Eshelman
Encyclopedia
Eshelman was a marque of small American
automobile
s (1953–1961) and other vehicles and implements including motor scooters, garden tractors, pleasure boats, aircraft
, golf carts, snowplow
s, trailers
, mail-delivery vehicles and more. The Cheston L. Eshelman
Company was incorporated on January 19, 1942 and was based on the sixth floor of an industrial building at 109 Light Street in Baltimore
, Maryland
, with aircraft production facilities located in Dundalk
, Maryland
. The company president was Cheston Lee Eshelman, the first vice-president was Sidney S. Zell (July 30, 1900 - July, 1978), and the first treasurer was Frank K. Kris (January 4, 1910 - March, 1981).
The Eshelman company began production of commercial light aircraft in Dundalk after World War II, but was best known toward mid-century for its inexpensive light garden tractors and similar machines (including the Kulti-Mower) which were widely promoted in small advertisements in the back pages of mechanical and scientific magazines.
and then pleasure boats (including the spectacular "Rocket Boat", built from surplus military aircraft wing tanks), lightweight garden tractors and other implements, began producing a tiny air-cooled, one-cylinder automobile, the "Sport Car", in two versions: a basic $295 15 MPH "Child's Sport Car" (CSC) for two children and powered by a two-horsepower Briggs & Stratton #6 engine, and the $395 25 MPH Model 2 "Adult Sport Car" (ASC) for one adult which featured the three-horsepower Briggs & Stratton
#8 engine, battery-operated head and tail lamps, seat-cushion upholstery, and trademark chrome "rocket" emblems on its flanks.
A factory brochure advertised 70 MPG fuel consumption and claimed the car was
Both models were 54 inches (1,371.6 mm) in length, 24 inches (609.6 mm) wide, and 23 inches (584.2 mm) in height. With its heavy plate-steel platform frames, the CSC weighed 225 lb (102.1 kg) while the Model 2 ASC (with its larger engine and added accessories) weighed nearly 250 lb (113.4 kg).
In the earliest models, power from the engine (which was mounted in front, started by rope, and operated with a hand throttle) was transferred by a long drive belt to a simple lever-operated forward/reverse transmission between the rear wheels. This transmission was under the bench seat, and drove power to serrated, cast iron "gears" which drove the wheels through contact friction atop the 2.25x10 semi-pneumatic tire treads. Braking action was accomplished by reversing the transmission.
This unsatisfactory system resulted in heavy tire wear and was soon replaced by a drive belt from an engine-mounted centrifugal clutch to a jackshaft
under the seat, and from there by forward-only chain drive to sprockets on one or both rear wheels. The brake pedal mechanically applied paddles to the rear tire treads. Several basic colors were offered (and at least one two-tone combination), with contrasting-color interiors on Adult Sport Car models.
In 1955, vice president Richard M. Nixon was photographed at a gasoline pump "fueling" a Child's Sport Car in a March of Dimes
"Fill 'Er Up for Polio" publicity campaign while holding the pump nozzle at the car's rear. Actually, most Eshelman cars were fueled under the hood.
There were a few Eshelman dealers—and customers could take delivery at the Baltimore factory showroom—but business was largely conducted by mail order
.
The Sport Car was mostly advertised through postage stamp-sized advertisements in home-crafting and scientific magazines (and occasionally in coffee table magazines) and delivered to buyers in cartons by truck freight. However, the Eshelman company soon found that some customers were disappointed at first sight of the cars' tiny size and were repackaging and returning the cars to the factory. To counter this, the Eshelman company soon implemented a no-return purchase policy.
The cars were popular as gifts, advertising premiums and promotional novelties. US Congressman Francis E. Dorn
campaigned for re-election using a specially lettered 1954 Eshelman Child's Sport Car.
The following year saw a minor restyling on both models including an opening hood, cut-down sides for easier entry and exit, and fully opened rear wheel wells. A utility version of this car was offered for use on golf courses (and advertised as providing "36 holes per gallon"). Also from 1956 the smaller models were powered by Briggs and Stratton aluminum-block engines; the Model 6B engine of 2.25 horsepower in the standard series and the Model 8B engine of 2.75 horsepower in the deluxe cars.
