If a guy were to build an engine with 180* timing of the cylinders on a double acting engine, would this work? I know the main reason of 2 cylinders is so that it is self starting and they are then timed at 90° to one another, and aranging them like this would defeat that, but is is possible. I was thinking as one cylinder was being forced to "expand" the other could cylinder could be hooked to the same supply from the valve in order to be forced to "contract".
Second, is there a specific reason that valves are operated on eccentrics from the crank shaft and not the traditional lobes like the piston connecting rods are attatched to? Would they work if there were conected to such lobes instead of the eccentrics?
A twin cylinder engine with the cylinders timed at 180* will run perfectly well, it just will not be self starting. A number of full size engines are set up like that, but have methods of moving the engine off of centers if it stops on them.