Disteel

Last updated March 25, 2019

Disteel brand pressed-steel automobile wheels were manufactured by the Detroit Pressed Steel Company, and were introduced in 1917 as an alternative to wooden artillery wheels with demountable rims. Pressed steel wheels were an alternative to fragile wooden wheels which would crack on impact with very rough roads. Steel wheels were both stronger and cheaper to manufacture, and could be painted any color the owner desired.

Steel alloy made by combining iron and other elements

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, and sometimes other elements. Because of its high tensile strength and low cost, it is a major component used in buildings, infrastructure, tools, ships, automobiles, machines, appliances, and weapons.

Wheel One of the six simple machines, a circular item that rotates about an axial bearing

In its primitive form, a wheel is a circular block of a hard and durable material at whose center has been bored a circular hole through which is placed an axle bearing about which the wheel rotates when a moment is applied by gravity or torque to the wheel about its axis, thereby making together one of the six simple machines. When placed vertically under a load-bearing platform or case, the wheel turning on the horizontal axle makes it possible to transport heavy loads; when placed horizontally, the wheel turning on its vertical axle makes it possible to control the spinning motion used to shape materials ; when mounted on a column connected to a rudder or a chassis mounted on other wheels, one can control the direction of a vessel or vehicle ; when connected to a crank, the wheel produces or transmits energy.

The artillery wheel was developed for use on gun carriages when it was found that the lateral forces involved in horse artillery manoeuvres caused normally constructed cart wheels to collapse. Rather than having its spokes mortised into a wooden nave (hub), it has them fitted together (mitred) then bolted into a metal nave. Its tyre is shrunk onto the rim in the usual way but it is also bolted on for security. A normal wagon wheel is dished so that in its lowest part, the spokes are perpendicular to the ground thus supporting the weight. This is not done with artillery wheels.

Disteel wheels were offered as an extra cost option on many vehicles produced at the time, to include Duesenberg,^[1] Lincoln, Cole, and Page-Detroit vehicles of the 1920s.

Duesenberg Motors Company was an American manufacturer of race cars and luxury automobiles. It was founded by brothers August and Frederick Duesenberg in 1913 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where they built engines and race cars. The brothers moved their operations to Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1916 to manufacture engines for World War I. In 1919, when their government contracts were cancelled, they moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and established the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. (Delaware). In late 1926, E.L. Cord added Duesenberg to his Auburn Automobile Company. With the market for expensive luxury cars severely undercut by the Depression, Duesenberg folded in 1937.

The Cole Motor Car Company was an early automobile maker based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Cole automobiles were built from 1908 until 1925. They were quality-built luxury cars. The make is a pioneer of the V-8 engine.

Paige was a Detroit, United States-based automobile company, selling luxury cars between 1908 and 1927.

In March 1923, the Detroit Pressed Steel Company was merged with both the Parish and Bingham Company of Cleveland, Ohio, and the Parish Manufacturing Company of Detroit, to form a new company, called the Midland Steel Products Company by Elroy J. "E.J." Kulas, after leaving the Peerless Automobile Company.^[2]

Detroit is the largest and most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan, the largest United States city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of Wayne County. The municipality of Detroit had a 2017 estimated population of 673,104, making it the 23rd-most populous city in the United States. The metropolitan area, known as Metro Detroit, is home to 4.3 million people, making it the second-largest in the Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area. Regarded as a major cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music and as a repository for art, architecture and design.

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The Ford Model T is an automobile produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, the car that opened travel to the common middle-class American; some of this was because of Ford's efficient fabrication, including assembly line production instead of individual hand crafting.

Hupmobile was an automobile built from 1909 through 1939 by the Hupp Motor Car Company. The prototype was developed in 1908 and had its first successful run on November 8 with investors aboard for champagne at the Tuller Hotel a few blocks away. The company was incorporated in November of that year. The first Hupmobile model, the Hupp 20, was introduced at the 1909 Detroit automobile show. It was an instant success.

Studebaker was an American automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the firm was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the military.

A hubcap, wheel cover or wheel trim is a decorative disk on an automobile wheel that covers at least a central portion of the wheel, called the hub. An automobile hubcap is used to cover the wheel hub and the wheel fasteners to reduce the accumulation of dirt and moisture. It also has the function of decorating the car.

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 things as lights and radiators. It is generally considered to encompass 1896 through 1915, a time when these vehicles were often referred to as horseless carriages.

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Lines Bros Ltd was a British toy manufacturer of the 20th century, operating under the Tri-ang Toys brand name.

The Owen Magnetic was a pioneering American brand of hybrid electric luxury automobiles manufactured between 1915 and 1922. Car models of the brand were notable for their use of an electromagnetic transmission and were early examples of an electric series hybrid drivetrain. The manufacture of the car was sponsored by R.M. Owen & Company of New York, New York. The car was built in New York City in 1915, in Cleveland, Ohio, between 1916 and 1919 and finally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1920 and 1921.

The Ner-A-Car was a type of feet forwards motorcycle designed by Carl Neracher in 1918. It used an unusual steel-channel chassis, much like an automobile, and hub-center steering at the front wheel, making it 'nearly a car' in design. The Ner-A-Car was the most successful hub-center steering motorcycle ever produced, with sales far eclipsing earlier or later examples of this design, such as the Yamaha GTS1000 or Bimota Tesi. About 10,000 Neracars were manufactured in the United States by the Ner-A-Car Corporation, while around 6,500 are believed to have been produced in England under licence by the Sheffield-Simplex company between 1921 and 1926 under the Ner-A-Car name.

The Austin 8 is a small car which was produced by Austin between 1939 and 1948.

The Electric Vehicle was an American automobile manufactured only in 1899. An electric cab, it was widely used in New York City; the company pioneered the use of pressed steel for wheels, and its cars featured front-wheel drive and brakes and rear wheel steering.

The Lambert automobile and Lambert truck were built by the Lambert Automobile Company as an American vehicle from 1905 through 1916. The Lambert automobile motor in the early part of manufacturing moved around on the chassis. It was on the back of the chassis, then in the center, then to the front, and back again to the rear of the automobile. The early motors were built at the Lambert factories of the Buckeye Manufacturing Company and later they were outsourced to other proprietary manufactures.

Budd was a company founded by Edward Gowen Budd in Philadelphia, USA. Budd studied at the University of Pennsylvania and his first work was at a company making automobile wheels from pressed steel rather than by casting. Steel-shaping technology progressed rapidly at the time and soon the company also made parts like doors and front walls in pressed steel. In 1912, Budd started his own company after he found out how to make complex shaped parts in pressed steel. The company's chief engineer was Joseph Ledwinka, a relative of Hans Ledwinka. The company managed to land several large orders like an all-steel body for Buick and 2000 Oakland superstructures. Later Budd also made bodies for Cadillac, Chrysler, Delage, Citroën, Mercedes, Morris and Nash as well as the doors of the Ford Model T. In 1916 Budd also started the Budd Wheel Company making wheels for Dodge. In 1935 they made ventilated disc brakes, first for racing, but later also for passenger cars.

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Pressed Steel may refer to:

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References

↑ National Indy 500 Collector Club
↑ The Kulas Foundation - History of Mr. and Mrs. Kulas Archived April 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine .

John Bentley, "Disteel", in The Old Car Book, Number 168, Fawcett Books, 1952, p. 112

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[1] National Indy 500 Collector Club

[2] The Kulas Foundation - History of Mr. and Mrs. Kulas Archived April 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine .