FAGEOL

Fageol Motors Co.
Oakland, California (1917-1932)
Kent, Ohio (1925-1926)
Fageol Truck & Coach Co. (1932-1939)
Oakland, California

This is a Fageol radiator emblem (1938-1939)    mjs
Size: 190mm wide 215mm high   MM: Unknown

Fageol Motors was set up in 1916 to manufacture luxury passenger cars and orchard tractors but the Fageol factory was not ready until August 1917. Passenger car production was killed off by the shortage of materials caused by the First World War and the tractors did not sell well due to their high price, so it was decided to concentrate on trucks instead. Fageol trucks were 4-cylinder, conventional assembled vehicles in the 2-1/2-ton to 6-ton range. A distinctive styling feature, used on nearly all subsequent Fageol vehicles, was a row of finned ventilators along the hood top. In the early 1920's the range was changed to 1-1/2-ton to 5-ton capacity.

Fageol also developed a bus business. The Fageol Safety Coach introduced in 1921 was a great success. It featured a four-cylinder Hall-Scott engine and a fully enclosed 22-passenger body, which was joined by a six-cylinder bus shortly after. An assembly plant for the Safety Coach was set up in Kent, Ohio in 1925. However, the Kent plant was sold to the American Car & Foundry Company (see ACF), which had decided to enter the transit vehicle manufacturing business. The Fageol plant in Oakland remained independent for the production of Fageol trucks and buses.

In 1927, Fageol set up the Twin Coach Company back in Kent, Ohio (see Twin Coach). The Fageol truck range built in Oakland was expanded up to 10-ton capacity but financial problems led to receivership and reorganization as the Fageol Truck & Coach Company in 1932. Truck production continued but financial difficulties resulted in Fageol stopping production early in 1939 and the Fageol assets were sold to Sterling of Milwaukee (see Sterling). Sterling then sold the Fageol truck manufacturing assets to T A Peterman, who renamed the truck as Peterbilt (see Peterbilt).

Emblems

The Fageol passenger car, see illustration shown below, was one of the largest and most expensive production cars ever made in America. The rear number plate, running board and the radiator emblem were illuminated by courtesy lamps. The radiator emblem and the hood fasteners were made of carved ivory.

Fageol passenger car showing carved ivory radiator emblem
Great Cars Veteran and Vintage  Galley Press

It is believed that only two or three Fageol passenger cars were ever made. An original carved ivory Fageol radiator emblem would be ultra rare.

The first production Fageol trucks appeared in late 1917 or early 1918 and had a heavy cast iron radiator with the "Fageol" name cast into the radiator tank top and a Fageol side nameplate mounted on the box next to the driver's seat, see Fageol advertisement and photos of surviving trucks shown below:

Fageol truck ad showing the cast radiator emblem (1917)  ebay

This is a 3.5-4-ton Fageol truck showing cast rad emblem and side nameplate (1919)    brc

This is a cast in Fageol radiator emblem (1919)   flickr

Fageol Speed Truck showing body side nameplate (1920's) fageol

This is the painted metal Fageol hood side nameplate shown below. This Fageol nameplate is rare.

This is a Fageol body side nameplate (1920's)    mjs
Size: 280mm wide 100mm high   MM: None

The Fageol Safety Coach appearing in 1925 carried a small metal radiator emblem, see example shown below. This Fageol Safety Coach emblem is very rare.

This is a Fageol Safety Coach radiator emblem (1925-1926) mjs
Size: 65mm wide 65mm high   MM: Greenduck

Emblem collectors should beware, however, as there are several different reproduction Fageol radiator emblems with flat shiny backs and no maker's mark, see example shown below:

This is a reproduction Fageol radiator emblem    mjs

Later Fageol Safety Coach buses used the same radiators as the Fageol motor truck, see example shown below:

Fageol Safety Coach (c1927)      handstruckpictures

The following appears to be a Fageol Safety Coach hood side nameplate:

Fageol Safety Coach hood side nameplate (c1927)   aowam

The cast iron Fageol truck radiators from 1917 and shown earlier above continued in use until about 1926 or 1927, when there was a change to an aluminum radiator with the Fageol name impressed into the radiator tank top, see examples shown below:

Fageol Flyer Model 130 with aluminum radiator (1927)    gan

Fageol radiator emblem (1929)    tenfourmagazine

The following Fageol Model 250-300 brochure cover shows a different aluminum radiator with the same type of embossed Fageol emblem:

Fageol brochure showing radiator (1931) ebay

From about 1929 or 1930 some Fageol truck models had a heavier aluminum radiator and carried a painted cast metal radiator emblem, see surviving example shown below:

Fageol truck showing radiator emblem (1930)    pnwtm

This is the painted cast Fageol radiator emblem. This Fageol radiator emblem is rare.

This is a Fageol truck radiator emblem (c1929-dates)   mjs
Size: 350mm wide 81mm high   MM: Unknown

The following truck was built as an off road logging truck in 1938 and was one of the last Fageol models. This truck carried an unusual shaped aluminum radiator emblem.

Fageol logging truck (1938)    hatm

Fageol radiator emblem (1938)   hatm

This is the painted aluminum Fageol radiator emblem shown above at the top of this post and again below. This Fageol radiator emblem is very rare.

This is a Fageol radiator emblem (1938-1939)    mjs
Size: 190mm wide 215mm high   MM: Unknown