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Air Cooled Flat Twin

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Paul Aslanides Commited Dubber

53 posts · joined Oct 2003 ·

#194437
G'day all.
I've found a horizontally opposed, air-cooled twin cylinder engine, complete with gearbox, generator, distributor, carburettor, air filter, oil filter, regulator, ducting and tinware.
I was hoping it would be of Continental origin, like Citroen, Panhard, Tatra, etc; but have found that it has Nippon Denso electricals (generator, regulator) and some Asian letters moulded into the flywheel housing. So I figure it must be of Japanese origin.
Would anyone have any idea what car this is from? What manufacturer? It is an all-alloy engine and gearbox, with the gearbox out the back, suggesting that it's most likely front-engined, with rear wheel drive. The fan is at the front, and the engine ducting leads the air over the cylinders, similar to our VW's. Curiously, the generator drive belt is behind the fan, so maybe the fan had to come off the end of the crankshaft in order to put on a new generator drive belt.
The engine unit has obviously been sitting idle for many years, so I haven't tried to turn it over just yet, don't want to damage anything. I'm guessing it dates from the early to mid 1960's. And no, it's definitely not a motorcycle engine - it's way too big. Too big in overall size, not engine capacity. So it's not Velocette, ABC, Douglas, BMW, Zundapp, Lilac, etc.
Thanks in advance. Cheers.

68AutoBug Beetle Restorer - Experience over 138\% - YIKES --

11,654 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#194451
I was also thinking Honda.. Z coupe...
Honda started making motor cycles many years ago but only went into cars around the early 60s.... made some odd little cars first...

I first thought of the Haflinger engine... from Pinzgauer in Austria..... looks like a twin cylinder VW engine...

Lee
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---

Paul Aslanides Commited Dubber

53 posts · joined Oct 2003 ·

#197476
Thanks for your input, fellas.
I've found a chap in Japan who will be able to identify this engine - just a soon as I get it home, and get some photographs. Which I shall also post to this list. Later this month.

Meanwhile, for those of you who have only recently stumbled across the Tatra marque, have a geek at this:

http://www.radio.cz/en/article/26109

Ledwinka is widely regarded as one of the great European designers. One story I read about him - he believed that modern trucks had not changed much since the days of bullock drays. And if one considers that both truck and dray chassis consist of two long members with pieces across to keep them together, or apart, as the case may be, (i.e. ladder frame), then he was quite right. Save that the steering has improved somewhat. So his trucks, both ridgids and prime movers, had bogie drive, with diff. locks as a matter of course, but also had independent suspension all round. I'm trying to imagine the size of the constant velocity joints required to transmit that power. Perhaps not really suitable for trundling up and down the Hume Freeway, but these trucks were capable of going into the forest and dragging out their own logs, without getting stuck.
What about Deutz ? Heard of them? Oh, diesels. Well...
What abut Franklin ? They were air cooled, too. Then there's Victa. Victa? Yep, they made a flat twin, too.
Gosh, there's no end to it, is there ? Cheers.

70AutoStik Insano Dub Head

730 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#197520
I looked up the czech site - very patriotic. But yo should have a look at a few more cars of the same era - that kind of shape was dicatated by a combination of the manufacturing technology of the time and a need need to keep manufacturing costs of the body down to a point of making a car that the average man in the street could dream of owning (sorry, Hitler wasn't quite the visionary some have painted him to be.)

type82e Wolfsburg Wizard

591 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#197621
the first subaru's were a 2 cyl little coupe saw a picture of it somewhere? could be a winner.
marcel

Paul Aslanides Commited Dubber

53 posts · joined Oct 2003 ·

#197916
Thanks, fellas.
"manufacturing technology...and costs". Yep, agreed.

re Subaru: I did find a website giving some history and pics of this marque, but nothing mentioned of a 2 cyl. engine.
You may well be right, though. I'll keep looking. Cheers.

baybuscamperkid prince of insufficient light, ruler of heck

4,316 posts · joined Aug 2002 ·

#197943
type82e is right, the first subis were 2cyl, they were shaped like bugs, and i think maybe rear-engined too, called the 360 from memory.
Reimagined/Recycled/Upcycled Cool

Paul Aslanides Commited Dubber

53 posts · joined Oct 2003 ·

#198546
Thanks. Wish I could find something about 'em on the ww web. Nice tidy unit, this 2 cyl. engine is. Now I'd like to know if Subaru made it under licence, or whether it's all of their own design. There were no pushrod tubes on top of the cylinders, so I assume they must be underneath. Didn't see anything to suggest it might be overhead cam, either. Hate to keep you in suspense, but as said, I can't do 'photos for a week or two. BTW, It's an engine with a gearbox attached. There is no differential. The gearbox output shaft has a spider/flange/thingo on it to take a universal joint. Which all suggests that it's either front-engined with rear wheel drive, or rear-engined with front wheel drive, the latter being very unusual. If it were rear-engine with rear wheel drive, the engine overhang (out the back) would be enormous. Cheers.

kombikim disfunctionally capable

1,521 posts · joined Dec 2002 ·

#198562
You will almost certainly find it is an engine from a Toyota Publica , which was sold in Australia as the Toyota 700, mostly fitted with a 2 speed automatic transmission, around 1966, the were quite common & very long lived, only disappearing from the roads in the early 80s , they put out quite a bit of power considering the size of the motor, which was also fitted to an 800cc sports coupe, of which only a handful came to Australia both these vehicles were front engine/rear drive

[Edited on 4-7-2004 by kombikim]
Please, I need drivers side window regulator (winder mechanism) for my '54

Paul Aslanides Commited Dubber

53 posts · joined Oct 2003 ·

#198621
Great stuff ! Thanks, Kim.
Found it on www.Carfolio.com
Nice little sports car, too. Very desirable. No pics of the engine, though.
Yes, that was a good power output for the time.
The Dyna Panhard developed about 50 bhp from 750 ccm,
from memory, also a very respectable figure, later models only. Cheers.