We invite you
to come to our
New Museum in 2007
and
Have a Safe
New Year !
We are located
on Interstate 80
at Exit 242
in Coralville, Iowa
near Iowa City
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We invite you to come to our New Museum in 2007 and Have a Safe New Year ! |
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We are located on Interstate 80 at Exit 242 in Coralville, Iowa near Iowa City |
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The Cadillac Automobile Company was formed in 1902 in Detroit, Michigan, when William Murphy and
Lemuel Bowen called in Henry Martin Leland of Leland and Faulconer who specialized in making
precision gears. Leland had developed a refined engine for Oldsmobile, but it had been rejected
because retooling the Oldsmobile factory would have been necessary.
Murphy and Bowen had been financial backers behind the Detroit Automobile Company and asked Leland to appraise a plant they owned so they could sell it. Leland showed them his engine and they decided to keep the plant and stay in the business. They named it the Cadillac Automobile Company, the president was C. A. Black, and they developed a Cadillac automobile by 1902. The 1903 Cadillac in the Antique Car Museum of Iowa had the same body as the 1903 Ford but used the Leland and Faulconer “Little Hercules” engine. Although it is a single-cylinder engine, it outclassed many other engines of the time. The museum’s is a two-person runabout on a 72” wheel-base with a rear entrance tonneau bolted on to carry more passengers. The steering wheel is right mounted and it has adjustable rack and pinion steering. The horizontally mounted cast iron single cylinder motor is water cooled by a copper water jacket. It uses planetary transmission and has two speeds forward and one speed in reverse. The 1903 Cadillac was innovative because it had interchangeable parts. During the model year 2,497 were produced and they were priced at $850. The overall length of our model is nine feet three inches. The tire size is 28 inches by 3 inches. The car became known for its reliability, ease and economy of maintenance. It also had remarkable climbing and pulling capabilities. This Cadillac weighs 1480 pounds. All lights were optional at added cost. The motor was fed gas through a mixer rather than a carburetor, and used a two-plug system for a spark plug-each plug holding one electrode and positioned together to spark across, and it used a battery ignition. Cadillacs are still being produced today. |
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