brien23
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Was the Chevrolet Corvair Engine a Franklin or GM design?
Chevrolet Corvair Engine
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Tom-D
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Tom-D
It was built by GM from a Franklin patent, I forget which Franklin engine was used.
brien23
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Of all the corvair club links I can't find anything on the history of the engine.
kgruber
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I owned one.......a 1963 Corvair Spyder Convertible.
1st time I've heard about a Franklin heritage.
1st time I've heard about a Franklin heritage.
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mscard88
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bluerooster
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shorty
All the research that I've done today, I've found no mention of Franklin anywhere.
Art VanDelay
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IIRC it started out life as a possible helicopter engine.
Tom-D
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Engine_Company
The Corviar engine was built by GM, the design was from a Franklin engine. Franklin never made engines for GM.
The Corviar engine was built by GM, the design was from a Franklin engine. Franklin never made engines for GM.
Tom-D
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I know where there is one of those that is in a heated garage and has not been run or driven since 1964, when the lady that owned it died, and that car became a shrine. It is in like new condition, I offered the guy 30k for it in 2014, he just said, "it's not for sale".
upstateny
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Now in SW Florida
I had two: '65 convertible w/140hp 4-carb and another '65 180hp turbo. Paid $850 for each. Loved them both. Wish I still had the turbo, it was sweet.
The 140 was the first engine I ever rebuilt. Valve seat insert came loose, replaced everything while I was at it. Lots of fun.
The 140 was the first engine I ever rebuilt. Valve seat insert came loose, replaced everything while I was at it. Lots of fun.
I have found very little information supporting this, but there is some out there and I believe you are correct.
Tom-D
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The helicopter engines were all vertical mounted engine which means the oil scavenge and pick up was in the accessory case. this would not be appropriate for the corvair.
SoCal RV Flyer
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The Tucker 48 used a heavily modified Franklin helicopter engine. Interestingly, it was converted to water cooling.
From Wiki:
An air-cooled flat-6 engine, the O-335 made by Air Cooled Motors (and originally intended for the Bell 47),[21] fit, and its 166 hp (124 kW; 168 PS) pleased Tucker. He purchased four samples for $5,000 each, and his engineers converted the 334 cubic inches (5,470 cc) engine to water cooling (a decision that has puzzled historians ever since).[21] The Franklin engine was heavily modified by Tucker's engineers, including Eddie Offutt and Tucker's son Preston, Jr. at his Ypsilanti machine shop. Using an aircraft engine in an automotive application required significant modification; thus, very few parts of the original Franklin engine were retained in the final Tucker engine. This durable modification of the engine was tested at maximum power for 150 hours, the equivalent of 18,000 miles (29,000 km), at full throttle.[22]
Tucker quickly bought Air Cooled Motors for $1.8 million to secure the engine source, then canceled all of the company's aircraft contracts so its resources could be focused on making automotive engines. This was a significant decision, since at the time of Tucker's purchase, Franklin held over 65% of post-war U.S. aviation engine production contracts. The loss of income was substantial.
From Wiki:
An air-cooled flat-6 engine, the O-335 made by Air Cooled Motors (and originally intended for the Bell 47),[21] fit, and its 166 hp (124 kW; 168 PS) pleased Tucker. He purchased four samples for $5,000 each, and his engineers converted the 334 cubic inches (5,470 cc) engine to water cooling (a decision that has puzzled historians ever since).[21] The Franklin engine was heavily modified by Tucker's engineers, including Eddie Offutt and Tucker's son Preston, Jr. at his Ypsilanti machine shop. Using an aircraft engine in an automotive application required significant modification; thus, very few parts of the original Franklin engine were retained in the final Tucker engine. This durable modification of the engine was tested at maximum power for 150 hours, the equivalent of 18,000 miles (29,000 km), at full throttle.[22]
Tucker quickly bought Air Cooled Motors for $1.8 million to secure the engine source, then canceled all of the company's aircraft contracts so its resources could be focused on making automotive engines. This was a significant decision, since at the time of Tucker's purchase, Franklin held over 65% of post-war U.S. aviation engine production contracts. The loss of income was substantial.
bluerooster
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shorty
The Franklin automobile that I saw was an inline 6 IIRC. kinda like an inverted Ranger.
Dan Thomas
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Dan Thomas
Saw one once. Cooling fins were vertical, along the cylinder's axis, and it had steel shells around them to guide the cooling airflow from the overhead duct.