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44-625: Between 1905 and 1912 it produced the Adams-Farwell , a brass era automobile . The Roberts & Langworthy Iron Works , located at 57 South Main Street in Dubuque, were manufacturers of "fine light castings" like grave crosses and park benches. Eugene Adams invested in the company in June 1883 when Roberts decided to retire, and Adams took the position of a secretary and manager. A change of

88-513: A Landaulet body style replaced the Brougham, probably very similar but with a convertible rear part of the top. New to the line was a touring car, frequently called a Convertible Runabout . Both body styles were 5-seaters. Three more cars were offered with the 40/45 hp engine only. One was an Extension Brougham with a longer wheelbase, the other, the Model 7-A, was a 7-passenger touring with

132-478: A "roadster" is that a team was preparing a new car for the Indianapolis 500. They had it covered in a corner of their shop. If they were asked about their car they would try and obscure its importance by saying that it was just their (hot rod) "roadster". After the Indianapolis racer was made public, the "roadster" name was still attached to it. Frank Kurtis built the first roadster to race and entered it in

176-495: A conventional looking front; the engine still was in the rear. The rear seat was slightly moved forward. While standard wheelbase was 90 in (2,300 mm), the Extension Brougham's was 94 in (2,400 mm), and the 7-A's 108 in (2,700 mm). All got the retractable front seat bench and the unique steering system. The third new car was different. Called the Model 8-A Gentleman's Speed Roadster , it had

220-459: A custom manufacturer of industrial gears and shafts . It is a closely-held private corporation . Brass era The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiators . It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915, a time when cars were often referred to as horseless carriages . Elsewhere in

264-464: A single row of seats, the main seat for the driver and passenger was usually further back in the chassis than it would have been in a touring car . Roadsters usually had a hooded dashboard . In the United Kingdom, historically, the preferred terms were "open two-seater" and "two-seat tourer". Since the 1950s, the term "roadster" has also been increasingly used in the United Kingdom. It

308-458: A steam winch he had witnessed in operation in the late 19th century. Also mentioned in the cited article is the participation of an Adams-Farwell automobile in the first automobile race in America, but that is refuted by the following citation: Adams-Farwell automobiles had further unique details. The only available coachwork, called a Convertible Brougham , was in fact a Town brougham , and

352-566: Is an open two-seat car with emphasis on sporting appearance or character. Initially an American term for a two-seat car with no weather protection, its usage has spread internationally and has evolved to include two-seat convertibles . The roadster was also a style of racing car driven in United States Auto Club (USAC) Championship Racing, including the Indianapolis 500 , in the 1950s and 1960s. This type of racing car

396-505: Is not clear when this stopped, too. The Adams Company then relied on their iron foundry and manufactured gears, shafts and parts for power transmissions. When F. Oliver Farwell left the company in 1921. He had about 20 patents to his name and tried to build up a business on one he held for a novel transmission for merry-go-rounds . Later, he worked in a gear-cutting company in Toledo, Ohio . As of November 2017, The Adams Company continues as

440-479: Is noted that the optional 4-seat variant of the Morgan Roadster would not be technically considered a roadster. The term "spider" or "spyder," sometimes used in names for convertible models, is said to come from before the automobile era. Some 19th-century lightweight horse-drawn phaetons had a small body and large wooden wheels with thin spokes; they were nicknamed "spiders" because of their appearance;

484-648: Is the Model 7-A 40/45 hp; there is no additional information about it, and there is no further evidence more models existed than listed above. The National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada owns the last existing Adams-Farwell automobile, a Series 6 40/45 hp Touring Victoria coach, built by the Connolly Carriage & Buggy Company, probably of Dubuque. This car was invited to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2011 where it won

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528-479: The 1952 Indianapolis 500 . It was driven by Bill Vukovich who led for most of the race until a steering failure eliminated him. The Howard Keck owned team with Vukovich driving went on to win the 1953 and 1954 contests with the same car. Bob Sweikert won the 1955 500 in a Kurtis after Vukovich was killed while leading. A. J. Watson , George Salih and Quinn Epperly were other notable roadster constructors. Watson-built roadsters won in 1956 , 1959 – 1964 though

