1910 Stoddard-Dayton Model 10F

Carl G. Fisher made his first fortune with the Prest-o-Lite acetylene gas tank which fueled the lights on many early automobiles. He helped develop paved racetracks and public roadways, and headed the syndicate that built the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Later endeavors included the development of resort real estate, focusing on a largely unpopulated barrier island near Miami. He was a prominent promoter of the Florida land boom of the 1920s, and by 1926, he was worth an estimated $50 to $100 million. The hurricane of September 1926 reversed his fortunes, as Miami Beach was reduced to rubble. Down, but not out, Mr. Fisher's next major project was Montauk, located on the eastern tip of Long Island, New York. His Florida losses and the Great Depression of 1929 became too great, and following a divorce, he found himself living in a small cottage in Miami Beach.

Fisher and his friend Barney Oldfield created the Fisher Automobile Company in Indianapolis, a company widely considered the first automobile dealership in the United States. Among the list of vehicles it sold include Packard, REO, Oldsmobile, Stutz, and Stoddard-Dayton (among others).

In 1911, Carl Fisher selected his personal Stoddard Dayton Model 11 Roadster to pace the 1911 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, the first held of the newly brick-paved surface of the 2 1/2 mile track.

The Stoddard family of Dayton, Ohio, had made their fortune in paint and varnish manufacturing and farm equipment. The father, John, tasked his son Charles with traveling to Europe to tour continental automobile manufacturers. When he returned, he informed his family that the combustion engine was the wave of the future, and the steam and electricity were outdated forms of propulsion. Contracts with the Rutenberg company of Chicago soon followed, guaranteeing the supply of engines to manufacture the Stoddard Daytona automobile.

The Stoddard Daytona Automobile
Based in Dayton, Ohio, and founded by the Stoddard family, the Stoddard-Dayton Company produced automobiles from 1905 through 1913. The vehicles they built were large, heavy, luxurious, and reliable, with the smallest car they ever made was an 18-horsepower four-cylinder model. On the other end of the spectrum was a 70-horsepower sleeve valve six.

By 1907, Stoddard Dayton abandoned the Rutenber-built fours and replaced them with a Charles Stoddard-designed T-head four rated at 35 horsepower. One of the new 35hp Stoddard Daytons finished the Glidden Tour with a perfect score. Along with pacing the inaugural race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909, a Stoddard Dayton also won the race.

An engineer from England named H.J. Edwards joined Stoddard Dayton in 1908. Tasked with designing Stoddard Dayton's next engine, he created a 4.75 x 5 inch 36 horsepower four. Although its configuration followed traditional design practices of the era, its valve layout was rather unique. Mechanically operated intake valves had only recently superseded 'automatic' intake valves opened on the intake stroke, and the simpler and more compact L-head valve positioning was just beginning to displace the T-heads. Edward's design was a cross-flow head with inclined overhead valves and hemispherical combustion chambers.

The engine powering the Stoddard Dayton Model 9 used a valve actuation system with a single camshaft in the crankcase. At the center of the head, a single pushrod and rocker arm pivoted to operate the intake and exhaust valves. Following convention, the pushrod pushed down on the valve to operate the exhaust, while the intake valve opened when a low place on the lobe allowed a spring on the pushrod to pull down on the positively-fastened pushrod and the other end of the rocker arm. Although efficient, large friction loads on the valve gear constantly worked against the pressure of the intake valve opening springs. This pressure and rubbing loads on the tappet and camshaft led to the valve gear quickly wearing out. This was soon resolved by separating the valve gear and placing a second camshaft on the other side of the engine. This arrangement, with another set of pushrods and rocker arms, produced conventional valve operation against springs that held the valves closed.

Just prior to the company's demise in 1913, they introduced a 70-horsepower Knight sleeve valve six-cylinder model built atop a generous 133-inch wheelbase.

1910 Stoddard-Dayton Models

While some automakers preferred a single model lineup, Stoddard-Dayton's catalog had a variety of wheelbase sizes, engine outputs, and body styles to select from, stretching a vast spectrum of prices. For 1910, they offered eight different models and four different wheelbase sizes. The 108-inch wheelbase platform fitted with the four-cylinder, 30-horsepower engine was used for the Model 10-B, the Model 10-H, and the Model 10-T. The Model 10-B was a five-passenger tourer priced at $1,600. The Model 10-H roadster was priced at $1,500, and the four-passenger coupe at $2,100. The Model-T was offered as a town car, limousine, and landaulet, all priced at $2,800.

The Model 10-C and Model 10-A were both 40-horsepower models residing on a 116-inch wheelbase. The Model 10-C baby tonneau listed at $2,100 and the roadster at $2,000. The Model 10-A was solely a five-passenger tourer priced at $2,100.

The range-topping 50 horsepower, 128-inch wheelbase was used by the Model 10-K and the Model 10-F. The Model 10-K could also be purchased with a 120-inch wheelbase with body styles that included a roadster ($2,650), a four-passenger baby Tonneau ($27,50), and a five-passenger baby Tonneau ($2,750). The Model 10-K on the larger, 128-inch wheelbase was available as a four-passenger Torpedo priced at $2,800. Seven-passenger body styles made up the Model 10-F, with the Landaulet and Limousine priced at $3,800, and the Touring at $2,800.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2023