Four big truck makers now offer Rolls-Royce Eagle Diesel
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ATKINSON • FODEN • E.R.F.• SCAMMELL
ONLY TEN MONTHS since Rolls-Royce entered the automotive arena with a blaze of publicity centred on their "Eagle" range ol diesel engines, four of the most important big-truck builders are offering the engine alongside their existing power units. The lout companies are Atkinson, Foden, E.R.F. and Scammell, and rumour has it that there may well be other names to add to the list in the near future.
The Eagle range—which, to many transport men's surprise, is in the same price bracket as competitive engines—brings to operators what they have so long pressed the truck makers for: a wider choice of power unit. The choice has, in fact, been increased by three, because there is the Eagle 205, the 220, and the modestly turbocharged 260. The company has developed the range specifically for the trucking industry, and in particular for the industry's future needs as they relate to h.p./ton ratios.
Because of their conventional inline cylinder arrangement, the new engines are immediately suitable for use in existing chassis with the minimum of structural modification, which means that they can be specified as original equipment or as replacement units. In like manner, the retention of well-proven design and manufacturing techniques has ensured that the Eagle engines can be serviced anywhere in the world by mechanics who are familiar with basic diesel engine maintenance procedures.
The three engines which form the Eagle range are closely related to each other, sharing a large number of common components, including the crankcase, crankshaft, camshaft, liners, etc., and the principal external dimensions and weights are therefore very similar. This means that a vehicle manufacturer can offer any one of the three units in the same chassis without having to allow for different mounting arrangements.
Weight saving has received partic ular attention, and aluminium alloys are used extensively for ancillary components with the result that, although a fully counterweighted and dynamically balanced crankshaft is used in the Eagle engines, they weigh less than the original 'C' range units. It's worth noting that the bearing surfaces on these crankshafts are ground to a tolerance of six micro inches. The normally aspirated units have an approximate net dry weight of 2,450 lb., and the turbocharged engine's weight is about 112 lb. more than this.
The Eagle designs have beet evolved from the Rolls-Royce `C range of diesels which were intro duced with the formation of th, company's Oil Engine Division ii 1950 and which are now operatim in over 100 countries in such field: of application as railways, marine industrial, oilfields, earthmovim and specialized automotive. How ever, although related to thi original 'C' range units, variou. significant design innovations ham been introduced, resulting in tilt Eagle being the ideal engine fo the vehicle market.