what other engines will bolt to my trans

[bartikus]

so i'm just toying around with ideas of putting a flat head stude v8 in my 36 dictator and was wondering will any of them bolt right up to the stock trans that's already in my car. i've seen a studebaker v8 out of a truck from the 50's for sale being advertised here in utah. thought that it might be a quick way to get the old dictator running and how cool a flat head 8 would be in that car. any info would help greatly thanks

if it's too loud your too old

[JeffDeWitt]

Sorry, Studebaker didn't make a flat-head V8,they did have a very good straight 8 that was used at Indy.

Jeff DeWitt

http://carolinastudes.net

[bartikus]

oh i didn't know that so they built a standard push rod style v8 in the 50's? will they bolt up to the older style trans. i really don't know too much about studebakers. i've spent way more time working on fords and know what will go with what when it comes to a ford. i have some schooling to do when it comes to studebakers.

if it's too loud your too old

[Skip Lackie]

The Studebaker OHV V8 was designed in-house in 1949-50 and introduced in its 1951 Commander models. It had some design similarities to the Cadillac and Oldsmobile V8s introduced in 1949. If you have a flat-head V8, it's likely from a Ford product or Cadillac.

Skip Lackie
Washington DC

[jclary]

I remember sometime in the 1980's finding a 1936 (I think that was the year) Pierce Arrow sitting in a barn with a Flathead V12 engine! I wonder who supplied that engine? Did they make their own?

John Clary
Greer, SC

Life... is what happens as you are making plans.
SDC member since 1975

[bartikus]

i've seen a picture of a flat head v12 before. thats one big motor i didn't know what it was out of but it was sure sweet.

if it's too loud your too old

[jclary]

I had a neighbor who owned a Linclon Zephyr coupe along with a 1929 Chevy. The Zephyr had a V12 engine in it. I once drove it to a show for him while he and his wife drove the Chevy. The engine looked similar to the Pierce Arrow engine. I think the Zephyr was a '39 but I am not sure. It was a terrific car and every show I saw it in, it took first place in its class. He has passed on and I have no idea of what happened to his cars.

John Clary
Greer, SC

Life... is what happens as you are making plans.
SDC member since 1975

[PackardV8]

Pierce-Arrow V12 was their own design and very advanced. When P-A went under, the engine tooling was sold to a fire truck manufacturer, Seagrave, IIRC and remained in production into the 1950s.

thnx, jack vines

PackardV8

[Dan White]

Correction the PA V12 was in production at Seagrave until 1970!

Dan White
64 R1 GT
64 R2 GT

[Skip Lackie]

Interesting proof of the generation gap vis-a-vis old cars. Us geezers who grew up in the old car hobby decades ago learned all about the big multi-cylinder cars of the 1930s -- no one then considered post-War cars collectable, after all. Some liked the early brass-era cars, while those with money bought a full Classic recognized by the Classic Car Club of America. The rest of us had to satisfy ourselves with low-priced cars like Ford V8s, Chevys, and Studebakers. I still see a few of those big Classics at some local shows.

Before the Internet, most of us subscribed to Hemmings Motor News and/or one of the other hobby magazines. These exposed us to a whole panoply of old cars, whether we were interested in them or not. For better or worse, I still remember some of what I read and saw in those days.

Anyway, to add to the list of big-engined cars, the biggest producer was probably Packard, which made V-12s for many years. Their final V12 ran from 1932 to 1939. Packard also built the marine V12s that powered PT boats to 60 mph in WWII. From 1930 to 37, Cadillac made an OHV V-16 engine that looked like jewelry. It was too expensive to build, and they replaced it with a flat head V16, in 1938 I think. It was discontinued in 1940. They also cataloged a flathead V12 1930-37. Peerless made a very small number of V-16s, and Auburn made a V-12. All were flat heads, I believe. The Lincoln V12 continued in the Continental through 1948, one of the few post-War full classics.



Skip Lackie
Washington DC

[jclary]

Hey Skip...don't overlook the Marmon! I seem to remember having my lowly rather spartan E-5 1955 Studebaker truck parked near a V-16 Marmon at a show years ago. What a magnificent Automobile! (the word "car" is too inadequate)

John Clary
Greer, SC

Life... is what happens as you are making plans.
SDC member since 1975

[Skip Lackie]

John-
Thanks -- had forgotten Marmon. There were a number of Europeans, too, but I think they mostly favored straight 8s, as did Duesenberg.

Skip Lackie
Washington DC