Standard inline-four engine
Encyclopedia
The Standard Motor Company
2,088 cc straight-4
engine was a petrol engine
widely used for their passenger cars of the 1950s, most notably the Standard Vanguard
. It was originally developed as an engine for Ferguson tractor
s.
The engine was of conventional design as a water-cooled vertical straight-4 with overhead valve
s. As such it represented typical "modern" practice for an engine designed in the immediate post-war
period, incorporating such modern features as thin-wall bearings with replaceable shells. An uncommon, and particularly forward-looking, feature was the use of loose-fitted wet liners.
aero engines at the new Banner Lane shadow factory, operated by Standard in Coventry
. From 1939 this factory produced Bristol Hercules
engines, an air-cooled radial engine, with Bristol's typical sleeve valve
s. With peace in 1945, this huge factory then stood empty.
During the war, Ford had built tractors for Ferguson
in Detroit. Afterwards, Ferguson wished to continue this arrangement with an improved TO20 tractor (for "Tractor Overseas") and also a TE20 (for "Tractor England") to be built by Ford's plant at Dagenham. Ford however were unwilling and it was Standard who were to build the tractors at Banner Lane. The first TE20 model used a Continental
Z-120 petrol engine, but the TE-A20 and later models were to use a new engine, to be developed by Standard.
of 5.77:1. Valvegear was conventional overhead valve
, driven from a camshaft mounted in the side of the cylinder block via vertical pushrods and adjustable rockers. Cylinder block and crankcase were cast in one piece and were of cast iron
, as was the cylinder head
.
Construction of the engine would be regarded as typical for the 1950s, although this engine was developed in the late 1940s and its lineal derivatives, the Triumph straight-six
and straight-four engines, would remain in production into the 1970s. In some aspects it was advanced for its day, particularly in its use of components such as piston
s being pre-graded into standardised sizes and marked as such. This avoided the need for costly hand-fitting during assembly and also simplified replacement in service. It was one of the first mass-production engines to use thin-wall bearings: a steel shell faced with whitemetal bearing material. Rather than re-metalling the bearing journals and hand-scraping a new bearing surface to fit the crankshaft, these bearings were disposable after use. Several replacement bearing shells were expected to be fitted before the crankshaft required re-grinding. Had the tractor been built at Ford, Dagenham as originally intended, it is likely that the engine would still have been designed around the whitemetal bearings that Ford continued with on small car engines throughout the 1950s.
The distinctive, and unusual, feature of the engine was its use of wet liners to form the cylinders. Rather than the cylinders being bored into the cast-iron block, separate thin-walled steel tubes were inserted into a hollow block. The space between liner and block formed a large uninterrupted water jacket, which improved cooling, as did the thin tubes of the liners. The liners only loosely installed into the block with hand pressure. They sealed into the block at the bottom by a pair of soft metal "spectacle washers" that each sealed a pair of liners. Each liner stood slightly proud of the cylinder block face. so that it formed a good seal against the head gasket
when assembled. Such wet liners had been used in high performance engines for many years, but this was an early use of them for a low-cost, mass-production engine. Particularly with the advanced grinding techniques necessary to make such a thin-walled tube with good concentricity and surface finish, other manufacturers saw them as over-complex. However Banner Lane's building of sleeve-valve Bristol engines during the war had given them the necessary experience and equipment. Throughout the engine's service it was seen as a dependable and reliable, if slightly staid and tractor-like, engine and these liners never gave the trouble that gave other engines such as the much later Rover K-series
such a poor reputation.
Another distinctive, although less revolutionary, feature of the engine was the location of the tubes carrying the valve pushrods. Rather than being cast inside the cylinder head, thus requiring more cores and complexity, they were outside the main casting of the head. The top and bottom faces of the head were extended to form a flange on the camshaft side of the engine and individual steel tubes were placed through the flanges to enclose each pushrod (a similar system was used for the Volkswagen Beetle
engine, albeit with longer tubes the entire length of the cylinder). These tubes were expanded at top and bottom to seal them and thus became a permanent part of the cylinder head. The separate tubes were reliable, less expensive to manufacture than casting them into the head, and gave that side of the engine its distinctive "hollow" appearance with the rocker box appearing to be supported by columns.
