Interesting Question

junkcarfann

Why is it that all of the engine manufacturers (Continental, Buda, Hercules, Lycoming, LeRoi, Hall-Scott, etc..) did not come up with a OHV V-8 that the independents could use?



Those companies certainly had a history of providing engines for cars...Kaiser used the Continental 6, and many other smaller car manfucturers of the 1920's used engines from those manufacturers.



They could have made a V8 engine that, by varying the bore & stroke, had different displacements, and by varying the design of the valve covers and accessory location, could have looked different to Mr. Casual Observer.



Potential buyers were Hudson, Nash, Kaiser-Frazer, along with truck manfucaturers and other commercial, industrial, and military applications.



It seems like a possible business success...but I have never heard of such a thing.



Comments?

464Saloon

Two things come to my mind. Cost and acceptance. There is no doubt a flathead is cheaper than and OHV and a OHV is cheaper than and OHC. Hudson could have easily had an OHV when they came out with the new Big 6 in 48. I believe they had an OHV back in the 20's and dropped it after a year or two. I have always thought the same way about brakes. Why with it's simplicity and better performance were drum brakes still used well into the years of the disc brake.? Many vehicles up until just the last few years were still using drums on the rear. There may be a scant few cheapo versions still using rear drums, but most everything I see is finally 4 wheel disc.