Tornado230 OHC engine

[OLDNMKFR]

Not having been active with Kaisers for a number of years, I have been intriqued by the current articles about engine swaps to modern V-8's. However, with gasoline prices not likely to ever decrease, I would think that the idea of a 6 with overdrive would seem to be more attractive.

Back in the 60's I remember that Willys converted the 226 to the first (?) overhead cam production engine that was rated at 140 HP which was the same as the supercharged 226. In today's KF club, I have read that the Tornado 230 was never used in a KF product, and there seems to be a lot of bad press about it, but was any research ever done about the feasibility of a swap into a KF that already is equipped with a standard transmission and overdrive? I think the Tornado had a 12 volt starter, alternator, etc.

Could that switch be made? (If you could find an engine?) What other 6 cylinder engines have been a better or more effective swap? What were the ongoing problems with the 230 that causes it to be cussed more than dis-cussed?

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The 230 came on line at Toledo around 1961, making it far too late for use in a Kaiser-Frazer product.  According to what I have read, there were problems with some engines holding timing as well as other issues relating to reliability.  These were worked out in less than 12 months of production, but the reputation was tarnished.  Engine development at Willys Motors for the most part ended in 1962 with the introduction of the Jeep Wagoneer and Gladiator models.  Engines offered in these vehicles included the 232 OHV6 and the 327 OHV V-8 from American Motors;  these served the company well.  In the late 1960's, Kaiser-Jeep Corporation rolled out the "Dauntless" V-6 which in fact was the early 1960's Buick V-6 used in the compact Special series with some minor tweaks out of Toledo.  When AMC acquired Kaiser-Jeep in 1969, any non AMC engine was phased out (except for special application such as government vehicles).

[OLDNMKFR]

Thank you for the information. I appreciate the answer. I have not been actively involved with Kaisers for a number of years, but now that I am finally retired, I am looking around again. There does not seem to be much Kaiser-Frazer activity here in New Mexico but Arizona (next door) is another story.

My favorite was my cream colored 1954 Kaiser but my first car was a black 1948 Kaiser. My current non-KF classic is a 1966 Chrysler 300 convertible with a 440 TNT V-8 so power for it isn't a problem. (Unfortunately 28 gallons of Super Premium plus octane booster is)

Are there any KF contacts here in New Mexico? I feel kind of lonesome out here, and a lot of the guys that I knew in Kansas City in the 60's and 70's are possibly no longer around.

[HJ-ETEX]

I too would be interesting in seeing a Tornado 6 in a Kaiser. But as I have said elsewhere, the OHC probably had all the problems of the 226 and few new ones to add. The engine used a chain drive to the cam (with a nylon block tensioner) so there weren't ripping belt problems like on Vegas and Toyota passenger cars. Whereas the 226 is still able to be rebuilt because it shares a lot of parts with various Continental industrial engines and most Jeep SW and pickups after 1953 were equipped with the 226, it may be a lot harder to find essential rebuild parts for the Tornado.
Still a lot of Kaiser Gladiator type vehicles were sold to the government and I believe all the gas powered ones had the Tornado 6.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

It should be noted that the OHC engine was not the only problem package the engineers had to deal with over the years.  I have the Experimental Engineering report from Kaiser-Frazer dealing with efforts to adapt the Mc Cullouch supercharger to the 226 engine.  The test car was a 1952 Kaiser Manhattan that went out to the Mc Cullouch facility for a "fitting" and then trucked (rather than driven) back to Willow Run for tests.  Good reason to truck it:  it did't work as set up.  The thing ended up needing four electric fuel pumps to stablize fuel flow during load and there were still problems with timing, etc.  There were also cracks in the block, but the report played this down as it noted that cracks of the type found on teardown were periodically found in production engines as well.

The report notes that unless Mc Cullouch could work out the problems quickly, the feature could not be used on 1954 Kaisers.

