Phelps Motor Vehicle Company was a manufacturer of

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

s in

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, between 1903 and 1905. In 1906 it was succeeded by the Shamut Motor Company.

History

Background

1901 Phelps Tractor steam-powered tricycle from LJ Phelps New Brunswick NJ advert BW

Lucius J. Phelps was an inventor and an electrical and mechanical engineer who first came to prominence in 1886 for his Induction Telegraph patent that was developed for trains to receive live telegraph messages while moving. In the late 1890's he became interested in steam powered vehicles and in 1901 marketed the Phelps Tractor. The steam tractor was designed to be controlled by horse rains so that a coachman could operate it. As Phelps Motor Company, Phelps then began developing a gasoline engine.

Phelps Motor Car

In 1903 Phelps Motor Company became Phelps Motor Vehicle Company with Elliott C. Lee as president and L. J. Phelps as general manager. The 1903 Phelps was a

touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. The ...

model, equipped with a

tonneau A tonneau ( or ) is an area of a car, truck, or boat open at the top. It can be for passengers or cargo. When applied to trucks it refers to their ''bed'' (American English) or ''tray'' (British English). Origin of term A tonneau was orig ...

. It could seat 4 passengers and sold for $2,000, . L. J. Phelps designed the vertically mounted

water-cooled Cooling tower and water discharge of a nuclear power plant Water cooling is a method of heat removal from components and industrial equipment. Evaporative cooling using water is often more efficient than air cooling. Water is inexpensive and no ...

straight-3 A straight-three engine (also called an inline-triple or inline-three) is a three-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. Less common than straight-four engine, straight-three engines have nonethel ...

engine, situated at the front of the car, producing . A 3-speed

transmission Transmission or transmit may refer to: Science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Transmission (mechanical device), technology that allows controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual tra ...

was fitted. The car was unusual in that it did not have a parameter

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

but a backbone frame that enclosed the

drive shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power (physics), power, torque, and rotation, usually ...

, and this weight savings made for a touring car. In 1904 the engine was enlarged to 20-hp and the price was $2,500, .

Motorsports

Phelps demonstrated his car in several endurance runs and hill climbs including a 1903 record 1 hour and 46 minute climb up

Mount Washington Mount Washington is an ultra-prominent mountain in the state of New Hampshire. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorio ...

. He returned in 1904 for the first Climb to the Clouds and cut his time to 42 minutes, placing second in his class. The Phelps motor car won a double victory in the1903 Eagle Rock, N.J. Hill Climb.

Fate

L. J. Phelps designed a

4-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engine, Wankel engines are o ...

engine but in September 1905 decided to retire to his Forty Oaks Ranch in

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. The company and manufacturing plant were succeeded by the Shawmut Motor Company headed by E. C. Lee in 1906. Lucius Phelps continued to patent automotive and other devices until his death at the age of 75 in 1925.

Models

File:1903 Phelps 15hp Model Three Touring Car.jpg, 1903 Phelps 15-hp Tonneau Touring car from The Automobile magazine File:1904 Phelps 20hp Model Three Touring Car.jpg, 1904 Phelps 25-hp Touring Car from brochure

References

{{reflist Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States 1900s cars Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1903 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1905 Brass Era vehicles Veteran vehicles Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Massachusetts American automotive engineers American automotive pioneers Cars introduced in 1903 Cars discontinued in 1905