User:Maparfitt/Awad article

1923 Copper-Cooled Chevrolet
Chevrolet copper-cooled
Overview
Manufacturer	Chevrolet Division of General Motors
Also called	Copper-Cooled
Production	759 (500 distributed)
Model years	1923
Body and chassis
Body style	2 seater coupe
Powertrain
Engine	4-cylinder 2.2L (135 cu in)
Transmission	Manual

THIS NEEDS TO BE A DEFINITION. MOVE QUOTATION AND MOST MATERIAL BELOW. "The whole car will work very sweetly and will continue to do so with only a very small fraction of the attention that would be absolutely necessary for the care of a horse."

The 1923 Chevrolet Copper-Cooled Motor was designed by lead engineer Charles F. Kettering, head engineer of Delco Electronics, the General Motors research division wing in Dayton, Ohio . It was actually an air cooled engine but used extensive amounts of copper fins for efficient cooling, which gave it its name. Air cooling, as opposed to water-based cooling was much more practical in a sense because it did not require a radiator, or the piping that came with it. Also since there was no liquid, winter maintenance was much simpler and the risk of piping fracture due to freezing water was nonexistent. Because of these many reasons kettering researched air cooling extensively. Although air cooling was not new to the time period, it was new to engines of that scale. Kettering researched airflow over metal surfaces, heat transmission from metal to air, and many other concepts of air cooling before finally deciding that an OHV engine would be the best choice to accomadate all of the cooling requirements that his project demanded.

Design

Kettering's blueprints and research led him to believe that his idea was possible. He decided that a cast iron engine with copper u shaped fins would give the best cooling, as opposed to aluminum which is the first choice for modern automobiles, since copper is very good at conducting heat. The copper fins would be welded electrically to the engine. Kettering spent extensive amounts of time reseraching fin paterns that would provide the most efficient cooling, as well as different ways of manufacturing and assembling said fins.

OHV stands for Over-Head Valve. Kettering found this to be the most viable engine design. Ketterings OHV engine was an extraordinarily advanced design for the time period. As well as the OVH design, the four-cylinder design called for an straight engine configuration. The overhead engine allowed for better cooling on the top end of the engine, as well as between cylinders. An issue however that arose from this design is where to incorporate the copper-fins that kettering had based his whole project on. To bypass this issue kettering took the top of the combustion chamber and incorporated it with the actual cylinder. This incorporation solved multiple issues one being the space needed for the fins and the other being oil leaks which were very hazerdous to air cooled systems.

Oil leaks in an air cooled system were fire hazerds, as well as health safety hazerds because when oil leaks onto the hot metal surfaces of the engine it creates a smokey smell and could ignite causing severe damage to the automobile, and its users. Also, because of the burnt layer of oil, cooling would be drastically decreased. Kettering understood these concerns and continued to work on ways that would minimize the possibility of an oil leak on the hot cylinders. He found that the best solution was to have only one possible leak cite above the cylinder. That is the joint between the crankcase and the cylinder. This left almost no oil above the cylinders, and only one possible place for a leak to spring. This significantly reduced the risk of an oil leak, as well as allowing automobile technicians to locate the possible oil leak much more efficiently.

Chevrolet air cooling diagram

Kettering also decided to add a fan at the base of the engine to add an induction element to the cooling system. The fan would turn at one and a half times the speed of the engine pulling air through a vent from the bottom of the engine manifold. This design scheme allowed for bottom end cooling which was more efficient and easier to control. After the fan was installed on the prototype, the car was finally fitted with kettering's signature automatic electric starter.

Controversy

NEEDS REFERENCES In 1919 Kettering held a presentation for Pierre S. du Pont, then manager of General Motors. Du Pont was very [OMIT] impressed with [KETTERING'S WORK] the work that Kettering had done. He was [AND] specifically impressed with the idea of eliminating the radiator and all of the issues that came with it. Du Pont approved the new design for testing under the Chevrolet and Oakland (automobile) divisions. During testing the car had failed some Oakland's tests, and overall was criticized. Kettering took any criticism of his work very personally and expressed his discontent to General Motors. Management at GM reassured him and pushed for more development from Oakland and Chevrolet for the project. Oakland however was not very pleased with the project and Fred Hannum expressed this notion to Pierre du Pont in a letter explaining the problems that plauged the automobile. Chevrolet at the time had elected a new president. William S. Knudsen was much more accepting and saw possibilities in Kettering's design. Kettering however was growing impatient and called a meeting with GM. At the meeting he gave told them that the time was now, it was either begin production, or forget the concept completely. Chevrolet gave time in its schedule to begin in the new production year, and Oldsmobile also showed signs of interest.

Production

Production was set for 1,000 cars by feburary of 1923, and by October of the same year production was set for 50,000 cars. When the plans were finally set in motion GM made a statment saying "The only question that seemed to remain at the beginning of the new year regarding the water cooled car was the exact date on which it should be abandoned.” To Ketterings dismay, only 759 cars actually made it out of production by may of 1923. Of those 759, only 500 went to sales. The rest of them were destroyed in the factories. Of the 500 that went to sales 300 made it to sales floors, and of those 300, only 100 made it in the hands of customers.

When the vehicle finally made it to the public all of the issues that Oakland had complained about had become a reality. The engine was cooled unevenly, and showed significant power loss in hot weather. The engine also pre-ignited severely at higher temperatures. Chevrolet recalled all of the sold automobiles and destroyed them. Oldsmobile did not take part in the project and kept working with their water-cooled designs. Kettering was infuriated, and threatened to leave GM after his failure. He was convinced otherwise.