[HJ-ETEX]

Concerning the SC, there wasn't much prior experience to go by. Perhaps the most experience came from the Grahams, but that was a completely different set up. The SC unit was between the carb and combustion chamber on Grahams so the carb was unpressurized. Timing settings on a prototype Kaiser SC would probably be a problem because there wouldn't be any vacuum advance, only centrifugal advance

[HJ-ETEX]

Here is another thought about Tornado OHC engines. The automatics used with them were Borg-Warner units that were pretty much the same as AMCs and somewhat like Ford Cruisomatic/FMX. I don't know if the OHC cranks were different between standard and auto engines like the 51-55 Kaisers but I rather imagine you would not be bolting a Kaiser Hydramatic to a Tornado 6. So if you did try putting on in a Kaiser, you would be using the Kaiser T86 standard trans or else use the BW automatic.

[OLDNMKFR]

This discussion gets more intriguing! I went onto Ebay and there seems to be listings for a lot of the internal parts, valves, cam gear, chain, exhaust mainifold, fuel pump, etc. (Even a valve cover) Some parts  even say 230 OHC or L226 so I assume that those must interchange.  On the Internet, I found several pictures of the Tornado installed in a vehicle but none showing how the front engine mounts attached. The carburetor is on the opposite side from the L226, but it looks like the starter and exhaust are on the correct sides (Like Kaiser) The transmission that I would favor for gas mileage would be the stick shift (and OD if they ever offered it). I found several comments online defending the engine after 1963 and claiming that all the bugs had been worked out, and that these folks have used them for years without trouble. Didn't the military also use them?
If I could figure out how to upload, I would post the pictures that I found. P.S. There seem to be lots of Tuneup charts and one engine manual available.

[joefrazer]

The military did use the 230 engine but with several changes that make swaps of internal parts not possible.

[OLDNMKFR]

We may all be looking in the wrong country. After following these posts I did some research and discovered that the 230 (3.77 L) was carried down to Argentina and manufcatured and improved by IKA until by 1966 it RACED in a Torino and is still used in races. By then it had 215 HP, was fed by 3 Weber 2 barrels, and was capable of sustained speeds in excess of 127 MPH. According to one article it was made in one form or another up until the 1980's. At some point IKA or Renault converted it to a 7 main bearing steel crank. What an engine it became.

By the way if you want to see some WILD Kaisers go to this site I found while looking:

http://oldcarandtruckpictures.com/Argentina/index.html

You can see IKA Kaiser funeral cars, stretch limos, wild customs, and a good year by year summary of production of the Carabela. There is lots more on IKA/Renault but a lot of the sites are in Spanish.

[HJ-ETEX]

1962 Willys Brochure with an illustration of the OHC 6. http://people.consolidated.net/willys/page3.htm
The front mounts are low and bolt to a plate between the timing cover and front of the block.

[HJ-ETEX]

In regard to the Argentina Torino, that was a local version of the Rambler American. Race versions were said to have ZF 5 speeds as well. You shouldn't believe everything you read, though. I am reminded of the Cosworth Vega: exotic racing engineered DOHC head, special electronic fuel injection, 5 speed trans, 'special' suspension. Well, the release was delayed a year as GM engineers tinkered with the engine. They said it was trouble with emissions, but there was also trouble getting the promised power out of the engine. They finally shoved it out the door to the public and it didn't sell. I saw an unsold one in a dealer's show room 3 years later.

[ben-tex]

The OHC engine was an interesting experiment and may have near its end been ok. However any consideration of fitting one into a KF for today's conditions should only be done by those with lots of cash wanting a novelty. For much less cash outlay there are many modern engine applications that would be much more reliable.

[HJ-ETEX]

But there is another variant of the 226 - the OHV conversion that was optional on Checkers http://www.flickr.com/photos/32951704@N05/3983458289/
This shows the engine in a chassis with a B/W auto. Lots of other interesting pics of Checkers (and the model!) at that Flickr album

[51frazer]

Well out of general interest I'm reviving this old thread. It's too bad that the 230 got such a bad reputation, looks like it did well in Brazil. Does anyone have a length of the engine? One would be cool in my 51 Frazer I'm restoring with no engine. Also I attached 2 pictures of the OHV 226 used by checker in the early 60s. (First post!)