The Neatest Engines For Sale On eBay Are Two WWII Era Guiberson Diesel Radial Tank Mills!


The Neatest Engines For Sale On eBay Are Two WWII Era Guiberson Diesel Radial Tank Mills!

This is not what we expected to find when we went cruising around eBay today looking for neat stuff. What you are looking at are a pair of 265hp Guiberson T-1020 engines. These 9-cylinder diesels were used in tanks like the M-3 Stuart and other variants using a nomenclature that starts with an A were used in airplanes. The engines are exceedingly rare. There are not that many even on display anywhere anymore so to find two of them in complete and intact condition seems like kind of a big deal. People restore tanks and other military vehicles so this could be a major score for someone.

One of the ways that the engines can be identified as the tank variant is by the massive gear driven fan that’s attached. The airplane obviously had the prop washing the engine with air so it did not need the additional help but in a tank when the airflow is already crummy, that fan was an important part of the mechanical equation.

These things displaced about 1,000ci and 5.125″ bore and a 5.5″ stroke. Using a single row of cylinders these things were pretty light at only 559lbs. As you can see, it seems like the steel skid these are on was designed to be used to install directly into a tank. The driveshaft running to a gearbox that would drive the tracks. It seems that way to us, anyway.

Guiberson was a Texas company and they made every inch of this thing, right down to the fuel injection. As best we can tell, these were reliable and good engines. Maybe not the massive power houses that we normally celebrate but yeoman machines that powered planes and tanks into and home from battle. Respect.

eBay: These two Guiberson T-1020 engines are rare, weird, and cool


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3 thoughts on “The Neatest Engines For Sale On eBay Are Two WWII Era Guiberson Diesel Radial Tank Mills!

  1. Disgruntled

    These engines would have been fit into a Stuart tank at one time. The skids are a home made setup, likely they were using them to run irrigation pumps etc as many WW2 engines were used after the war for that purpose. The Stuart doesnt have a removable engine tray, you have to install the engine the old fashioned way with a hoist. Neat engines and not that plentiful. Would love to own one to play with here and there.

  2. HotRodPop

    I agree, look like irrigation pump setups I’ve seen here in south Texas, although not with radial engines. Definitely WAY cool!

  3. Chevy Hatin' Mad Geordie

    Just find a engine bay big enough to slot them in side by side – then add a brace of turbos!

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