The Sleeve Valve Engine
PLANS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THE SLEEVE VALVE PROJECT.
AFTER THOUSANDS OF HOURS OF WORK,
I AM UNABLE TO GET THE SLEEVE VALVE ENGINE TO RUN.
" IF I KNEW WHAT TO FIX, I WOULD FIX IT "
I DO NOT SEE THE PLANS BEING AVAILABLE IN THE
FORESEEABLE FUTURE.
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ASSEMBLY PICTURES OF THE 14 CYLINDER SLEEVE VALVE ENGINE.
The model is 1-3/8 bore by 1-5/8 stroke - 38 cu.in. displacement ( 550 cc )
I thought you might enjoy seeing the various parts.
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Picture 1 :
The cylinders & cylinder heads mounted on the crankcase,
With those 29 gears. Notice the crankcase profiling.
The crankshaft is installed and driving the oil pumps.
The finished engine is getting closer !
This is why they call a sleeve valve engine - A Swiss watch running at 2500 HP !
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Picture 2 : A group picture of all 14 Cylinders and Sleeves. with the Heads and Pistons All of the Cylinders & Sleeves have been ported. |
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Picture 3 : Close up of the Cylinders & Sleeves with the porting complete. Shows the cylinder heads and pistons. |
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Picture 4 : Close up of the Cylinder Barrel with the ports. |
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Picture 5 : Close up of the Sleeve Barrel with the ports |
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Picture 6 : Detail pictures of all the cylinder heads and a close up.
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Picture 7 : Master Rods \ Slave Rods and the pistons. |
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Picture 8 : Piston Rings, Head Rings, Oil Control Rings and the Head Ggaskets.
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Picture 9 : Close up of the Main Crank. Notice the notch in the front counterweight to clear the sleeve drive socket.
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Picture 10 : Several views of the finished 14 Cylinder crank case. | |||
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Picture 11 : The crankshaft in a mounting stand.
Showing the sleeve crank gear, master rod and slave rods.
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Picture 12 : The Impeller mounted on the crankshaft.
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Picture 13 : The front of engine case with the Drive Shaft, Intermediate Gears and the Sleeve Crank Gear. |
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Picture 14 : Close up of the Sleeve Crank Gear. ( and a Quarter for prospective ). |
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Picture 15: Close up of the Sleeve Crank ( and a Quarter for prospective ). |
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Some history of the sleeve valve project
In the 1960's I was fortunate to hear a Willys-Knight sleeve valve automobile
engine run. I was fascinated by an engine with no poppet valves. Instead there
were two concentric hollow sleeves moving vertically up and down with a piston
inside. The nickname for the car was the " Silent Knight ", because of its very
quiet operation.
I was delighted to learn, years later, that before and during WW II the Bristol
Engine Company in England built a series of remarkable sleeve valve radial
aircraft engines.
The principal was different from the automobile engine I had seen years
before. In these engines, there was a single sleeve operating inside each cylinder.
Each sleeve makes an elliptical path, operated by its own small crank, running at
half speed of the crankshaft.
The pinnacle of this work was the 14 cylinder " Hercules " and the
18 cylinder " Centaurus ".
I have been working on this engine for quite some time.
I hope this gives you some insight into the project.