Farms up until then had little machinery, electricity was still uncommon, and the tractor was expected to also be able to power farm machinery. For this purpose, the tractor was equipped with a power take-off
shaft at the rear. This could drive either a hitch
ed implement such as a rotovator
, or static machinery such as a thresher
. The engine was fitted with a governor
to allow the engine speed to be set somewhere between idling speed of 400 rpm and full power speed of 2,200 rpm, maintaining this speed against varying loads. The "belt hp" rating of the tractor was 23.9 hp although the tax rating
of 20 hp gave the tractor its model number of TE20.
, and in 1950 lamp oil
were introduced. TVO has a low octane rating
of around 60 and so the engine had the usual changes to compression ratio
and ignition timing. A heat shield around the manifolds increased the inlet temperature, encouraging vapourisation of the fuel. To avoid problems with fuel condensation in the inlet ports, diameter of the valves (in some engine versions) was also reduced, thus increasing flow velocity. The lamp oil engine used a zero octane paraffin (kerosene) fuel, but was only suitable for use in warm climates, or else the fuel did not vapourise adequately.
for the TE-F20 tractor. This was a new engine design, different from the petrol engine. Bore of 3 3/16" and stroke of 4" gave a capacity of 2,092 cc. In 1954 this engine also found its way into the Phase II Vanguard, making this Britain's first production diesel car.
This used the same 2,088 cc "85 mm" engine that had been developed for the tractor. Compression ration remained the same at 6:1 but the valve and ignition timing were changed to suit road driving conditions and a more predictable quality of petrol. The governor was removed and the overall performance rose to an impressive, for its day, output of 68 bhp.
Standard Motor Company
The Standard Motor Company was founded in Coventry, England in 1903 by Reginald Walter Maudslay . The Standard name was last used in Britain in 1963, and in India in 1987.-1903–1914:...
2,088 cc straight-4
Straight-4
The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
engine was a petrol engine
Petrol engine
A petrol engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to run on petrol and similar volatile fuels....
widely used for their passenger cars of the 1950s, most notably the Standard Vanguard
Standard Vanguard
The car used a conventional chassis on which was mounted the American inspired semi-streamlined four-door body, which resembles a Plymouth. Suspension was independent at the front with coil springs and a live axle and leaf springs at the rear. Front and rear anti-roll bars were fitted. The brakes...
. It was originally developed as an engine for Ferguson tractor
Ferguson TE20
The Ferguson Model TE20 was a British agricultural tractor. It was Harry Ferguson's most successful design, commonly known as the Little Grey Fergie. It was manufactured from 1946 to 1956...
s.
The engine was of conventional design as a water-cooled vertical straight-4 with overhead valve
Overhead valve
An overhead valve engine, also informally called pushrod engine or I-head engine, is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft within the cylinder block , and uses pushrods or rods to actuate rocker arms above the cylinder...
s. As such it represented typical "modern" practice for an engine designed in the immediate post-war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
period, incorporating such modern features as thin-wall bearings with replaceable shells. An uncommon, and particularly forward-looking, feature was the use of loose-fitted wet liners.
Origins
The engine's origins began with wartime production of BristolBristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
aero engines at the new Banner Lane shadow factory, operated by Standard in Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
. From 1939 this factory produced Bristol Hercules
Bristol Hercules
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Gunston, B. Classic World War II Aircraft Cutaways. Osprey. ISBN 1-85532-526-8*Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
engines, an air-cooled radial engine, with Bristol's typical sleeve valve
Sleeve valve
The sleeve valve is a type of valve mechanism for piston engines, distinct from the usual poppet valve. Sleeve-valve engines saw use in a number of pre-World War II luxury cars and in USA in the Willys-Knight car and light truck...
s. With peace in 1945, this huge factory then stood empty.
During the war, Ford had built tractors for Ferguson
Harry Ferguson
Henry George "Harry" Ferguson was an Irish engineer and inventor who is noted for his role in the development of the modern agricultural tractor, for becoming the first Irishman to build and fly his own aeroplane, and for developing the first four-wheel drive Formula One car, the Ferguson P99...
in Detroit. Afterwards, Ferguson wished to continue this arrangement with an improved TO20 tractor (for "Tractor Overseas") and also a TE20 (for "Tractor England") to be built by Ford's plant at Dagenham. Ford however were unwilling and it was Standard who were to build the tractors at Banner Lane. The first TE20 model used a Continental
Continental Motors
Continental Motors, Inc. is an aircraft engine manufacturer located in Mobile, Alabama. Originally spun off from Continental Motors Company in 1929 and owned by Teledyne Technologies until December 2010, the company is part of AVIC International, which is owned by the government of the People's...
