Weidely Motors Company was an early motor company based in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, IN. Weidely started in 1915. It made engines for Premier, Chalmers,

Cletrac The Oliver Farm Equipment Company was an American farm equipment manufacturer from the 20th century. It was formed as a result of a 1929 merger of four companies: the American Seeding Machine Company of Richmond, Indiana; Oliver Chilled Plow Wo ...

crawlers and

Owen Magnetic file:1920 Owen Magnetic Touring Car ad.jpg, 1920 Owen Magnetic Touring Car ad, from ''House Beautiful'' magazine The Owen Magnetic was a pioneering American brand of Hybrid electric vehicle, hybrid electric luxury automobile manufactured between 19 ...

cars. They also made a V-12 engine for the 1917 Pathfinder and 1920

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, as well as the 1916-1918

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and

Kissel Kissel or kisel is a simple dish with the consistency of a thick gel, and made of sweet fruit, berry, grains (oatmeal, rye, wheat), peas, or from milk. It belongs to the group of cold- solidified desserts, although it can be served warm. Etymolo ...

cars. George Weidely and H.O. Smith, started the

Premier Motor Manufacturing Company The Premier Motor Manufacturing Company built the brass era and vintage Premier luxury automobile in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1903 to 1925. History The Premier Motor Manufacturing Company was organized in 1903 by George A. Weidely and Haro ...

on December 24, 1902. Weidely was an innovative engine designer and created an early overhead valve V-12. Premier went into receivership in 1914 so they took the rights and development of the Premier engine and formed the Weidely Engine Company in partnership with R.M. Owen who was president of the Entz Motor Corporation. Research has not revealed when the company closed but it made engines for Cletrac up to 1932. When comparing later OHC Chalmers power plants to the T head or L head engines of the pre-World War I period, their specifications cannot be ignored. The Chalmers' two-roller-bearing-crankshaft F-head engine of 1910 had been a surprising performer, with a streamlined intake manifold feeding the cylinders via extremely large intake valves located in the head. The exhaust side valves were in a pocket, leaving a lot of room in the cylinder head for the inlets. In 1915, Chalmers made a great step forward with the incorporation of a full-overhead-camshaft Weidley engine, which pioneered the idea of driving the overhead-camshaft from the middle of the crankshaft instead of from the front or the rear. The model 6-40 had a bore and stroke of 3.125 and 5 inches, respectively, and camshaft rigidity was obtained by using a 2.25-inch diameter. The location of the camshaft drive in the center made it necessary to have four main bearings instead of the usual three. Tubular connecting rods were also used, which was a very advanced idea for its day. Weidely produced a three main bearing pushrod ohv six that powered the Auburn 6-63 models of 1923 and 1924. Unlike most pushrod designs of the day its valvetrain was fully enclosed.

References

Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Indiana Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Defunct companies based in Indiana Manufacturing companies based in Indiana Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1914 1914 establishments in Indiana History of Indiana {{motorvehicle-company-stub Engine manufacturers of the United States Motor vehicle engine manufacturers