V8 motors cut in half

i remember looking thru some American magazines and seeing that for a while they were racing buggies with V4 motors that are simply cut in half V8's. does any body know if anyone here Australia has done it or if there is somewhere in the states in which you can buy one from

thanks

There were variants of the Ford Transit van that had V4s in them, might be a bit easier.......that's in NZ, not sure about here.

[Edited on 28-3-2005 by speedster356]

very first Transits (Thames van) had an option of V4. They are a junk motor, and V4's in general have very poor harmonics. That's pretty much why no-one makes them anymore.

when they cut a v8 in half you still get the torque of a v8 bit half the weight. they proved very good in the states in offraod racing but just can't remember who was using one.

Wag67 wrote:when they cut a v8 in half you still get the torque of a v8 bit half the weight.

You're kidding.....right????:duh funniest thing I've read all day..............😀

WHY didnt you save the post till april 1st then it would have fitted perfectly

There are also some speedway engines that basically cut one cylinder bank off them.
I just cannot remember their name now. old as buggery.

The hideous transit van 2 Ltr V4 was the birthplace of the beautiful old 3 Ltr Essex and German derivative, or Cologne V6's that powered so many Zephyre Zodiacs and later in the venerable V6 Capri GT.

Thing is with the original 4 cyl thing, some bright spark decided to make the included cylinder angle 60 degrees.
In a 4 cylinder configuration, with the crank phasing they were using, the engines ran like a pig and they employed a large balance shaft into the distictively "Y" shaped block to dampen the vibes that would otherwise loosen your fillings.
The engines ran well enough after this but always had a built in "miss" and sounded terrible.
Those engine were actually very, very grunty and quite indestructible. They did come in a fairly rare (in Aus) Mk-1 Capri as well as the Transit Vans.
Most of those hideous old engines made it to the bottom of the sea i favour of old iron 200 and 250 cube ford sixes.

Basically, the exact same engine had 2 extra cylinders welded on the back and the balance shaft removed and the sweet running and magnificent sounding Essex V6 was born.
Things like rods, pistons, bearings and all the valve gear are identical and can be used in either engines.
If you get to look into the guts of a V6 you will still see the holes cast in the front 3 main bearing webs where the balance shaft was fitted to the original V4
The Essex V6 was extremely oversquare (short stroked) engine that produced gobs of low down and mid-range tourque but were severely handicapped in the top end by restrictive head design. this is why they were never really a force against the V8's and Torana sixes in '70's touring car racing.
Brutally designed engines with indestructible internals. Makes a big block Chev look stupidly insignificant!!!
Sadly, the biggest drawback of these engines is (apart from rarity now) is sheer weight.

The V6 is actually 25Lb heavier than a Ford 302 Windsor (60degree) V8 and due to the fact that there was a very rare, Sth African only release, small block V8 derivative of the Mk-1 Capri, many of the original V6's were junked in favour of the more powerful and bigger seppo V8's with no legality issues!

I digress.........!!!90 degree V4's are usually beautifully balanced and run very well and have been used successfully for many years, particularly in big arsed motorcycles like VFR 750 & 1000 Hondas.
Their main issue is they are quite costly to produce compared to an "across the frame" 4 cyl.

Cut a V8 down to a V4 and you dont have the tourque of a V8 anymore dude, very, very roughly speaking, you have around half! Tee Hee!

L8tr
E

[These motors are mostly used in speedcar racing for the reliability fact very strong and quick motors mostly built in usa.These motors were built to compete against the fontana motors but at a cheaper cost.Just remember vw motors were the leading speedcar motor 10year ago but became very costly as well.JVLRacing

I'm surprised vw people havent herd about scat who built the v4 speedway motors they are based off small block chev
they made a few but their vw type motors where probably more popular with individual heads special cranks etc.
they were once dominant in midget class

ps. porsche also cut the 928 motor in half for the 944 by using one bank and these things went out 3 litre 4 cylanders
has chev ever one lemans ?

Ahhhhhhhh the Fontana!
Thats the name i could not recall!
Thanks
E

from what i remember a bloke took a top fuel v8 and cut it down the middle to make a flat four to use in an integra that was running at the fwd drags. he was aiming for mid fives i think. imagine the torque steer!

Yeh the SCat V4 was another top motor but cost factor killed them out of the game.JVLRacing

i remember reading about a 6 pot porsche that lost 2 pots for a VW mating

anyone remember this?

i'll take the silence as a no...............