Hudson straight-eight engine

Hudson's straight-eight was a flathead inline eight-cylinder engine that the Detroit maker introduced for the 1930 model year and kept in production through 1952. The first version had a 2.75 inch bore and 4.5 inch stroke, displaced 218.8 cubic inches, about 3.6 litres, and developed 80 horsepower at 3,600 rpm. Its block and crankcase were cast as a unit under two cylinder heads, and the five-main-bearing crankshaft carried eight integral counterweights, which the company article calls an industry first, along with a Lanchester vibration damper. The engine grew to 233.7 cubic inches in the 1931 Greater Eight and to 254 cubic inches in 1932, and was then described as changing little, serving as the premium engine of the top Commodore models. From 1930 it was the only engine in the Hudson line, replacing the Super Six, which carried on in Essex cars. The 202 cubic inch six of the later Hudson Jet was a re-engineered version of the 1932 eight with two cylinders removed. The articles read for this entry do not state its fuel.