What car company started making the V-8 first as a regular production and what year was it? I do not know the answer but always assumed it was Ford with a flat head in the 30s.

 

Taken from Ford Motor Company's 100th Anniversary Calendar:

1932 Ford Coupe
Responding to his competition's faster cars, Ford secretly developed and introduced a popular-priced V-8 engine to trump his competition's six-cylinder power plants. The new Ford for 1932 looked like a more muscular Model A, and the powerful V-8 made it an enormous hit with the public. Clide Barrow, infamous outlaw from the '30s, was so impressed with the V-8 engine, that he wrote a letter to Henry Ford, thanking him for building such a fast "getaway" car.

 

Ford made the "popular price" read inexpensive, V8. Several other "luxury" makers had V8s way before Ford. There were even V12s and 16s before 1932. I forget the years and makers but probably included Cadillac, Rolls, Bugatti, Pierce Arrows,Lincolns and others of that ilk. There was something of a "we got the most cylinders" race going on

Still Ford did come out with the V8 for guys like us.

Jim Henderson

 

The answer to this question is stashed away in the archives if someone here want to search for it

 

Henry's first V8s had major problems with leaks due to casting problems. He finally got the problem fixed. The other brands were much more expensive.

 

I believe "the casting was the only good thing it started with" his ability to cast the block as one piece from cheap iron from his mill made it much cheaper and easier to build, I thought they leaked everywhere and had problems with 2 center cylinders cyl's flowing exhaust into a single exhuast port

Ford also remanufactured 35,000 engine per month at The Rouge during the depression period of the 30's, this service required less time and cost for the customer than if the dealer were to overhaul it, dealers maintained a stock of factory remanufactured enginesa V8 was $40 installed a 4 cyl $37.50 installed

Engine reconditioning started at The Rouge May 1 1933 by December 22 1937 one million had been remanufactured

1933 Ford Dealer to user price list

V8 carb new $6.75 exchange $1.50
Clutch Disc new $4.00 exchange $2.50
Pressure Plate new $5.00 exchange $3.75
V8 Distributor new $7.00 exchange $1.75
Brake Shoes new $0.85 exchange $0.35

 

Chevrolet had an OHV V-8 in 1917.

 

I had heard somewhere that it was Packard, I don't know the year or anything else about it. I guess I could be wrong since no body else had said it.

 

Legend has it that Louis Chevrolet designed a V-8 in the very early 1900s. This shallow V design was tabled due to the belief at the time that the bottom of the pistons would wear prematurely. Caddillac had a v-8 starting around 1916 but the engine was very narrow and was a 2 piece block.Henry Ford whose beloved Model T was becoming dated by 1926 was persuaded by Edsel Ford to replace the T. Like the Model T brought transportation to the masses, the Model A or baby Lincoln brought style, luxury and beuty unheard off for its price range. In 1931 Henry was once again persuaded by Edsel to redesign his car line. Had Henry had his way Ford would still be producing the Model A today airbags and all. By this time Chevrolet's patent had run out for the shallow angle v-8. Also casting technology had made casting a one piece block a reality. So in 1932 the Ford V8 came to be. The Model B was a 1932 4cyl car. The die was cast Ford had broke ground again. The V-8 had the prformance of a 10,000 dollar Duesenburg for $600. Just had Ford brouht transportation to the average American wth the Model T, Style with the Model A the 32 V-8 brought all of us the v-8 rumble witch still beats in the heart of every American today even though some environuts won't admit it. The two piece block Caddillac V-16 was produced from 1933 until 1940.

 

so who was it FORD or CHEVY ?????

 

[B]Who made first engine ?????? FORD or CHEVY

 

Clide Barrow is my new hero! Thats awesome.

Cadillac produced the first American V8 engine, 1914's L-Head. It was a complicated hand-built unit with cast iron paired closed-head cylinders bolted to an aluminum crankcase, and it used a flat-plane crankshaft. Bore was 3.125 in and stroke was 5.125 in, for a total of 314 in. of displacement. Output was 70 hp.

http://www.answers.com/topic/v8-1

 

I believe A french company called Dion Bouton produced the first mass produced V8 in 1910

Stephen

 

WOW a very old thread..WELCOME, rakieffer...to FTE

 

Here's a look at that letter:
Clyde's Letter to Ford