SEVERIN

Severin Motor Car Co. (1920-1921)

Kansas City, Missouri

This is a Severin radiator emblem (1920-1921)     mjs
Size: 96mm wide 40mm high      MM: None

The Severin was an assembled 65 hp six-cylinder five-passenger touring car. About one car a week was built after production began in July 1920. The rate of production was increased in early 1921 but there were problems and the Severin operation was closed later in 1921.

The Mohawk Motor Company succeeded the Severin Motor Car Company but was bankrupt within a month. Metropolitan Motors Corporation then took over and built a few Severin cars from parts on hand in 1922. Total Severin production was 307 cars.

Emblem

The following Severin advertisement shows a Sevrin motor car and a representation of the Severin radiator emblem:

This is a Severin ad showing radiator emblem (1920)    ma

This is the red, white, black and pale blue enamel Severin radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post. This Severin radiator emblem is very rare.  

Emblem collectors should beware as there are reproduction Severin radiator emblems with a white enamel border rather than pale blue, see example shown below. The original Severin radiator emblem was made using dies leaving a reverse impression on the back of the emblem, whereas the reproduction Severin emblem has a flat shiny back. 

This is a reproduction Severin radiator emblem      ms
Size: 96mm wide 40mm high      MM: None

TEXAN

Texas Motor Car Association (1918-1921)

Fort Worth, Texas

This is a Texan radiator emblem (1920-1922)     mjs
Size: 70mm high 65mm wide     MM: None

The Texas Motor Car Association was formed in December 1917 to build motor cars, trucks and tractors. It was a cooperative venture with stockholders limited to a maximum holding of $500.

The first Texan motor car advertised in 1918 was a modified Elcar. Production of the real Texan motor car was delayed by the First World War. The Texan appeared in 1920 and was a 35 hp four-cylinder assembled car, offered as a five-passenger touring or as a two-passenger roadster. Unfortunately, the Association was soon in serious financial difficulties and was in receivership by October 1920. An attempt was made by stockholders to reorganize the Association in 1921 but this failed. The Moco Monkey Grip Rubber Company bought the Fort Worth plant in April 1922 and offered the remaining Texan cars for sale at a large discount.

The total production of the Texan motor car was less than 200 units.

The Texan motor truck began production in small numbers in 1918. The first Texan trucks were the Model A-36 Light Delivery and Oil Field Special trucks. There was also a Texan Model TK 1-ton capacity truck. How many Texan trucks were built is unknown.

Emblem

The Texan logo was a star over a wheel, see below. This logo was used for the Texan motor car radiator emblem.

Texan logo

The following photo shows a surviving 1920 Texan displaying a radiator emblem:

Texan motor car (1920)       hometownbyhandlebar

This emblem is the blue and white enamel Texan radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post. This Texan radiator emblem is very rare.

The Texas Motor Car Association also built some motor trucks and tractors. I can find no photos of Texan trucks. However, the following Texas Motor Car Association advertisement from 1918 includes an illustration of a Texan truck: 

Texan Motor Car & Truck ad showing Texan truck (1918)   ebay

The illustration is small and does not show the front of the radiator but the truck does appear to carry the Texan logo on the side panel under the driver's seat, possibly in the form of a decal.

The following illustration of a 1-ton capacity Model TK Texan truck shows a star on the truck body side panel and a radiator emblem. The radiator emblem is not the same as the Texan motor car radiator emblem. It appears larger and more rectangular. If this is an accurate representation of the Texan truck radiator emblem, it may be a cast plate displaying the "Texan" name but I cannot confirm this. If you have better information regarding the nameplates used on Texan trucks, please let me know, in order to update this post.

Texan Model TK truck showing rad emblem & body side nameplate (1919)   mroz

CURTIS

Curtis Motor Car Co. (1920-1921)

Little Rock, Arkansas

This is a Curtis radiator emblem (1920-1921)     mjs
Size: 45mm high 45mm wide    MM: Unknown

The Curtis Motor Car Company was established in 1919 and began to assemble the Curtis motor car in temporary premises in Little Rock, Arkansas in early 1920, while still selling stock to enable the building of a permanent factory. 

The Curtis was an assembled car offered in two models using four-cylinder Herschell-Spillman or six-cylinder Continental engines but no further details are available.

It is estimated that only 46 or 53 units were built, possibly by another company, before the Curtis Motor Car Company went into receivership in April 1921.

Emblem

The following photo of a Curtis motor car appeared in a newspaper article in early 1920 and shows a diamond shaped radiator emblem:

Curtis motor car showing radiator emblem (1920) arkansas democrat

This is the red, white and blue enamel Curtis radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post. This Curtis radiator emblem is extremely rare.

