Kaiser Supersonic 6 vs Continental

[checker]

Guys, there's a question that comes back all the time when I go to weekly meets:

Is the Kaiser Supersonic 6 cyl. engine a Continental engine ?

Can you give me a bit of historical data on this ? Allowing me to pass on the right information...

Thanks

[51Deluxe]

I think the best way to describe it is a Continental built by Kaiser. They engineered it to their own specs and built it in their plant, but it is similar in many ways to Continentals used in forklifts, for industrial uses and other  (mainly earlier) cars.


From "Ate Up With Motor website" (obviously the writer not a K-F fan)

Neither Kaiser-Frazer nor Graham-Paige had the resources to design a new engine, so they arranged to purchase one from the Continental Motor Corporation. The Continental engine, a hoary 226 cu. in. (3,707 cc) L-head six, had been used in a bewildering number of cars and trucks, including some Grahams. It was a known quantity, but it was a thoroughly undistinguished engine with few real virtues other than low cost. Kaiser-Frazer chief engineer Henry McCaslin and Continental president Jack Reese made a number of improvements to the engine, but even then, it could only manage a meager 100 horsepower (75 kW) at 3,600 rpm. It did not like to rev and it had a tendency to overheating and vapor lock that K-F didn’t fully resolve until 1953. The engine would prove to be one of Kaiser-Frazer’s weakest links.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The original configuration engine was an upgrade of the 217 cu in 6 Graham-Paige used before the war.   Continental committed to building 50,000 motors, minimum in 1946...in reality they built less than 14,000, total Kaiser and Frazer versions (certain accessory items on the motor were different between the two versions) at the Muskegon MI facility.  At the end of 1946, Continental re-commissioned their mothballed wartime engine plant in Detroit.  This was run by Kaiser-Frazer Corporation who ran the plant under the Detroit Engine Division name & got a license from Continental to build the motor there.  Later, Kaiser-Frazer bought the rights to their "dual manifold" version of the motor and in time, purchased the Detroit Engine Facility.

The 226 was a bit more prone to vapor lock than some other engines in production at the time (moreso today since current gasoline formulas evaporate at a much lower temperature than gas when K-F cars were new).  However, up until 1952-53, the engine was one of the highest horsepower base 6 cylinder engines in the marketplace, and had a respectable power to weight ratio.   

Remember, a slightly different version of the 226 (same block, different accessories like manifolds. etc) was used in Checker Cabs through the 1950's.  I have heard or read nothing bad about their use in taxis. 

[boatingbill]

I remember in the 50's that Checker cabs used the Continental engine and would run them 200k miles. They called them a
"hard" block and would grind the valves and re-ring the pistons at 100k miles, but NOT bore the block unless the cylinder(s)
were out of tolerance. Many K/F owners paid for a re-bore of the block and oversize rings due to oil consumption when all
that was needed was new rings. People also paid for a "rebuild" of the engine due to low oil pressure, when the problem
was a defective oil pressure sender. I know this will offend some KFOCI members, but I believe that many independent
garages gave K/F owners poor quality service and damaged the reliability perception of our cars. K/F signed up many small
dealers who were little more than service stations. Our members know what great cars these are and deserved better care
by dealers.

[51Deluxe]

One only has to look over the extensive roster of dealerships, especially in 1947-48, and the size of the towns they were in to realize many of these were not bigger dealers with service departments. I've lived in a couple of tiny one stoplight towns, both in FL and TN, both had K-F dealerships in '47.

Boating Bill: My '51 has a rebuilt engine and oil pressure is only 15-20 pounds at speed. Is this normal?

[boatingbill]

51Deluxe: I would say you are fine if engine temp is normal and you are using the proper viscosity oil. I use 10w30 in the
Winter and 30w in the Summer. In Illinois our winters are not that cold. Overheating will cause oil to thin and oil pressure will drop.