Kimmel Collection: Kaiser-Besler Steam Engine

piston valves. This engine is a 90 degree V-4 single acting cross compound uniflow with piston valves only used as intake valves on the high pressure heads. The engine is bolted to the original Kaiser bell housing.

Of interest is the long rectangular uniflow exhaust port from the high pressure cylinders, so made to give a very long exhaust timing so that the compound engine works as a 90 degree Vee. If the traditionaluniflow exhaust ports, a row of holes just above bottom dead center, was used then the timing would be too late to get steam into the receivers and to the low pressure cylinders. The boiler is with the engine and both were taken out of the car.

The car body was vandalized and is also present at the shop. The boiler was a traditional monotube kerosene fired boiler based on the smoke generator coils Besler was famous for. People who have ridden in the car said that it went very well and would carry sixpeople at highway speeds. Quite obviously the steam engine ran at the same rpm as the gasolineengine it replaced, as the rest of the drive train was standard.

(Note: Click on a picture to see a larger view and then use your browser to enlarge it further.)

		The Kaiser-Besler steam car was made in 1958 by Bill Besler. It used Henry J. Kaiser’s 1953 Manhattan vehicle as the chassis. Kaiser requested that everything fit under the hood so the boiler ended up being undersized and it only produced about 85 hp. The engine was a new design for Besler who usually did V-2 90 degree twin doubleacting compounds with

piston valves. This engine is a 90 degree V-4 single acting cross compound uniflow with piston valves only used as intake valves on the high pressure heads. The engine is bolted to the original Kaiser bell housing. Of interest is the long rectangular uniflow exhaust port from the high pressure cylinders, so made to give a very long exhaust timing so that the compound engine works as a 90 degree Vee. If the traditionaluniflow exhaust ports, a row of holes just above bottom dead center, was used then the timing would be too late to get steam into the receivers and to the low pressure cylinders. The boiler is with the engine and both were taken out of the car. The car body was vandalized and is also present at the shop. The boiler was a traditional monotube kerosene fired boiler based on the smoke generator coils Besler was famous for. People who have ridden in the car said that it went very well and would carry sixpeople at highway speeds. Quite obviously the steam engine ran at the same rpm as the gasolineengine it replaced, as the rest of the drive train was standard. (Note: Click on a picture to see a larger view and then use your browser to enlarge it further.)

Kaiser-Besler Engine