The Ford Barn

updraught · Yesterday, 02:04 AM

"What Ricardo and the Rolls-Royce team under project engineer Harry Wood and chief designer Eddie Gass produced between 1937 and 1945 was an engine that rewrote what was theoretically possible from a reciprocating piston powerplant"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYAAGaVVgXQ

nkaminar · Yesterday, 04:51 AM

We can thank Sir Harry Recardo for the Model A head design. Although the flat head is not as efficient in pumping air as the overhead design, the combustion chamber design is highly efficient in burning the fuel. Recardo did pioneering work in combustion chamber design in the 1920's leading to the Model A head design.

Trapdoor2 · Yesterday, 07:11 AM

Dad found a copy of his book on an Army library sales table. Still has 50 cents penciled inside the cover. It was on one of the living-room end tables all through my teens and we had many fun discussions over those pages and diagrams. My Uncle Bill designed a Ricardo-style sleeve valve engine in the 1970s but died before he ever cut chips on it.

Bruce of MN · Yesterday, 10:39 AM

The scream from the exhaust must have been something. I remember how 2 stroke, 4 cylinder 750cc racing motorcycles sounded.

Synchro909 · Today, 02:01 AM

IMO, the sound of a Merlin engine demands respect. I imagine to hear the 2 stroke version would have been a whole different level but it was a dead end - the future was jet engines.
I have to hand it to those English engineers - they knew what they were doing. These days, a battery powered drone is the future. Simplicity trumps complexity again!

katy · Today, 09:55 AM

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Synchro909

Simplicity trumps complexity!

Perxactly

Yesterday, 02:04 AM	#1
updraught Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Australia Posts: 2,288	OT: 1935 Richardo and a two stoke Spitfire engine "What Ricardo and the Rolls-Royce team under project engineer Harry Wood and chief designer Eddie Gass produced between 1937 and 1945 was an engine that rewrote what was theoretically possible from a reciprocating piston powerplant" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYAAGaVVgXQ

Yesterday, 04:51 AM	#2
nkaminar Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Western North Carolina Posts: 6,849	Re: OT: 1935 Richardo and a two stoke Spitfire engine We can thank Sir Harry Recardo for the Model A head design. Although the flat head is not as efficient in pumping air as the overhead design, the combustion chamber design is highly efficient in burning the fuel. Recardo did pioneering work in combustion chamber design in the 1920's leading to the Model A head design. __________________ A is for apple, green as the sky. Step on the gas, for tomorrow I die. Forget the brakes, they really don't work. The clutch always sticks, and starts with a jerk. My car grows red hair, and flies through the air. Driving's a blast, a blast from the past.

Yesterday, 07:11 AM	#3
Trapdoor2 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2025 Location: The Beach, South Carolina Posts: 195	Re: OT: 1935 Richardo and a two stoke Spitfire engine Dad found a copy of his book on an Army library sales table. Still has 50 cents penciled inside the cover. It was on one of the living-room end tables all through my teens and we had many fun discussions over those pages and diagrams. My Uncle Bill designed a Ricardo-style sleeve valve engine in the 1970s but died before he ever cut chips on it. __________________ '31 Ford Deluxe Coupe "The Green Hornet"

Yesterday, 10:39 AM	#4
Bruce of MN Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: VA Posts: 2,047	Re: OT: 1935 Richardo and a two stoke Spitfire engine The scream from the exhaust must have been something. I remember how 2 stroke, 4 cylinder 750cc racing motorcycles sounded.

Today, 02:01 AM	#5
Synchro909 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 8,432	Re: OT: 1935 Richardo and a two stoke Spitfire engine IMO, the sound of a Merlin engine demands respect. I imagine to hear the 2 stroke version would have been a whole different level but it was a dead end - the future was jet engines. I have to hand it to those English engineers - they knew what they were doing. These days, a battery powered drone is the future. Simplicity trumps complexity again! __________________ When all is said and done, more is said than done. That's why we judge people on what they do, not what they say. I sometimes wonder what happened to the people who asked me for directions. If I am not in trouble, I've done something wrong.