If your fond of detroit diesels you'll enjoy this

dtcerrato · November 19, 2016, 11:59:52 PM

http://usautoindustryworldwartwo.com/General%20Motors/detroit-diesel.htm

sixtyseven · November 20, 2016, 08:09:07 PM

Thanks for sharing that with us Dan. Pretty cool stuff. Huh.... I wonder if I could make one of these quads fit ?

CrabbyMilton · November 21, 2016, 10:49:52 AM

That's very interesting history. Thank You. Not too long ago, I found a video on YOUTUBE about that as I was playing around with my BLURAY.

luvrbus · November 21, 2016, 11:11:43 AM

Those quads and twins were the pits to get synchronized it was all done with exhaust temp they had a plug for a pyrometer on the manifolds if not exactly right one engine would carry the load.I don't miss those

Jeremy · November 21, 2016, 03:20:41 PM

I definitely want a position on my throttle pedal marked 'Battle'

Jeremy

DoubleEagle · November 21, 2016, 06:37:56 PM

That's an excellent history of Detroit in WWII, but I wonder how many engines were provided by other makers in comparison, such as Mack, Cummins, Hercules, etc.?

CrabbyMilton · November 22, 2016, 06:32:32 AM

I'm not much of a military vehicle person but there were more vehicles in just about every shape and size that you can imagine so there's no reason to think that DETROIT was the only one. DETROIT couldn't possibly build enough engines for the war effort so naturally there were others. I recall one vehicle perhaps a tank that had a gasoline aircraft engine so you get the idea what a range of engines that were used.
At the risk of ticking off the DETROIT stalwarts and I certainly spent my life admiring and respecting the heritage of DETROIT DIESEL, it does show how far engine technology has come over the last several decades since WWII. 2 cycle engine were born out of the need for more power with less displacement and or fewer cylinders when compared to a 4 cycle. Now, it's amazing how much more power these new 4 cycle engines produce with less fuel in many cases.

luvrbus · November 22, 2016, 06:52:24 AM

Some tanks did have the Allison gasoline engine,just about all the transportation trucks like a 6X6 used Cummins,White or the Hercules I have a 30kw generator that has a White Diesel good little engine a off spring of the Buda and the 6x6 we have has a 220 Cummins, all the multi fuel engines I have saw are Hercules

Oonrahnjay · November 22, 2016, 07:29:34 AM

Quote from: luvrbus on November 22, 2016, 06:52:24 AMSome tanks did have the Allison gasoline engine,just about all the transportation trucks like a 6X6 used Cummins,White or the Hercules I have a 30kw generator that has a White Diesel good little engine a off spring of the Buda and the 6x6 we have has a 220 Cummins, all the multi fuel engines I have saw are Hercules

We (at the Forest Service air station where I work part-time) has a military-surplus jet fuel tank truck for servicing our helicopters. It looks like 1950s and the name plate on the truck says that it was made by Kaiser motors; nothing particularly noticeable about that until you look under the hood. It's a diesel -- with spark plugs. Our folks run it on regular diesel fuel although they say that when they've had to, it runs OK on Jet-A (the book says it will run on gasoline but our people there haven't tried it). It sure is a funny lookin engine. Could this be a "Hercules" engine?

For DD enthusiasts, we have lots of low-land pine forests in eastern NC. Once the main fire is under control, you have a big job to go back and be sure that snags and peat is completely out. One way that they do that is to carry big tanks of water into the burned areas and flood any hot spots. The vehicles that they use are Vietnam-War era Armored Personnel Carriers, with about 8 tons of armor stripped off and the back converted into a pickup-like body. The engines in these are 2-stroke DDs, I asked the mechanics that service them which engines and none seem to know except "I think they're V- engines". I don't have any more info than that. One of the first things that they do when they get the armor stripped off is to jack the vehicles up in the air and cut a 12" hole in the bottom -- they use that to change the oil; if they didn't, they'd have to pull the engines for an oil change.

luvrbus · November 22, 2016, 07:40:38 AM

Those are 53 series Bruce 3200 rpm,some have glow plugs only DD 2 stroke made that had glow plugs

Oonrahnjay · November 22, 2016, 07:45:03 AM

Quote from: luvrbus on November 22, 2016, 07:40:38 AMThose are 53 series Bruce 3200 rpm,some have glow plugs only DD 2 stroke made that had glow plugs

Thanks. Are they V?-53s or an inline configuration? I seem to remember that one mechanic said that they had two engines -- one for each tread; can that be right? Our mechanics are good with bulldozers, tanker tractors, flat-bed hauler units, etc. but they don't seem to know much about the DDs.

luvrbus · November 22, 2016, 08:10:07 AM

That is a M548 carrier it had a single 204 hp 6v53 with a 3 speed Allison still a lot of those around being used

DoubleEagle · November 22, 2016, 05:27:18 PM

Quote from: Oonrahnjay on November 22, 2016, 07:29:34 AM
We (at the Forest Service air station where I work part-time) has a military-surplus jet fuel tank truck for servicing our helicopters. It looks like 1950s and the name plate on the truck says that it was made by Kaiser motors; nothing particularly noticeable about that until you look under the hood. It's a diesel -- with spark plugs. Our folks run it on regular diesel fuel although they say that when they've had to, it runs OK on Jet-A (the book says it will run on gasoline but our people there haven't tried it). It sure is a funny lookin engine. Could this be a "Hercules" engine?

As Cliff said, those are probably rare glow plugs, but there is one diesel engine I know of that has spark plugs (even Cliff might not know of it). I had a International 18A bulldozer (1940's - 1950's era) that was a straight six cylinder with two heads that had a fuel injection pump, fuel injectors, a carburetor, a magneto, and six spark plugs. It, in effect, was its own pony engine to get it started in remote areas without plug-ins or a separate pony engine. You would have to set the controls and levers in certain positions to start it on gasoline coming through the carburetor on a separate intake manifold, and the magneto provided the spark. Once started, it sounded like a regular truck gas engine, and had enough power to move the bulldozer (but not push anything). That would warm the engine up, and once it was ready, you moved a lever to gradually feed some diesel into the main chambers. After fuel vapor was flowing out the twin exhaust pipes, you pulled another lever briskly to cut off the gas portion and change the compression ratio to the diesel level. When that happened it was as if a monster had been awakened, black smoke erupts, the whole bulldozer shakes, it was exciting! In the grand scheme of things, the 18A was between a CAT 6 & 7 in size and power (back then as I remember it). I always thought it would be a great engine to have in a vocational school for teaching, it had every component for both gas and diesel in one engine. Nowadays, it would be beyond obsolete, but I really liked it. It was also a great workout machine as you had a lever for each arm to pull, and two foot pedals to steer, none of those wiggle sticks that controls everything without effort.