Guy I know purchased this after years of waiting for the previous owner to decide to sell, it's a 1913 Vulcan manufactured in Painesville, Ohio for only three years. Rather unique engine, sounds "funny" too, not anything like old the old 4 cylinders used to. Dash is missing so if anyone knows what it looks like, please contact me.
Nice car, chances are there were no dash gauges, my '12 Ford has a speedometer and that is all it ever had. Bob
Wow! I used to live in Painesville, went all through school there & never knew anything about these cars. Definatly something to look into!
Wow! No removable head. Valves were serviced thru the screw on things on top of the block/head. I have seen early aircraft engines like this.
Were those pics taken at the Friday party in the park on P'ville square? I work just down Mentor Ave at the Advance Auto Parts store.
Are you absolutely sure that there ever WAS a dash; or should I say MORE dash?? That looks finished to me. BTW, engine's a Buda, used in a LOT of cars. Cosmo
See post #1534 on http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=397594&highlight=vulcan&page=77 We ALL Love a DARE! PIX of TRULY Extinct Makes?
Is there some online info on that engine? I wanna see details. For fun. That one pix presents me with many questions that Google could not answer.
From: http://www.earlyamericanautomobiles....omobiles13.htm <BIG><BIG><BIG>Vulcan</BIG></BIG></BIG>The advertisement was overdone, but the Vulcan was a very good little car. It was associated with cyclecars that did harm to its reputation. It was powered by a four-cycle, 27-horsepower engine and came in two wheelbase sizes, 105 and 115. The transmission was three peeds and shaft driven. With all of the electrric accessories, it was priced under $1,000 that was a bargain. It was organized as he Vulcan Motor Car Company, but financial troubles began and it was soon reorganized as the Vulcan Mfg. Co. in Painsville, OH. 1914 Vulcan Automobile AdvertisementThe car was built by Driggs-Seabury, Sharon, PA who also made cars for othe companies. Alonzo Marsh of the former Marsh Brothers Motor Car Company, Brockton, MM, was the designer. He left the company within a short time in a state of anger and went back to Brockton to design another car. Shortly thereafter, the Vulcan company went into receivership. <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
From what I have been told, that is the only "complete" Vulcan known to exist. If there are any more out there, he isn't aware of them.
Driggs-Seabury Vulcan An unusually complete offering from a gunmaker <!-- Writer --> Additional photos from this story: Click image to view larger Feature Article from Hemmings Motor News December, 2011 - David Traver Adolphus If Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Corporation is remembered at all today, it's as the maker of the World War I Lewis machine guns, and their association with Savage Arms, whom they bought in 1915. But with the workforce, foundry and precision machine tooling capabilities of an ordnance maker, they had all the ingredients needed for an early automaker. This they did periodically, under their own brands and for others as well, including a Teens Driggs-Seabury cyclecar; Twenties Driggs automobile; Commer truck; Twombleys for the 1914-'15 model years; and Vulcans for an Ohio company. The Vulcan name, however, originated with Driggs-Seabury because in 1912, a year before they built the cars under contract, they were building a range of commercial Vulcan trucks at a Sharon, Pennsylvania, factory. <TABLE align=left hspace="5"><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Vulcans were standard mechanical fare, with models named "First" for the three-tonners, through "Fifth" for a seven-ton model, "Second," "Third" and "Fourth" stopping at four, four-and-a-half and five tons on the way. First through Fourth used an L-head, 331-cu.in. four making 30hp, while the larger truck used a 36hp 390. Illustrations show the 390 sporting a "Vulcan" logo, and this was only one of many parts made in-house, which included the radiator, transmission, running gear, axles and worm gear steering. Driggs-Seabury's initial announcements stated that they intended to build a comprehensive range of trucks from one to eight tons (First through Ninth, presumably), but they may have been more special order products rather than standard catalog fare. Three- through five-ton Vulcans had a water pump, while larger used thermosiphon cooling to move water through a cellular radiator in a shock-mounted, cast-aluminum housing. Bosch high-tension dual ignition started them, and power went via a cone clutch to one of two three-speed transmissions with integral differential, depending on tonnage. Rear wheels were chain-driven dual artillery spoke detachables in standard SAE sizes, front and rear track 66 inches in all models. All Vulcans had drop-forged axles, heavy pressed-steel frames and a 144-inch wheelbase up to three tons, 162 inches above that. An additional selling point for Vulcan was an unusually high top speed, governed to 18 MPH in a First. Vulcan prices started at $3,600, and Driggs-Seabury publicly debuted a Third and a Fifth at the January 1913 New York Truck Show in Madison Square Garden. More than 200,000 people passed by that week, and reviewers praised the obvious quality of Vulcan construction. The Savage acquisition and need to produce guns for Europe seem to have quietly phased out the trucks in 1915, although not before they sold several hundred to the British, French and Russian armies. This article originally appeared in the December, 2011 issue of Hemmings Motor News.
well what do ya know, i did learn somthing today. lol never knew there was such a thing. looks like it would be fun to cruise around in that thing
Well,I know of two Vulcans ,English ones sold new in Brisbane Australia in 1913 . I am getting one ready for a concours this weekend. It was a failry complete car that was laid up in 1958. it has been under going an extensive restoration but the only actual new part is the rear tub. The original rear panel was lost when the car was made into a truck in the 1920's. http://sleepingbeauties.com.au/vulcan.html The Article about the truck is very interesting in that the English Vulcan company made trucks until 1954 and the history as written in the hemmings article seems like something from a parrallel universe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_(motor_vehicles) The Tilling stevens TS 3 Diesel engine was used in the rootes group Commer trucks.. the english Commer truck. I dont think the US company would have sold Vulcan trucks to the British armed forces, they had their own Vulcan trucks,made in the UK. The english car is a full size vehicle with a four cylinder engine ,four speed gearbox and diff made in house. it also has electric lights and starter!. No hand cranking this monster...
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