This is an original Chrysler Spitfire straight-8 engine from 1949, it has a displacement of 323 cubic inches, or 5.3 liters, and depending on specification it would be capable of up to 165 hp at 3,600 rpm and 268 lb ft of torque at 2,000 rpm.
Chrysler first developed this line of flathead engines in 1924, over the course of the 30+ year production run they would built inline-fours, inline-sixes, and inlign-eight versions of the engine, all with an iron block and either an iron or aluminum cylinder head.
The first straight-eight version of the Chrysler flathead would appear in 1930, a number of versions would be built between 1930 and the 1950s, and they would power a wide array of cars and trucks. Some later found their way into speed boats, where their effortless torque, smooth running, and good reliability were put to good use.
The engine you see here is a 1949 model that benefits from a rebuild to display condition, it has a compression ratio of 7.25:1, mechanical lifters, a Carter downdraft carburetor, lightweight aluminum pistons, and it’s mated to a Fluid Drive/Prestomatic semi-automatic transmission.
It could be said that the American love affair with the V8 engine started with the Ford Flathead V8 that first appeared in 1932, but for many years straight-8 engines like this one were among the most desirable. Today the inline-eight engine layout has largely been forgotten in favor of inline-sixes and V8s, though cars with straight-eights always seem to have a crowd around them at shows – indicating that the fascination with them still persists.
This engine will likely be bought by one of two people; someone who wants to swap it into a classic Chrysler or hot rod, or someone who wants to display it just as is. If the new owner intends to use it in a car it would be worth contacting the seller and discussing what would be required to recommission the engine for use.
This engine will be crossing the auction block with Mecum with no reserve in mid-August, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.
While today we often think of Subarus as being either championship winning rally cars or tough all-wheel drive station wagons, the first car ever made by the Japanese marque was the vehicle pictured here, the little Subaru 360.
First introduced in 1958, the Subaru 360 was likely based on similarly affordable European cars, particularly the Fiat 500 and the Volkswagen Beetle. In fact if you combined the styling of the 500 and the Beetle into a single vehicle, it would look an awful lot like the 360.
Fast Facts – The Subaru 360
The Subaru 360 was sold between 1958 and 1971, almost all were sold in Japan however 10,000 were shipped to the United States, and a few made their way to Australia.
The 360 is powered by an air-cooled, two-stroke, parallel twin 356cc engine mounted in the rear of the car and powering the rear wheels.
The car was famous for its rear-hinged “suicide doors” which were known to open when underway if they weren’t closed properly.
US imported cars all but stopped selling after a damning review from Consumer Reports regarding the terrible crash protection and the door opening issue, very nearly ending Subaru’s future in North America before it had even begun.
The Subaru 360
Subaru can trace its history all the way back to the Japanese Aircraft Research Laboratory in 1915 which later became the Nakajima Aircraft Company, a major supplier of aircraft to the Japanese armed forces during WWII.
In the rebuilding phase after the war the company began building motor scooters before diversifying into automobiles, taking inspiration from the simple, affordable cars being built in Europe.
Above Image: The designers of the Subaru 360 took ample inspiration from cars like the Fiat 500 and the Volkswagen Beetle.
The Subaru 360 was designed to comply with Japan’s Kei car regulations which were designed to encourage the production of small, efficient, affordable cars for the general population. As a result the car is powered by a small air-cooled, two-stroke, parallel twin 356cc engine and it weighs in at less than 1,000 lbs, just 410 kgs or 900 lbs.
For a nation like Japan with its smaller streets and (oftentimes) shorter commuting distances the car was ideal and it sold in significant numbers. It would be upgraded over the course of its production run, early cars made just 16 hp however this was later upgraded to 25 hp and finally to 36 hp thanks to an engine capacity increase and the addition of twin carburetors.
A number of special variants of the 360 were built for commercial use, there was the Sambar which could be ordered as either a truck or a van as well as the closely related Subaru 450 which was used for export markets.
Subaru also made a convertible version with a removable fabric roof section, and a station wagon. Sporting variants were also produced, the Subaru Young S and the related Young SS which had engine and transmission upgrades, racing stripes, bucket seats, and other additions to appeal to those who wanted to go a little faster.
The Subaru 360 would be offered for sale in the United States by larger-than-life character Malcolm Bricklin, he imported approximately 10,000 of them and advertised them as “Cheap and Ugly” (see the original ad below this article).
Consumer Reports And The End Of The 360
They sold reasonably well until a critical Consumer Reports report highlighted the dangers of the car when used in the United States – the rear-hinged doors were known to swing open if not latched properly and the little car was no match for hefty American iron in the crash safety stakes – when involved in an accident with an American car the Subaru 360 could be crushed down to less than half its size.
Above Image: These are some of the original TV ads for the Subaru 360 when it was first released in the USA.
This report led to sales of the car all but stopping overnight. Malcolm Bricklin picked himself up, dusted himself off, and started his own ill-fated car company building and selling the Bricklin SV-1.
Subaru would similarly dust itself off after the Consumer Reports fiasco and it would later make a name for itself in the USA selling tough all-wheel drive vehicles like the Subaru BRAT. It’s now one of the most highly regarded automakers in the US market.
The Subaru 360 Deluxe Shown Here
The car you see here is a later Subaru 360 Deluxe model, it’s powered by a later version of the 356cc two-stroke, two-cylinder engine producing 36 bhp and sending power to the rear wheels via a 3-speed manual transmission.
The Deluxe is historically notable as it was the only model exported to the United States, and it features special brightwork and chromed wheels to appeal to American buyers.
This 360 was acquired by its current owner in 2020 who lavished $10,000 on refurbishments, the car is now described as being in largely in its original white paint with red vinyl interior, with under 15,000 miles on the odometer.
It’s now due to roll across the auction block with Bonhams on the 13th of August with a price guide of $30,000 – $50,000 USD. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.
This short film offers an excellent 15 minute history lesson into one of the internal combustion engine’s simplest but most important parts: the humble spark plug.
The first patents for what we would today call a spark plug were filed in 1898 by Nikola Tesla, Robert Bosch, and Frederick Richard Simms, however the invention of the spark plug is widely attributed to Étienne Lenoir.
The name Étienne Lenoir is probably already familiar to you as he was the Belgian-French engineer who developed an internal combustion engine design that used a spark plug back in 1858.
The internal combustion engine itself was invented by the Franco-Swiss inventor Isaac de Rivaz back in 1804, however it was the Lenoir design that would develop the ancestor of the engines we use today.
This film does an excellent job of charting the history of the spark plug and tracking its development changes over the years.
Spark plugs themselves have outwardly looked quite similar for over 100 years, with early designs looking like short stubby versions of modern plugs, but internally the materials and construction has completely changed over that time.
If you’d like to read more about the spark plug you can click here to read the excellent Wikipedia article on it, and if you’d like to read more about Étienne Lenoir you can click here, and if you’d like to read more about Isaac de Rivaz you can click here.
