Fork and blade connecting rods

[jeffmorris]

I thought that all V-x where x means 4,6,8,10,12, and 16 have one bank of cylinders offset from other bank because the connecting rods sit side-by-side but I found out from watching a video that there were some V-x where x means 8 and 12 have fork and blade connecting rods. The V-12 engines used in airplanes had overhead cams. The V-8 engines used in 1910s-1920s Cadillac and Lincoln had flatheads. How did the valve train work on those engines? I searched the Internet but I couldn't find anything.

[Blue Bowtie]

The 1917 Chevrolet V-8 engine was overhead valve, not flathead. Central camshaft, cross-flow heads, rocker arms, and all the features one would expect in a modern V-8 except for the "four camshafts per cylinder" lameness that has appeared since the 1990s.

Similarly, more than one V engine uses a "saddle" con rod arrangement. Look in any Harley Davidson built in the the last 90 years.

If you want to understand even more, research "radial engine" design and it might be educational.