Henry Ford on the six cylinder, in 1907

[Rob]

Henry Ford acquired A. Y. Malcomson and some smaller investors stock prior to 1907. As a result, he held a significant majority in the company named for him, and for all intents and purposes he was in control.

Here is what he wrote about the six cylinder v. the four cylinder motor at that time.

[TXGOAT2]

Ford has been accused of "hating" everything under the sun, from horses to Jews to 6 cylinder engines to foreigners to other-than-black paint, and more. From what I've seen and read, Ford despised waste and inefficiency, and little else. Ford Motor Co. built a great many 6 cylinder engines during his lifetime. However, for an inexpensive, lightweight, economical to operate and maintain passenger car, the inline 4 cylinder had the edge over the 6 cylinder. That was true then, and it remains true today, when engines require far less service, on average, than they did a century ago. The success of the Model T and Model A Ford cars speaks for itself. I believe that Ford went to the V8 design due to its smooth low RPM torque, requiring less gear shifting, and its space efficiency. The V8 required no more room, front to back, than did the 4 cylinder, and power to weight could equal or surpass the 4 cylinder. As far as I know, inline 4s cannot be made vibration free without the use of a balance shaft. The success of the Ford V8 is legendary. It delivered power, speed, reliability, economy, and drive-ability previously unavailable in a low priced car. I think Ford would have done better to equip the V8 with a single water pump with integrated fan, rather than clinging to the semi-thermosyphon arrangement used on the Model A & B that used 2 water pumps and separate fan and water pump drive belts.

[TXGOAT2]

Early 6 cylinder designs tended to have issues with crankshaft flexibility, twist, and torsional vibration. 7 main bearing designs only party dealt with these issues. Hudson made a huge step forward with crankshaft counterbalancing, and Lanchester made another leap forward with the harmonic damper. Counterweighted crankshafts and harmonic balancers made 6 cylinder engines much more durable and practical, and made lightweight straight eight engines practical. Ford was late to adopt counter balancing, perhaps due to licensing, and Ford did not use harmonic balancers on V8s until 1955. Ford used heavy, stiff V8 crankshafts to negate the need for harmonic balancers until increasing horsepower output made them necessary. Counterbalance shafts for 4 cylinder engines only appeared in recent decades. Advances in engine mount designs made 4 cylinder vibration less of an issue to consumers, but Ford's enclosed driveline construction limited the use of compliant engine/transmission mounting through the 1948 model year.