History Most unique engine use!!

I thought the HAMB would be the greatest place on earth to ask this question. What is the most unique way you've seen a motor used? I've seen pictures of Model T and A motors used as air compressors, running large volume water pumps for agriculture use. At the large vessel shop I work at they still have a scissor lift-man lift that is hydrostactic driven by a 8ba flatty! Just goes to show, when times were the best..you used what you had!!!!

Any other stories??

 

Chrysler hemis were used in the air raid sirens in the late 50's/early 60's...



More info here:

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...ges?q=hemi+air+raid&gbv=2&hl=en&safe=off&sa=G

 

My dad was tellin me about a welder he built in the late 60's/early 70's that was run by a 4 cyl flatty I believe. I'll have to ask and make sure.

 

the lincon welders used a continental flat head 4. The same engine used in divcos.

 

This stands out in front of a local wind machine builder.

 

I think doodlebugs are some of the greatest things left on earth? Anyone know why they were built? Was it strictly for the cost of a tractor? I've seen them before with stacked transmissions to gear them super low!

 

My best friends dad has a sawmill run by a Model A 4 banger......like on The Walton's. I've also seen a late 30's Plymouth flathead 6 motor used in a dredging pump at a local lake. And when I lived in North Carolina, one of the ski lifts was powered by an Olds 455.

 

Snowplanes around here used A or T four bangers with a prop mounted straight to the crank.

 

I,ve seen for flathead V8 air compressors using 4 cylinders for power and 4 for compressor.

 

To autoworx point- Doodlebugs were partially built because things like John Deere Gators didn't exist. There wasn't a lot of equipment between a pickup truck and a full fledged plow-pulling tractor. The rest of the reasoning is financial. They're always inspiring to look at and try to figure out- was it worked to death??? Or a rube goldberg creation more fanciful than practical???

 

I have used this early 1900's rotary as a doorstop

But I've lotssa door stops 'round here!!

 

at the mill i worked at we had a old lift used to haul large stack of doors that had a old ford flathead v8 in it that we fired up one night and have since loved the sound of those motors.

 

I got a neighbor who uses a 70's model cadillac V8 to heat his swimming pool. It's stationary in his garage. It even captures the exhaust heat, and it works very well. He doesn't use it much since gas prices went up, but I remember a few years ago seeing his family swiming in steaming water a couple weeks before christmass.

 

A friend of mine used to work for a guy close to me. He had two diesel engines, one to run the other for sandblasting. If he was running the blaster, he couldn't hear anything, and you didn't get closer the about 100 ft. If he got startled he would turn towards whatever it was and blasted the crap out of it. Had a guy drive too close to him and blew the horn. The whole side of the car was down to bare metal in 2 seconds.

 

Somewhere out there is a photo of an old metalworking planer- it's a metal shaping machine where a long table cycles back and forth under a cutting point, like this.

For whatever reason, it was powered by an old 50's era Olds Rocket V-8.

Doc.

 

a friend found a 33 plymouth coupe out in the woods..had a slot cut into the side of the drivers quarter from rocker to the top of the quarter glass opening...had a arm coming out of the side with a blade that was driven off of the driveshaft...portable sawmill... will have to get the photos from him ...its pretty cool , and pretty sad at the same time...killed a good coupe.: brandon

 

Old water pump I use to have:

 

Up wre I deer hunt there's an entire '30-'31 Model A front clip used to drive a buzz saw (24" blade)
The old guy there says they still use it every fall to cut the winter firewood.

Flatman

 

There was a guy named Bernard Pietenpol in southeast Minnesota who built airplanes that used Model A engines. His son and grandson are apparently still building them. I remember seeing him with his plane at fly-ins in the late 1970s.

http://www.pressenter.com/~apietenp/

 

2 SBC's in the back of a modified Citroen DS.
Used by Michelin as a moving Tire testing rig...

 

Saw a picture of a sheep ranch Down Under, they jack up the rear wheel of an A and hook up a sheep shear and go at it. Probably had no electric but got the job done. Ice man

 

My buddie runs a buick straight 8 to run his old crane....

 

7-cylinder radial airplane engine with prop bolted in a large dryer shed to move air for drying walnuts and prunes. It is still being used today.

- EM

 

A man I know told Of a packard 12 engine used to run a pump ::::very rare indeed///

 

Back in 1988, Speedy Bill Smith, Frank Morawski and I went to California for the SCTA 50th Anniversary picnic. While there we toured several shops and private collections. The most interesting stop was at a recluse's property named Chris (can't remember his last name)
In the late teens or early 20's he built a single position bi-plane with a Model T engine for power. Built the whole dame thing...every bit and piece. To prove he could do it...he then flew it from the west coast to the east coast and back. It was still on his property, and he even started it for us.

 

The hands down coolest and probably most unique for at least a Buick 401 is The Start Cart for the SR-71 BlackBird.

http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/ag330_sr.htm

I just read they switched over to Chevy LS7's at a later date.

 

600 amp hobart stick welder

with a 56A industrial hemi for power

 

A member of my Studebaker chapter is building a doodle bug with a Stude President 8 inliner for power. Pix when he's done!

 

One night while searching for flathead info, I found a story about a flathead being used to power some type of grain sorting machine. I have seen, and heard, several stories about flatheads being used in old agricultural machines.

 

I once heard of a flattie Merc block being used as a dunking pole counterweight.

More seriously (just), how 'bout the RGS's "Geese"? Using the motive part of a bus as a train.