Diesel Odyssey of Clessie Cummins
05-07-2007, 09:50 PM
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Diesel Odyssey of Clessie Cummins
I just got done reading "The Diesel Odyssey of Clessie Cummins" It was an interesting book but a very difficult one to read. I will have to admit, those of you who are smarter than me (I am sure that is most of you) will appreciate the book even more. The book is written by Lyle Cummins. Clessie's sixth and youngest child and the only child child of his second wife Stella. The book is written by a genius. Lyle's writings are very detailed whether the subject is a business transaction or a patent. Lyle writes that Clessie's writing style was sporadic and detailed. There are a few highlights about Clessie that I wanted to point out that are extremely interesting.
-crew member of the "Marmon Wasp" (the car that won the first Indy 500)
-widowed by the time he was in his late 30's with 5 kids to support
-drove almost 15000 at one outing at Indy to test the durabilty of his engine
-implemented the Magnalux non-destructive inspection machine to test components before they left the factory(first engine company to use this machine)
-fielded several diesel cars for the Indy 500. (one of his drivers was named Bill Cummings, which caused confusion with the name of the company just like now)
-was friend with WWI ace Eddie Rickenbacker who was President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
-Jimmy Doolittle (leader of the Tokyo Raid in WWII) was a crew member of one of Clessie's Indianapolis race teams and a good friend to Clessie.
-invented and developed many fuel injection systems. Some were well ahead of their time.
-invented the engine brake from a vow to make diesel engine trucks safer after a near death experience from a runaway diesel he was testing. (this was invented when Clessie was around 70 and sold to Jacobs. The product did not catch on immediately due to the fact that the engine builders including Cummins would not warrent their engines if it was installed)
-invented a barrel engine that was not produced. The engine was a gasoline engine with an advantage of being compact.
-had no more than an 8th grade education.
The book really make you proud to have the big C on the side of your truck. This book has been out of production for sometime. I bought a used copy through Amazon.com
-crew member of the "Marmon Wasp" (the car that won the first Indy 500)
-widowed by the time he was in his late 30's with 5 kids to support
-drove almost 15000 at one outing at Indy to test the durabilty of his engine
-implemented the Magnalux non-destructive inspection machine to test components before they left the factory(first engine company to use this machine)
-fielded several diesel cars for the Indy 500. (one of his drivers was named Bill Cummings, which caused confusion with the name of the company just like now)
-was friend with WWI ace Eddie Rickenbacker who was President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
-Jimmy Doolittle (leader of the Tokyo Raid in WWII) was a crew member of one of Clessie's Indianapolis race teams and a good friend to Clessie.
-invented and developed many fuel injection systems. Some were well ahead of their time.
-invented the engine brake from a vow to make diesel engine trucks safer after a near death experience from a runaway diesel he was testing. (this was invented when Clessie was around 70 and sold to Jacobs. The product did not catch on immediately due to the fact that the engine builders including Cummins would not warrent their engines if it was installed)
-invented a barrel engine that was not produced. The engine was a gasoline engine with an advantage of being compact.
-had no more than an 8th grade education.
The book really make you proud to have the big C on the side of your truck. This book has been out of production for sometime. I bought a used copy through Amazon.com
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