30 BULLETIN 198, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



A low wooden body, originally equipped with an engine hood, is 

 fitted to the frame. A single seat is now secured on the right of the 

 body. Beneath the seat is a sheet-copper gasoline tank. The seat 

 must be removed to gain access to the filler cap of the tank. A hinged, 

 rectangular, slieet-aluminum cover is located above the distributor 

 and the air pump. 



This Winton, one of the foremost racing cars of its day, was not 

 merely a converted passenger vehicle, as was so often the case, but 

 was a carefully designed machine intended for racing only. An ex- 

 amination reveals that none of the parts appear to have been added 

 as afterthoughts. Ornate wooden scrolls and paintwork, apparently 

 considered necessary by the body builders, are incongruous notes in 

 an otherwise strictly functional design. 



WINTON GASOLINE RACING AUTOMOBILE, 1903 



U. S. N. M. No. 309603 ; original ; gift of the Winton Engine Co. in 1929 ; photo- 

 graph No. 104S1-A; plate 10, 6. 



This car, called "Bullet No. 2" and one of the first automobiles to use 

 an 8-cylinder, in-line engine, was the third racing car constructed by 

 Alexander Winton. It was built for the fourth Gordon Bemiett road 

 race, held in Ireland in 1903, and was driven in that race by Winton 

 until a minor mechanical failure forced it to withdraw. Others, in- 

 cluding Earl Kiser and Barney Oldfield, drove the car in various 

 contests in the United States, Oldfield covering a mile in 43 seconds 

 at Daytona Beach, Fla., on January 28, 1904. This is equivalent to 

 83.7 miles an hour, very close to the world's speed record at that time. 



The power plant consists of two 4-cylinder, in-line engines bolted to- 

 gether to form a straight-eight with the cylinders lying in a horizontal 

 plane. The bore and stroke are 5I/4 and 6 inches, respectively, with a 

 total piston displacement of 1,029 cubic inches. The engine is 

 mounted in the center of the chassis, with the crankshaft parallel to 

 the sides of the frame. The two aluminum crankcases are attached 

 to the left frame member by four integrally cast arms, while the two 

 4-cylinder blocks are secured to the right frame member. 



The two crankshafts are bolted together in the space between 

 the two crankcases, as are the two camshafts. Leading up between 

 the two engines, and driven by the camshaft, is a shaft attached to 

 the ignition distributor, now incomplete. 



The engine is of the 4-cycle type, with cam-actuated exhaust valves 

 lying horizontally at the bottom right of the engine. To the right of 

 the exhaust valves are the automatic intake valves, which would be 

 overhead valves if the engine were mounted upright. Each 4-cylinder 

 block is fitted with an aluminum intake manifold, both of which are 

 now damaged. The two carburetors are missing. There are no ex- 