But on Friday, February 10, 1956, a massive fire consumed the Eshelman factory. Two hundred firefighters and two fireboats helped to extinguish the blaze, and the fire resulted in $500,000 in damage.
At about that time the city of Baltimore began taxing manufacturing inventories and equipment, and so in February 1957 Cheston Eshelman signed a ten-year contract with the Charles D. Briddell Company, makers of cutlery, to build Eshelman cars and other vehicles at its Crisfield, Maryland
facility. A decision was also made to upgrade the cars, and Eshelman introduced several versions of the new "Sportabout", an enclosed model of the Adult Sport Car with more appurtenances including electric starting and fabric top and doors. Television star Bob Cummings (The Bob Cummings Show
) became a spokesman for the Eshelman company in newspaper and magazine ads, and often featured Child Sport Cars on his programs. A new battery-powered child's car, the Model 200, was added, and thousands of the company's blue Mailster mail-delivery vehicles were seen on the streets of America, closely resembling the very similar Cushman
mail carrier design.
By 1959 the Eshelman company, now renamed the Eshelman Motors Corporation, introduced a trio of much larger $1,395 two-cylinder air-cooled closed models, the fiberglass-bodied Models 902 coupe, 903 pickup truck, and 904 delivery vehicle, all advertised as seating three passengers abreast. However, according to reports only about twelve or so were produced.
Eshelman then turned to buying new fleet-model Chevrolet Corvair
s in quantity, which were re-trimmed and re-badged with special gold-colored Eshelman insignia and other appearance changes and marketed to the public as "Eshelman Golden Eagles". By When General Motors
learned of this operation, it ordered Eshelman Motors to cease and desist, but Eshelman continued to market the appearance package for those who wished to apply them to their personal cars.
Concurrently, Cheston Eshelman moved to Miami, Florida
and worked on marketing his patented "crash absorber," a pioneering 15 mi/h energy-absorbing front bumper fashioned from a vehicle's spare tire. He often demonstrated the bumper by ramming his own car into retaining walls.
In 1967, Eshelman produced the final Eshelman Golden Eagle Safety Cars based on new 1967 Chevrolets, all equipped with front "crash absorbers" and sold through several used-car agencies. This marked the end of Eshelman's automotive efforts and other operations, but he continued to invent and patent his ideas for decades. He died in Hialeah, Florida
on November 7, 2004.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s (1953–1961) and other vehicles and implements including motor scooters, garden tractors, pleasure boats, aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, golf carts, snowplow
Snowplow
A snowplow is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes...
s, trailers
Trailer (vehicle)
A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....
, mail-delivery vehicles and more. The Cheston L. Eshelman
Cheston Lee Eshelman
Cheston Lee Eshelman was born in McKnightstown, Pennsylvania near Gettysburg, and was an American inventor, aviator, manufacturer of aircraft, boats, garden machinery and small automobiles, and founder of the Cheston L...
Company was incorporated on January 19, 1942 and was based on the sixth floor of an industrial building at 109 Light Street in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, with aircraft production facilities located in Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The company president was Cheston Lee Eshelman, the first vice-president was Sidney S. Zell (July 30, 1900 - July, 1978), and the first treasurer was Frank K. Kris (January 4, 1910 - March, 1981).
The Eshelman company began production of commercial light aircraft in Dundalk after World War II, but was best known toward mid-century for its inexpensive light garden tractors and similar machines (including the Kulti-Mower) which were widely promoted in small advertisements in the back pages of mechanical and scientific magazines.
