For one point: Identify this prewar engine.
Only a complete and specific answer will earn a point!
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Is it French?
Belgian?
I thought I was onto something.
Is it European?
Yes
How about Italian?
Chuffing to the Pros
I can't immediately recognise it, so I assume it isn't British.
Assumptions can steer you astray
In other words, it's from the UK
Quote from: Otto Puzzell on November 26, 2012, 04:30:17 PM
In other words, it's from the UK
Thanks, I had understood that 8)
Still doesn't make me recognise an engine that must have been carried in a tubular sub-frame (or chassis) and looks as if it has chain-drives for camshaft and mag.
I can't find a clear photo of the engine installed in the car. You are correct about the chain-drive.
Is it prewar as in pre-WWII or pre-WWI? :)
Indeed it is
So - it's British, pre-1914, with chain-driven cam and I think an inline 4. is that correct?
Right
The company that produced this was already decades-old when the owner - a wise man whose name belies his smarts - saw the automobile business as a growth industry.
BH
Quote from: Otto Puzzell on December 29, 2012, 04:28:09 AM
The company that produced this was already decades-old when the owner - a wise man whose name belies his smarts - saw the automobile business as a growth industry.
I have been reading some old book articles about steam-powered cars, and one happened to mention that the Managing Director of the Turner Manufacturing Company, which made Turner-Miesse steamers in the UK, was a gentleman by the name of J. Burns Dumbell, who sounds like the guy we're looking for. ;D
Turner produced petrol-engined cars in the years leading up to WW1, and the puzzle motor is their 10hp four cylinder unit introduced in 1912 according to most sources, though one I have seen puts it as early as 1909.
Another impressive use of the clues provided.
Two points for you.
Thank you. I hadn't heard of Mr Dumbell before. He's not mentioned in any of the books I have, but he cropped up in an article in the old publication Light Steam Power. Despite the slightly unfortunate name, he's described as a very astute business man.