Revell V8-60 Midget

[Chuck Most]

I'm not familiar with how midgets are set up, but I have to ask- there is no belt on the Revell engine, so what's driving the water pumps?

[Longbox55]

Nothing, there are no water pumps on the Midget setup. cooling is done by thermosiphon, similar to how the Model T worked.

[Chuck Most]

Thanks!

[MikeMc]

[Art Anderson]

Nothing, there are no water pumps on the Midget setup. cooling is done by thermosiphon, similar to how the Model T worked.

Seeing as the Ford flathead V8 was pretty much incapable of thermosyphon cooling--despite the best intentions of Henry Ford during their original development, the magneto drive on the front of the engine in the midget is also a mechanical water pump, drawing water from the bottom tank of the radiator, pushing it into the block, whereby it flowed up into the heads and out the 3-branch water manifolds on each cylinder head.

Otherwise, at the high rpms those engines were called on to rev in racing, there would have been serious steam pockets in the cylinder heads.

Art

[Longbox55]

Art, thanks for the clarification. I tried doing some research before I posted, couldn't come up with anything concrete, even the site that used to sell parts for V8 60 (Speedway) didn't show anything. I never noticed the pump with the magneto before, looks like I learned something today.