From: hotrod@dixie.com (The Hotrod List)
Subject: Engines of Yore #6
Date: Sat, 09 Jan 93 05:44:07 GMT
Organization: Dixie Communications Public Access.  The Mouth of the South.
To: hotrod@dixie.com
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Posted-Date: Saturday, Jan 09 00:43:45
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                         Engines of Yore:  Part 6.
             Cadillac V16 and V12.    created 07 January 1993
             by Dave Williams   dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us

 Flipping through my 1943 Edition of Dykes' Automotive Encyclopedia,
we find a set of photos and some text on the Cadillac V12 and V16
from the 1920s.  The V16 is 452 cubic inches, the V12 368 cubic inches.

 The engines have a 45 degree cylinder bank angle, two eight or six
cylinder heads, and a built-up crankcase.  The crankcase is a deep,
wide casting with the oil pan rail well below the crank centerline
(which Ford used to call a "Y" block, which is the generally used term
for it now).  The cylinder blocks are separate and bolt in from the top,
like normal motorcycle practice.  The water jacket is only a few inches
long and sits outside the crankcase; the rest of the cylinder block
slides inside the crankcase.  The blocks are held down with studs and
acorn nuts.  The cylinder heads are held to the blocks with short bolts.
The oil pan and valve covers were cast aluminum.

 The crankshaft has eight throws and five steel-backed, replaceable main
bearings.  Connecting rods sit side by side as per modern practice.
The rods are very long, have conventional caps and through bolts, and
are rifle-drilled for oiling the pins, which are full floating within
the pistons.  The crank is drilled for full-pressure oiling.

 The 16 cylinder crankshaft had 90 degree throws.  Presumably the
12 cylinder crank had 120 degree throws, or the engine would not
have been in proper balance.

 The camshaft is located in the center of the vee, with cylindrical
roller followers.  The shaft mounted rocker arms are unusual.  The
rocker is bored larger than the shaft and mounts on an eccentric
bushing.  This bushing has a short arm which is operated by spring and a
small piston actuated by engine oil pressure.  The arrangement is called
a "valve silencer" and takes up slack in the valvetrain much like a
modern hydraulic follower, or (a closer cousin) the odd ramp-and-pin
layout Ford used in some 1950s-era sixes.  Though a conventional
adjustor screw is provided on the pushrod side of the rocker, the text
claims the silencer automatically provided for any adjustment required
due to wear or valve face refinishing.  Dual valve springs were used.

 As was apparently the practice in high end engines of the era, the
generator and water pump were positively driven, in this case by the
triplex chain which drove the camshaft.  The chain was also fitted
with an idler and automatic tensioner.  The distributor was located in
the center of the vee and had either 16 or 12 wires from a single cap.
The spark plugs were located on the inside of the vee.

 Each cylinder bank had its own carburetor and exhaust manifold,
located on the outside of the vee.  This arrangement kept the engine
lower than a central carb layout and allowed use of conventional
(for the time) updraft carburetors for smoothness.  Each carb had
a steel inlet tube and a large "muffler", or intake silencer to
minimize induction drone.

 The engine was fitted with a 16-disc dry multiplate clutch, very
similar in design to some motorcycle clutches, and a three speed
manual transmission.  Multiple disc clutches allow more torque
capability for the same pedal pressure, though in the case of the
Cadillac it probably used very little pedal pressure and moderate
torque capability.

note:  The Marmon V16 of 1931 was very similar, only the single 2V
       carburetor sat in the vee on a normal-style intake manifold,
       spark plugs were on the outside of the vee, and the block
       and heads were aluminum instead of iron.  It displaced 491
       cubic inches and was rated at 200 brake horsepower at 3400 RPM,
       and weighed 930 pounds including accessories and three speed
       manual transmission.  The connecting rods were the fork-and-
       blade type instead of side-by-side.  Oddly, the specification
       state the Marmon used metric thread spark plugs.

=======================================================================
can you help me...help me get out of this place?...slow sedation...
ain't my style, ain't my pace...giving me a number...NINE, SEVEN, EIGHT
(Nazareth)               XJ900 TURBO at 15psi          DoD# 978  KotFAQ
=======================================================================
                                         

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Posted by: emory!chaos.lrk.ar.us!dave.williams (Dave Williams)
Newsgroups: alt.hotrod,wiz.hotrod