Z-120 petrol engine, but the TE-A20 and later models were to use a new engine, to be developed by Standard.
Ferguson TE20 tractor
The new tractor engine appeared in 1947. It was a four-cylinder engine with a bore of 80 mm and stroke of 92 mm, for a total capacity of 1,850 cc. The engine was undersquare, in deference to the tractor's need for torque rather than absolute power. It used petrol as a fuel, with a compression ratioCompression ratio
The 'compression ratio' of an internal-combustion engine or external combustion engine is a value that represents the ratio of the volume of its combustion chamber from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity...
of 5.77:1. Valvegear was conventional overhead valve
Overhead valve
An overhead valve engine, also informally called pushrod engine or I-head engine, is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft within the cylinder block , and uses pushrods or rods to actuate rocker arms above the cylinder...
, driven from a camshaft mounted in the side of the cylinder block via vertical pushrods and adjustable rockers. Cylinder block and crankcase were cast in one piece and were of cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
, as was the cylinder head
Cylinder head
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders on top of the cylinder block. It closes in the top of the cylinder, forming the combustion chamber. This joint is sealed by a head gasket...
.
Construction of the engine would be regarded as typical for the 1950s, although this engine was developed in the late 1940s and its lineal derivatives, the Triumph straight-six
Triumph I6
The Triumph Six Cylinder or Triumph I6 engine is a compact, reliable and in some configurations, relatively powerful straight-six engine using traditional cast iron construction and a pushrod actuated overhead valve head, originally introduced by Standard Triumph in their Standard Vanguard...
and straight-four engines, would remain in production into the 1970s. In some aspects it was advanced for its day, particularly in its use of components such as piston
Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from...
s being pre-graded into standardised sizes and marked as such. This avoided the need for costly hand-fitting during assembly and also simplified replacement in service. It was one of the first mass-production engines to use thin-wall bearings: a steel shell faced with whitemetal bearing material. Rather than re-metalling the bearing journals and hand-scraping a new bearing surface to fit the crankshaft, these bearings were disposable after use. Several replacement bearing shells were expected to be fitted before the crankshaft required re-grinding. Had the tractor been built at Ford, Dagenham as originally intended, it is likely that the engine would still have been designed around the whitemetal bearings that Ford continued with on small car engines throughout the 1950s.
The distinctive, and unusual, feature of the engine was its use of wet liners to form the cylinders. Rather than the cylinders being bored into the cast-iron block, separate thin-walled steel tubes were inserted into a hollow block. The space between liner and block formed a large uninterrupted water jacket, which improved cooling, as did the thin tubes of the liners. The liners only loosely installed into the block with hand pressure. They sealed into the block at the bottom by a pair of soft metal "spectacle washers" that each sealed a pair of liners. Each liner stood slightly proud of the cylinder block face. so that it formed a good seal against the head gasket
Head gasket
A head gasket is a gasket that sits between the engine block and cylinder head in an internal combustion engine. Its purpose is to seal the cylinders to ensure maximum compression and avoid leakage of coolant or engine oil into the cylinders; as such, it is the most critical sealing application in...
when assembled. Such wet liners had been used in high performance engines for many years, but this was an early use of them for a low-cost, mass-production engine. Particularly with the advanced grinding techniques necessary to make such a thin-walled tube with good concentricity and surface finish, other manufacturers saw them as over-complex. However Banner Lane's building of sleeve-valve Bristol engines during the war had given them the necessary experience and equipment. Throughout the engine's service it was seen as a dependable and reliable, if slightly staid and tractor-like, engine and these liners never gave the trouble that gave other engines such as the much later Rover K-series
Rover K engine
The K-Series engine is a series of engines built by Powertrain Ltd, a sister company of MG Rover. The engine was built in two forms: a straight-four cylinder, available with SOHC and DOHC, ranging from 1.1 L to 1.8 L; and the KV6 V6 variation....
such a poor reputation.
Another distinctive, although less revolutionary, feature of the engine was the location of the tubes carrying the valve pushrods. Rather than being cast inside the cylinder head, thus requiring more cores and complexity, they were outside the main casting of the head. The top and bottom faces of the head were extended to form a flange on the camshaft side of the engine and individual steel tubes were placed through the flanges to enclose each pushrod (a similar system was used for the Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
engine, albeit with longer tubes the entire length of the cylinder). These tubes were expanded at top and bottom to seal them and thus became a permanent part of the cylinder head. The separate tubes were reliable, less expensive to manufacture than casting them into the head, and gave that side of the engine its distinctive "hollow" appearance with the rocker box appearing to be supported by columns.
