Packard Forum Index » General

Packard wasn't the only automobile built in Warren Ohio.

1. Colonial Six
2. Halladay
3. Hitchcock
4. Pendleton
5. Sterling Knight
6. Supreme
7. Valley
8. Western Reserve

John F. Shireman

is #5 (sterling knight) related to stearns knight or the later willys knight with those awsome sleeve valve engines?

Don't know about the Sterling Knight but Knight granted licenses to quite a few manufacturers, though the only really prestige manufacturers (makers of Full Classics) I recall at the moment were the Belgian Minerva which produced both in-line 6 & 8 cylinder models, and a limited number of Willy-Knight models. One of the Knight licensees, may have been Minerva, provided dealers with a wonderful little model of a cutaway Knight-valved cylinder, perhaps 8 inches high and mounted on hardwood, sectioned thru the center of the piston, with all the little cams and levers for the sleeves, and even a little red light bulb for the spark plug. It was powered by a small hand crank. There is one on display at Automotive Restorations in New Jersey.

Sorry for digressing.

i got to see and hear a stearns knight limosuine up close at a show last summer. it was a mid 20s early 30s model (no idea exactly) and it was nearly as smooth as my well tuned v8. it was earily quiet.

Sterling Knight automobile was found by James Pete Sterling in 1920. His autos were luxury cars built in Cleveland using the Knight sleeve valve engine. The Sterling was built in Cleveland from 1920 till 1922. A total of 50 cars were produced while the firm was in Cleveland.

The firm moved to Warren in 1923 and purchased the old Supreme Motor Company factory. The Sterling Knight was built in Warren from 1923 through 1926. The company declared bankruptcy in 1926. While in Warren around 375 Sterling Knight's were built

John F. Shireman

Owen: In 1914 at the TT race held on the Isle of Man a sleeve valve eight cylinder Minerva was raced. The was car was driven by Leon Malone and equipped with a 3.3 litre sleeve valve engine developing 70 horsepower at 2800 rpm.

The Minerva finished third in that race and had the number 12 on it.

John F. Shireman

Owen: Both Minerva and Daimler of England starting using the sleeve valve engine in 1909. They were among the very first auto makers to use the Knight engine.

John F. Shireman

Avions Voisin started using the Knight engine in 1919, and eventually designed a straight-12 engine. Sound familiar?