R975 Radial engines

[Bob Phillips]

Malcolm, your appreciation is very much appreciated! Also a very unique smell as they were packed with thick heavy grease inside and outside.
I want to share a few pictures with you, reminiscent of those showing your beat up Sexton engine. This was a motor I tore apart, it looked great on the outside but not so great inside. You can see half a fractured link rod that was laying inside the motor, the piston was smashed to bits, I took out a couple of handfuls of aluminium chunks and look at the smashed up crankcase and the hole/slot cut right through the cylinder base as the rod came out! I suspect this was hydro static lock up induced, as it was a bottom cylinder right beside the oil sump. Must have been noisy for a few minutes as it disintegrated!
B.P.
smashed1.jpg

smashed2.jpg

smashed3.jpg

[Malcolm Towrie]

That carnage looks horribly familiar!

Amazingly, our crankcase looked intact though dye penetrant may have shown some cracks.

And that bell-mouthing of the lower liners as the rods thrash around makes it very difficult to pull the cylinders.

Malcolm

[Bob Phillips]

While this engine will provide a few spare parts, I see its future as a coffee table! Not much need to check cracks with this beauty, and, yes it is the worse and most smashed up radial I have ever encountered.
B.P.