Why wouldn't the 1915 Packard have been called the "Twin-Eight" if it had 16 cylinders? Or didn't they want street racers to know what they were packin'?
I wonder what that pulley on the firewall drives? With all that copper plumbing running hither thither and yon it looks like it could be the oil pump feeding a total loss lube system.
That pulley looks like old type leather belt driven by crank/flywheel. Could it be early RPM counter?
I'm still confused. Nevertheless, I love the look of all that brass and copper. The Brass Era - my my.
That RR looks like it has a coil ignition for one set of plugs and a mag to fire the other set of plugs. Quirky and intriguing.
The Lanchester straight eight i posted ( 1359 ) just up there ^^^^ looks to have the same. Why did the Lanchester design engineer just stick a distributer in the valve cover.
That is what I guessed. Then I started wondering if the advance was variable on both (either?) systems, and if so, is it the same curve. Were both systems active during cranking? I find it fascinating to study these old cars for some common technical thread - like water pumps or fuel systems - and try to get inside the heads of those designers who made them to see why they did it that way. Its because I was an automotive engineer in a former life.
Here’s a couple of photos showing the George Riley SOHC engine. I think George used Ford flathead cranks and rods. Normally aspirated with Winfield carbs. Blown by a centrifugal blower with a Riley carburetor.
The Jalopy Journal
