Saw the following ad on CL today. What does it take to make an oldsmobile engine run upside down?
"This is a olds 215 all aluminum block v-8 engine that has been converted to a airplane engine and to run upside down. This would make a great swamp boat motor and can be turned upright if you want to. It comes complete with a test stand to run it or another motor on if wanted."
http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/3806938741.html
I so want it, with test stand please!
What does it take to make an oldsmobile engine run upside down?
In a normal automobile engine, spent oil gravity feeds down into the pan. Where the pickup is.
If you turn the engine upside down, the pickup isn't going to do anything but suck air and your valve covers will fill up with oil. And then you blow the motor up.
I would assume he's converted to a dry sump system and that he has run oil suction lines to both valve covers and the intake. You'd need to verify that with the seller though. The reason for this is that an airplane is very easy to turn 'upside down' or to place extreme ( what we would consider odd ) loading angles that no baffle / wet sump system could handle.
We saw a similarly prepared Olds 215 when we toured the Experimental Aircraft Association's museum at Osh Kosh Wisconsin during BritishV8 2008. Article here: http://www.britishv8.org/articles/2008-group-outings.htm (includes six photos of the inverted Olds 215 and its stand.)
(http://www.britishv8.org/articles/Images-V16-2/EAA-Museum-D.jpg)
Lots of air/oil separators in that dry sump system iirc.
I wouldn't trust my life to the most critical bearing in the whole airplane being supported by a thin cast aluminum bellhousing though, with a big heavy propeller hung off it. Wouldn't take much of an imbalance to set up vibrations that would fracture that web in short order. Then down you go.
Jim
The oiling system alone seems too fragile to gain the redundancy needed to power an aircraft, but perhaps his mods account for that? Great photos from Osh Kosh, thanks a lot.
I think the dry sump system was pretty trick. Didn't see any problems there.
Jim
Right there with ya Jim.
If you can't pick up my house with that bell housing .Then I ain't getting on the plane.
Cheers
Fred
Motor for sale has Buick/Rover heads. "Log" exhaust tubing manifolds, obviously not hedders, look very restrictive. I suppose the inverted CG, helps the handling ? So "this" is why Corvair motors were more popular. Cheers, roverman.
+2 on that bellhousing. I've already broken one of 'em.