MiltYergens Posted May 2, 2016 Report Posted May 2, 2016 https://oldmachinepress.com/2012/10/05/chrysler-a57-multibank-tank-engine/ Quote
knuckleharley Posted May 2, 2016 Report Posted May 2, 2016 5 engines,all that work and development,and it only makes 445 hp and a little over 1,000 ft lbs of torque. They could have gotten more power than that from just 2 engines if they had wanted. 1 Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted May 3, 2016 Report Posted May 3, 2016 the idea was to use what was already in production for quicker tooling up and support of the war effort... 1 Quote
DonaldSmith Posted May 3, 2016 Report Posted May 3, 2016 I think some tanks had twin Cadillac V-8 engines. Go with what you have. Quote
VFFFrank Posted May 3, 2016 Report Posted May 3, 2016 With twin Hydra-Matics. We had a war to win. What they accomplished with the technology of the day is nothing short of amazing to me. We're still speaking English.....that says it all for me. Frank 1 Quote
dpollo Posted May 3, 2016 Report Posted May 3, 2016 I knew a mechanic ( army corporal) who worked on a tank with the multibank engine. It was an amazing and apparently successful machine. There are still at least two multibanks in running order and several display engines. Chrysler Corp's war production was pretty impressive including over 20 000 tanks powered by a variety of engines George Damman's book 70 Years of Chrysler provides some specifics. Quote
knuckleharley Posted May 3, 2016 Report Posted May 3, 2016 (edited) I think some tanks had twin Cadillac V-8 engines. Go with what you have. Yup! I first discovered this at the same time I discovered a old elementary school friend of my fathers that I had known all my life as a self-employed commercial fisherman and never even suspected he had been 50 miles from home was drafted into the army during WW-2 and became a tanker. Not only became a tanker,but won a DSC along with a battlefield promotion to 1st Lt during the invasion of Africa,and fought with Patton right up to the day the war ended. That's when the trouble began for him. Like many loner commercial fisherman,he was of the a literal mindset,and when drafted "for the duration of the war" that meant as far as he was concerned the war was over and he was free to go back home. When he was told he had to wait until his number came up,he just said "screw it",and bought his own ticket home. The DSC and the SS he earned later earned him a honorable discharge with no time served. He never mentioned a word of this until after I got out of the army on disability after VN,and then he broke out all the photos and started telling me stories. I was so ignorant of WW-2 technology that I was shocked when he was talking about how Sherman tanks were bombs on tracks just waiting to be hit by a 88mm. When I asked him why,he told me it was the gas and fumes in them. I was shocked. I had been assuming all along they were diesels. That's when he told me his tank had 2 V-8 flathead Caddy engines in them. He never married or had a family,so I'm guessing all those great photos he took from Africa to Berlin were just tossed in the trash when he died. Edited May 3, 2016 by knuckleharley Quote
Andydodge Posted May 3, 2016 Report Posted May 3, 2016 Would have liked to be a fly on the wall when this idea was 1st brought up.........."Hey I've got a bright idea!........you know those spare Chrysler 6's downstairs.....!!! "..........lol......still it worked, would love to have one sitting in the garage.......or maybe a garage just for it.........andyd Quote
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