Stanley Engine / Axle Unit

This illustration shows the Stanley steam car engine as mounted to the complete axle. The drive gear in the center of the crankshaft meshes directly with the ring gear on the transmission. There is no clutch or gearbox. When the car moves, the engine moves, and vice versa. The Brow steam car will use the same method of direct drive. Except for the Brow steam car's modern wheels & tires and the somewhat different construction of the Brow engine and axle, this could be an illustration of the engine/axle unit in the Brow steam car. Note that the sheet-aluminum crankcase has been removed in this illustration to show the working parts. The Brow steam engine will have a similar removeable crankcase for light weight, cool running, and easy repair access. When installed, the Brow crankcase will be oil-tight and will maintain an oil bath for splash-lube of all bearing surfaces. It will also keep dirt and road grit out of the oil. The cool, clean oil, never contaminated by gritty and acidic combustion products as happens in gas cars, will last as long as the transmission oil in a gas car, and will give much longer life for all the working parts in the crankcase.

Brow Improvements Over Classic Steam Cars This direct-drive method was pioneered by the Stanley company, but was used by many other pre-1930 "classic" steam car builders, most notably Abner Doble, whose cars may be fairly described as "the Duesenberg of steam cars". (In fact, as millionaire Doble drivers like Howard Hughes knew, the Doble was "the Duesenberg of all cars" until the Duesenberg came out in 1929). One problem which arose with double-acting steam car engines having a clear separation between the cylinders and crankcase, was that water would lodge in the microscopic nooks and crannies in the piston rods, and this would pass through the piston rod stuffing boxes and crankcase seals, and accumulated in the crankcase. The accumulated water, if not removed by periodically opening a drain cock in the bottom of the crankcase, would rust the crossheads, bearings, and other working parts in the crankcase. One feature of the Brow steam car engine will be a very simple and inexpensive device to automatically remove any accumulated water from the crankcase every time the car is started up after being parked for a while. Thus the Brow steam car engine will not require the periodic crankcase water draining operation, which if neglected could cause damage to the engine. Like several other features of the Brow steam car, detailed discussion of the crankcase dryer will be withheld pending patent research.