James A. Allison, a prominent entrepreneur, innovator and businessman, informally established a small machine shop in downtown Indianapolis between 1913 and 1915 to service and experiment with racing automobiles.
As a co-founder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and part owner of several racing teams, Allison had need for a facility and staff to improve and tweak the cars used by these teams to “fill out the ranks” in the early days of racing. After expressing frustration at having to drive the fine-tuned cars from the city to the track in the area that would become the Town of Speedway, Allison offered to take over one of the racing teams, the Indianapolis Speedway Team Co. (est. 1915), and open a precision machine shop and experimental firm under his name nearer to the track.
He established the Allison Experimental Company and had a dedicated shop built on Main Street in Speedway, where he moved operations on January 1, 1917. Allison incorporated his enterprise on February 23, 1917.
When the U.S. entered World War I, the company halted all work on race cars at James Allison’s instruction and the focus changed to helping the war effort. In support of Nordyke & Marmon Motor Company’s production of the Liberty Engine for airplanes, Allison Experimental Company built two master models from production drawings, assisted with tool design and fabrication and built engine parts.
When the U.S. entered World War I, the company halted all work on race cars at James Allison’s instruction and the focus changed to helping the war effort. In support of Nordyke & Marmon Motor Company’s production of the Liberty Engine for airplanes, Allison Experimental Company built two master models from production drawings, assisted with tool design and fabrication and built engine parts.
After the war, Allison’s racing team won the Indianapolis 500 in 1919, after which he sold his cars to pursue other interests.
The once “experimental” shop continued to undertake work in the aircraft industry, such as the reconditioning and production of Liberty Engines, as well as the marine industry, producing yacht engines.
As the business evolved, the name was changed to Allison Engineering Company in 1921. Following James A. Allison’s death and subsequent purchase by General Motors in 1929, the company further expanded during World War II as the developer and a primary manufacturer of V-1710 aircraft engines. Allison Division of General Motors became a leading manufacturer of both aircraft engines and, beginning in the mid-1940s, automatic transmissions.
Noteworthy legacies of Allison’s work include four business entities still in operation: Allison Transmission, Inc., the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the military aircraft engine production under Rolls Royce (since 1995), and Allison Payment Systems. Along with Carl G. Fisher, he is also credited with influencing the early development of the Town of Speedway.
Allison even had a pistol marksmanship competition team in 1968. Beats a bowling league
and the Allison War Album is very cool
the newspapers were Allison News, Inside Indy, and Power News
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