572-428: The 1961 and 1963 winners were actually close copies built from Watson designs. The 1957 and 1958 winner was the same car built by Salih with help by Epperly built with a unique placement of the engine in a 'lay down' mounting so the cylinders were nearly horizontal instead of vertical as traditional design dictated. This gave a slightly lower center of mass and a lower profile. Roadsters continued to race until

616-619: The Arnold in 1898, though Robert Bosch , 1903, tends to get the credit), independent suspension (actually conceived by Bollée in 1873), and four- wheel brakes (by the Arrol-Johnston Company of Scotland in 1909). Leaf springs were widely used for suspension , though many other systems were still in use. Transmissions and throttle controls were widely adopted, allowing a variety of cruising speeds, though vehicles generally still had discrete speed settings, rather than

660-543: The Charles A. Chayne Trophy for the most advanced technology of its period. Like another builder of rotary engined road vehicles, Stephen Marius Balzer of New York City , the Adams Company offered light gyrocopter engines which successfully powered experimental flying machines by Emile Berliner in 1909–1910 and J. Newton Williams in 1909. Engine production lasted longer than automobile manufacture although it

704-637: The Ford Model T and the Austin 7 to extremely expensive cars like the Cadillac V-16 , the Duesenberg Model J and Bugatti Royale . By the 1970s "roadster" could be applied to any two-seater car of sporting appearance or character. In response to market demand they were manufactured as well-equipped as convertibles with side windows that retracted into the doors. Popular models through

748-415: The "convertible" part was not the top but driver's position. His bench seat in the front of the car was retractable and could fold away in inclement weather, thus forming a splash board. Then, the tiller and driving devices could easily be relocated in front of the rear seat, under the fixed top. These cars could even be started from the driver's seat as they provided a lever that had to be pulled up instead of

792-542: The 1960s and 1970s were the Alfa Romeo Spider , MGB and Triumph TR4 . The highest selling roadster is the Mazda MX-5 , which was introduced in 1989. The early style of roadster with minimal weather protection is still in production by several low-volume manufacturers and fabricators, including the windowless Morgan Roadster , the doorless Caterham 7 and the bodyless Ariel Atom . The term roadster

836-546: The Brass Era were larger, more expensive luxury vehicles, such as those built by Packard, Peerless, Pierce-Arrow, Cadillac, and other premium manufacturers. 1915, the agreed-upon cutoff of the Brass Era, was the final year the Ford Model T was available with brass fitments. At this point the style had also begun to be considered outdated, and by the 1920s few if any vehicles continued to employ brass in their designs. In

880-667: The United States . Some of the earliest race cars were purpose-built or stripped for the greatest speed, with minimal or no bodywork at all, leading to a body style aptly named 'speedster'. The cut-down speedster body-style really took form in the 1900s. After removing most of the body (and fenders), an empty platform on the ladder-frame chassis was mounted with one or two seats, a gas tank, and spare tyres. American manufacturers Mercer and Stutz started offering ready-made racing speedsters, intentionally built to be driven to race(-track), raced, and driven back by their owner – essentially

924-401: The automobile was invented a few years before the start of the Brass Era, the 20 years that make up this era represent the beginning of the automotive industry. It was a period of small-scale manufacturing, experimental designs, and alternative power systems. The middle of this period saw the introduction of Panhard et Levassor's Système Panhard , a front-engine, rear-drive design that became

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968-492: The center. Model 9 came as 7-passenger touring, a 3-passenger coupé , and 3-passenger roadster, the latter replacing the Model 8-A, featuring normal chassis and body construction. A final change came for 1909. The coupé was dropped, the roadster got one more seat, and the touring became even longer. Adam-Farwells were offered until 1912 (or 1913, depending on source) in this lineup. Then, production of automobiles ceased after just about 200 cars built. Usually, 25 cars per year left

