He got 40 miles per gallon with a top speed of The reporters were amazed with the efficiency of the engine and the wire reports went out all over the world.
Cummins was gaining traction despite tough economic times. The second great exhibition Cummins staged happened in where he drove from New York to Los Angeles. Unlike the first road trip Cummins embarked upon a year earlier, this one was high publicized. The journey was made in a Marion Truck outfitted with a Model U engine. The trip would cover over 3, miles over a network of dirt roads and poorly paved thoroughfares. Cummins managed to complete the journey in only 97 hours; more than 25 years before the construction of the national interstate highway system instituted by President Eisenhower.
The success of the second exhibition led to some notoriety nationally for Cummins. He followed his success with another cross country trip however this time with a bus. That journey from, New York to Los Angeles, took 91 hours and achieved top speeds of 60 to 65 mph.
The speed of this cross country journey proved to be faster than many of the passenger train routes of the day. Cummins saw the future of the automobile in America and put all of his eggs into the over-the-road basket. He envisioned a day when all cars would be run with diesel engines. Cummins Early Race Car Prototype - s Cummins History Timeline Cummins realized that speed tests and more importantly the sport of racing was becoming big business.
He wanted the inside track on gaining access to the racing demographic. These tests further cemented Cummins as a notable name in the automotive community, so much so that on the advice of fellow enthusiasts Cummins decided to race himself. Cummins entered a diesel-powered Model A Duesenberg in the Indianapolis and finished 13th.
The most remarkable feat is that car finished the entire race without a single pit stop and only used 1 tank of fuel and reached an outstanding 86 mph! Cummins Diesel Race Car - Cummins Engine History Timeline Cummins hoped that his racing and trial runs would help him land a major automaker however he could never put a deal together with longtime muse, Packard Motor Company.
In , for his third cross country trip, Cummins decided to seek out other automotive partners. Cummins sought out to make diesel engines a luxury item despite market conditions.
In turn he sought out partners that produced higher end luxury automobiles. Cummins swapped in a new lighter weight six-cylinder diesel engine, dubbed the Model H, into an Auburn Sedan. The trip proved to be the best one yet as the car reached top speeds of 90 mph and reached an impressive 40 mpg. Cummins thought he was on the right track with Auburn however the company went out of business the following year.
It is important to note that a this time in the company history that, Clessie Cummins, in some respects, had tunnel vision.
He would not give up his dream of trying to promote his engine for the commercial automobile market. If the company had one failure it would be not recognizing what they were good at truck engines and focus solely on that. Still Cummins would push on with more and more test runs and races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The first car was a two-stroke engine and the other a revolutionary new four-stroke engine. Both engines were turbocharged with Roots-Type superchargers that were blazing fast. Although the two-stroke engine finished ahead of the four-stroke engine it was smoking horribly from overheating. In fact the engine got so hot that the pistons melted into the block. It was this event that spurred Cummins to abandon two-stroke engines and solely make four-stroke engines.
With greater speed came greater pressure on the pistons which facilitated the need to have four cycles. Four cycle engines consist of four separate parts to generate power: intake, compression, power creation and exhaust. World War I flying Ace Eddie Rickenbacker owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the time, and was eager to hold exhibitions and speed tests with Cummins to keep his track afloat during the Great Depression.
Cummins' tests grew great crowds! The Cummins Corporation would go on to be a staple in the Indianapolis for decades to come however a first place finish would never be in the cards for the company. The company pulled out all of the stops in the early s hoping to produce a winning car. The closest Cummins got to the elusive first place finish was in Indianapolis when the car took a first place qualifying position.
However, during the race the car fell back and finished 27th. A post race inspection of the car revealed the turbocharger air inlet was clogged with rubber tire particles from the track.
It was found that albeit diesel engines could obtain great speeds over mph they were slow to ramp up and could not compete with gasoline engines out of the starting gate. Competing in racing would always mean the team would have to win from a come from behind position. Cummins experimented with superchargers and later turbochargers for that initial boost of speed, later acquiring Holset Turbochargers in but could never figure out how to have a 1st place car at Indy.
Discouraged, Cummins never entered another car at the Indianapolis and in-fact was the last year a diesel-powered race car ever competed at the event. The company continued to grow as the country recovered from the effects of the Great Depression.
William Irwin was convinced that Europe was an untapped market and was in better shape than the US during the depression era. Cummins and Irwin toured all around Italy, France and Switzerland first starting in but making trips well into the late s.
The word spread and orders were placed back in Indiana for the European market. Like the US, Europe mainly was interested in diesel engines for semi-trucks. That same year they landed a contract with large-truck maker Kenworth for the option of having a diesel engine built into the truck. Prior to the introduction on the Dodge Ram, Cummins had its reputation as being the engine developer of the time with models that found their way into just about everything thanks to a rather universal development process and a valve Cummins turbodiesel option that continues to be a talking point for fans and aficionados alike.
Moving from one market to another took time, however, still, the logic was sound - take the turbodiesel and make it fit into the truck body.
Notwithstanding the various technological hurdles that had to be jumped to get to the present, Cummins decided on six-cylinder as opposed to a V8 engine that was more commonplace on the competitor vehicles - this was a huge advantage with 40 percent fewer parts and a simpler manufacturing process that supported an impressive power and potential made the Cummins an instant hit with every discerning professional - from driver to mechanic.
Categories: Uncategorised. Search Search for:. I agree to receive periodical offers, newsletter, safety and recall updates from the dealership. In a matter of six hours, I told him it had been built in Columbus and I wanted to take it back with me. He had found it 32 miles south of Marathon, N. Alexander noted.
What it really needed was a good cleaning. I had it started within about a week. Alexander added. I mounted it on an old express wagon and painted it. I silk screened my own decals. They are exactly like the originals. It was not pitted, there was no water on the pistons, etc. Alexander worked 14 years for Reeves and acquired a Reeves engine first.
Cummins built his first engines to run at rpm not rpm as did the Hercules engines then made in Evansville. He had to order many components, including oil cups, grease fittings and possibly the timing gears, from outside suppliers. Alexander observed.
Alexander speculated. Of course, I am loading this some with the generator. They have come out with these new kerosene stoves, smokeless, so it is coming back to the place we can get fuel now. Alexander stated. An early Sears, Roebuck Co. On a full load, the 1 horsepower engine consumed a gallon and the 3 horsepower engine utilized two and one-fourth gallons for an eight-hour run. Welliver, Jake Maley, and Lotus W. Alexander own and exhibit Cummins-made engines which not only led to the incorporation of the company and its entry into the engine business but also to the organization of a manufacturing system.
The company made improvements in their production and assembly operations while manufacturing Thermoil engines for Sears. Further advancements in the technical design, construction, and development of their various diesel engine models have helped the Cummins Engine Company, Inc.
Black and white factory photographs show employees creating Avery engines using a variety of metal fabrication equipment. Check out the next section of the Sandusky Automobile Co.
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