Children's cars
In 1953 the Cheston L. Eshelman Company, which had produced light aircraft immediately after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and then pleasure boats (including the spectacular "Rocket Boat", built from surplus military aircraft wing tanks), lightweight garden tractors and other implements, began producing a tiny air-cooled, one-cylinder automobile, the "Sport Car", in two versions: a basic $295 15 MPH "Child's Sport Car" (CSC) for two children and powered by a two-horsepower Briggs & Stratton #6 engine, and the $395 25 MPH Model 2 "Adult Sport Car" (ASC) for one adult which featured the three-horsepower Briggs & Stratton
Briggs & Stratton
Briggs & Stratton is the world's largest manufacturer of air-cooled gasoline engines primarily for outdoor power equipment. Current production averages 11 million engines per year.-History:...
#8 engine, battery-operated head and tail lamps, seat-cushion upholstery, and trademark chrome "rocket" emblems on its flanks.
A factory brochure advertised 70 MPG fuel consumption and claimed the car was
Ideal for short trips. When it's too far to walk—to the shopping center, to the beach, to work—this little car is the perfect 'runabout'. Even the children can use it about your property. It's so easy to operate and sturdily built. Add an Eshelman trailer cart and it's perfect for hauling and light delivery.
Both models were 54 inches (1,371.6 mm) in length, 24 inches (609.6 mm) wide, and 23 inches (584.2 mm) in height. With its heavy plate-steel platform frames, the CSC weighed 225 lb (102.1 kg) while the Model 2 ASC (with its larger engine and added accessories) weighed nearly 250 lb (113.4 kg).
In the earliest models, power from the engine (which was mounted in front, started by rope, and operated with a hand throttle) was transferred by a long drive belt to a simple lever-operated forward/reverse transmission between the rear wheels. This transmission was under the bench seat, and drove power to serrated, cast iron "gears" which drove the wheels through contact friction atop the 2.25x10 semi-pneumatic tire treads. Braking action was accomplished by reversing the transmission.
This unsatisfactory system resulted in heavy tire wear and was soon replaced by a drive belt from an engine-mounted centrifugal clutch to a jackshaft
Jackshaft
A jackshaft is a device for turning the wheels of a locomotive. It is essentially an axle with no wheels. Each end of the jackshaft has a crank pin and a counterweight. The driving wheels are then connected by side rods. The name may come from a combination of "jack," a slang term for a locomotive,...
under the seat, and from there by forward-only chain drive to sprockets on one or both rear wheels. The brake pedal mechanically applied paddles to the rear tire treads. Several basic colors were offered (and at least one two-tone combination), with contrasting-color interiors on Adult Sport Car models.
In 1955, vice president Richard M. Nixon was photographed at a gasoline pump "fueling" a Child's Sport Car in a March of Dimes
March of Dimes
The March of Dimes Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies.-Organization:...
"Fill 'Er Up for Polio" publicity campaign while holding the pump nozzle at the car's rear. Actually, most Eshelman cars were fueled under the hood.
There were a few Eshelman dealers—and customers could take delivery at the Baltimore factory showroom—but business was largely conducted by mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
.
The Sport Car was mostly advertised through postage stamp-sized advertisements in home-crafting and scientific magazines (and occasionally in coffee table magazines) and delivered to buyers in cartons by truck freight. However, the Eshelman company soon found that some customers were disappointed at first sight of the cars' tiny size and were repackaging and returning the cars to the factory. To counter this, the Eshelman company soon implemented a no-return purchase policy.
The cars were popular as gifts, advertising premiums and promotional novelties. US Congressman Francis E. Dorn
Francis E. Dorn
Francis Edwin Dorn was a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.He was born in Brooklyn. He attended St. Augustine and Bishop Loughlin Memorial High Schools. Dorn graduated from Fordham University in 1932 and Fordham University School of Law in 1935. He also studied at...
campaigned for re-election using a specially lettered 1954 Eshelman Child's Sport Car.
