Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[ukdave2002]

The engine in the pics below is fitted to a 1958 Ford Thames







an odd feature is how far forward the distributor is?

Does anyone recognise the engine type / spec (it may not be original).

Thanks Dave

[Rootes75]

I do think that's the standard small 4 cylinder petrol engine as stated in the brochure. from recollection its the same petrol engine as fitted to Fordson petrol powered tractors of the time?

It may be easier to Google Fordson Major Petrol engines as there is a much larger following for tractors to Fordson commercials.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[alastairq]

After a bit of research {AKA fumbling around?], the lins below might be useful?
I think , given the date of the truck itself, the engine might be a Ford 591E.
This was a 3260cc 4 cylinder petrol engine....Ford having developed a petrol & diesel version using many of the same components.

I have included links to a boating website, as Ford[son] made the forerunners of the above engine for boats, etc as well.



https://everythingaboutboats.org/ford-4d/





https://everythingaboutboats.org/ford-o-d/
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Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
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Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[Cargy]

If you go to the Commercial Motor Archive 11th December 1953: ?A Petrol Engine with Oiler Characteristics? ( https://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/11th-december-1953/50/a-petrol-engine-with-oiler-characteristics ) you will find a write-up for the original new 4-cylinder 3.6-litre petrol engined four-ton cost-cutter model lorry introduced by Ford in 1953.

It looks like the forerunner of yours ? they made a point of the forward position of the distributor as a servicing benefit and its low-rev/high torque characteristic. Looking at Alistair?s information the bore was reduced on the later petrol engines ? easy on an engine with liners.

Basic 1953 engine description: A four-cylinder overhead valve petrol engine; bore 100mm (3.9375in.); stroke 115mm (4.524in.); piston swept volume 3.61 litres (220cu. in.); max. output 70 b.h.p. at 2800 r.p.m.; R.A.C. rating 24.8 h.p.; maximum torque 165 lb.-ft. at 1500 r.p.m.

[Kenham]

Indeed as said the petrol version of the 4D engine, if you found a good vapourising manifold as fitted to the Major tractor you could run on kerosene to save a few pounds.

[Kenham]

The distributor is fitted there as it is driven off the shaft that would drive the injector pump on a diesel, the pump located behind on the side of the engine.

[bjacko]

If you are going to run on petrol you will usually need a separate petrol tank for starting and warming up before changing to Kerosene (Paraffin) My current Morris 8 was run that way during the war by the company that owned it. Fordson tractors I drove on a farm years ago were the same.
The distributor on my Rover is fitted right at the front of the engine (V8).
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1938 Morris 8 Ser II Coupe Utility (Pickup)
1985 Rover SD1 VDP

[ukdave2002]

Thanks for all the replies. It's joined the dots up, I was looking at engines fitted to other Ford cars of the era, didn't think of tractors! the position of the distributor now makes sense, given the engines diesel roots.

Thanks Dave

[Kenham]

Indeed bjacko , still using TVO ( tractor vapourising oil ) tractors here as I live in the past.

[Keith D]

TVO!! I haven't heard that term used for years.

In Australia it was known as power kerosine but has not been available here for many years. Enthusiasts have to use a 50/50 mix, petrol with ordinary kerosine.

In the fifties we used it in Dad's Fordson tracter in Essex, UK. It cost 9d/gallon because it was subsidised for farmers. You were only allowed to use it in tractors.

I had a beaten up 1938 Morris 18HP sedan in the late fifties that I used to thrash across our paddocks. I used to get the engine hot and then ran it on TVO. It was a dead giveaway however because the stuff burned with clouds of white smoke.

Keith
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1926 Chrysler 60 tourer
1932 Austin Seven RN long wheelbase box sedan
1950 Austin A40 tourer
1999 BMW Z3
Its weird being the same age as old people.
You are either part of the problem or part of the solution

[Rusty]

My dad had one of those old OHV Fordson petrol kero tractors, and when I was about 10 I used to drive that while he drove the "mighty" International AWD 6.
The whole district was full of Fordsons at the time and the Diesels were very popular right up till now (hobby farmers still love them) The Diesels also had an enviable reputation for economy, reliability and ease of repair, all in all a very successful design.
We also used "Nuffield" Diesel tractors with the 4 cyl BMC Diesel engines and I know those same good quality small Diesels were supposedly used in your London Taxi's, just wondering if the Fordson Diesels which were a similar size and HP also found their way into the taxi's as well ?
There's a Fordson Thames truck being stored up at the farm that belongs to a neighbour that has retired and sold his farm, and that while "looking" like the one in the first post, is fitted with the same sidevalve V8 used in the Ford Pilots, are the 4 cyl and V8s the same or different size trucks ?

[V8 Nutter]

The V8's were still in production for trucks until 1957, but they were not very popular, mostly they were used in army vehicles. Changing the subject slightly a low compression engine such as the old Ford V8 will run quite happily on paraffin if a handful of moth balls are thrown in the tank. Apparently moth balls (if you can still buy them) came from the same chemical base as some of the additives in unleaded petrol. They have the effect of raising the octane rating which gets rid of the white smoke and smell.

[Ray White]

A quick search has found that the primary ingredient of mothballs is Naphthalene. This is a hazardous substance which is no longer used.

Mothballs were indeed used to raise the octane rating of petrol.