This was posted on the Cleveland forum, I know some of you will find it interesting, so I thought I would share it with you.
Pictured below is a Ford GAA military engine, which powered the Sherman tanks in World War II.
Statistics:
1100 cubic inches (18 liters)
60 degree V8, all aluminum block and heads, side oiler short skirt block with 4 bolt mains
weight 960 pounds as pictured, about 1400 pounds in standard military trim
5.4" bore x 6.0" stroke
billet steel flat plane (180 degree) crankshaft
shaft driven dual over head camshafts, 4 valves per cylinder
dual magneto ignition
7.5:1 compression ratio
525 bhp @ 2800 rpm, 1050 ft/lbs @ 2200 rpm, running on 80 octane gasoline in 1941
Originally designed to be a water cooled V12 aircraft motor, to comptete with the Allison V12 (hence the alloy construction). When the US entered WWII the military told Ford they didn't need another air craft motor, they needed a compact V8 tank motor. The quickest method for Ford to provide the tank motor was to build a V8 based on this alloy V12, rather than to design a new motor from scratch, because the tooling was already on-hand to build the alloy V12. The motor was produced as the GAA, and later with small variations the GAF and GAN. Several years later it was resurrected as a 750 bhp V12 called the GAC to power the T29 heavy tank.
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