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Willy's Sleeve Valve


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Rich,if you can get on Google, click on "images" and then type in willys sleeve valve engine and you will see LOTS of pictures, and if you click on a picture, it will get bigger and give you even more choices to go to.....text or pictures.

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Hello Richard,

I have a 1930 Willys-Knight sales catalog for sale in the Willys section of the forum. If you go there I have a picture that shows the engine and describes how it works.

Terry

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It is hard to describe, the best I can do is say, imagine a 2 stroke cylinder with a sleeve that slides up and down, covering and uncovering the ports. Now move the ports to the top of the cylinder. Now imagine 2 sleeves, one inside the other, with the piston inside both.

The ports, and sliding sleeves, take the place of valves.

Very expensive to build, not very high revving, but smooth, silent and long lived. I have read that London double decker buses of the pre WW1 era used sleeve valve engines, and some of them ran 300,000 miles. This at a time when most engines were ready to be rebuilt at 30,000 to 50,000.

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Hi, I have always wondered what was different about the workings of the Willy's "Sleeve Valve" Motor.

Rich

BTW, Willy never built a sleeve valve engine. As other have correctly posted the car is a Willys.

And yes, 90% of the people are wrong. It is pronounced "Willis"

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Here's a link to a poster on the WOKR site that shows the workings of a Knight Sleeve valve engine.

http://store.wokr.org/sleeve-valve-poster/

It allows you to zoom in to see the fine print and examine the illustrations. I have a large copy of it hanging in my shop. I too am fascinated by the Knight engine and hope to own one. I saw an old Sterns-Knight fire truck (early teens) at the Crawford Museum (Cleveland) a few months ago. A great piece of history. Lots of info at the WOKR web site too.

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The first sleeve valve was invented and patented by George Knight. That is why you see names like Willys Knight, Stearns Knight etc.

The first company to take up the new invention was the English Daimler concern in 1909.

Years later after the Knight patents expired, others came up with single sleeves and split sleeves. The most powerful sleeve valve engine was a Bristol radial aircraft engine complete just as WW2 was ending.

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Guest bkazmer
Hi, I have always wondered what was different about the workings of the Willy's "Sleeve Valve" Motor.

Rich

If you understand the difference brtween a poppet valve and a reed valve you have the gist of it. A sleeve or reed valve opens by making two holes line up. A poppet valve opens by pushing the lid off the hole.

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BTW, Willy never built a sleeve valve engine. As other have correctly posted the car is a Willys.

And yes, 90% of the people are wrong. It is pronounced "Willis"

I've often wondered what is the correct pronunciation of Willys.

I suspected it is as you say and not Willeez....... :D

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I've often wondered what is the correct pronunciation of Willys.

I suspected it is as you say and not Willeez....... :D

Here is an ad, which I have to assume was made by and approved by Willys. The car is clearly identified as a "Willis", not a "Willeez"

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In reference to post #9, Mr. Otoole is a little off on Mr. Knight's first given name. It was Charles Yale Knight who developed and patented the Knight Double Sleeve Valve engine. I had the pleasure of owning a 1928 Willys-Knight Standard Six Coach for 32 years. The car was sold new in my home town and the engine had never had a wrench put on when I bought the car in 1969. That car was smooth beyond belief. One could hardly hear it run until you stepped on the foot feed.

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas America

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Guest rwolf

Rich,

I have a 1926 Willys-Knight sleeve valve engine and have done extensive touring with it. Basically their are two sleeves, one inside the other, and they have their own eccentric (cam ) shaft. The ports will line up on one side for the intake and then move to close, the piston comes up to fire, and as the piston moves the sleeves will continue to slide and open the ports on the other side for the exhaust.

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