A Mechanic's Vocabulary

This attachment contains an article which orginally appeared in the May 29, 1910 Indianapolis Star. The article ran in support of the May 1910 race meet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The May 1910 race meet weekend included "national championships," a newly-announced distinction by the American Automobile Association (AAA) for select race meets. Car manufacturers were keen to make a great showing. Check out other articles that provide additional summaries on the results of the races staged May 27 and May 28 elsewhere on First Super Speedway.
 
The specific article in this attachment serves as a glossary that was probably helpful to the general public and emerging race fans as they attempted to come up to speed on the array of bewildering terms of the new automotive age. Among the engine parts defined are:
 

  • Carburetor
  • Chassis
  • Clutch
  • Combustion Chamber
  • Crank Case
  • Cylinder
  • Crank Shaft
  • Differential
  • Exhaust Pipe
  • Exhaust Valve
  • Fly Wheel

 
It's interesting to note that while there have been great advances in automotive technology in the past 100+ years, these fundamental terms about mechanical elements are still very relevant today. The article still can be instructive to someone even now just becoming acquainted with the workings of an engine. It certainly had to be for people transitioning from horse to car.

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mechanicvocabulary052910.pdf542.65 KB