Mac’s Motor City Garage pays a visit to a new exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum called Engines Exposed. Check it out.
The Engines Exposed show at the Henry Ford Museum, which runs January 10 through March 15, 2015, is a reprise of a similar display the museum did back in 2010. It’s a simple premise and a great idea: The hoods of more than 40 cars in the museum collection are opened, allowing visitors a rare glimpse of the powerplants of the remarkable machines.
Unfortunately, due to the manner in which the cars are posed and illuminated in the museum, on many of the cars you won’t be able to see anything under the hood. Nothing. MCG is six-feet-three, and standing on his tiptoes with a digital SLR and large flash unit stretched overhead, he could just barely obtain usable images of many of the engine compartments. That was disappointing.
However, the good news is there are already plenty of amazing engines on display at the Henry Ford Museum, in full view every day, and we’re going to include them in this little photo feature. For us, no visit to the Henry Ford Museum is anything less than an excellent time. A few of the powerplants that caught our attention:
+ The star of the Engines Exposed exhibit is without a doubt the magnificent 779 CID straight eight in the museum’s Bugatti Royale. This example, the Cabriolet Weinberger, was once owned by General Motors executive Charles A. Chayne, who replaced the original single Bugatti carburetor with four Carter downdraft units, and they’re still on the car for us to see today.
+ Also part of the Engines Exposed show was the supercharged 427 CID Ford Cammer in Ohio George Montgomery’s famed ’33 Willys gasser. Our recent feature on the SOHC Ford Cammer was a big hit, and it was a treat to see another historic Cammer on display here.
+ Not part of the Engines Exposed exhibit but available for your viewing amazement every day of the year is the monstrous powerplant in the 1902 Ford 999. With a bore of 7.25 inches and a stroke of 7.00 inches, the enormous four-cylinder engine displaces 1155.9 cubic inches. By the way, the camshaft and crankshaft on Henry Ford’s racer are permanently exposed, too.
These engines and more are found in the gallery below.
I am so happy I found this site, you produce some of the most interesting articles, I am going to share this on my Facebook page so some of my gear head friends can get this too. I am 68 years old so a lot of your stuff is from my day and I still race.
Thanks so much for the kind words — there is no better encouragement.
Seems odd to see non-Ford engines in a Ford Museum. I hope to make the trip one day to the museum. Lots of history on display for sure.
Not one Windsor! probably Fords best ever engine.
That no1 sidevalve looks so dated, even in comparison to the still common sidevalves around in classic rods and racecars. As does that early block,, so heavy!
1156 cubic inch four,, now would that make the earth move,, with viabration!
Those early US engines are made to look ‘basic’ by the Euro engines of the day. Though by the 50s the range of cheap mass produced V8s made any Euro engine look sick for pure performance.
The Offy though still looks timeless, as it is. Though that and the Corvair are not eights!