Is a banger a four cylinder flathead,where did the term come from? trying to get educated on traditional type hotrods.
Ever heard an old tractor run?-- It sounds like an old Harley, it runs a a really low RPM, and you can hear each cylinder firing.....pop-pop-pop-pop. Not just at idle, but under load also. I assume that most early valve-in-block motors were like this, and that the effect was exaggerated as the number of cylinders decreased. A six cylinder might actually smooth out above 2000 RPM, but the given that the real oldies probably never got above 2500-3000 rpm a 4 cyl might just operate normally like this...plop-plop-plop-plop... Take into account the far looser tolerances that early engines required before advances in metallurgy, and you might even be able to detect some clanging when each cylinder fired. Older Single cylinder motorcycle engines were called thumpers because of this also.
That may be a little exaggerated. I have heard some model T's that actually ran pretty smoothly. Maybe they were just rough at idle, and got worse after a year or so on the road when they were in need of a valve job and a set of piston rings..
YEP, I agree, far back as I can remember, a "BANGER" was always referred to as a 4 cyl. flathead----BUT, then you had conversions to go overhead valves with "kits" AKA Frontenac, Isky, Rajo, etc.---------Don
What you now call "bangers" were originally called "4 barrels" ( see drag results in any hot rod mag from the 50's early 60's) but apparently some people couldn't tell a carburetor from an engine so they started to use the term "banger" or "4 banger" which was a derogatory term for "4 barrel" engines. Bangers were tractor or jalopy (now called beaters) engines usually with out mufflers or exhaust pipes.
John Deere tractors used to be 2 cyl with heavy fly wheels. When they were under load they went putt putt and when it slacked up they went bang. This is from the 40's.
In the 50s we also used the term 6 banger, for the 6 cylinders, never heard a carb descibed as a 4 banger, only 4 cylinders.
The problem was or is most people, when they hear the term 4 barrel think of a carburetor not a type of engine. This was especially after the power pack Chevys came out. Where I came from 6 cylinder Chevys with dual pipes were called Mexican Jaguars. If, when driving your "Banger", on de-acceleration or slowing down you retarded the spark and turned the ignition on and off you would get a hell of a Bang! Usually opened the seam on your muffler.
The Jalopy Journal
