Inspiration: Let’s All Run 12-Cylinder Tank Engines in Our Cars Like This
GM would love to instill the same throat grab a 12-cylinder Crown Vic like the one shown here has into its GMC Hummer. But the only way that could happen would be if the Hummer came with a V-12 like the tank engine in this hacked Ford. Otherwise, the association is never going to happen. The Hummer is just so much weak sauce.
The world would be a better place with insane 12-cylinder engine swaps
So let’s all convert our Teslas, Leafs, and Bolts, into 12-cylinder marauding end-of-times mayhem. If it is a bit extreme for you, at least check out this Ford Crown Vic project. It has received a turbocharged V12 engine out of a tank.
As American as stuffing a Rolls-Royce Meteor V12 tank engine into a derelict police car is, this comes courtesy of Sweden. So the inspiration is pure American as is the former Stockton Police Department Crown Vic. The engine is pure Brit, and the build is happening in Sweden. It’s an international effort of epic proportions!
To make room for a 12-cylinder tank engine a lot of heap needed hacking
With 27-liters of turbocharged tank engine, you have to make some room. This old Ford got hacked to make it all fit, including cutting way into the cowl. In fact, the cowl starts roughly in the middle of the Meteor.
With the floor absent, note the massive square tubing necessary to contain this monster motor. It weighs as much as the rest of the Crown Vic. There needed to be something a bit more stout to handle the roughly 600 hp and the massive weight of the V12. The original Police Interceptor engine was only good for less than half the horsepower.
But 600 hp isn’t that impressive anymore. So twin Borg Warner S500X turbochargers will aid in increasing the piston push. And with 30 pounds of boost, the power estimate has risen to around 2,500 hp. That’s more like it!
A custom engine installation requires custom components and fabrication
A lot of custom fabrication is involved in insanity like this. Note that the adapter plate mating the TH400 Turbo automatic transmission to the 12-cylinder engine is an inch thick. Also, a custom ECU-that’s a computer to you and me, will help to control spark, timing, and airflow.
The vid provided shows the maiden running of the engine in the Vic’s chassis. You’ll note that the tuning of the engine all takes place on the laptop. And the turbos are not connected at this juncture. That will supposedly happen in the next video.
But watching this beast come to life is what this vid is all about. That, and imagining your own crazy project stuffing something never meant for your car application into an almost worthless heap. It’s hot rod hedonism and caviar dreams wrapped in a police car package. The world should be full of these pursuits.