LINN

Linn Manufacturing Corp. (1916-1949)

Linn Manufacturing Corp., Div. Republic Truck Corp. ( 1927-1929)

Linn Manufacturing Corp., Div. LaFrance-Republic Corp. (1929-1932)

Linn Manufacturing Corp., Div. American-LaFrance Corp. (1932-1949)

Morris, New York

Buffalo, New York (1939-1949)

This is a Linn radiator emblem (c1928)      AaronK

The Linn Manufacturing Corporation specialized in building half-tracks for load carrying or as towing tractors, particularly for snowplowing, logging, mining and construction work.

The company was founded by Holman Harry Linn, who had worked for the Lombard company, which used rigid track systems for its logging tractors, whereas Linn favored a flexible track system, which he patented. Linn's "flexible traction" units had the advantage of being able to move over rough rock covered, muddy or hilly terrain previously inaccessible to motor vehicles. Linn departed in 1929 after the sale of his company to the Republic Truck Corporation and went on to set up the Linn Trailer Corporation in Oneonta (see Oneonta Linn).

Apart from the tracks, the Linn was a conventional truck powered by four-cylinder Continental engines initially, followed by four- and six-cylinder Waukesha engine, and six-cylinder Cummins and Hercules diesel engines. The first Linn units had open cabs, which were replaced by closed wooden cabs in the 1920's. A fully enclosed steel cab was adopted just before the Second World War.

The Linn C-Series was introduced in the 1930's. A new model consisting of a single machine able to switch from truck to tractor with the push of a lever appeared in 1939. This was the C5, which was built in a cab-over configuration with front wheel drive and was known as the "CATRUK". 

After the war, demand for Linn machines fell sharply and in late 1949 the Linn plant was closed down. The Linn plant and remaining parts were sold to some local businessmen, who built two final Linn units from parts on hand and then managed a Linn parts and service facility before closing in 1959.

Emblems

The Linn half-track was a rugged machine from the start, see original photo shown below:

Linn half-track in action showing radiator emblem (1920s)  ebay

The Linn had a heavy cast iron radiator through the 1920's and most of the 1930's with the "Linn" name cast into the radiator tank top, see example shown above at the top of this post. The "Linn" name was also cast into the sides of the radiator and for some models the "Linn" name was also cast into the radiator cap, see example shown below:

Linn half-track showing "Linn" name cast into the radiator & body side nameplate (1930's)    aumann

Linn emblem on radiator & radiator cap (1930's)   aumann

The "Linn" name was also displayed on oval shaped body side nameplates at the sides of the driver's cab, see photo below:

Linn body side nameplate (1930's)

This Linn nameplate is the same as the Linn logo used from 1917, see below:

Linn logo used on some body side nameplates    coachbuilt

The Linn body side nameplate is seen with different designs, see examples shown below:  

Linn half track with body side nameplate (1928)   coachbuilt

Linn half track with body side nameplate (poss 1940's)  justoldtrucks

The Linn C-5 introduced in 1939 had a small oval "Catruk" radiator emblem, see original photo shown below:

Linn C-5 half track showing Catruk radiator emblem (1939)     coachbuilt

The cast metal Linn Catruk radiator emblem shown below may be a reproduction, so emblem collectors should beware. Original copies of this Linn Catruk radiator emblem, which were originally painted, are very rare.

This is a Linn Catruk radiator emblem (1939)     lktec
Size: 103mm wide 72mm high    MM: None

The following original photo shows a post war Linn Model C-6 half track with a different radiator and emblem. It appears that the Linn emblem here is a separate painted metal radiator emblem. If so, this Linn radiator emblem would be very rare. It is seen that the radiator shell no longer shows the "Linn" name on the sides.

Linn C-6 half track showing radiator emblem (1946)  coachbuilt

 

FARGO

Fargo Motor Corp. (1928-1932)
Detroit, Michigan
Dodge Div. Chrysler Corp.
Detroit, Michigan(1932-1938)

Windsor, Ontario (1936-1972)
Warren, Michigan (1938-1976)

This is a Fargo radiator emblem (1928-c1932)    mjs
Size: 86mm wide 54mm high   MM: None

For the 1928 model year, Chrysler Corporation set up the Fargo Motor Corporation to build and sell commercial vehicles and trucks. The first Fargo vehicles were a light delivery van called the Packet and a larger van called the Clipper. Both used a mixture of Plymouth, DeSoto and Chrysler parts. In 1930 a one-ton Freighter truck was also introduced. Eventually, Fargo produced a wide range of vehicles, including buses and dump trucks.

But, Chrysler found themselves with three truck lines: Fargo, Dodge Brothers and Graham Brothers. Chrysler dropped the Graham Brothers name and, with the Great Depression, the low-selling Fargo line could not be justified, so production of the Fargo in the USA ceased by 1932.

However, Chrysler continued to use the Fargo name for exported Dodge trucks. The Fargo "over the globe" logo was ideal for this. Trucks were exported to other countries from the US and Canada. But, all Fargo trucks sold in Canada were built in Canada. The Canadian Fargo began in about 1936 but was discontinued in 1972. Fargo trucks were also built in some other countries, most notably in Turkey.

