Weird engine time!

[yuccales]

Originally Posted by Accelo

If Lucas made guns, wars would not start.

[special-K]

If Lucas made all these electric cars...... We're runnin' out of oil!!!*


* tongue & cheek

[HO455]

I've 2 late model Range Rover tales. One funny, one not.

First off we had a salesman that came to work with a brand new one one day and made the statement "I love these things, this is my 3rd one. I just wish they were reliable!'

And 2nd is for models built around 2010. Rover put the air bag computer under the cup holders in the console. With no drip protection for the computer. Of course moisture and British electronics don't mix. So the air bags are problematic. At the bodyshop we learned to send every Rover we repaired to the dealership after we were done and let them get the electrical system working properly and also to take the liability if something failed later.

[special-K]

Pardon the accent. Something different here

The 3-Cyl 6-Piston Commer TS3 Was Simple,...

[MJN]

Not related to the Jag engine and probably not the strangest engine around but maybe from an unlikely source. These are screenshots of the cover and first couple pages of a brochure from when John Deere dabbled with rotary engines. The Stratified Charge Omnivorous Rotary Engine (SCORE) was meant to run as a multi fuel (diesel, gas, alcohol, JP4, 5, 8, kerosene) engine in power generation applications, marine, armored/fighting vehicles and even proposed in aircraft. The smallest single rotor engine made 80 bhp and weighed 198 lbs, the largest had 6 rotors, produced 2250 bhp and weighed 3230 lbs but in a 30"x39"x86" (HxWxL) package.

[HO455]

To make up for my earlier straying from the OP's original post here are 4 odd ones. And to make them more unusual they all came installed in the same vehicle from the factory.

https://www.theshermantank.com/sherm...to-production/

The Chrysler engine is really crazy.

[67C10Step]

Have been a fan of the British styling since I was a kid. Jags, MG, Range Rover, triumph etc. The lack of reliability always stopped me. Buddy had a triumph when we were teens. As a group we were pretty good with chevys and fords but that triumph was our nemesis. Never could keep that car going.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Right? They also need painless wiring...

My Jag has Painless wiring. The installation was... Painless.

Here's a weird one. Saab V4.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

Here's a weird one. Saab V4.

Hey, what's weird about a V4? My old motorcycle ('82 Honda V45 Magna) had one and it was a sweet little engine.

[yuccales]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Hey, what's weird about a V4? My old motorcycle ('82 Honda V45 Magna) had one and it was a sweet little engine.

V4's can scoot. This one held the worlds record for streamliners at 367 mph.

Bore / stroke 4.125 in x 3 in
Compression ratio 9.5 : 1
Top speed 367.382 mph (591.244 km/h)
Power 500hp @ 8500 RPM

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Hey, what's weird about a V4? My old motorcycle ('82 Honda V45 Magna) had one and it was a sweet little engine.

I didn't say it was a bad motor. Just something that you don't see often. At least I don't.

I've never heard if a Magna either. I need to get out more often.

[67 twins]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Hey, what's weird about a V4? My old motorcycle ('82 Honda V45 Magna) had one and it was a sweet little engine.

There were actually quite a few V4 motorcycle engines.

[special-K]

Need a little help, Paul? Saab did make odd engines. There were cars with them, but I only remember seeing 2-stoke Saabs. And those were 3 cyls. Before the V4 Saab experimented with twin tinys , a twin 3cyl 2-stroke inline 6 mounted traversely to create 138hp. What a monster!!

[Stocker]

About the time I was learning to drive, my dad had an old (1950-something) DKW. Small (VW Beetle-size) front-engine, front-wheel drive with a 3-cylinder 2-stroke engine. No pre-mix, you had to measure the oil and pour it in separately. It had a 4-speed column shift. Kind of a quirky little car.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by HO455

To make up for my earlier straying from the OP's original post here are 4 odd ones. And to make them more unusual they all came installed in the same vehicle from the factory.

The radial and Ford V8 are pretty standard engines. The diesel was not a standard production engine for the Sherman and the Chrysler multibank was, well yeah that was weird as hell. I think it had the best reliability of all of them if I remember correctly.

Originally Posted by 67 twins

There were actually quite a few V4 motorcycle engines.

Honda Magnas and VFR's, Yamaha cruiser and Vmax's, Aprilia RSV4's, and that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Not counting MotoGP engines of course.

[67 twins]

Originally Posted by Tom

The radial and Ford V8 are pretty standard engines. The diesel was not a standard production engine for the Sherman and the Chrysler multibank was, well yeah that was weird as hell. I think it had the best reliability of all of them if I remember correctly.


Honda Magnas and VFR's, Yamaha cruiser and Vmax's, Aprilia RSV4's, and that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Not counting MotoGP engines of course.

