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A 6 Cylinder Hemi in Your Jeep? |
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Written by Lutz Dahlke
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Thursday, 01 May 2008 |
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Maybe...
In the early '60s Jeep sold a hemi engine named the
Tornado. This engine was a 230 ci overhead-cam (OHC), overhead valve
inline 6 cylinder hemi engine. Hemi is a slang word for hemispherical
combustion chamber. A design introduced by Chrysler in the '50's and
popularized by the musclecar craze in the '60s. The Willys Tornado
Hemi engine was much more powerful than previous Jeep sixes. The
Tornado produced 140 hp at 4000 rpm and 210 ft-lbs @ 1750 rpm. The
engine was cast-iron with extensive use of aluminum components.
Debuting in late 1962, it was the only overhead-cam six produced by an
American company at that time. For comparison, the 226 ci
six available in Jeeps prior to this produced 115 hp at 3650 rpm and
190 ft-lbs of torque at 1800 rpm.
The Tornado engine was standard in the Jeep J or SJ series of Jeeps (SJ = Senior Jeep), the Wagoneer and Gladiator pickup until 1965 when it was replaced by the now world famous AMC Hi-Torque OHV six. This tough new 232 ci engine with 7 main bearings produced 145 hp and 215 ft-lbs of torque. At this time Jeep also introduced the Buick V6 option for CJ’s. This V6 produced 160 hp and 225 ft-lbs of torques from 225 cid compared to the CJ's standard Hurricane’s engine’s 75 hp. After this time oddly enough the Tornado engine was still used in military trucks and ambulances for 3 more years instead of the more powerful and reliable AMC engine.
Although the Tornado engine was of an innovative design it didn't not sell well because of it's complexity, lousy gas mileage and being a very heavy engine comparable to diesels in weight. I didn't know that Wyllis produced a six cylinder inline OHC Hemi engine until I read it in a recent issue of 4 Wheel Off-Road Magazine. Now you know it too.
Deadbear |
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