Hot Rods Where have all the 6/71 blowers gone?

They've gone to the same place as all the untouched '32 roadsters.

 

I don't see many at the swaps either. I hit a bigger one in the Twin Cities last month and there were ZERO for sale. Had my dad look at the truck dealership (old Detroit shop) for any tucked away and they had none as well as of last week.

 

They used to be available for about $35 back in the '80s. I was a diesel engine mechanic in the Navy in the mid seventys and thrilled at being trained on how to rebuild the inline and v versions of the 6-71s. To this day I can recognize the sound of a two stroke Detroit and love it. And yes, they went away long ago. Someone might check a military surplus yard when they open to the public. 2 stroke Detroits were very common in military vehicles at one point.

 

Does any of you know this guy?

This is the 54 Jimmy truck 4-53, air starter



And this is his Diamond T 4-53T



There must bust someone who knows him!

There is a video somewhere of the car from the outside, where he is pressurizing a tank to start the 4-53, and the car is hood less for the install.

What did GMC call the AD trucks? Beautiful trucks!


I know I'm in the O/T-zone, but if nothing else: this is the longest BTT I ever wrote!!

 

Not OT when they sound that cool!!!!!!!!!
And I'm not even into deisels, but the first couple of gears made that sound like a 1/4 mile pass.
I don't usually watch these videos more than once, but this one I will.

 

Is this about diesels or blowers?

Then you have these guys like this:
https://cleveland.craigslist.org/pts/4878269857.html

They see a few for sale and think the one they just yanked off an old bus is worth the same money as one that's ready to go.

 

Hey Vicky--
That sounds like something I'd say, but I'm having a good day and I felt like being nice.

 

I'm having a good day too.
But y'all know as well as I do when this swings to Detroit diesels instead of 671 blowers it will be with the wind.

Finding a genuine GMC blower core to convert is getting harder, the aftermarket ones are there.

It's the cool old drives for them that I find fascinating.

 

This is a thread about blowers, but is also an Impossible question to answer!

In the same ball park as: where did all my blue ball point pens end up? Or what did happen to my virginity after I lost it? And can my virginity grow back if my wife and I hit a dry spell?

But since we all a car guys we have to talk cars, and if my post are so OT they barter you, look at them as a very long BTT.

And please don't tell on my to The Boss, because there is no reason this should get closed.
In case of the off chance that someone on here has the answer to a multiple answer question, that difficulty wise is in the rubrics cube ball park.

 

Like I said earlier, I'm not into deezalls but if it weren't for the Jimmy; Garlits would still be running Strombergs on a log intake(assuming he was still actively racing).

 

I don't know where they went, but I know where they came from.
Where's virginity go, hummmm . Never thought of that one.

The first patent for a supercharged engine was in 1885 with a roots type blower. The roots blower was invented in 25 years earlier in 1860. About a century before big daddy used one.
The gmc roots style blower just happens to have a great mounting, nearly universal because of the case. For every one supercharged engine with a blower bolted onto it, there's 1000 or more blowers moving air for one reason or another reason, ventilation both intake and evacuation, vacuum pumps, pneumatic transfer, air compressors, Heating and cooling. Damn near every bank branch with a drive thru has a blower to send your stuff thru the tubes.

 

We had a small one here that was used to pressurise a small aircraft cabin, they have also been used to move custard powder,honest.

 

IIRC, Detroit came out with the 60 Series 4 stroke in about 1987, and stopped production of the 2 stroke 71 series in 1995, as well as the 92 series. So, you are looking for 20 year old parts at the least, it's no wonder there are not many showing up anymore. Most of the good cores get used for rebuilding, junk ones got to the recyclers. I don't know if anybody is making new cores or not.

 

the company I used to work for uses the pre penske Detroits in the boats and lots of the pumps we use them and they guard them like you would not believe , even the v series pumps get stolen , and they need them to keep the motors running on there equipment , and what lots of people don't know is they need a fair amount of work to make them work good in a gasoline application , its often cheaper to buy a new unit from Dyers blowers in Chicago .