There have been some previous threads dealing with "reverse flow" Model T engines: 4 Intake and 2 Exhaust.
I found the following video on Youtube of such an engine running. Does any one know the builder and if so, can we get some details of the engine?
Here is the Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bnTC7WXsGA
I would like to build a T engine that runs backwards.
I wonder why Ed Winfield didn't do that, instead of his two up, two down engine?
So what all has to be done to make this work?
Flip rear-end (ring gear on other side)
New hand crank ratchet (right handed IS the best!)
New manifolds and carb(s)
Is there really anything else? The cam stays the same which is neat You should flip your valve lash so that the new intakes and exhausts are .010 and .012 respectively. Firing order is now 1, 3, 4, 2 . . . right? Do you have more of a problem with so much heat going through just the 2 ports? Seems like this would be a prime setup for porting like that other motor recently posted, just make it some big fat exhaust ports and run 2 big header pipes.
Seems like it might be easier to have the exhaust run straight out to the outside of the body and the carbs hang down - that way you don't need a fuel pump.
Am I missing anything? I wonder how much more power you get from the engine with dual carbs and way better intake setup?
Seth don't forget to turn the fan around so you are drawing air through the radiator instead of trying to push it out!
LOL G.R. hopefully if you've gone to the trouble of all of this then you've just flat-out removed the fan. =) Should be going fast enough all the time that a fan is just a waste anyway.
I don't think it is running backwards but if one was set up to do that the genny is spinning the wrong way and the band adjusters will need to be reversed as well.
I guess you could do the same thing with a custom cam so that you had the intakes and exhausts swapped but still run the same rotation.
Do the band adjusters really matter? They're not the same themselves anyway. Brake and reverse are essentially self-actuating like Rocky Mountain brakes when engine is under normal rotation, but the low band is actuated from the opposite side. I would think if you had good band springs then it doesn't really matter anyway. I don't really know though, all of this is purely conjecture on my part.
There is no self actuating with the bands. They just clamp the band between the too ends slowing it down or stopping it.
On LHD the actuators are the opposite to RHD and they all work whether the pedal shaft is moving to the right or left.
On the brake band if you are going backwards it works just as well as going forward, it does not loose effect like the self actuating Rocky Mountain brakes
Like Seth said, the engine would not run backwards. It would require a different cam to have the valves reverse roles. For example the reverse flow design of the new Ford diesels.
Hey John a T motor will run backwards without changing the cam - you have to switch a few things around, which is what I was asking about in my first post at 7:11. You can either do that to get reverse flow or you can run a different cam with normal engine rotation.
I was just asking if anyone knows how much the direction of rotation matters for the bands. Does anyone on the board have T motor they are running in reverse? Such that you flipped the ring gear to the other side . . .
There are model A guys who have gone to a timing chain rather than gears to turn just the cam backwards. Result is the same without turning the whole engine backwards. They go like hell at the hill climbs.
Erik
I have talked to Bill Stipe about making a reverse flow camshaft. A few months ago I figured out a chain drive setup for the T camshaft. I have not gone further on this.
In regards to the bands; well Ford changed the adjusters completely on the RHD hogshead, so I guess Ford figured it needed to be done. Nice thing about a RHD is you can adjust the brake band without removing the cover.
Here is a photo of a speedster built long ago by Felix Graves here in Tulsa. Fred Houston was involved in the build. The car ran very well and won the Chandler Park Hillclimb at least once. Last I heard Felix's car is owned by a guy in Arkansas and he won't let it go.
Seth you are correct that the cam will work as is, but in its normal position it is retarded 6.5 degrees. If you run it backwards it will be advanced by that much unless you do some adjustment. I'd think for a hot speedster it would be better to design a special cam which reverses the lobe positions so you don't have to run it backwards.