quote:Originally posted by No Quarter:
My deepest respect for people that can do this stuff. Incidentally, wouldn't it be easier to do a V16, just welding two V8s together?
Not sure about it being any easier but yes, it’s been done many times. If you search Chevy V16 you will get a bunch of hits. There have also been a number of folks that have just mechanically coupled two V8s nose to tail and skipped all the engineering and machining required to make a single block….there are quite a few drag racing examples of this as a less expensive route to more displacement.
I do have great reverence for those that take on such things and succeed. V12/V16 pushrod engines are certainly interesting, at least to me and such incarnations often reflect a fondness for a certain engine (which I share) and the novelty of making something that could have been, but never existed. From a practical perspective, one does have to wonder what/where to use them though. Marine and street rods can accept them more readily than most OE auto candidates. Whether its V12 or V16 it’s just a matter of degree. Jan mentioned he wanted to build a GT40 Mark IV JCar for his V12.....better not dare him
Though not impossible, I think that would be quite difficult given the length of the engine but certainly not more difficult than building such an engine. I suspect it likely weighs a bit more than V8s of comparable displacement. For me, even if I could build such an engine (beyond me) I’d probably conclude I’d get comparable power from comparable displacement V8 but, hey, that’s the beauty of the car hobby, to each his own, and the chances of someone else having one and the satisfaction of having worked it with your own hands…..priceless.
Best,
K