This is the most interesting antique auto I've seen in a long time!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0XbqHUAI-0
Incredible.
It just shows to go ya' that there were some very ingenious and enterprising folks around at the turn of the last century. They were trying virtually anything to motorize the carriage, using lots of very different ideas on how to do it. Lots of very different and very good ideas.
A 1905 ad for the three cylinder car, and a 1907 ad for the five cylinder car. To put things in perspective, You could buy a Thomas 40 hp "Flyer" for $2750, and a 40 hp Ford Model K for $2800 in 1907.
Certainly an interesting design and story. Thank you for posting.
Hard to understand but it shure would be neat to see at the OCF! I think there were airplanes somewhat the same? Bud.
I couldn't see from the video, but it appears to have a single spark at the firing position. This appears to be kind of the inverse of the Wankel rotary engine.
Yes, they were clever back then. There have been advances in metallurgy, fuels and lubrication, but other than electronics, there have been few new things since 1910.
I've watched this video quite a few times now. Just trying to wrap my head around the complexity of how this engine works. I wish they explained the carburetor a bit more. It seems like the ignition system has a "rail" like appearance to it. Possibly this is how they advance and retard the spark?
Notice how smooth it runs....car barely shakes with that engine!
Common airplane engine in WW1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_engine
The Knome (sp?) rotary engine that powered many WWI military aircraft was designed on the same principle. The only way they could control the engine speed was to turn the engine off and on. Made for a very tricky job in landing.