Tucker Car Engine
Overview
The Tucker car was an American automobile produced by the Tucker Corporation in 1948. The car was designed by Preston Tucker, and featured a number of innovative design features, including a rear-mounted engine, a fiberglass body, and a torsion-bar suspension.
The Tucker car engine was a 5.5-liter flat-six engine that produced 160 horsepower. The engine was designed by Aleksander Saurwein, and was based on the Lycoming aircraft engine. The engine was mounted in the rear of the car, and drove the rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission.
Design
The Tucker car engine was a horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine with a displacement of 5.5 liters. The engine had a cast-iron block and aluminum heads. The cylinders were arranged in two banks of three, with the intake valves on one side of the engine and the exhaust valves on the other.
The engine was equipped with a single overhead camshaft that was driven by a chain. The camshaft operated the valves through pushrods and rocker arms. The engine also featured a wet sump oil system and a mechanical fuel pump.
Performance
The Tucker car engine produced 160 horsepower at 4,200 rpm and 265 lb-ft of torque at 2,800 rpm. The engine was capable of propelling the Tucker car to a top speed of 120 mph.
The Tucker car engine was known for its smooth operation and its ability to produce power at low engine speeds.
Reliability
The Tucker car engine was a reliable engine. However, the car itself was plagued by a number of problems, including poor build quality and a lack of spare parts.
As a result, the Tucker car was never able to achieve its full potential.
Conclusion
The Tucker car engine was an innovative and powerful engine. However, the car itself was not a success.
Despite its failures, the Tucker car engine remains a testament to the ingenuity of its designer, Aleksander Saurwein.
