Allison V-1710 - Other Uses

Other Uses

The V-1710's useful life continued, as thousands were available on the surplus market. In the 1950s, many drag racers and land speed racers, attracted by its reliability and good power output, adopted the V-1710; Art Arfons and brother Walt in particular used one, in Green Monster. It proved unsuccessful as a drag racing engine, being unable to accelerate rapidly, but "could taxi all day at 150". Unlimited hydroplane racing also became a big sport across the U.S. at this time and V-1710s were often tuned for racing at up to 4,000 hp (3,000 kW)—power levels that were beyond design criteria and significantly reduced durability.

Later, as purpose-built V8 engines became available for drag racing and unlimited boats shifted to turboshaft power, tractor pullers began using the Allison engine, again developing unimagined power. Finally, the warbird movement began to restore and return to the air examples of the classic fighters of the war and many V-1710-powered pursuit airplanes began to fly again, with freshly overhauled engines. The reliability, maintainability, and availability of the engine has led others to use it to power flying examples of aircraft whose original engines are unobtainable. This includes newly manufactured Russian Yak-3 and Yak-9 airplanes, originally powered by Klimov V-12s in World War II, as well as ambitious projects such as a replica Douglas World Cruiser and Focke-Wulf Fw 190D by Flug Werk of Germany.