JORDAN

Jordan Motor Car Co. (1917-1930)

Jordan Motors Corp. (1930-1931)

Cleveland, Ohio

This is a Jordan radiator emblem (1916-1928)      mjs
Size: 57mm diameter   MM: Unknown

Ned Jordan set up the Jordan Motor Car Company in 1916. The first Jordan appeared in late 1916 for the 1917 model year. The Jordan was an assembled six-cylinder motor car with the look of a custom car and used the highest quality standard components in the industry. Nearly 1800 Jordan cars were built in the first year and by 1918 annual production had risen to nearly 6000 cars. 

The racy looking wire wheels helped to promote the Jordan as the car for the adventurous and young at heart and Ned Jordan used his skills to emphasize this in his advertising. The celebrated Jordan Playboy model appeared in 1919  and in 1923 Ned Jordan produced his now famous "Somewhere West of Laramie" advertisement for the Playboy. In 1925 an eight-cylinder model was added to the line and all Jordan models were eight-cylinder from 1929.

Ned Jordan's greatest car was his last, the Model Z Speedway Ace, which had an 85 hp engine and sporty coachwork and was able to deliver 100 mph. But introducing this kind of car in in 1930 just after the stock market crash was a mistake. Jordan cars did not sell at this time. A reorganization of the company was made in December 1930 but it was all over by the following year.

Emblems

The well known round, red and white enamel radiator emblem shown above was used from the first Jordan roadster in  late 1916 and on all models through 1926. The same Jordan radiator emblem continued to be used on Model J1 until mid-1928 and on 1928 Playboy models.

The following are Jordan spare wire wheel hub emblems used from 1917 to 1919. There appears to be two sizes of this emblem, as shown below:

This is a Jordan spare wire wheel emblem (1917-1919)   mjs
Size: 69mm diameter     MM: None

This is a Jordan spare wire wheel emblem (1917-1919)   mjs
Size: 56mm diameter    MM: None

The Jordan radiator emblem was changed to a vertical oval emblem from 1927 on most Jordan models until 1929. There are three different versions of this vertical oval Jordan radiator emblem.

The following is a black and red enamel Jordan radiator emblem used on all six-cylinder models. This Jordan emblem is scarce.

This is a Jordan radiator emblem (1927-1929)      mjs
Size: 48mm high 36mm wide    MM: Unknown

The following is a white, black and red enamel Jordan radiator emblem used on all eight-cylinder models. This Jordan emblem is scarce.

This is a Jordan radiator emblem (1927-1929)     mjs
Size: 48mm high 36mm wide    MM: Unknown

The following is a black and white enamel Jordan radiator emblem and has been seen on an original photo of a 1927 Jordan. This Jordan radiator emblem is rare.

This is a Jordan radiator emblem (1927)      sam
Size: 48mm high 36mm wide    MM: Unknown

There was a change in Jordan emblems from 1929 to 1932. The Jordan emblem was changed to a smaller, shield-shaped emblem displayed either on the radiator or on the headlight bar, or on the headlights, see examples shown below:

This is a Jordan Model U (1930)    flp

Close up showing radiator emblem (1930)     flp

This is a Jordan Model 80 (1929-1932)      flp

Close up showing headlight bar emblem (1929-1932)     flp

This is a Jordan Sportsman (1930)     flp

Close up showing headlight emblems (1930)     flp

There are at least four versions of the small shield-shaped Jordan emblem, see examples below:

The following is a white and red enamel Jordan emblem. This Jordan emblem is scarce.

This is a Jordan emblem (c1929-1931)     mjs
Size: 35mm high 32mm wide    MM: Unknown

The following discolored white and red enamel Jordan emblem is similar to the previous emblem but the lettering and arrow head are a different size. This Jordan emblem is scarce.

This is a Jordan emblem (c1929-1931)     mjs
Size: 35mm high 32mm wide    MM: Unknown

The following is a white, black and red enamel Jordan emblem, an example of which is seen in the close up of the Jordan Model 80 headlight bar emblem shown above. This Jordan emblem is rare.

This is a Jordan emblem (c1929-1931)    mjs
Size: 35mm high 32mm wide    MM: Unknown

The following is the same emblem on the headlight bar of a restored 1931 Jordan Model G-90 but the emblem has been incorrectly over painted:

Restored Jordan headlight bar emblem (1931)   ms

The 1930-1931 Jordan Model Z Speedway Ace displayed a different set of small shield shaped emblems on the headlights, see example shown below. This Jordan headlight emblem is rare.

Jordan Model Z headlight emblem (1930)  conceptcarz