F15A Fan Shaft Configuration

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by m606paz

I also have no idea why it was made ... maybe because it was from 1945 and remaining production of some canceled contract ...

That’s the most likely explanation. So it is a factory configuration. This setup of course lowers the fan position so it will fit in other vehicles as well.

[Jacques Reed]

Hi Mariano and Hanno,

Interesting that the engine in Mariano's photo have the twin row pulleys on the water pumps but not on the generator. The factory photo shows single row pulleys on the pumps. The twin matched V belts on military engines was for reliability if one failed. Cooling and electrical generation would still occur with just one belt. Surprised if this would not be required on a CMP truck for any country of delivery.

That factory photo, I believe, is an engine for passenger, or light utility vehicles only. It has the passenger car breather cap and not the small oil bath air filter on the fuel pump stand so it would not have the PCV system as fitted on the military engines.

If Mariano's engine has an oil bath air filter on the fuel pump stand and any remnants of the PCV system then my guess is the fan, crank pulley, and generator were changed for some reason on a military engine. If no oil filter or PCV system then it could be an engine swap from a passenger car. Still doesn't explain the twin row pulleys on the water pumps however.

I have seen on this forum where twin row pulley water pumps were changed to single row due to easier availability of the single type but not the other way around. This could be a possibility here, however, based on post war surplus items in Argentina.

Still, when all is said and done so much was done in wartime that didn't stick to the book so perhaps that is the way it was setup from new. Nothing surprises me anymore with these vehicles.

Cheers,

[m606paz]

Good points to check those that Jacques comments.
It could be that after being auctioned in the 60s, the new civil owners had to find missing parts and the best way to find them was to adapt the large amount of existing civil spare parts in my country, being the second country in the world where Ford installed a factory to assemble your vehicles.
Currently it is easy to find here Ford Flathead NOS parts!