On 13 Nov 2005 14:27:10 -0800, "MrV" wrote:

well given sea level standard temp i'm looking at ~250hp at 3500 rpm
which from the graphs i've seen translates to about 360-375 lb-ft
torque at that point. now the graphs are few and far between but i'm
sure i can tweak it to atleast this level.

MrV, as others have indicated there are a lot of design issues that
make using an auto engine a lot more of an engineering problem than
you might think.

First and foremost, you really need to rethink the idea of using an
auto/truck transmission, even a Corvette tranny. It just doesn't make
sense from an engineering standpoint. It's WAY too heavy for the job
being required, and you are carrying around extra gears and shafts as
dead weight. Not only is it dead weight, it's weight kinda behind the
center of gravity. Plus, the gears you would need to use simply are
not up to the task of transmitting even 50% power, given that you are
talking about an engine capable of putting out 250+. Now that you are
talking about adding bearings to support and isolate the propshaft,
you are adding yet more weight, this time well behind the center of
gravity. Are your wings going to have the ability to swing forward
and aft in order to compensate for the different weights of the
pilot/passengrs and luggage?

There was a guy who tried really really hard to make a go of
installing the Buick/Olds 215CID aluminum V8 in the back of a Long
E-Z. Look for E-Racer on the internet. He kept blowing them up.
Some of the blowups were because he did not research in the hot rod
community about the engine. Had he done so he would have learned that
you cannot bore the engine out to 300 CID and go racing. That doesn't
leave enough material to support the cylinder sleeves. There were
many other problems that caused catastrophic engine failure. His name
is Shirl Dickey. He finally decided to install a Chevy V-6 and last I
heard, he'd yanked it and was using a Lycoming.

This is the setup you are talking about, except that you keep
insisting you can use an auto transmission too.

Driving a prop using a driveshaft has been done successfully before.
See Curtiss P-39 Airacobra and P-61 King Cobra. But the driveshaft
was MASSIVE, as was the engine (Allison V12).

It's admirable to want to build a quiet airplane but it is definately
not a trivial matter. Are you an aerodynamics engineer? If not, you
should be doing some extremely heavy reading to see what such will
take.

Ben Haas has a very clean looking auto engine conversion using an auto
engine. But he has a racing background and the engine is not a stock
unit. He had built a number of engines that raced, prior to
attempting to install something in his airplane. In addition, he did
not design his airplane, he left that headache to Zenith.

Others have mentioned that engineering an auto engine conversion is
not a simple task. Designing and building an airplane is REALLY not a
simple task. You are suggesting you want to do both.

I wish you the best of luck.

Corky Scott

PS, seeking information from this group is not necessarily a good
sign. As Groucho Marx put it, "I would not want to belong to any club
that would have me." ;-)

PPS, for those who think stock Detroit engines are not up to the task
of putting out a continuous 65% power, is it time again for me to post
the description of what one auto manufacturer does typically to test
it's engines? If you've never read it, you will be agast at the
punishment.