click to enlarge

1956 Eshelman Adult Sport Car

Cheston L. Eshelman was a producer of garden tractors, rotary tillers, and a crude, powered scooter. This agricultural equipment background provided the context for four small rudimentary vehicles produced by the company, called the Sport Car, Child's Sport Car, Adult Sport Car and later Model 200.

These vehicles were very heavy for their extremely small size. This was in part due to the extensive use of cast parts, which Eshelman thought were easier and cheaper to produce than hand formed sheet metal. Identical castings were used front and rear, with a cast toothed grille insert in front and plywood sheet filling the same aperture in the rear.

There was no suspension, no instrumentation, no charging system for the battery, and the brakes were paddles rubbing on the tires: two on the Child’s and four on the Adult model. The drive to one wheel was transferred from the front of the car to the rear via a central enclosed belt and centrifugal clutch. The two floor pedals on the Adult car were a brake pedal (incorporating a clever parking brake) marked "Stop", and a gas pedal marked "Go". Starting was by rope pull, and stopping the engine required reaching into the engine compartment through a hole and feeling for the kill button on the hot engine.

This car is fitted with the J C Whitney-sourced chrome-plated rockets, and a thin seat cushion, which qualifies it as the Deluxe model. All 1956 models were only advertised in red or yellow, with no mention of different interior colors.

Manufacturer: Eshelman Motor Co., Baltimore,MD U.S.A

Model: Adult Sport Car Motor: Briggs + Stratton, 4-stroke Body: Steel, Cast Alloy
Years Built: 1955 - 1956 No. Cylinders: 1 Chassis: Steel Plate
No. Produced: Displacement: 248 cc Suspension Front: None
No. Surviving: Horsepower: 8.25 Suspension Rear: None
Length: 64" Gearbox: Belt Steering: Cable
Width: 36" Starter: Rope Brakes: 4 wheel paddle
Weight: 385 lb Electrics: 12 v 4 Wheels: 4.50 x 6"
Interior: Bench Ignition: Magneto Top Speed: 20 mph

© 2002