1932 Cadillac V16 scale model

[Roger Zimmermann]

To have a working engine at this scale would require machines much more precise that the lathe I have. It has never been my goal to have a functioning engine. It was difficult enough to have working electric windows on the Toronado and Mark II!

[Cadman-iac]

To have a working engine at this scale would require machines much more precise that the lathe I have. It has never been my goal to have a functioning engine. It was difficult enough to have working electric windows on the Toronado and Mark II!

Wow!! Working windows,  now that's a feat!
Yeah, a working engine would be a great deal more difficult indeed,  but just think of the "cool" factor!!! LOL!!
Good luck Roger!

[Roger Zimmermann]

As I wrote some days ago, I began the engine. But, with what? There are 5 main elements for that engine: the oil pan (no, I will not do it in aluminum like the original), the crankcase (same remark), both engine blocks, both heads and the valve covers. For all those parts, I have only a few dimensions, not enough to do something right now. The drawings in the shop manuals are somewhat distorted, I cannot rely entirely on that. Obviously, I cannot wait until factory blueprints are landing on my desk, but it would be nice to have them. As Cadillac or GM is not very cooperative with that ("No, we have nothing" what a lie!), I have to do something engine related.
Searching various offers for parts on eBay, I found a front engine cover for sale. No, I don't intend to buy it, but there were 2 very interesting pictures with the camera almost perpendicular to the cover. There are still distortions; its my task to rearrange the dimensions.
As you can guess, I began that front cover. It will be very helpful when I will begin the crankcase at the case's shape for the generator gearing can be copied from the cover.
This cover has another function: the front engine supports are riveted to it, it's another benefit debuting with that part: it will give me the position of the engine on the frame.

Two pictures are attached: the cover I found, and the cover the way it is today. Some minor elements must be done; the engine supports must be added too.

[Roger Zimmermann]

The last details were added to the front cover. I now have to build the engine supports which are castings.

[DeVille68]

Hey Roger,
I wonder how you added those details. There is no way tell. From behind with a negative form or from the front? (soldering?)

Best regards,
Nicolas

[Roger Zimmermann]

The luxury variant would be to stamp the part in just one or two strokes! With so many details, I cannot. So, each detail is an added element either silver soldered like on the first picture and the remaining details soft soldered. Scale modeling is anyway an illusion, therefore its not necessary to do the parts like the real ones were done.

[Roger Zimmermann]

The supports, rivetted on the front cover, are only partly symmetrical. The first parts I did were both recipients for the rubber cushions. On the model, there will be no rubber as the engine will turn vibration free!
The next task was to silver solder the attaching plate to the recipients. To facilitate the job, I used the third hand as the plates could not stay vertical without aid. The first pictures are showing the process. The "fingers" from the third hand were hot at the end, but not enough to damage them.
Then I shaped the attaching plates to their respective location. I only guessed the distance between the base and the lower end of the cover; if the engine will be too low, some washers will help. By looking at my pictures, it seems that I'm not too far away from the correct dimension.
Then, I added the reinforcement ribs. The last ones will be soft soldered; indeed, they are here just for the show.
The last two pictures are showing the front cover with supports (attached with screws for the moment) and how that assembly is looking on or into the frame. Just imagine the engine behind it!

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

........ The first parts I did were both recipients for the rubber cushions. On the model, there will be no rubber as the engine will turn vibration free! 

Roger,

I like your optimism and your total confidence in your machining and engine-building when time comes to spin the engine over.

Bruce.

[Roger Zimmermann]

After riveting the engine supports to the cover and adding the sealing surface for the oil pan (attached with silver solder and false rivets), the front engine cover is finished. It was time to do the pulley for the fan and harmonic balancer. This simple part became a complex affair every Englishman could be proud of it. Why the complication? Well, I like when pulleys can be rotated. However, I dislike when they are turning like an egg. Everyone accustomed to work on a lathe knows that when a part get machined on one side and then the other side, chance that both machined elements are perfectly concentric is an illusion as the chuck is not a precision tool, especially if it was used and abused which is the case on my lathe.
This fact let to design the various part in such a way that out of round is practically eliminated, but it requires more sub-assemblies.
What will be the velocity of that shaft? Well, it will turn as quickly as one will be able to let it turn with the engine crank handle! If you are good looking at the harmonic balancer, you will notice the provision for the crank handle.
In the real life, I'm wondering how easy or hard it was to turn over the V-16 with a crank handle…
The first picture is showing the cover and in front of it the pulley/harmonic balancer; the second one is less glamorous: it's the back of the cover with the bearing to guide the small shaft. The third one is the assembly from both elements.

