Tecumseh Small Engines - Closing up Shop

Well, a truly sad day for motor heads, Tecumseh closed it's U.S. small engine plant and apparently there will be no more Tecumseh engines produced. The power equipment Co. Ariens always used Tecumseh engines and they were incredibly reliable. The Tecumseh Snow King engine on my snowblower is close to 40 years old and still runs reliably, burns no oil and starts on the second pull every time.

Rotary Radial Engines

That is not a typo, in the early days of aviation planes often

used rotary engines. In this design the entire engine rotated

and was attached to the propeller while the crankshaft was

fixed to the plane (The exact opposite of the way things are

generally configured). This may seem like a strange way to

go about the business of powering an airplane, but it worked

surprisingly well. The momentum of the heavy rotating engine

and propeller had several benefits. The mass of the rotary

allowed the engine and prop to continue rotating even

if the engine was not firing.In these times carburettors

were very primitive and could not maintain the proper air

and gas mixture as the throttle was open and closed. The

rotary design allowed the pilot to set the proper mixture at

wide open throttle and use the ignition to vary power delivery.

Simply put, when the pilot wanted to land, he would simply

cut off fuel and let the propeller and engine windmill during

the descent until he was about to land and needed power once

more. At this point the pilot would open the fuel valve and the

engine would re-light at full throttle. During the final approach

and landing, the pilot would briefly cut the ignition to vary

amount of power delivered by the engine. It's hard to describe

but the sound is unmistakable, check out the video, you will

see what I am talking about.

Also here is a video of the full sized version in a Sopwith Camel

1978 VW Rabbit Diesel YACFMP (yet another car from my past)

The first car I can remember my parents buying new.  During the Carter

years, with gas surpassing a dollar a gallon, this was the car to have.  I do

remember there being a waiting list and the usual dealer shenanigans, we

had ordered a white one with tobacco interior, but ended up with a silver

4 door with black leatherette.  The 1.5 litre 48 hp diesel Rabbit returned

an unheard of (and still respectable) 53mpg highway 40mpg city.  It also

boasted "peppy" performance and was capable of sprinting from 0-60mph

and with a good tailwind it could even climb a respectable grade.

It could also impress the ladies, and cemented my reputation with Martha

as a wizard with cars.  I was driving this car while we were dating and being

a poor college student routine maintenance took a low priority.  Shortly

before our courtship began, the starter solenoid switch went bad, so to start

it, one took a set of jumper cables and bypassed the switch to energize the

starter and fire up the motor.  During this process, you appeared to be jump

starting the car without another vehicle attached, which I guess is a pretty

good trick.  Go figure. 

Wartsila Sulzer RTA96-C - The Worlds Largest Diesel

1,556,002 cubic inches !

Some facts on the 14 cylinder version: (The Photo is a 12 Cylinder)

Total engine weight		2300 tons (The crankshaft alone weighs 300 tons.)
Length		89 feet
Height		44 feet
Maximum power		108,920 hp at 102 rpm
Maximum torque		5,608,312 lb/ft at 102rpm

Oddball Engine of the Day - The Napier Deltic Diesel

Designed and produced by the British company D. Napier and Sons in the years following WWII.  It was designed to replace the gasoline engines then used in PT Boats.  Compact & lightwieght, (1/5 of a contemporary diesel)  the Deltic was an ideal design for high speed marine use and had considerable success in that application.  Napier Deltics also saw some limited use as a locomotive engine.  Because of it's compact dimensions and subsequently low magnetic signature, it is still being used to power British minesweepers.