Farms up until then had little machinery, electricity was still uncommon, and the tractor was expected to also be able to power farm machinery. For this purpose, the tractor was equipped with a power take-off
Power take-off
A power take-off or power takeoff is a splined driveshaft, usually on a tractor or truck, that can be used to provide power to an attachment or separate machine. It is designed to be easily connected and disconnected...
shaft at the rear. This could drive either a hitch
Three-point hitch
The three-point hitch most often refers to the way ploughs and other implements are attached to an agricultural tractor. The three points resemble either a triangle, or the letter A...
ed implement such as a rotovator
Rotovator
Rotovator can mean:*Rotovator, an alternative name for a tether propulsion apparatus, a proposed method of lifting materials into orbit using a very long tether attached to a geo-stationary satellite...
, or static machinery such as a thresher
Threshing machine
The thrashing machine, or, in modern spelling, threshing machine , was a machine first invented by Scottish mechanical engineer Andrew Meikle for use in agriculture. It was invented for the separation of grain from stalks and husks. For thousands of years, grain was separated by hand with flails,...
. The engine was fitted with a governor
Centrifugal governor
A centrifugal governor is a specific type of governor that controls the speed of an engine by regulating the amount of fuel admitted, so as to maintain a near constant speed whatever the load or fuel supply conditions...
to allow the engine speed to be set somewhere between idling speed of 400 rpm and full power speed of 2,200 rpm, maintaining this speed against varying loads. The "belt hp" rating of the tractor was 23.9 hp although the tax rating
Tax horsepower
The tax horsepower or taxable horsepower was an early system by which taxation rates for automobiles were reckoned in some European countries, such as Britain, Belgium, Germany, France, and Italy; some US states like Illinois charged license plate purchase and renewal fees for passenger...
of 20 hp gave the tractor its model number of TE20.
Alternative fuels
The first tractor models of 1947 were built for petrol fuel. In 1949 versions of the engine using TVOTractor vaporising oil
Tractor vaporising oil is a fuel for internal combustion engines, produced from paraffin . In the United Kingdom and Australia, after the Second World War, it was commonly used for tractors until diesel engines became commonplace...
, and in 1950 lamp oil
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
were introduced. TVO has a low octane rating
Octane rating
Octane rating or octane number is a standard measure of the anti-knock properties of a motor or aviation fuel. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating...
of around 60 and so the engine had the usual changes to compression ratio
Compression ratio
The 'compression ratio' of an internal-combustion engine or external combustion engine is a value that represents the ratio of the volume of its combustion chamber from its largest capacity to its smallest capacity...
and ignition timing. A heat shield around the manifolds increased the inlet temperature, encouraging vapourisation of the fuel. To avoid problems with fuel condensation in the inlet ports, diameter of the valves (in some engine versions) was also reduced, thus increasing flow velocity. The lamp oil engine used a zero octane paraffin (kerosene) fuel, but was only suitable for use in warm climates, or else the fuel did not vapourise adequately.
Diesel
In 1951 Standard produced their first diesel engineDiesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
for the TE-F20 tractor. This was a new engine design, different from the petrol engine. Bore of 3 3/16" and stroke of 4" gave a capacity of 2,092 cc. In 1954 this engine also found its way into the Phase II Vanguard, making this Britain's first production diesel car.
85 mm engines
A larger capacity of 2,088 cc was achieved by changing the pistons and liners for a bore of 85 mm, whilst retaining the stroke of 92 mm. These are generally known as "85 mm engines", in contrast to the original "80 mm".Standard cars
Applications
- Ferguson TE20Ferguson TE20The Ferguson Model TE20 was a British agricultural tractor. It was Harry Ferguson's most successful design, commonly known as the Little Grey Fergie. It was manufactured from 1946 to 1956...
tractor - Standard VanguardStandard VanguardThe car used a conventional chassis on which was mounted the American inspired semi-streamlined four-door body, which resembles a Plymouth. Suspension was independent at the front with coil springs and a live axle and leaf springs at the rear. Front and rear anti-roll bars were fitted. The brakes...
- Standard Ensign
- Triumph RenownTriumph RenownThe Triumph Renown is strictly the name given to the Triumph's large saloon car made from 1949 to 1954 but it is, in reality, part of a three car series of the 1800, 2000 and Renown models...