924 specifications called for 70 horsepower at 3,500 rpm, but from 1925 to 1927, it was listed at 68 @ 3,000. The Maxwell Four, by contrast, was rated at 28 horsepower @ 2,000 rpm. The Imperial, which used a 5" bore rather than the 4.75" bore, was rated at 92 hp @ 3,000, a substantial increase).
Other 1924 Chrysler features
The cars also had four-wheel hydraulic brakes, developed by the in-house engineers based on an unworkable design from the Lockheed brothers. They changed the fluid and materials, and added a spring action to push the pedal back and prevent air from getting in; Carl Breer wrote, "There was practically nothing left of the Lockheed system beyond the idea of using hydraulic fluid in place of metal rods." They gave Lockheed their patents in return for royalties, so competitors would also adopt hydraulic brakes.
The brakes were connected to the fluid reservoir via a hand valve. Brakes with an automatic master cylinder finally arrived in 1927.
Chrysler pioneered the ornamental radiator cap, styled by Oliver Clark and shaped with the wings of Mercury to symbolize speed; while most people replaced their caps with one that had a thermometer built in, Chrysler put a temperature gauge onto the dashboard. (The wings were spaced to allow a gauge to be fit between them; Oliver Clark said that he styled them after a Viking's cap to emphasize the "daring and exploratory" nature of the car.)
They also clustered all the gauges in one place, under a single contoured (to avoid reflections) sheet of glass. The choke was a large switch on the right side of the dashboard, within reach and easy to operate with gloves on.
Features like this had never been offered in a mediumpriced car before, and the 32,000 first-year record sales substantiated the tremendous appeal of the first Chrysler car. The main change for 1925 was a new vibration dampener, frictiondriven by a hub on the crankshaft, for smoother performance; in 1925 or 1926, the company leaped forward with rubber engine mountings and rubber spring shackles, which dramatically cut down on vibration passed to the passengers.
The car itself weighed 2,700 lb (touring model), and could come close to 75 miles per hour, quite good for the time. The new Chryslers were not especially large, with a wheelbase just short of 113 inches, but it had a high power-to-weight ratio; styling cleverly made it look like a larger car, with tires scaled down to match the smaller body (the 1924 Chrysler used 29 x 4.5 tires while most competitors used 31 x 4 tires; in 1925, with public acceptance assured, Chrysler switched to 30 x 5.7 tires, which must have improved cornering and braking considerably). The state of the art brakes were far easier to use than the mechanical brakes in most cars - and their superior equalization meant straighter stops.
Chrysler and Maxwell sold 137,666 cars in 1925, from the $895 Maxwell Four Touring to the $2065 Chrysler Six Sedan. In 1926, with the Maxwell Four gone, they sold 170,392 cars; there were now four Chrysler models, the 58, 60, 70, and bored-and-stroked Imperial 80, all named after their top speeds. The Chrysler 58 was essentially an improved Maxwell (which would later be sold as the Plymouth), and sold for $845; the most expensive car was now the Imperial seven-passenger limousine sedan at $3,595. The situation remained similar until 1928, when DeSoto, Dodge Brothers, Plymouth, and Graham Brothers were added.
For 1925, the price went up by $60, while the weight went down by 150 lb; the tires were bigger and the engine rated slightly differently but the model, Chrysler 70, was unchanged. After 1925, the wheelbase was listed as exactly 112 inches, though whether it was changed or simply rounded down is unclear. For 1927, the Chrysler 60 ran on a 109" wheelbase, barely longer than the Maxwell/Chrysler 50/Plymouth's 106", and weighed in at just 2,690 lb - while the 70 went up to 3,090 lb (these figures are for closed cars and are heavier than the 1924-25 figures); the 60 used a 54 horsepower version of the Chrysler Six, with a smaller bore and stroke (3 x 4.25).
Walter P. Chrysler's story
- A perfectly balanced six-cylinder motor with top speed of over 70 miles an hour -- not because they want to drive at that rate, but to insure quick get-away, flashing pick-up, power to conquer any hill, and for the steady pull at low speeds
- A small-bore power plant; first for fine performance, and second for gasoline and oil economy.
- Simplicity and accessibility throughout
- Lots of room. I mean wide doors, deep comfortable seats, ample leg-room.
- Real comfort; long soft springs; extra size tires, deep over-stuffed cushions.
- Driving convenience and ease that will let a woman drive in comfort for long tances or through heavy traffic.
- Light weight, so that a single passenger doesn't feel he is paying to haul a private Pullman; yet without squeaks, rattles, or flimsiness.
- Wheelbase built to fit into an ordinary parking space and to insure quick and a well on rutted road or a cobble-stone street.
- Quality materials and workmanship to give long life and constantly good service, instead of a job built to a fit price.
- Beauty that speaks for itself, and good taste that is self-evident
- Complete modern equipment built into the car, not hung on it merely as an after-thought.
The result was good enough that Studebaker made a serious offer to buy Maxwell, and Chrysler actually made a deal with them to sell it before being dissuaded by Frederick Zeder, who refused to sign - and said if a deal was made without his signature, he would call Carl Breer and have the blueprints destroyed.
The original Chrysler started production on December 20 as a six-cylinder in six body styles; the much-improved "good Maxwell" was still sold in four-cylinder form, though its name was dropped in favor of Chrysler in 1925. In 1928, the Plymouth Division was created, selling Chrysler's fours; and the Chrysler line became once more exclusively sixes until 1930, when Chrysler started selling an eight-cylinder car, along with its sixes. One sensational achievement was the sale of an eight cylinder at under $1,000 in 1933 (the least expensive was $895 F.O.B. Detroit); even the top line Imperial was just $1,275 in that year.
During the first year of production, 33,000 cars were built. It was a record for first year production at that time and Chrysler production moved from last place to third place in the industry by 1928.
Also see:
- Launch of the Chrysler car: 1924 New York Auto Show and the Commodore Hotel
- "Tobe" Couture on the early days of Chrysler
- Other glimpses of Chrysler's past
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We make no guarantees regarding validity or accuracy of information, predictions, or advice - .
Copyright © VerticalScope Inc. All rights reserved. Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Ram, and Mopar are trademarks of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.