cav551:
The 1959 designed, individual cylinder head Aec AV 1100T and Scania’s fuel injection possibilities may seem irrelevant to the Leyland Marathon, but both point the way to what could have been done with an AEC derived engine. Whether that would have been an inline six or a sorted vee eight, with however many cylinders covered by one head is a tantalising prospect. The technical reports about the TL12 engine had made clear that by 1972 AEC had been concentrating upon improving the internal cooling, cylinder head design and clamping of the AEC engine along with producing its output at lower rpm. Whether this should all have waited for the T45 cab and been offered perhaps with an alternative improved vee engine as well, is with hindsight a fascinating conundrum. But we are not operating under the pressures imposed from above at the time.
It is a crying shame as you say.I still think if AEC had been left to their own devices things would have been different.I am no AEC expert and enjoy learning,so may I ask two questions.
1,How did it come to a point were Leyland took over AEC.Were AEC in trouble?
2,Its seems AEC had an obsession with dry liner engines,was there a good reason for this as wet liner design is far easier to manufacture.
Over to the experts.