Part 7

The letter read: "I have designed a new muffler and we will proceed to make it before long, in a day or two. Instead of one shell 1/8-inch thick I shall put a shell 1/16-inch thick inside another of equal thickness, but about 1 inch greater diameter i.e., one chamber within another so as to cause sound to turn corners to get out. Still another shell will be added if it prove insufficient, making it turn about again--taking care in each case to give ample room for expansion--outer one need not be more than 1/32 inch possibly. Will let two threaded rods with nuts hold heads on both or on three cases, if the 3d be essential."

This letter gives further proof that the car never had a brake. Frank said the car came back down the hill with no brake, but that the engine held the vehicle back.

DURYEA, op. cit. (footnote 5), p. 37.

It is possible that a few parts were removed at this time to be used on the two-cylinder car. The muffler may have been one of these, and even more likely, the governor parts. Charles Duryea wrote to C. W. Mitman December 27, 1921, stating that his younger brother Otho and a Henry Wells had put in a battery and gasoline in 1897 and started the engine. Because the chains were not on the car they could not attempt to operate it; but the engine ran too fast, and finally something broke, probably the engine frame, found to be broken during the recent restoration. Charles thought the engine ran too fast because some of the governor parts were already missing.

Recorded interview with Frank Duryea in the U.S. National Museum, November 9, 1956. On the formation of the Duryea Motor Wagon Company, Mr. Markham was rewarded for his part of the venture. He had invested nearly $3000 in the work, and sold out his rights in the company for approximately a $2000 profit.

Transcriber's Notes:

Passages in italics are indicated by underscore.

The text contained in several of the illustrations, which has been transcribed for this text file, is indicated by =text=.

Superscript characters are enclosed in brackets {x}.

Additional spacing after some of the quotes is intentional to indicate both the end of a quotation and the beginning of a new paragraph as presented in the original text.

Letters printed upside down were corrected silently.

Misprint " he" corrected to "the" (page 8).