There was also the Honda ST1100 and Suzuki Calvacade.

[yuccales]

Honda's oval piston engine was different for sure.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by yuccales

Honda's oval piston engine was different for sure.

Yes, it sure was! I don't know if any other manufacturer has ever done anything like it.

[67 twins]

Well Honda also had some V3 engines as well. Talk about weird

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by special-K

Need a little help, Paul? Saab did make odd engines. There were cars with them, but I only remember seeing 2-stoke Saabs. And those were 3 cyls. Before the V4 Saab experimented with twin tinys , a twin 3cyl 2-stroke inline 6 mounted traversely to create 138hp. What a monster!!

That inline?? 6 was a monster for that Saab for sure. It blew the hood clean off that car.

It reminds me of the Honda CBX.

[special-K]

This was a great idea for a thread, Tom. So good I haven't kept up with commenting on many. There sure are a lot of odd engine designs.

I'm surprised there was no reaction to that Commer engine in post#29. A 6 piston 3cyl. I read that description and was confused. How unique? No head required for that design. Chrysler bought it to shut it down. Must have been a good idea.

[MJN]

Originally Posted by Tom

The radial and Ford V8 are pretty standard engines. The diesel was not a standard production engine for the Sherman and the Chrysler multibank was, well yeah that was weird as hell. I think it had the best reliability of all of them if I remember correctly.


Honda Magnas and VFR's, Yamaha cruiser and Vmax's, Aprilia RSV4's, and that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Not counting MotoGP engines of course.

According to this site the GM 6-71 Twin or 6046 was a regular production setup for M3, M4A2 and M10's . The engines turned opposite directions of each other into a
common gearbox.http://usautoindustryworldwartwo.com...oit-diesel.htm
They also built quad 6-71's for landing craft. Not really an odd engine but maybe a strange setup. They also mounted them vertically for pumps and as pancake engines in locomotives and busses. The red one is a 8V71 mounted vertically for a storm water pump.

EMD also built a strange 16-184 (16 cylinder, 184 CI cylinders) in a vertical application with four banks of four cylinders, common crankshaft and a fabricated crankcase. https://oldmachinepress.com/2014/08/...diesel-engine/

[67 twins]

Originally Posted by special-K

This was a great idea for a thread, Tom. So good I haven't kept up with commenting on many. There sure are a lot of odd engine designs.

I'm surprised there was no reaction to that Commer engine in post#29. A 6 piston 3cyl. I read that description and was confused. How unique? No head required for that design. Chrysler bought it to shut it down. Must have been a good idea.

If you like that you should look at the Napier Deltic. 3 cylinder,6 piston, and three crankshafts.

[HO455]

The Commers single crank rocker arm connecting rod set up is unusual and interesting. Interesting enough I did some more reading on the engines, the Rootes group, and Commer and the demise of all of them. Like the rest of manufacturing industries in the UK they were headed to failure.
It appears to me that the engine was discontinued as part of cost cutting by Chrysler to stem systematic losses of the Rootes group which they bought 30% of in 1964. By 1967 Chrysler had increased their holdings to 2/3rd and took control of the company and by 1970 they had changed the name to Chrysler. In the meantime they got rid of the parts of the company they didn't want in order to promote the Chrysler brand. I think saying Chrysler bought it to shut it down is a bit on the conspiracy theory side of things. I would bet if it had been a profitable enough product line it would have continued on. Unfortunately it didn't in with fit the Chrysler way of thinking.

I've worked on several 8 1/8 Fairbanks Morse engines over the years. Similar with the 2 pistons for each cylinder but, vertical with 2 crankshafts, one above, and one below. They have been around since the 1930's and were used in locomotives, tugboats, submarines and power generator plants. Nice reliable engines but, a lot of work to overhaul. Like other 2 stroke diesels they're not particularly fuel efficient

[special-K]

Originally Posted by HO455

The Commers single crank rocker arm connecting rod set up is unusual and interesting. Interesting enough I did some more reading on the engines, the Rootes group, and Commer and the demise of all of them. Like the rest of manufacturing industries in the UK they were headed to failure.
It appears to me that the engine was discontinued as part of cost cutting by Chrysler to stem systematic losses of the Rootes group which they bought 30% of in 1964. By 1967 Chrysler had increased their holdings to 2/3rd and took control of the company and by 1970 they had changed the name to Chrysler. In the meantime they got rid of the parts of the company they didn't want in order to promote the Chrysler brand. I think saying Chrysler bought it to shut it down is a bit on the conspiracy theory side of things. I would bet if it had been a profitable enough product line it would have continued on. Unfortunately it didn't in with fit the Chrysler way of thinking.

Saying Chrysler bought it to shut it down was my over simplified way of saying the same thing.