Department > Old Iron
FWD Model B
story and photos by Jim Allen
This is one of FWD’s first trucks, the one-and-a-half-ton prototype used on the U.S. Army’s late-1912 maneuvers. After these tests, the truck was sold and used for many years by the John Payne Company. FWD reacquired these trucks in about 1960. Photo Courtesy FWD Seagrave
The FWD Corporation is one of the founding fathers of the truck industry and could easily be called one of the primary building blocks of four-wheel drive in America. FWD began in 1908 when founders Otto Zachow and William Besserdich built a prototype 4x4 touring car and Zachow patented a front-axle design. They formed the Badger Four Wheel Drive Auto Company in 1909 for building four-wheel-drive touring cars. By 1910, they’d changed the name to the Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, later abbreviated to FWD. They remain in business to this day, though now the focus is on the Seagrave fire truck built at the same Clintonville, Wisconsin, factory where it all began.
Every successful automobile or truck company has a foundation vehicle, a pivotal design that establishes the company or makes it a leader of an era. For FWD, the Model B was such a vehicle. Production started in1912 and went well into the 1930s. This WWI vehicle became a mainstay in military service.
FWD sought to rock the world with a line of four-wheel-drive touring cars. Given the lack of paved roads in the early 1900s, the need certainly existed but cost was a problem. Car buyers were unwilling to pay the price, and commercial buyers were more in need and more willing to pay, so, in 1911, FWB began developing a line of 4x4 trucks.
The impetus came from the U.S. Army, which, at the time, only had a handful of motor vehicles in its inventory. One of the original FWD touring cars had been delivered to the army in early 1912, converted into a light pickup, loaded to the gills, and driven on a grueling 1,500-mile expedition to test motor vehicles in the field. It was a remarkable feat to simply complete the run, but the “Scout Car,” as it was known, proved the value of four-wheel drive by dragging the other trucks (all 4x2s) out of many mudholes.
One of the earliest military Model Bs photographed in late 1915. Note the wooden wheels and early-style radiator with lots of brass. The body is an early version of a dual-purpose setup designed to haul cargo or personnel. The first bodies were reminiscent of wagon bodies.
National Archives
Early Model Bs had many improvements available for their old age, including electric start, more powerful engine, pneumatic tires, high-speed gearing, heated cabs, electric lights, and stronger axles. This is a WWI-era truck in about 1930 with many of these improvements.
FWD went into overdrive and completed two prototype trucks: a one-and-a-half ton (later known as the Model G) and a three-ton, best known as the Model B. The two trucks emerged just in time to participate in another Army test, this time competing against 10 other trucks in actual Army maneuvers. The trucks were evaluated against horse-drawn wagons in a 150-mile field march with an actual infantry regiment. The old Scout car and a Kato 4x4 also were involved in the tests. The run proved the value of motor transport by leaving the poor Army mules huffing and puffing miles behind. The value of four-wheel drive again was highlighted when FWDs outperformed 4x2 trucks, as well as the Kato, on rough ground.
The Model B emerged as the truck to beat, but despite success in Army tests and many FWD proponents in Army green, not many were bought at first. Much of this was due to FWD’s unwillingness to alter the truck’s design to meet military requirements. Another 4x4 truck emerged to fill that gap, the Jeffery Quad, but that’s another story.
In 1916, the U.S. Army spent a year chasing Pancho Villa around northern Mexico, which became another military experiment. Some 250 FWD trucks were used alongside many others. As the Army’s first almost completely motorized campaign, the experiment was largely a success. In terms of objectives...well, Pancho Villa was never caught.
When WWI exploded in 1914, Model B sales increased. Many of those sales were to governments overseas until the U.S. entered the war in 1917. By war’s end nearly 16,000 Model Bs had been built for the effort, about half built by FWD, and the rest under license by Premier, Kissel, and Mitchell. This cemented the Model B and FWD into history.
The legendary Wisconsin Model A engine. Noted as a performance engine in its day, many FWD truck engines became fodder for early hot-rodders. The FWD version used either a Stromberg one-and-a-quarter-inch updraft or a one-and-a-half-inch updraft carb. The Stutz Bearcat carb was probably larger. Air filter shown here is not original.
The WWI-style Model B featured cast-iron wheels (450 pounds each), cast-iron radiator tanks, and many other subtle improvements over those of the earlier trucks. This one has an ammunition body made of plate steel to protect the ammo from hostile fire. This truck is painted in its original WWI camo scheme and is reputed to be an actual WWI veteran. It’s been in the FWD museum since WWI.
The Model B was rated at three tons and was powered by the legendary 389-cubic-inch four-cylinder Wisconsin “T-Head” engine, made famous in early racing circles by the legendary Stutz Bearcat. The engine had dual cams, a cross-flow intake system, and a 4.75x5.5-inch bore and stroke. The Stutz engine made 60 horsepower. The version used by FWD made about 50 horses because of a smaller carburetor, lower-rated rpm, and other minor changes. The four-wheel-drive system was full-time, with a center lock. Into the 1920s, the tires were solid rubber but gradually were replaced by pneumatic. The Model B was so popular that FWD made kits to add modern developments to the older trucks. This was a big part of its business after WWI when lots of surplus military FWDs were dumped on the market.
The model B trucks earned a reputation for being capable, long lasting, and bulletproof. The truck made the company name, and it was sold in numbers large enough to make it the most popular four-wheel-drive truck on the market for many years in the first part of the century. Model Bs were used well into the 1950s, and parts were available at FWD into the 1960s. Today, perhaps 250 Model Bs remain worldwide. While collector interest is small compared with other truck names, the Model B remains a pivotal unit that helped to make the nation and win a war.
Specifications:
| FWD Model B | |
|---|---|
| Engine: | 389.6ci Wisconsin |
| Power: | 50 hp @ 1300 rpm |
| Torque: | 222 lbs-ft @ 1300 rpm |
| Comp. Ratio: | 4:1 |
| Transmission: | 3-speed, 4:1 1st gear |
| Transfer Case: | Single-speed, full-time, 2.06:1 ratio |
| Front Axle: | Full-float, FWD |
| Rear Axle: | Full-float, FWD |
| Axle Ratios: | 4.30:1 |
| Tires: | 36 x 6 solid rubber, cast-iron rim |
| Wheelbase: | 124 in. |
| Fuel Capacity: | 30 gal. |
| Curb weight: | 7,308 lbs |
| Top speed: | 16 mph |