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30 cylinder engine....


keiser31

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In case you wonder why they built such a monstrosity. Chrysler got a contract to build tanks during WW2. Ford was supposed to supply them with engines. Chrysler got the tanks into production several months ahead of schedule while Ford was 6 months late with the engines. Rather than delay, or turn out tanks with no engines, Chrysler engineers quickly whipped up a 30 cylinder engine by putting together 5 of their flathead six cylinder industrial or truck engines. They proved very reliable as they would continue to run even if one engine was out of commission but most were used for training. I think more than 1000 were built with this stop gap engine.

Edited by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)
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17 hours ago, nickelroadster said:

Wasn't the Ford engine that was late a large overhead cam v-8?  I think it was a real impressive looking engine that never panned ou.

Yes, and it did pan out eventually.

 

The Ford was one of at least four engine designs used in the Sherman.  The Ford  GGA is said to be the biggest production V-8 ever built at 1100cid, with DOHC 48 valves and  500HP @ 2600rpm.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/v8-ford-gaa.html

 

Paul

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1 hour ago, Roger Frazee said:

How did they keep oil out of  the cylinders in the bottom (upside down) engine?

Cross your fingers. Usually not enough got down there to hurt anything but occasionally you got a hydraulic lock. Then you had to take out the spark plugs and drain off the excess. I imagine inverted inline aircraft engines have the same problem and get around it by using a dry sump oiling system.

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3 hours ago, Roger Frazee said:

How did they keep oil out of  the cylinders in the bottom (upside down) engine?

The two lowest banks were still angled slightly up from the horizontal (7.5 degrees), and not downward like the lower cylinders of aircraft radial engines. So oil drained down the cylinders away from the pistons not toward them.  

 

You can see the slight up angle of the two lower banks in the lower picture Tinindian posted of the light green engine. 

 

Paul 

Edited by PFitz (see edit history)
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