Date:         Thu, 1 Feb 1996 06:35:32 +0000
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         tjparker@pacificnet.net (Tim Parker)
Subject:      Re:[F] Extra large engines

At 11:01 PM 1/31/96, John Gladu wrote:

> If you want really weird - check out a WW-I vintage aircraft in which the
> cylinders (and propellor) rotated and the crankshaft stood still...

Harrah's Auto Collection in Reno had a one-only built car named the Julian,
built in 1925, that had a horizontally mounted mid-engine 5 cylinder radial
air-cooled engine.  If I'm not mistaken, The crank was bolted to the frame
and the engine rotated, as in the early aircraft.  The Julian was also the
first car with "air shocks".

> The current Continental and Lycoming powerplants in many private aircraft
> are a lot closer to what we see in air-cooled VWs than the radial
> behemoths.  Hmmmm...
> Who needs a Corvair when you could have an unmuffled Conti...  (cooling
> might be a bit of a problem without that BIG fan :-).  And with the right
> carburetor you wouldn't have to worry about running while inverted ;-) !

Franklins (american pre-WWII cars) had air-cooled straight sixes and eights
(I believe).  Company was in production for quite a while (don't know the
earliest dates, but at least during the 20s), so must have been able to
work out the cooling pretty well.  A friend's dad had a 6-cyl roadster.
Moderate-size car for the time.

-Tim Parker
93 EV GL
60 Singlecab
29 Model A Ford