Posted on 11/08/2023 7:29:10 AM PST by Red Badger
It took about an hour of work to make it run again, but the 14-liter engine now purrs like a big cat.
We usually associate twelve-cylinder engines with high-end cars and the occasional SUV like the Audi Q7 V12 TDI, Rolls-Royce Cullinan, or the Bentley Bentayga. However, these powerhouses have a long history of serving a far more utilitarian purpose at a work site. Such is the case here of a Detroit Diesel Series 71, a two-stroke engine that was available in both inline and V configurations.
The smallest of the lot was a single-cylinder, 1.2-liter unit while the largest one was a V16 18.6-liter behemoth. Left to rot for many years, this rusty ol' dump truck has the V12 variant with a 14-liter displacement and about 425 horsepower on tap. The 12V-71 was offered in naturally aspirated and turbocharged configurations with output varying between 394 hp to 525 hp.
In the age of Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, a nearly hour-long video might seem like overkill, but we reckon it's worth every second of your time. In the prime of its life, this massive 852-cubic-inch engine hauled heavy loads at a quarry in Queensland in northeastern Australia. The Wabco Haulpak dump truck sadly didn't get the retirement it deserved as it was left for dead to make way for newer, more advanced big rigs. Such is life of heavy machinery.
It should be noted the Detroit Diesel Series 71 used a gear-driven Roots blower but it was still technically called a naturally aspirated engine by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Being dormant for an extended amount of time and exposed to the elements, it doesn't come as a surprise this dump truck had a rust hole in the intake. There was still some diesel in the tank but a fresh batch was added along with a fuel injector cleaner. The ever-dependable WD-40 was also used and a pair of batteries was installed.
If you want to jump to the best part of the video, that V12 roars again from the 54:20 mark.
Source: Bruce in AUS / YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zdtlvxBA6Y
DIESEL kNoCk!..................
Well, cool just for the novelty of it. One never knew that such a thing existed. Obviously it would never make it past the emissions regulations today, which makes it so much even more cooler.
One will watch later.
Will they put it back to work? Put it in a museum? Wreck it in an action movie?
Because of course his name is "Bruce".
If it was "Michael", that would cause a little confusion.
Good on someone for making it run again.
WD-40....Is there anything it can’t do?.....................
My dad used to work on a person’s 12 cylinder jaguar - the thing was a beast
I bet it wasn’t a 852 cubic inch beast!...............
Detroit Diesel .. turning diesel fuel into noise. Glorious delicious noise!
Is the performance and longevity of newer engines better? Yes, but how many "improvements" that have added costs such as improved fuel economy, emissions control, and safety have been driven by government mandate instead of market demand? What is the cumulative effect of such mandated market inefficiency over just about every product produced and sold? How is this different in the end from a planned, Soviet-style economy?
Interesting. I didn’t realize these big diesel engines were 2-stroke.
I don’t remember, but I do remember going along with him while taking the car out to “test drive it” after working on it, and letting it rip down the road lol
I got an old Honda 750-4 going by pouring Mystery Oil into all four cylinders and putting in a new battery.
VROOM!
I salvaged it out of my voice teacher’s back yard where it had sat for decades, obtained a Salvage Title, and got to work.
Cleaned up, it sold for $500.00.
Those were the days, my friend. I LOVE ICEs!
I worked on a job for a customer in Portland OR several years ago. It was a river dredge with 4 ea. 6-110 Detroit engines driving a sand and gravel pump in the Willamette river. The dredge crew partially disassembled and delivered them to us. We rebuilt all 4 and test-ran each one in the shop before sending them back out to the barge. It was the biggest hunk of iron I’ve ever rebuilt and tuned. They were configured as a quad with 1 LH blower with RH rotation , 1 RH blower with RH rotation, 1 RH blower with LH rotation, 1 LH blower with LH rotation. We took much time in marking all components. It would be extremely easy to mix up the parts otherwise.
“My dad used to work on a person’s 12 cylinder jaguar - the thing was a beast”
Less than 400 hp is not a beast. Base Mustang GT is now 480.
it was to a little kid who rode around in family cars till then—
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