Chrysler in New Zealand

[HDN]

The use of the Chevy engine was probably due to availability of the engine and replacement parts, cost etc. etc. If I ever get my hands on an engine-less Chrysler siren , its going to end up being Ford powered because that's what I know best.

Now all I can think about is doing an LS swap for a dead Victory Siren At least in my area it's easier to find 5.3L or 6.0L V8s than Chevy 350/5.7L Vortecs.

I wonder how much horsepower and torque the siren can handle...

[Unit of Civil Defense]

I wonder how much horsepower and torque the siren can handle...

I would imagine quite a bit of both horsepower and torque in seeing the way that the siren ,sans engine, was constructed back in the day. Keep in mind that those original Chrysler 331 C.I.D power plants where highly sought after by the guys building engines for the drag racing community once the siren was decommissioned and or taken out of service.
Since these are direct drive pieces i.e engine connected directly to the siren or in the automotive racing world, the engine is connected directly to the rear differential without the use of a transmission, the weakest link would be the coupler / in-out box / dog clutch what ever you want to call it between the engine and siren.
I would not want to put a top fuel drag racing engine in the siren as the centrifugal force of the engine at full throttle( or even half throttle) would more than likely turn that siren into a 3 ton hand grenade. Your idea of the LS engines would be an almost perfect balance of H.P, torque and load (siren)...if you want to go old school Chevy , the 454 big block (think '70 Chevelle SS) or 427 (think Corvette) would pretty much be the limit I would safely go without out destroying the siren...plenty of torque, r.p.m range not too incredibly high unlike the top fuel drag racing engine. The small block Chevy's could surprise you as well ....the 350 with pre-smog heads, the 327, small block 400....all of these have quicker r.p.m's than the big blocks and would more closely be a match of the Chrysler 331 from the cold war era.

[Blasty]

I wonder how much horsepower and torque the siren can handle...

The Chrysler-Bell Victory Siren was powered by a 140hp in-line 8 cylinder engine, and the Chrysler Air Raid Siren a 180hp V8, for what it's worth. That doesn't tell you what it *could* handle, though.

[whelen-ws-2000R]

Maybe 15 years ago - just going from loose memory - there were known to be two Chrysler-Bells still in China that the US sent over there. The only two known to remain. One had since been fitted with a large electric motor, and the other had a replacement engine that was different from the original. No idea if they were active then, or if they are still there now.

The pictures are still around at least, not sure if the siren in Zhangzhou still works.
https://www.sohu.com/a/191564527_785875
https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2019-09-17/d ... 0828.shtml

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Consulting the "Nanjing Civil Air Defense Chronicle", there is this record: "After the liberation of Nanjing, four 100-horsepower gasoline engine sirens seized from the liberation of Zhoushan Islands were transferred and placed at the four corners of the Drum Tower Pavilion in case the electric sirens malfunctioned. use.