MTFCA Forum

Hi all,
Maybe someone out there can help me to identify this parts?
Thanks anyway.

Andre
Belgium

Has some similarities with Fiat engines I have encountered…?

Any chance that some type of steam engine? Looks like a valve lever top right. Best John


Pat I thought I zoomed in to see if it was a distributor but mistakenly decided it wasn’t. Best John

Nah... it has spark plugs and a distributor. Hall-Scott?

Marine or aeroplane ?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Find

This 1905 Fiat-Isotta-Fraschini Volo-6 Competition comes with a World War I-era 16.6-liter 6-cylinder engine intended for airplanes or airships. It’s rated for about 250 horsepower … and 3000 lb.-ft. of torque.
https://classicmotorsports.com/cars-for ... wo-seater/
The frame did not initially come with that massive engine. Instead, it was designed for a 1905-’06 World Land Speed Record attempt, with two 100-horsepower four-cylinder engines mounted in tandem. To put things in perspective, one cylinder on the current power plant displaces 2.7 liters -- --
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The hood standing beside the engine looks like it may be for a fire truck. So does the frame.

The Fiat engine sure appears to be a perfect match! Those Frenchies and their rivets…!?! Can’t see much of either chassis, but the rusty frame has doubled up leaf springs in the front

My vote is for a giant Fiat 6 cylinder engine too. Jay Leno brought a similar 1917 Fiat racer, the Botafogo Special from his collection to the SoCal HCCA Holiday Motor Excursion on Dec 30, 2012. He always brings something interesting and it always gets lots of attention. Sorry, the rest of my photos are too big for the forum.

Here’s a link to a page about him and that Fiat at another car event in 2012

https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/0 ... 7.html?m=1

Keep crankin’,
Eric

Fiats were not built by "Frenchies!"

Allan from down under.

I guess I should have pointed out the not so obvious parts that identify the engine as the one in the 1905 Fiat-Isotta-Fraschini Volo-6 Competition --
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Note: Some information indicated that it was an aircraft engine
Video of it in action https://youtu.be/yaGi3xcJz8A

Viva Italia
On 11 July 1899, Giovanni Agnelli was part of the group of founding members of FIAT, Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino. The first Fiat plant opened in 1900 with 35 staff making 24 cars. Known from the beginning for the talent and creativity of its engineering staff, by 1903 Fiat made a small profit and produced 135 cars; this grew to 1,149 cars by 1906. The company then went public selling shares via the Milan stock exchange. By 1910, Fiat was the largest automotive company in Italy.

Thanks all.
Parts were found in Italy.

Andre
Belgium

Good find Frank,…. I just want to know if the folded hood in the original picture has 12 louvers like the auto in Frank’s photo ?

That would be my kind of living room coffee table display.

Frank,

I agree that your pics are pretty much a perfect match to the motor that Andre posted. I like the spare sparkplug rack on the firewall of the race car in your photos.

I knew that my photos were not nearly as close of a match, but wanted to share what I have seen in person. The link that I shared of the Botafogo Special has a number of interesting detail shots, like the oil chart on the firewall and the ignition diagram showing a separate 6 plug ignition magneto on each side of the engine for dual plugs like a modern aircraft engine, compared to the single twin spark magnetos found in cars of the T era, like Stutz, etc.

While Ts are my favorites, I am also fascinated with some of the other wild developments of the era, like the Fiat racers. Compared to our largely homogenized modern auto culture, the different directions and experiments that car builders were making at the time are really cool.

Keep crankin',
Eric

AndreFordT wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 03, 2025 5:27 am

Thanks all.
Parts were found in Italy.

Andre
Belgium

You may have a racer or a luxury car

Doing some more research. Looks like besides racing they also made luxury cars.
https://www.motorious.com/articles/hand ... -roadster/ --
Check out your engine # --
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This link has a history of the company, Isotta Fraschini, and many links https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotta_Fraschini
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Google to your hearts content https://www.google.com/search?q=Isotta+ ... s-wiz-serp