In the 1980s, Lee Root produced this 1/4 scale replica of the 4-cylinder, water-cooled engine used in the famous Ford Model A automobile of 1928. (Courtesy of Margarita and Al Root, and Rhetta and John Hopfauf.) The engine is machined from 7075 aircraft grade aluminum and clear anodized for the color and finish. Mr. Root never made drawings for his engines, but always worked from sketches and notes plus his imagination. It is a 4-cylinder, water-cooled, side valve (the valves are located in the crankcase next to the cylinders) engine with a 180° crankshaft. The model engine burns gasoline on spark ignition and supports and internal pressurized oiling system. There are no castings used in this engine, which is 11”-long, 6”-wide, and 10”-high.
1/4 Scale Ford Model A Engine
