Air-cooled rotary engine in the trunk?

[studemax]

Check this out! A guy built a 5 cylinder air-cooled rotary engine car way back in the day. Sounds like an old aircraft engine to me. That's a pretty neat bit of engineering, if you ask me!

Behold the Adams-Farwell....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0XbqHUAI-0

[Ron Ward]

Wow! That is pretty darned slick!

[Loren]

Saw that at Harrah's, back when. Had some sensible ideas, but scary... It's great they keep it running.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams-Farwell

[Barry Donovan]

interesting.

The original bicycle idea makes more sense.. and it does away with offcentric wobble as a modern rotary gets.

if they just build/analyze a 3 main boxer four cyl, they might all feel a bit retarded at how complex they got for self balance with the rotary.

I still like the bicycle idea, or generator driver. Electric motor..

interesting stuff. make it small.

I was just thinking of TC and his post on self sustaining.
one could put this engine on the end of an electric engine and hide it..
kinda funny.

[PatricksDad]

Rotary = radial?

[Aircooled]

Rotary = radial?

Rotary = Radial with stationary crankshaft and rotating crankcase/cylinders.

[JOES66FURY]

Wild. Much quieter than I had thought...It makes me wonder about oiling....

[Beagle]

I had thought you guys were talking about this one but that is pretty cool !

[studemax]

Wild. Much quieter than I had thought...It makes me wonder about oiling....

The view from underneath suggested it was a lost-oil system.

[Aircooled]

Wild. Much quieter than I had thought...It makes me wonder about oiling....

Most rotaries are 2-stroke. Caster oil mixed into the fuel was the common method of the time.

[Monk]

Damn pretty amazing........that is some unique engineering

[TheSilverBuick]

Damn pretty amazing........that is some unique engineering

x2, and a 4 stroke no less.

[oldsman496]

Very cool. interesting. thanks for the post.

[TRASH]

Must have been awesome to build stuff back then. No rules as to what works and what doesn't. Unfortunately my brain and most others is clouded by what is accepted as the norm or what should or shouldn't work without trying a new theory. I'm not the best "outside the box" thinker either, so that doesn't help.

Great post, thanks and cheers.
Steve