T-head engines

T-head engine

A T-head engine is an early type of engine that became obsolete after WWI.It is a sidevalve engine that is distinguished from the much more common L-head by its placement of the valves,the intake valves are on one side of the engine block,the exhaust valves on the other.An L-head has all valves at the same side.Seen from the end of the crankshaft in cutaway wiew the cylinder and combustion chamber resembles a T,hence the name "T-head". A such design may seem meaningless today,as it takes 2 camshafts to operatethe valves,creating an engine that is more complicated and expensive to producethan a normal L-head.The reason of this is that the gasoline of the day was highly prone to self-igniting,and by arranging the valves this way heat transfer fromthe exhaust ports is avoided to prevent detonations.The engine type was found on cars like Mercedes and Stutz,and the last ones in production for personal cars was manufactured by an American company,Locomobile,around 1920.