Russell Sutton's nine-cylinder radial engine LIVES!

Zach Bowman — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST

Russell Sutton has proven once again that patience can trump all adversity. If you recall, the man has spent nearly five years constructing a nine-cylinder radial engine from a smattering of Honda single-cylinder XR600 thumpers. The last time we saw this beast, it ran briefly before succumbing to mechanical failure due to some lackluster cylinder sleeves. Now Sutton has resleeved each of the nine cylinders and has his creation running like a song with a little help from an MSD rev limiter.

The big beastie idles at around 600 rpm, and our favorite mad engine builder has rigged up a clever disc-brake load generator to give the radial something to work against. Pushing against the load, the radial evens out into a delicious thrum. Sutton is currently working on a three-blade prop for his design as he works toward building what will be the world's coolest air boat. Check out the lengthy video for yourself below. The fun gets started around the four-minute mark.

Continue reading Russell Sutton's nine-cylinder radial engine LIVES!

Russell Sutton's nine-cylinder radial engine LIVES! originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Prop-driven VW Beetle hopes to land in Bonneville [w/video]

Jonathon Ramsey — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:04:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Videos, Hatchback, Volkswagen, Specialty

Sometimes you meet folks who, when they tell you "Hey, I have an idea," your reflex response is to stop what you're doing and tell yourself, "Get ready...." We imagine Mike Niemans is one of those folks, and the idea in question is putting a tank engine on a Type 1 Volkswagen Beetle. Not just any old tank engine - as if there were such a thing when we're talking about putting them in cars - but a 668-cubic-inch, 220-horsepower radial engine built by Continental in 1941 and procured from an M2 tank.

In the image above Nieman is using the tank clutch hub to get the motor set up, but in one of the images below you can see what really belongs back there is: a two-inch, reverse-pitch prop taken from a wind generator. He says there's enough mojo with the propeller action to get the car rolling down the runway like a jet when he gives it gas - and speaking of gas, the engine's been refitted to run on propane.

After a few safety tweaks Nieman's going to take the matte-black Beetle to Bonneville, "put the prop on, let her go and see what happens!" We can't wait to see the video of that. There are two shakedown videos below to get you ready.

Continue reading Prop-driven VW Beetle hopes to land in Bonneville [w/video]

Prop-driven VW Beetle hopes to land in Bonneville [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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