The Fargo trademark ceased to be used in the US when Dodge ended its heavy truck business in 1976, and elsewhere in 1978 when Chrysler Europe was sold off. In Turkey the Fargo name continued independently into the 1980's. 

Emblems

The first Fargo trucks carried a red, white and blue enamel Fargo Express radiator emblem depicting the Fargo "over the globe" logo, see example shown above at the top of this post. This Fargo radiator emblem is rare.

The following red, white and blue enamel Fargo radiator emblem was used on Fargo buses and some truck models in the early 1930's. This Fargo radiator emblem is scarce.

This is a Fargo bus radiator emblem (c1931)    mjs
Size: 109mm wide 42mm high   MM: None

See similar emblems shown in the following Fargo advertisements:

Fargo bus advertisement (1931)  allpar

Fargo truck ad showing emblem & hood side nameplate (date uncertain) ebay

The following is a Fargo hood side nameplate believed to be used in the 1930's:

This is a Fargo truck hood side nameplate (c1930's-1940's)  ms
Size: Unknown

The following red, white and blue enamel Fargo radiator emblem was used for export versions of Dodge trucks from about 1932. This Fargo radiator emblem is scarce.

This is a Fargo radiator emblem (1932-c1936)    ms
Size: 89mm wide 48mm high     MM: Unknown

The following red, white and blue enamel Fargo radiator emblem was used on Fargo trucks built in Canada from about 1936. This Fargo radiator emblem is scarce.

Fargo Canada radiator emblem (c1936)  mjs
Size: 89mm wide 48mm high   MM: Unknown

For later Fargo vehicles, the enamel radiator emblems were replaced by painted pressed metal emblems, see examples shown below. These Fargo radiator emblems are scarce.

Fargo FD-1 Pickup truck showing radiator grille emblem (1936) flickr

This is a Fargo radiator grille emblem (c1936)    mjs
Size: 77mm wide 57mm high    MM: Unknown

Fargo truck showing radiator hood emblem (1938)  AaronK

This is a Fargo radiator emblem (c1938)   ms
Size: 160mm wide 83mm high    MM: Unknown

Fargo truck showing radiator grille emblem (1936)   forums aaca 

Fargo radiator grille emblem (1936)   ray swanson

This is a Fargo radiator grille emblem (1936)  lktec
Size: 87mm wide 74mm high    MM: Unknown 

Fargo trucks had new radiator designs with different radiator grille emblems from about 1939 to 1946, see examples shown below:

Fargo truck showing radiator grille emblem, hood side nameplate and hood ornament (1939)  flickr

This is the radiator grille emblem shown above. This grille emblem is scarce.

This is a Fargo truck radiator grille emblem (c1939-1942)  ebay
Size: 380mm wide 102mm high

This is a Fargo radiator (c1940)   brc

The following is an example of the red and blue painted Fargo radiator emblem shown above. This Fargo radiator emblem is scarce.

This is a Fargo radiator emblem (c1940-1946)   mjs
Size: 126mm high 82mm wide    MM: Unknown

The following shows the Fargo globe hood ornament:

Fargo globe hood ornament  

The "Fargo" name was also displayed on red and blue painted Fargo hood side nameplates, see example shown below. This Fargo hood side nameplate is scarce.

This is a Fargo hood side nameplate (c1940-1946)   lktec
Size: 237mm wide 30mm high (globe 6omm diameter)  MM: Unknown

The following is a different Fargo hood side nameplate:

This is a Fargo hood side nameplate (dates unknown)  ms
Size: 138mm wide 50mm high   MM: Unknown

There was another change in Fargo radiator emblem after 1946, see examples shown below:

Fargo ad showing a new radiator emblem (later 1940's)   pinterest

Fargo FK2-33 truck showing radiator emblem (1946)  wiki 

Fargo radiator grille emblem (c1946)  cfgphoto

There was a further change in design of the Fargo truck radiator and emblem by 1948, see examples shown below:

Fargo ad showing radiator emblem (1948)  ms

Fargo truck F-1-B-108 ad with radiator emblem & hood side nameplate (1948-1953) oldcarbrochures

The Fargo pickup introduced in 1951 had a different radiator grille and emblems, see example shown below:

Fargo pickup truck showing radiator grille and hood emblem (1951-1953)   classiccars

The following photos of surviving Fargo trucks show examples of the radiator and emblem designs used in the later 1950's:

Fargo pickup truck showing hood emblem & script (1956)  wiki

This is the Fargo pickup hood emblem:

This is a Fargo hood emblem (c1956)  ms
Size: Unknown

Fargo D-700 truck (1957)    gan

If you can confirm the dates of use of any of the Fargo emblems shown above, please let me know, in order to update this post.