Twin Flatheads for the Street! How nuts is THAT?

The Stude was driven in. Both motors run. The rear one is connected to the back axle with a driveshaft like normal. The front motor had a hydraulic pump on the back, and a resevoir inside the car. The front motor spins the pump and there is a hydraulic motor mounted in the back on the rear axle.

He has a blower style pulley adn belt set up going from the little motor to the pinion on the rear axle. So the driveshaft comes in at the yolk, there is a pulley mounted just behind that, and then the axle housing.

I think he said it runs 3500 psi....if that's right.
Basically, the rear mounted engine drives the car, and the front one is an auxilary one.
The mounting of the Hydraulic motor had broken on the drive in, as he was still working the bugs out of it, so he disconnected it, and drove home under the power of the rearward engine.

It's all street legal.

 

HEMI, thanks for the explanation. Geez, sounds muy complicated!

Still it's nice to be able to limp home on ONE engine if the other goes away.

 

[ QUOTE ]
So, whaddaya think? Link the two together with double row roller chain on sprockets. Maybe mount the two together on a sub frame, using solid mounts at the water pumps, then mount the sub to the chassis with donuts or something. Twin ignitions, or just run both from a single Nash (Twin-Fire) distributor? Any thought on how to phase the two?


[/ QUOTE ] I think I'd couple the two cranks together with a double row chain,like you originally suggested.Stock V belt to drive the water pump on the rear motor.Each motor would have its own distributor,with a MSD.Then adapt it to a latemodel automatic transmission.

 

Does anyone know more about hydraulic motors? Is there a maximum rpm?

 

what would be so hard about pulling the double row chain off and slipping the belt between the two gear if you had to change a belt??? it's not like you'd be changin em everyday!! try not to over complicate it and i think it'll be alot more fun and alot easier to build and maintain. my 3 1/2 cents!!!


Mike

 

Unk and kustom, I think you guys are right about the chain and the V belt idea. If I get too carried away with this, I'll design myself right outta the project and wind up just jerkin myself off, as Scribe suggested.

I really DO have some measuring to do before I post much more on this. The thread has had a good run. Thanks guys for all the info (and not scoffing)! I'll keep ya posted.

And if it starts to come together, kustom has first dibs on my merc crank (he asked first). Will run the Fords (all things being equal, and another merc doesn't fall in my lap)

 

Also, in 1935 Alfa Romeo tested its Bimotori, under the guidance of Enzo Ferrari. One engine in front and one in back. I'm not really sure how the details worked.

 

looks like it's front wheel drive if you look close. one motor runs the front and the other the rear i'd bet.


thanks Slowlearner. i'll be waiting for that Merc crank

i don't have time to read all the stuff on here i'd like to but i'l keep an eye out for threads you start so i can see progress of this one. it's gonna be KOOOOL!!!

 

I remember a couple of twin engine cars. The "Bustle Bomb" dragster had a Cadillac motor up front and an Olds rocket out back. Another was the "Pinnochio" 32 ford roadster that was built by Magoo back in the eighties. It had two Ferrari motors inline with a stretched front end. Neat engineering, but the car was not terribly attractive. My buddy Jack ran a twin V-60 flathead powered dragster in 1952 and i'll ask him how he coupled them, but from memory I think it was with some kind of trick crank coupler that he made.
As far as that Studebaker is concerned, I only can wonder.......WHY???

 

Couple of years ago in the back of Rod & custom they had a picture of a twin engine dragster witht he motors side by each , they where tilted & the guy "meshed" the flywheels to sync them!!! Insane or what??
I think an olds toranado drive chain could be used someway.
Jimv

 

kustom: progress is gonna be SLOOOW. This weekend though, I hope to do some measuring, and see if I can do this without a whole LOT of cutting.

johnny: I'd be REAL interested in your friend's ideas (wow, lore from 52!). I'll have to try to check out that Pinnochio. Musta missed it. Magoo's done some nice engineering. But two v12s in a deuce gotta make for one LONG nose!

jimv: I'm with you on "meshing flywheels", not the strongest of gears. I was also considering that Toronado toothed belt chain. But wrapped tightly around the circumference of the two sprockets up close to each other and in line. (no side by each for this plan).

 

If you can get ahold of a Browning catatog,they have just about all the sprockets and chains you could ever need.

 

the twin engine dragster your talking about was TV Tommy Ivo's twin Nailhead powered dragster. the flywheels were meshed together and ran through a single 'in and out box'. the problem is one of the engines has to run backwards and that requires a custom ground cam amoung other modifications. Kent Fuller built that car for Ivo and it was very successful back in the middle sixties. an up side to the motors running in opposite directions is that there is no 'torque twist' when the car launchs, it goes nice and straight.

i believe it is the Standard 1320 web site that has a few construction shots of how Fuller coupled the engines. www.standard1320.com

Mike

 

just remembered an article that i believe was in one of the earlier issues of CKDeluxe about a guy (think his name was Ed Wood) that had a 64ish Chevelle he did some wild mods too including putting two Olds V8s in line with each other. i believe he built his own coupler that utilized a U-joint with a yolk on either side that was welded to a plat that bolted to the back of one motor at the crank and the front of the other at the crank. i don't know why i'm remembering all this NOW and did'nt before. try to find that copy of CKD or do a search on the net. FYI: the car later sported an Allison V12!!!


Mike Brimm