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Re: What companies did James Yeikichi Sakuyama work for from his arrival in the US in 1908 until his death in 1948? These include Premier Motor Corp., Allison Experimental, Coats Steamers, Chevrolet Bros., Tucker Aviation.
Thomas RichardsonMar 28, 2016 9:57 AM (in response to karlapetersen)
2 people found this helpfulMr. Petersen,
Thank you for submitting your question on History Hub! You have a very interesting topic and we'll be happy to help you with your research!
Concerning your question, are you looking for anything specific about James Yeikichi Sakuyama and his achievements? This will help us narrow down searching for records and sources related to your topic.
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Re: What companies did James Yeikichi Sakuyama work for from his arrival in the US in 1908 until his death in 1948? These include Premier Motor Corp., Allison Experimental, Coats Steamers, Chevrolet Bros., Tucker Aviation.
karlapetersen Mar 31, 2016 8:13 AM (in response to Thomas Richardson)JYS arrived in the US in 1908. I have no leads on his work before 1914. His interest was clearly in automotive design and Indianapolis was the center of racing development. Who did he work for there until his joining Premier which is shown on his draft registration? What did he do at Premier? Are there archive drawings?
1914 Indianapolis City Directory
Sakuyama, Y K draftsman, r 1132 N Illinois
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
Name: James Y Sakuyama
City: Indianapolis
County: Marion
State: Indiana
Birth Date: 24 Nov 1885
Premier Motor Corp, Indianapolis
Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, Marion County, 25 October 1918
Third District Appeal Board
Names of selective service registrants whose appeal cases have beendecided by the Third district appeal board, in session at the statehouse. weremade public today. In the following list the number after the name representsthe class, and the letter the division to which each was assigned:
. . . James Sakuyama. 2—D; . . .
SAE Journal December 1918. Applicant for Membership, Sakuyama, Yeikich,Designer, Premier Motor Corp., Indianapolis, Indiana.
SAE Journal February 1919. Sakuyama, James Yeikichi (M) enginedesigner, Allison Experimental Co., Speedway, Indianapolis, Ind.
JYS was an early member of the SAE. His middle name shows up with two spellings.
1920 US Census, Indianapolis, Indiana. 129 East Ohio Street
James Sakuyama Head R M Jp 34 single arr 1908 alien Designer Gas EngineWorks
Was he still working at Allison in 1920? What kind of work did Allison do other than the gearboxes, and did JYS do gearboxes? Are there archive drawings?
1921 Left Allison Experimental Co., Speedway, Indianapolis for CoatsSteamer, Indianapolis.
George A. Coats was a promoter who had possibly made a prototype to the design of a "Norwegian engineer" but then, when getting a corporation together, needed something more substantial. Did JYS have prior experience in steam? The new design used a high speed single acting steam engine and gearbox, more like automotive practice than anything in steam at that time. The design quickly changed from a V-3 to a inline-3, laid on its side to reduce powerplant bulk. These drawings were all in the same style and very fine technical illustrations. This is presumed to be the work of JYS.
Within a few months, Coats hired a successful steam vehicle engineer from International Harvester and it is not known if JYS stayed on, but the next drawings were either drafted by JYS or over top of his inline-3 chassis drawings. The Coats company soon folded.
Nothing more is known of JYS until he showed up at the Chevrolet Bros development company, still in Indianapolis, in 1927
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Re: What companies did James Yeikichi Sakuyama work for from his arrival in the US in 1908 until his death in 1948? These include Premier Motor Corp., Allison Experimental, Coats Steamers, Chevrolet Bros., Tucker Aviation.
Thomas RichardsonApr 6, 2016 8:59 AM (in response to karlapetersen)
1 person found this helpfulThank you for providing such a detailed response! After looking through the company names, dates, and locations of James Yeikichi Sakuyama's work, here are some suggestions for additional research. Companies like Coats Steamers, Allison Experimental, and Premier Motor Corp. only lasted a few years or were acquired by larger parent companies, which can be obstacles for research.
The Indiana Historical Society and State Archives has some sources on the growth of the automobile industry. They can be contacted by email here: IARA: Contact Us / Welcome — Indiana Historical Society
The Premier Motor Corp. was defunct in 1926 and was sold to the National Cab & Truck Company of Indianapolis. Allison Experimental went on to become Allison Engine Company and they were acquired by Rolls-Royce in 1995.
Your references to the SAE Journals were helpful as well. The SAE Vol 9 from 1921 lists JYS as 'formerly a designer for Allison Experimental Co.' It's possible he was still working for Allison in 1920.
The Accessory and Garage Journal also referenced JYS as an engineer and designer for Allison Experimental Co. and Coats Steamers in their 1921 Issue.
If you need any more assistance, let us know and thank you for using the History Hub!
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Re: What companies did James Yeikichi Sakuyama work for from his arrival in the US in 1908 until his death in 1948? These include Premier Motor Corp., Allison Experimental, Coats Steamers, Chevrolet Bros., Tucker Aviation.
karlapetersen Apr 6, 2016 10:54 AM (in response to Thomas Richardson)Thanks for the review. Yes, you found the references I gave. For JYS, I did not look into the future history of the companies, but am interested in what JYS did. Later, his involvement with Preston Tucker is rather well documented through the point where JYS dies, Tucker has him cremated and the ashes are picked up by the Sakuyama family.
I found a biographical reference stating that he came to the US to study engineering in Iowa and Wisconsin and have written the universities to inquire of their records.
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