Adult cars
By 1955 a second, larger model was added to the Eshelman line, a basic six-horsepower open car for two passengers also named the "Adult Sport Car". These ASCs were 64 inches (1,625.6 mm) long, 36 inches (914.4 mm) wide and 32 inches (812.8 mm) in height and were powered by an air-cooled rope-started Briggs & Stratton #14 engine (electric starting was optional) that permitted a top speed of 30 mi/h and a 70 miles per US gallon fuel consumption rate. Major ASC mechanical differences included 4.50x6 pneumatic tires with four-wheel cable-operated scrub brakes, a foot throttle, and a pedal-operated parking brake. Extra-cost options included a lawn sweeper ($39.95) and a hauling cart ($79.95).The following year saw a minor restyling on both models including an opening hood, cut-down sides for easier entry and exit, and fully opened rear wheel wells. A utility version of this car was offered for use on golf courses (and advertised as providing "36 holes per gallon"). Also from 1956 the smaller models were powered by Briggs and Stratton aluminum-block engines; the Model 6B engine of 2.25 horsepower in the standard series and the Model 8B engine of 2.75 horsepower in the deluxe cars.
But on Friday, February 10, 1956, a massive fire consumed the Eshelman factory. Two hundred firefighters and two fireboats helped to extinguish the blaze, and the fire resulted in $500,000 in damage.
At about that time the city of Baltimore began taxing manufacturing inventories and equipment, and so in February 1957 Cheston Eshelman signed a ten-year contract with the Charles D. Briddell Company, makers of cutlery, to build Eshelman cars and other vehicles at its Crisfield, Maryland
Crisfield, Maryland
Crisfield is a city in Somerset County, Maryland, United States, located on the Tangier Sound, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 2,723 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical Area...
facility. A decision was also made to upgrade the cars, and Eshelman introduced several versions of the new "Sportabout", an enclosed model of the Adult Sport Car with more appurtenances including electric starting and fabric top and doors. Television star Bob Cummings (The Bob Cummings Show
The Bob Cummings Show
The Bob Cummings Show is an American sitcom starring Robert "Bob" Cummings which was produced from January 2, 1955 to September 15, 1959, and originally sponsored by R.J. Reynolds' Winston cigarettes...
) became a spokesman for the Eshelman company in newspaper and magazine ads, and often featured Child Sport Cars on his programs. A new battery-powered child's car, the Model 200, was added, and thousands of the company's blue Mailster mail-delivery vehicles were seen on the streets of America, closely resembling the very similar Cushman
Cushman
Cushman is a manufacturer of industrial vehicles, personal vehicles, and other custom vehicles, including parking patrol auto rickshaws.- Models :* Haulster, small industrial multi-purpose truck.* Truckster* Bellhop Series, golf carts....
mail carrier design.
By 1959 the Eshelman company, now renamed the Eshelman Motors Corporation, introduced a trio of much larger $1,395 two-cylinder air-cooled closed models, the fiberglass-bodied Models 902 coupe, 903 pickup truck, and 904 delivery vehicle, all advertised as seating three passengers abreast. However, according to reports only about twelve or so were produced.
Eshelman then turned to buying new fleet-model Chevrolet Corvair
Chevrolet Corvair
-First generation :The 1960 Corvair 500 and 700 series four-door sedans were conceived as economy cars offering few amenities in order to keep the price competitive, with the 500 selling for under $2,000...
s in quantity, which were re-trimmed and re-badged with special gold-colored Eshelman insignia and other appearance changes and marketed to the public as "Eshelman Golden Eagles". By When General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
learned of this operation, it ordered Eshelman Motors to cease and desist, but Eshelman continued to market the appearance package for those who wished to apply them to their personal cars.
Concurrently, Cheston Eshelman moved to Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
and worked on marketing his patented "crash absorber," a pioneering 15 mi/h energy-absorbing front bumper fashioned from a vehicle's spare tire. He often demonstrated the bumper by ramming his own car into retaining walls.
In 1967, Eshelman produced the final Eshelman Golden Eagle Safety Cars based on new 1967 Chevrolets, all equipped with front "crash absorbers" and sold through several used-car agencies. This marked the end of Eshelman's automotive efforts and other operations, but he continued to invent and patent his ideas for decades. He died in Hialeah, Florida
Hialeah, Florida
Hialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2009, the population estimate by the U. S...
on November 7, 2004.