information by Tony Hutchings Cummins ‘Number eight’ in Europe.
I
n the July-August 2016 edition of the Bulletin an article on ‘unusual vehicles’ mentioned the little-known appearance of the Cummins diesel- powered racing car. Since publication, research carried out in the Cummins Inc archives has pro- duced some interesting information which has been kindly passed to me by my friend Gregory Kostrzewsky, Director Applied Mechanics at Cummins Inc, whilst on a visit to the UK this year. He also provided most of the photos used here.
In 1931 Clessie Cummins was driven by ‘the addictive lure of setting a higher speed record at the next Daytona trials’. If that was accomplished he would enter the 1931 Indy 500. A streamlined Cummins car, fitted with the latest diesel engine in a Duesenberg chassis, made its appearance on the Daytona sands in February 1931 where the scheduled main event was to be Malcolm Campbell’s attempt on the Land Speed Record. ‘Bluebird’ made its run on the fifth of the month, attaining a run out at 246.575mph and a return mile at 244.897mph, a mean of 246.09mph – the first time four miles per minute had been exceeded on land. The new Cummins diesel car used a development of the model U marine engine, a 361 cubic inch (six-litre) four-cylinder unit with three valves per cylinder and an output of 85bhp.
Clessie, ‘wishing to capitalise on the publicity generated by the popular Campbell’ then began his own record attempts. Malcolm observed the diesel car’s runs on the rough beach and suggested, when he learned of the high viscosity oil in the engine, that the Wakefield Castrol oil that was used in his Napier Lion engine may help produce better results. This lighter oil was heated and poured into the engine and on 7th February
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Clessie set a new diesel car record at 100.755mph.
This was not Clessie’s first visit to Daytona, nor his first contact with British racing and record-breaking drivers. He had been there a year earlier in March 1930 with his Model U diesel engine installed in a Packard roadster with which he achieved a two-way record at 80.389mph, recognised by the American Automobile Associa- tion but not, at that time, by the Federation International de l’Automobile. Kaye Don was also driving on the Daytona beach, trying for a new LSR in his ‘Silver Bullet’ powered by two 12-
Unusual vehicles at Brooklands –more
Posed in Paris.
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