|
Announcement of the company
name - Falcon Motors Corporation - and the name of the car -
Falcon Knight was made on December 11, and a week later it was
announced that the car would be built in the former Garford Truck
plant in Elyria, Ohio. This plant was owned by W-O and Willys
Knight engines had been made there until that work was transferred
to Wilson Foundry and Machine in Pontiac, Michigan. Falcon Knight
corporate headquarters were maintained in Detroit. By mid-January
1927, the first Falcon Knight, the Model 10, began appearing at
auto shows, two months after the first announcements. This has to
be some sort of record for getting a new car on the road, and
perhaps one of the main reasons for this is that the Falcon Knight
was a virtual copy, body-wise, of the Whippet 6 Model 93A which
W-O had ready in the fall of 1926. Almost all sheet metal parts
and many chassis parts are interchangeable between the 1927 Falcon
Knight and Whippet 93A. Most part numbers in the Falcon Knight
parts book begin with 7. Change this 7 to a 3 and you have the
regular W-O part numbers. There are a few numbers beginning with 8
which corresponds to 4 in W-O part numbers.
The official introduction of
the Falcon Knight was on March 15, 1927, with a 4-door Sedan and a
2-door Brougham being introduced. Price of the Sedan was $1095 and
the Brougham $995. Landau Sedan, 2-passenger Coupe, and
4-passenger Roadster bodies were introduced shortly thereafter.
Some speculation exists as to whether a Touring may have been
offered for the US domestic market or not. Although drawings and
specifications exist, there is no mention of a Touring body in the
parts book, nor in any 1927 or 1928 sales literature. Overseas
markets such as Australia are of course a different matter, but
even then its likely such cars received the same Touring body as
Whippet 93A.
The Falcon Knight engine, at
2 15/16 x 3 7/8 bore and stroke, is smaller than the Willys Knight
70A engine, but looks very similar and many parts interchange. The
engine develops 46 bhp at 2800 rpm with an RAC Horsepower rating
of 20.7. Except for the engine, and 3-shoe internal brakes all
around, the Falcon Knight chassis matches the Whippet 93A.
In August 1927, Falcon Knight
introduced its new Sports Roadster - the "Gray Ghost", in two-tone
gray paint, wire wheels, and a detachable rumble seat soft top.
The Gray Ghost was originally priced at $1250, $100 less than the
Willys Knight 70A Roadster.
In January 1928, the new
Falcon Knight Model 12 was announced. Some exterior appearance
changes took place, most notable in the sun visor and hood panels.
The integral roof/sun visor of 1927 was replaced by an adjustable
cadet-type visor on the closed cars. The hood louvres were changed
from verticals to three groups of horizontals as used on the
Willys Knight 66A. Fenders were changed from the panel crown type
to full, plain crown type in keeping with the Willys Knight and
Whippet changes. Bodies were redesigned and enlarged very
slightly, and the instrument panel was redesigned. A rare sales
folder depicts Sedan, Coach, Coupe and Roadster so it seems as if
the “Brougham” terminology was changed to “Coach”. It would appear
that the Landau and Grey Ghost bodies were dropped. Engine changes
involved adopting Nelson invar-strut rods and 4-ring pistons. The
rear axle was changed from the split type to banjo type. Very few
chassis changes were made, none of consequence.
Perhaps John North Willys and
others involved with the Falcon Knight had a feeling that the car
would not make it in the marketplace, for at the time of
announcement of the 1928 Model 12 Falcon Knight, W-O announced its
new Willys Knight Model 56, an almost identical car in the same
price range. No doubt, this fact had an immediate impact on
Falcon-Knight sales, but production continued throughout 1928, in
fact, some "leftover" assembly work continued into early 1929. In
March 1929, the Elyria work force switched to making truck
components for W-O, and Falcon Motors was absorbed by W-O.
Back |
