According to David Venables' Racing Fifteen Hundreds, the Maserati 4CM had an open propeller shaft. All other Maseratis of the period, except the V8RI, of course, had a torque tube. Can anybody tell me whether Venables is correct, and if so, why Maserati departed from their usual design approach?
I have seen mention of 6CMs that at some stage were a 4CM. Is that just a different engine with the chassis, including the transmission, unchanged?
Maserati 4CM
Started by
Roger Clark
, Mar 31 2011 15:10
1 reply to this topic
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#2
Michael Ferner
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Posted 01 May 2011 - 14:01
According to Venables again, the 4CMS (though I have been challenged on that designation - meant is the late thirties version of the 4CM) had a chassis similar to the 6CM, with engine and transmission like the older 4CMs (i.e. open prop-shaft). Sadly, all the books I could check in a hurry concentrate on engine design, and barely mention the chassis or transmission. Why the open prop-shaft? Perhaps the lower end of the engine wasn't strong enough to take the propulsion from the torque tube and transmit it to the frame? Or, perhaps Maserati simply didn't trust the short crankcase during the design phase, seeing as they had no previous experience with 4-cylinder engines?
