Fertile imagination-alternative engine

Als48 said:
I remember a thread on one of these sites, maybe HAMB, where a fellow was quite involved with using Chevy II/Mercruiser engines in his Model A. Charley Stevens comes to mind, not sure if that was him or not. Those are larger versions of the Chevy II/S-10 four cylinder engines from marine applications. 130 hp was a common boat size engine of that type.

Al H
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Close. I have a 181 cubic inch Mercruiser Marine engine in my '32 Ford Roadster. A couple of things make it an easy project for a '32. The '32 V8 transmission was basically the same through '39 and a standard speed shop adapter designed for the Chevy V8 will adapt the 4 cylinder to the transmission. In '32 the brake pedal, clutch pedal and wishbone all attached to the frame crossmember unlike the Model A. I believe this 181 cubic inch engine is now a standard industrial engine from GM. The original 4 cylinder Chevy II engine was 153 cubic inches and used 1962 through 1970.

Charlie Stephens
 

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The Vortec 3000 (181 industrial) is modeled after the Chevrolet 153. I've worked on a few inboard-outboard set ups that had these in boats. They are strong and reliable.

The Ford 850 tractor engine was mentioned and I own an 850 with the 5-speed. It's a good strong engine and very reliable but the gas version is only 6.5:1 compression. The LP gas version is 8:1 compression ratio so it may have a little more poop. The problem with tractor engines is that there are no side mounts and the transmission is a tractor unit that would require the engine to be adapted. A front mount like the tractor has may be adaptable to an A but I don't know how well it would work with the front cross member. A person could make one work but like all the rest, it would take some time and ingenuity to get it hooked up and working. The clutch on the 172 is just like a V8 Ford clutch. The exhaust is on the left side as well as the carburetor. Oil fill and distributor are on the right. It uses an updraft Marvel Shebler. I don't know how well it would work on a car. My tractor funs at PTO speed all the time so I don't throttle it much.
 
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rotorwrench said:
The Ford 850 tractor engine was mentioned and I own an 850 with the 5-speed. .
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I had the same tractor for many years, and the simplicity, reliability, and Ford genes were what made me think it could work. As with any of the engines mentioned, the adaptors--whether available or to be fabricated- would be 95% of the project.
 
If I was going to do this, I’d look closely at whether the Ford Kent 4 cyl could be used. Ford genes, overhead valves but no timing belt/overhead cam newfangledness. Popular for Formula Ford, so lots of parts availability.
 
The little 1.6 litre Kent engine was used in the first three years of Ford Pinto production here in the US. The larger OHC 2.3 had a lot more power at lower rpm. The smaller engines get power from higher rpm.
 
The chevy 2 four cylinder is a decent choice for the a as you can use the bellhousing adapter to the Ford v8 transmission with clings adapters pedal setup. Minimal modification to the model a and a very decent little overhead. Biggest drawback is finding one. I'm on the list for a Burtz but it concerns me where they are made. I have 2 diamond B's to build and a darn decent running A motor in it now with my matching number motor sitting on a stand in the garage. I hope that I'm not jinxing myself but I've never had a problem with a Babbitt motor. I believe that chevy ran babbit up until 53 in the six. There is a Facebook page just for the Burtz it's worth following if you're thinking about one.
 
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