[Roger Zimmermann]

Usually, when I'm building a model, I have no logic with what to do first and with what I should continue. It's most of the time dependent if I'm still needing more info or whatever. Sometimes, I'm continuing with some logic: after the pulley on the crank shaft, why not do the pulley for the fan?
The people who designed the pulley and hub almost 90 years ago had certainly the idea that somebody would replicate that engine; therefore, to add some difficulties, they designed a hub with ribs for the fan! The first picture is showing that.
I had two solutions: close the eyes and do a smooth hub or take the challenge to add the ribs. I choose the difficult one without knowing how to do it. To complicate the matter, that casted hub has on one side the pulley and on the other side the flange on which the fan is attached. Doing that in one piece is not possible. I did the flange and hub as one part and the pulley as another one.
Then I counted the number of ribs: there are more than 8, base on a picture from the original pulley, I decided that there were 12. After doing that part and comparing with the above picture, there are maybe only 10. I will survive if I'm wrong.
Anyway, I milled 12 grooves; because of the flange, I could not do the grooves till the end. Therefore, the "fins" were only partly inserted in the grooves and silver soldered 2 pieces at the same time. After lowering the ribs, I silver soldered the pulley.
Now, I can do the adjustable shaft.

[V.Sorok]

And yet only eight))

[Roger Zimmermann]

And yet only eight))

Thanks for the nice drawings (something I cannot do) but I'm still not sure about the quantity. I decided 12 because of the attached picture. With 8, they should coincide with the holes for the fan, but they don't.

[V.Sorok]

Thanks for the nice drawings (something I cannot do) but I'm still not sure about the quantity. I decided 12 because of the attached picture. With 8, they should coincide with the holes for the fan, but they don't.

Roger, I respect and appreciate your masterful work, but I suppose you're wrong this time. I showed the same detail at a different angle.
With all my respect,
Vlad

[Ralph Messina CLC 4937]

Gentlemen,

For what it's worth I scaled the rib spacing in the pic and estimate it is 12.7% of the circumference, which is mighty close to 1/8th

[Roger Zimmermann]

Well, I can be wrong! The fact is that when the part was finished, the space between the ribs had not the same look as on the pictures. And then? The part will stay that way!

[Roger Zimmermann]

Before I did the controversial hub, I built the support for it. This support will be screwed on the crankcase and is designed to let rise or lower the pulley and fan assembly to have the correct tension of the belt.
At that time, the belt did not drive the generator nor the water pump; those two assemblies were driven by the camshaft's chain.
Logically the next step would be either the crankcase or the fan. I choose the fan and began with the star support for the blades. Here too, the blades are spaced symmetrically which is easier for me. This small part (a tad over 1") required a lot of filing and careful drilling for the blade's rivets. The surfaces on which the blades will be riveted have a slight curve. This is the kind of parts I like to do!
I'm not sure, but I believe that the blades were made with polished stainless steel on the original cars; mines will be brass. Once riveted, the assembly will be chromed and the blade's support will be painted black.

[Roger Zimmermann]

The 6 blades were made with a thinner brass; they were pre-drilled, shaped and polished. The assembly to the support was done with 30 rivets, without almost no damage to the polished surface. The rivets are done with a thin copper wire, 0.5 mm in diameter (0.02") and ....riveted with modified tools I used for the frame's rivets.
Now that the very front end of the engine is done, I definitively have to go rearwards. I will begin the crankcase soon; this is originally a cast aluminum part; it will be done with flat brass, suitably shaped and silver soldered.

[Ralph Messina CLC 4937]

Roger,

….Like a work of art...

[Roger Zimmermann]

Thanks Ralph!

Doing an engine with flat stock is always an adventure. Even if the crankcase sides are rather flat, there are logically still curves. For the moment, the curves are far away, I have to make the foundations. The first parts are less than glamourous as you can see below. Those 3 parts are the base for the crankcase and both sides. But why there are dents on the parts representing the sides?

[V.Sorok]

But why there are dents on the parts representing the sides?

They'll probably be bolt mounts.