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Detroit, 3:07 PM
Mon Nov 30
21 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/22/09
Advanced in design, the 1917 V-8 had a central camshaft operating vertical overhead valves in each bank, a counterweighted crankshaft, and detachable crossflow cylinder heads. Displacing 288 cubic inches and breathing through a Zenith two-barrel carburetor, it developed 55 horsepower at 2,700 rpm, running on 4.75:1 compression.
This is probably because gasoline had an octane rating in the mid-40s in those days. 4.75:1 was probably pushing it, and 55 HP was about as good as it got for that size engine during World War I.
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10/18/09
I also think it was used in some Renault tractors well before that, but I can't confirm that to be true. #engine
10/18/09
10/18/09
@Armand: Wikipedia says that there were 4 different displacements over the history of the 2CV, but I would think they're all based on the same block.
I also found this boatload of awesome. I think they even have the 2CV engine on the outboard.
10/17/09
One thing that I have noticed, though, is a lack of contemporary (or at least semi-contemporary) small engines.
I would like to nominate the Mazda K engine.
It was an interesting engine from the standpoint that it is the smallest V6 engine ever developed, and all that well known, it was competitive, reliable, powerful for its size, and was known for being silky smooth. It also featured the unusual and interesting Variable Resonance Induction System (VRIS).
With a life span of roughly ten years, it isn't in the same class as some of the other grizzled elders presented above, but it's combination of novelty, innovation, and reliability are worth a look. #engine
10/17/09
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10/17/09
The ChryCo slant-6 until all gasoline has turned to varnish ('bout 12 months after production ceases), then the OM617 to roam the Earth with the cockroaches. #engine
10/17/09
Now for the Ford Tempo Fact of the Day! The HSO (High Specific Output) version of Ford's 2.3L I4 was the slightly more powerful version of the HSC (High Swirl Combustion) engine used in lesser Tempos. Introduced in 1985 following minor, petty criticisms regarding power, speed, performance, et cetera. The HSO utilized a multiple port, electronically controlled fuel injection system, revised intake system allowing for more breathing room, and most important: hemispherical combustion chambers.
That's right, I could slap a 'Yeah, its got a Hemi' bumper sticker on, and it wouldn't be a lie! #engine
10/17/09
10/17/09
1. Acquire 2.3L HSO I4 from Tempo GLS, AWD, or Topaz LTS, XR5, AWD.
2. Put in Toyota Prius.
3. Profit.
Or just put in one of Dodge's faux Hemi V8s. #engine
10/17/09
Mid-mounted Audi 4.2-powered Prius? How stealthy!
OM617-powered Camry? Talk about reliable!
Packard Inline Eight-powered Phantom? What prestige!
Nailhead-powered Pulsar NX? What... just what!?
We'd come on the night train and leave in the best cars ever "engineered". What could go wrong? #engine
10/17/09
Oh, wait, you didn't. May did.
That is quite a dream you had there, or that is quite a lot of something you had there. :) #engine
10/17/09
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10/04/09
And speaking of Nazis, and cars, Henry Ford, anyone?
10/05/09
And there was also a nasty question about whether the some children of the forced laborers at this factory were deliberately killed. He may have been too busy testing Kubelwagens and designing tank engines to notice.
He did pay for his efforts with some time in a cozy French lockup, but deft finagling by family and friends sprung him out before the ultimate vengeance could take root.
10/04/09
Here is good article about an everyday man named Franz Jagerstatter. He was abandoned by all except his wife, but he stood his ground and was executed by guillotine.
[en.wikipedia.org]
[www.catholicpeacefellowship.org]
A majority of the population when faced with someone like Hitler will give in to save his life, rather than take a chance and be destroyed. My question to you is this, what would you do?
10/04/09
I like to keep them in the refrigerator. Keeps the powder dry and the action quicker.
10/04/09
10/05/09
@powermatic: This is true, and by working closely with Hitler he helped to further the Nazi party more than many. I’m sure if you asked him why he did, his excuse would not have been much different than the general population. In fact, some of the original concept drawings of the VW Beetle came from ole Adolph himself, which he probably copied, see my next posting.
10/05/09
Something kind of interesting about the Volkswagen is that there is good evidence that the idea of the car, and even the Volkswagen name, probably came from a man named Josef Ganz, a Jew. This car was first shown at a car show in 1933, at which Hitler was present. Ganz was arrested within the year and charged with blackmail, by the Gestapo, for attempting to protect his patent rights.
10/04/09
In 1932, Porsche visited the USSR and the Soviets offered him a high ministry position with extremely generous perks and basically a blank check for vehicle development. Porsche turned it down, but what if it was Stalin rather than Hitler who sponsored and pushed the Volkswagen?
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10/04/09
To begin with, Porsche worked with Hitler as early as 1934, long before the war, when the engineer took the Nazi leader's commission to design the KDF-Wagen, what became known as the VW Beetle. The KDF program, ostensibly to provide German workers with automobiles, was really a Nazi scam, and few if any workers got the cars they'd paid for with paycheck deductions. I don't know exactly when Dr. Porsche got the idea that the VW platform would make a good utility vehicle for the Wehrmacht, but before many KDFWagens could be built, the factory was changed over to produce the Jeep-like Kubelwagen. During the war, Porsche designed other weapons, including the main battle tanks for the German army.
Yes, Detroit was the arsenal of democracy and Chrysler built tanks, Ford built bombers (and jeeps), and GM ended up building the Saturn V if I'm not mistaken. But Dr. Porsche seemed a bit too eager to work with the Nazis for my tastes. YMMV
Ironically, just as Ludvigsen's book on Dr. Porsche is released, so is Dutch engineer Paul Schilperoord's work Het Ware Verhaal van de Kever: hoe Hitler het ontwerp van een Joods genie confisqueerde, The True Story of the Beetle: how Hitler confiscated the design of a Jewish genius, about Josef Ganz, whose design for the Volkswagen may have been stolen by Hitler and used by Porsche.
[www.ganz-volkswagen.org]
Here's the 1934 Standard Superior, based on Ganz' design.
10/05/09
09/28/09