1012-547: The chassis for the Adams-Farwell. As period advertisements indicate complete cars were offered, there is some evidence they might have built the bulk of the Adam-Farwell bodies. For 1907, most models were gone, and Adams-Farwell offered only an improved Model 7-A Touring, now with an even longer wheelbase and a higher price. Farwell had more ideas to offer. For 1908, a new Model 9 50 hp appeared. It seems this

1056-598: The company name to Langworthy and Adams Iron Works followed in 1885. When Langworthy retired in 1892, Eugene's brother Herbert bought his share and the company was re-organized as The Adams Company, a foundry and machine shop. The plant burnt down the same year in a disastrous fire, and the company opened new facilities at East Fourth Street. Now, machine castings and household devices like a patented floor heating vent with inner rotating portion that distributed warm air in upper level rooms, or laundry stoves were added. In 1895, Fay Oliver Farwell (1859–1935) became manager of

1100-517: The company. About 1895, Farwell began experimenting with an internal combustion engined automobile, for which he conceived a horizontally mounted rotary engine with three cylinders. The vertically standing crank shaft was fixed in the chassis. Farwell felt this configuration was lighter than conventional engines as it used neither a flywheel — since the spinning engine crankcase and cylinders acted as their own flywheel when running — nor radiator , because of its air cooled design. Farwell completed

1144-403: The completeness of the present record, and in order to aid future scholars and research workers, I should like to give the list of American automobiles current thirty years ago [i.e., 1917]: A great many more names, including Brush , Duryea , Alco , Speedwell , and Waverly , had already disappeared from the scene by 1917. Roadster (automobile) A roadster (also spider , spyder )

1188-408: The country, just as hundreds of locomotive plants had sprung up in the early days of railroading. In both instances, however, the great majority faded out of the picture once the industry had become firmly established. As late as 1917, there were 127 different makes of American automobiles on the market, as compared with little more than a dozen in 1947 [i.e. at the time of this writing]. For the sake of

1232-411: The early part of this period, steam-car development had advanced, making steam cars some of the fastest road vehicles of their day. Electric cars also held a market share throughout the era. Development of automotive technology was rapid, due in part to hundreds of small manufacturers competing to gain the world's attention. Key developments included the electric ignition system (by dynamotor on

1276-478: The entire range of automobiles available to the mass market in the United States. This list included: Fred H. Colvin , who covered the American automotive industry for many years as a journalist and editor of trade journals, wrote in his memoir (1947) about his experiences: I have already indicated how the early "craze" for horseless carriages caused automobile plants to spring up like mushroom growths all over

1320-517: The factory, with 52-54 in 1910. A few of them went to the Dubuque Police Department . The small company brought out an impressive number of models, with some ingenious solutions for contemporary problems of driving: Note: Above coachwork designation is by manufacturer; they may not coincide with body designations as commonly in use. 1906 advertisements show a touring car with "fake" hood, designated Model L. It seems this

1364-421: The first prototype in 1898. Basically a horse-drawn carriage , he mounted his engine between the front wheels. This proved impractical, so his second car, appropriately named number 2, had the engine installed in the rear as all Adams-Farwells would thereafter. This car used bicycle wheels; the next had wooden artillery wheels . Little is known about car number 4, which probably was similar to number 3, and which

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1408-548: The first track day cars . The immediate predecessor to the roadster was the runabout , a body style with a single row of seats and no doors, windshield, or other weather protection. Another predecessor was the touring car , similar in body style to the modern roadster except for its multiple rows of seats. By the 1920s roadsters were appointed similarly to touring cars, with doors, windshields, simple folding tops, and side curtains. Roadster bodies were offered on automobiles of all sizes and classes, from mass-produced cars like

1452-400: The first Adams-Farwell with a new and ingenious four speed transmission . Since most contemporary cars had three speeds, the new Adams-Farwell offered an ingenious construction consisting of the transmission, two clutches, a lever for each of them, and one handle to operate the levers. One clutch engaged gears 2 and 4, the other gears 1, 3, and reverse. So, two speeds could be "preselected", but

