arcticbuicks Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) I was reading some old Cummins articles about the the connection of Auburn and Cummins.Cars in the 1930s came very close to having more diesel production ,and probably would have but Cummins severed ties with Auburn to produce diesel engines for them....as Cummins did not see Auburn being able to succeed,there were 3 more Auburn limos built besides this pictured car and one was featured at the 1936 New York auto show on the stand........anybody on here have any history of the 1936 New York auto show diesel Auburn limo display or pictures ?.........I wonder if any exist today ?.The Cummins car engines were light being aluminum and the one pictured did 44 MPG.Apparently from the article ....Ford and Chrysler were right on Auburns heels if they went into production.Cummins also fitted a 1938 Cadillac, and Packard....and there was one 1931 Duesenberg built Cummins car.....I am thinking this beats Mercedes claim to being the first built diesel cars. Edited February 23, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 How about the INDY 500 in 1931 were a Cummins Diesel powered car was the first to run non stop and finish in 13th place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 was that the 1931 Duesenberg ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozstatman Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Hemmings article about this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 is there anything on the 3 diesel auburn production cars ? and New York auto show limo car ? pictures ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, arcticbuicks said: was that the 1931 Duesenberg ? The Fox INDY 500 book list the 1931 Two Man car as having a Duesenberg chassis, race car chassis or modified car chassis I don't know, the car at INDY and the restored car today. Bob Edited February 23, 2023 by 1937hd45 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 From what I read Cummins diesel engines were made for boats in the 1920s but when the depression hit, the demand for yacht engines dried up and even fishing boats were not buying diesel engines like they used to. So they put one of their smallest marine engines into a used Packard sedan. The idea was to promote diesel engines in cars and trucks. Really the market was for diesel trucks buses and tractors, at that time, diesel cars were not really practical. Were any diesel Auburns, Duesenbergs etc produced for sale to the public or was it more of a publicity stunt? Like the diesel powered Indy cars that never stood a chance of winning but did set records by running the entire race on one tank of fuel proving diesels could run at speed and garnering a lot of publicity. This does not diminish their advancements in diesel engine design and construction it does put their achievements into perspective. The cars were really prototypes or experiments not quite ready for sale to the public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewarnut Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 I believe Mercedes-Benz's claim is for the first diesel put into mass production for a passenger vehicle, the 1936 260D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 yes,and that makes sense prewarnut ...........Auburn had full intentions of production diesel cars.....and the one pictured was road trip tested 3500 miles and was reaching 44 mpg and they were amazed a total of $7 fuel cost for the trip and great reliability........ but Cummins backed out from providing them engines ........*I was more interested in the Three limos that were built and if any exist and if theres any pictures of them ?*,,,,,,I also have some very old books [ 1920s-1940s some auto engineering and encyclopedia type etc ] my school was throwing out way back when i was in school......and i said 'hey i'll take those' ............and the one automotive book from around that era was saying also that diesel aircraft would soon become the planes of the future.......was probably the prediction before jet engines i imagine.......but were already in use in the 1920s and 1930s mostly in airships.....and some planes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) Here's a first generation Cummings Diesel. These were stationary engines and sold under the Thermoil name. The 1-1/2 HP and 2-1/2 HP models were made by Cummings. The larger Thurmoil engines were made by Hercules. These were sold by Sears Roebuck along with the Economy line. These early Diesel's were troublesome and most went back on recall. I had this 2-1/2 HP model in my collection years ago. Had some fun with it for a while and then sold it as it was rather heavy to move around. The one I had was a 1921. Edited February 23, 2023 by Dandy Dave (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 interesting stationary engine,i had no idea Cummins had them.....i remember looking at some old stationarys that were some kind of oil fueled engine.........and the one had a sort of a cast iron bulb in the head that would get glowing hot to fire the fuel........I imagine a diesel in that era would be trouble maybe due to lack of great compression and how difficult to start maybe ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 9 minutes ago, arcticbuicks said: interesting stationary engine,i had no idea Cummins had them.....i remember looking at some old stationarys that were some kind of oil fueled engine.........and the one had a sort of a cast iron bulb in the head that would get glowing hot to fire the fuel........I imagine a diesel in that era would be trouble maybe due to lack of great compression and how difficult to start maybe ? The Thurmoils you were suppose to put boiling water in the hopper to get it warmed up before attempting to start it. The engine your speaking of is a Hot Bulb Ignition engine. The hot bulb was pre heated before starting was attempted. The Thurmoil I had