These are some pics of my neighbors flathead. He just picked it up two weeks ago - we have looked at a few books and websites but are still not sure what we have. I am sending out the Bruce signal hoping for help. Here are some specs and pics: (sorry pics are so large) -Engine is relieved around valves -Stroke is 4 inch -Bore is 3 and 1/4 (it is not 3 and 3/16th) Pistons are domed and dome comes out past deck surface when rotated. Pistons are marked .040. -Seller claimed it to be a "tank engine" but could not give further info. -olive drab paint is still on block in places(you can see in # picture) -Pad at back reads "K 84 11 X13" -It appears that something was ground off the back of the block(last pic) Any ID help or year info would be greatly appreciated- It will be going in a '32 roadster very soon. Thanks -Reece
probably not related but we have a ww2 tank(sherman?)here on a town green that was purchased and donated by a local garage because the owner of the place wanted the 2 Cadilac v8 flathead engines that powered it and yes it was as supplied to the US army so I guess your engine could indeed be a tank powerplant
I think is Canadian, possibly British, Bren carrier engine--technically not quite a tank, but did get a "T" serial number in Imperial armies! Note extra oil tap for the full flow filter and/or cooler. Small numbers of similar carriers were built in USA...T16 or some such designation??? I don't know if US engines had the full flow tapping, but maybe so as postwar US engines have the pad for that. I betcha ground area carried British or Canadian prefixes or casting codes... How many studs?? Most British WWII engines were 1937 type 21 studs, Canadians produced only 24 stud ones. Did any other parts or hardware come with it?? This thing might be veru interesting. 3 1/16 (221 engine) plus 040 would still be a tad under 3 1/4...how closely did you measure? More pics!! Rip off that tape!
The display tank is probably a Stuart (Stewart?) as that had 2 Cad flat-head V-8's couple to early Hydramatic transmissions Most of the Shermans had aircraft radial engines with manual transmissions Some had the Chrysler 'multi-bank' which was 5 Chrysler flat-head 6's joined together into a common output shaft and a very few had the Ford GAA V-8 overhead cam (yes overhead cam) engine rated at 500 hp+- originally designed an aircraft engine
Another site: http://www.mapleleafup.org/vehicles/restorations/restore1.html There's an engine pic down there somewhere... There were at least 4 Sherman engines...those used in combat by USA troops almost all were the radial or the Ford; the Ford was apparently the preferred engine. It was COMPLETELY unrelated to the flathead, and was developed from a 12 cylinder version originally designed for aircraft use. It was a huge OHC engine.
At risk of getting off the flathead topic, some Shermans also came with a pair of Detroit Diesels. Each of the big three made their contibution to power them. The OHC Ford was the favorite. Here are some pics I took of a radial aircraft powered one by sticking my camera under the shroud. I also crawled underneath and up through the escape hatch in the bottom to take a picture of the transmission.
Bruce - thanks for the info. It is a 24 stud motor. I will try to stop by and get the tape off tommorrow. It was pretty dead on 3 and 1/4 but I will check again when I rip the tape off. When my neighbor bought it it had a nice set of Edmunds heads on it and a Weiand dual carb manifold with the risers. It will be getting a set of Edelbrock block letters and a slingshot when it goes in the car. Thanks- Reece
the tank I'm talking about is on the town green in Plainfield Ct. and is a smaller ww2 tank I think you are correct in it being a Stuart.sort of off topic does anyone remember the comic book of the tank crew protected by the ghost of J.E.B stuart ?.you can crawl under this tank in the rear and enter the engine area which is empty now and look into the crew compartment but all the access panels are welded shut, hatches etc.
Years ago, I had a Bren gun carrier engine in my '39 Ford. It was slightly larger on the back than the engine I took out. I had to beat a dent in the firewall for it to fit. It was a Canadian ehgine.
It is probably military with the X13 numbers. The old story back in the '50's was that the surplus military blocks with X, Y, or Z numbers were made from a special alloy, and were the stongest blocks you could run. I don't know if anyone ever ran the metalugical tests to try and prove the myth/urban legend, but that's what all the cool kids wanted for their rods back then.
Its an early 24 stud. Somebody has Hot-Rodded it with a Merc crank, that aluminum flywheel, and whatever else you may discover. Hard to say it came from a tank. Probably a great find no matter what.
My buddy at my old job had a stuart tank, it had a radial engine in it. So I dont think it could be stuart. Maybe out of a weasel or something of that manner. Good luck on the id.
The Stuart was radial, but a couple of its late war replacements were double Caddilac. The Stuart was actually a British name that may have been loosely applied to M5's and other small tanks.
That engine is most definately a wartime production block, commonly referred to as a 'bren gun carrier engine' down here in New Zealand. What identifies it as such is that it has no numbers, [ie, 81, 99, C59A, etc cast in front of right hand bank], it is factory relieved, but most importantly, is the raised outline of the manifold on top of block. Only the military engines had this feature. These are indeed good [in my opinion] blocks, good metal and they don't crack! Original bore was 3 3/16" with the .040" overbore it would be .020" under 3 1/4". The 4'' crank is from a later Merc, obviously, some earlier hotrodder has had a go with this, if you get inside it you may find more surprises yet! Good score!! Tooratly
Do you have the original heads? I believe they were a special factory high compression type. Possibly with a G prefix?
4-2-Go The heads are long gone- the guy it was purchased from knew nothing about it other than that he was told it was a "tank engine" I wish we had picked it up complete and untouched although it is cool that it has already been rodded. I really appreciate all the feedback from you guys on this- I will take some more pics tonight that show the pistons and valley. We are going to swap oil pans on it this weekend and I plan to take pics of the inside then. I want to document this as much as possible to help the next guy out. My neighbor is going to pass out when I relay all this info to him - I am not sure I can deal with hearing him say, "Yeah -it's gotta tank motor in it", at the local cruise nights. Now I need something strange to drop in my "A". Reece
To further add to the confusion about the Cadillac tank engines - I had always heard they were in M18 Hellcat tank destroyers and M24 light tanks. As far as I know only trucks and Bren Gun carriers got Ford V8s. As far as Stuart light tanks - I'm thinking the US Army may have only called the M3s "Stuart" and the British applied the appelation to the M5s. The comic book someone was thinking about was "The Haunted Tank." I have the issue where they are resupplied with an M4 Sherman and William Tecumseh Sherman tries to take over as their ghost and get them to massacre civilians. -Dave
When my dad went in to the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942, tearing down and reassembling an Allison V12 was the final exam. Yes, he passed the exam.
There was at least one FH Ford tank--the Matilda I with two 21 studs. I think it had some use in 1939... Stragest wartime flathead use: Running a generator for a superduper searchlight in a British B-24 variant! They were able to destroy U-boats running out to sea on the surface AT NIGHT late in the war with this tech...the bomber found and tracked the boat by radar, then turned on the flathead searchlight at the moment of attack so it could make a very accurate bomb run before the boat had a chance to dive.
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