1496-474: The industry standard for decades. Through this period, electric, gasoline, and steam propulsion power were the powertrains of choice, though gas-powered internal combustion engines were dominant by the end of this period. Various body styles were also in vogue at the time, including the high-wheel motor buggy (resembling the horse buggy of before 1900), runabouts , tonneaus , and other more expensive closed bodies. The vehicles most closely associated with

1540-511: The infinitely variable system familiar in cars of later eras. Safety glass also made its debut, patented by John Wood in England in 1905, but would not become standard equipment until 1926 on a Rickenbacker . Angle steel took over from armored wood as the frame material of choice, and in 1912, Hupp pioneered the use of all-steel bodies, joined in 1914 by Dodge . In January, 1904, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly magazine catalogued

1584-500: The late 1960s, although they became increasingly uncompetitive against the new rear-engined racing cars. The last roadster to complete the full race distance was in 1965 , when Gordon Johncock finished fifth in the Wienberger Homes Watson car. The last roadster to make the race was built and driven by Jim Hurtubise in the 1968 race and dropped out early. Some pavement midget roadsters were built and raced into

1628-551: The nickname was transferred to sports cars, although they did not look similar. In 1962, Chevrolet introduced the Monza Spyder , a turbocharged version of its Corvair compact, available as a convertible or coupe. Although not a true 2 passenger vehicle, it featured upgraded suspension and other equipment to classify it as a "sporty car." Auto racing began with the first earnest contests in 1894 in Europe , and in 1895 in

1672-409: The one-handle operation prevented two speeds being engaged at the same time. Further, antiquated tiller steering was replaced by a wheel, and there was a pedal for acceleration. Therefore, the removable steering was no longer offered, but Adams-Farwells got a rail instead in which the column and pedal could be moved from the left to the right, allowing the driver to sit either at the left, the right or in

1716-490: The shortest chassis with 86 in (2,200 mm), and the larger engine. Instead of using the familiar frame with a separate body, it had no chassis at all, anticipating later unibody constructions. This sports car was very fast for the time with a top speed of around 75 mph (121 km/h). The only remaining Adams-Farwell automobile shows a tag by the Connolly Carriage & Buggy Co. It seems this company, not only reputed for quality carriages and coachwork, also built

1760-422: The usual crank. This car was listed at US$ 2500, placing it in the lower luxury car field. It is this concept that leads to the claim that Adams-Farwell automobiles were among the first automobiles that could be driven year-round. For 1906, Model 6 became Series 6. A new Series 6 40/45 hp with a 490.9  cu in (8,044  cc ) five cylinder rotary was added. The car got a somewhat longer wheelbase, and

1804-424: The world, this period would be considered by antique car enthusiasts to consist of the veteran (pre-1904), and Edwardian eras, although these terms are really not meaningful outside the former British Empire. Early automakers turned to brass for their vehicles for both its looks and function. It held up well against tarnishing and bad weather, but required regular polishing to maintain its appearance. Though

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1848-555: Was sold to a Dubuque resident. Number 5 was shown at the Chicago Auto Show in February 1905. Now, first orders were taken. With only minor modifications, the car went into - very limited - production as the Model 6 20/25 hp. Referring to its engine, Adams-Farwell frequently used the slogan: It spins like a top . An Automobile Quarterly article credits Mr. Farwell's inspiration for his rotary radial engine to have been

1892-547: Was superseded by rear-mid-engine cars. The term "roadster" originates in the United States, where it was used in the 19th century to describe a horse suitable for travelling. By the end of the century, the definition had expanded to include bicycles and tricycles. In 1916, the United States Society of Automobile Engineers defined a roadster as: "an open car seating two or three. It may have additional seats on running boards or in rear deck." Since it has

1936-547: Was used to describe a style of racing cars competing in the AAA/USAC Championship Cars series (the IndyCar equivalents of the time) from 1952 to 1969. The roadster engine and drive shaft are offset from the centerline of the car. This allows the driver to sit lower in the chassis and facilitates a weight offset which is beneficial on oval tracks. One story of why this type of racing car is referred to as

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