ran great when it was hot. I ran it on White Kerosene as that was the recommended fuel. One reason these did not sell well is that most farmers did not have the time to get it running when a properly tuned gas engine was ready when he was to get the work done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 my old bud always said buy a Cummins...they are so well built they do not need glow plugs to start.......buy a Ford or GM if you want .......but they need glow plugs to start 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 8 minutes ago, arcticbuicks said: my old bud always said buy a Cummins...they are so well built they do not need glow plugs to start.......buy a Ford or GM if you want .......but they need glow plugs to start The inventing of direct injection and high compression made the Diesel what it is today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Im not a diesel guy, but with a couple of family trucks in the past, If I were to ever buy one it would be a cummins. Dont know how they compare but I had a small Cat in a dump truck that was impossible to kill. It wasnt too powerful but a good little runner. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Here's a News Paper artical of me by the engine at Old Roxbury Days in 1988. I'm in the middle. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted February 23, 2023 Author Share Posted February 23, 2023 i have had a few diesels and still have the best truck of my life ....a 1998 cummins dodge ......and a brand new cummins dodge dually........a friend had a 1980s diesel Ford Tempo [had to be rare]........and i had a Chevette diesel haha for a short time that i bought just for fun .....it had AC also .....and on the HWY with the AC on it dropped the top speed to 55 MPH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 Old Roxbury Days, another great meet that is now history, all the old meets were great while they lasted. Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 Dad traded his gas guzzling 98 olds for a VW dasher diesel. Anything but a dasher! That car took about 5 minutes of open road downhill to hit 50mph. Going up a hill was not a task to be taken lightly. Needless to say mom wasnt very happy with it and it was traded in about 6 months. Sorry for the highjack, your post about the chevette sparked a memory. Now back to the program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 23 hours ago, arcticbuicks said: i have had a few diesels and still have the best truck of my life ....a 1998 cummins dodge ......and a brand new cummins dodge dually........a friend had a 1980s diesel Ford Tempo [had to be rare]........and i had a Chevette diesel haha for a short time that i bought just for fun .....it had AC also .....and on the HWY with the AC on it dropped the top speed to 55 MPH Do you recall the fuel milage of the Chevette? Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 (edited) i actually didnt own it very long to find out and did not do a hwy trip with it......cuz i didnt wanna die...... as it was sooooo gutless .........but i kinda liked the thing........even though it was upright sitting and the steering column was on a angle [to the side lol] and monsterous transmission hump in floor and if you wore snow boots....you couldnt push the gas pedal without pushing the brake..........,i was buying and selling cars at the time that i got wholesale from mostly a friends GM dealership,i think it was a 1987 near the end of Chevettes .....and they actually seemed a little better than horrible by then,and not a bad looking front end in the last ones,i could be wrong but i think it was a Isuzu engine.......and the chevettes were a torque tube rear haha.......my bud was a parts guy at the Ford dealer and picked up his Tempo 4 door diesel and it was a mitsubishi engine same as the lil 1980s ranger trucks....it was gutless too but great on fuel ........there was also the odd AWD Tempo /Topaz in those years Edited February 24, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 @TAKerry i remeber the dashers too......they were horrible lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWN Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 I have one like it but not is as good a shape. But I am working on it, told my wife I'm not fixing it, I am investing. SOLD FOR 35,000 https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1992-dodge-power-ram250-cummins-turbo-diesel/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 20 minutes ago, PWN said: I have one like it but not is as good a shape. But I am working on it, told my wife I'm not fixing it, I am investing. SOLD FOR 35,000 https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1992-dodge-power-ram250-cummins-turbo-diesel/ There is a HUGE following of these early Cummins powered pick ups here in Oregon. The neighbor kids are always on the lookout for "Grandpas old Dodge". 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 My father tried to interest me in a '58 Mercedes 180D as a first car. I think he figured with 46HP I would be safe. Nice try Pop! I had a Renault diesel rental car in France a few years ago and it was excellent. The Diesel image burned into my mind is an '80's bustle back Seville laboring up Donner Summit with a plumb of black smoke behind. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWN Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 (edited) I have 2 VW TDIs, a 96 Passat variant and 98 Jetta. Both have been running on 100% biodiesel for decades and get 36 to 45 mpg. Very quick turbos, with the power band at 2600 rpm. You brag about horsepower but drive torque, these 96 HP TDIs have as much torque as the 2 liter 150 HP gassers. The variant (wagon) was built in Stutgart and they only shipped over 2,000. Best car in the US. Edited March 1, 2023 by PWN (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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