Vintage Automobile Racing Engines
Page 1
Big Car Engines
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Clemons Fitted to a Ford transmission Don Radbruch collection |
Dreyer Jack Earle collection |
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2 Port Clemons Single overhead cam, two Winfield Carburetors, Green Engineering side drive. Lower half of the case is single overhead cam Mc Dowell - Engine in the Bill and Mike LaRosa collection |
Cragar Joe Gemsa built this double overhead came engine - Engine in the Bill and Mike LaRosa collection |
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Gemsa Joe Gemsa cast these dual overhead cam heads for Model T Ford blocks but this is the only conversion he made for a Model A-B Ford block. - Engine in the Bill and Mike LaRosa collection |
In the foreground is a Riley Two Port. Behind it is a Riley Four Port that came from a racing car in northern California that was driven by Walt Davis. The Riley engine was developed by George Riley of Los Angeles, California - Engines in the Bill and Mike LaRosa collection
Click your mouse on the photo at right to see photo of another Riley Four Port engine pictured by itself - The Illustrated History of Sprint Car Racing: 1896-1942 by: Jack C. Fox |
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Clemons Single overhead cam - Engine in the Bill and Mike LaRosa collection |
Frontenac This Model T "Fronty" single overhead cam engine was very popular - Engine in the Bill and Mike LaRosa collection |
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Miller This engine single overhead came engine was featured in a Hot Rod Magazine article in the 1950s - Engine in the Bill and Mike LaRosa collection |
Hisso 359.44 cubic inch, in line 4-cylinder with a 4.724 inch bore and a 5.118 inch stroke, made from half of a Hispano-Suiza World War I aircraft engine - Engine in the Roger DeMatthews collection |
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Junior Special This is one of two 181 cubic inch, dual overhead cam, 24 valve, six-cylinder engines built by Riley Brett, Cotton Henning, and W.W. Brown for C. L. Richards of Kansas City, Missouri. For more information about this engine, see the following web page: http://www.milleroffy.com/Junior%20Specials.htm – Engine in the David Hedrick collection |
Aristocrat This engine was developed by Alexander Automotive Eng. Co. of Inglewood, California. It is an overhead valve push rod engine – Motor Racing News |
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Studebaker 336-cubic-inch straight-8 L-head Studebaker President engine with 7.5:1 compression, a Scintilla VAG3-De magneto, and 4 Stromberg single-barrel carburetors - Al Isselhart photo |
Lawhon Special This 4-cylinder engine was designed and constructed in the St. Joseph, Missouri engine shop of George and Ernie Lawhon who campaigned it in their racing cars in the 1930s and ‘40s. There were at least two different versions of this single overhead cam engine, one with two intakes and another with four intakes. Both were cross flow single head and block castings with a separate crankcase and four exhausts. One of each of these versions of the Lawhon Special engines is on display in the Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska – St. Joseph News-Press photo |
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Model T Ford Frontenac This dual overhead came Ford conversion was ironically designed by brothers Louis and Arthur Chevrolet - The Illustrated History of Sprint Car Racing: 1896-1942 by: Jack C. Fox |
Frontenac Stager Valve This dual overhead came engine had intake and exhaust ports on both sides of the head for added cooling of the valves - The Illustrated History of Sprint Car Racing: 1896-1942 by: Jack C. Fox |
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Gallivan This dual overhead cam Model T Ford conversion engine was developed by Jack E. Gallivan and was available through his shop in Illinois from 1926 until 1930. The engine had a pair of two-inch valves in each cylinder and the cams were gear driven. It was considered to be rather pricey with the head alone going for around $750 - The Illustrated History of Sprint Car Racing: 1896-1942 by: Jack C. Fox |
Rajo Ford George H. McDowell photo |
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Miller Ford C Illustrated History of Sprint Car Racing: 1896-1942 by: Jack C. Fox |
Miller Schofield 8-Valve Ford A Illustrated History of Sprint Car Racing: 1896-1942 by: Jack C. Fox |
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Morton & Brett Dodge Illustrated History of Sprint Car Racing: 1896-1942 by: Jack C. Fox |
McDowell Single overhead came Model T Ford conversion - Illustrated History of Sprint Car Racing: 1896-1942 by: Jack C. Fox |
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McCulloch This supercharged V-8 Ford engine was developed by the McCulloch Engineering Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the late 1930s but not many were used in auto racing – Motor Racing News |
Alexander This V-8 Ford engine equipped with Alexander “R” heads was developed by the Alexander Automotive Engineering Company of Inglewood, California in the late 1930s – Motor Racing News |
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Rutherford |
D. O. Dudda Shown here is the cylinder head of a Double Overhead Cam Dudda that was raced in the Illinois and Indiana area in the early 1930s. The Dudda engine was developed by Gustof “Gus” Dudda in the late 1920s and utilized either a Chrysler or Plymouth block. Click your mouse on the photo at right to see a couple of the Dudda racing cars – Jeff Adams collection |
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Chrysler Imperial This 384 cubic-inch straight-eight with nine-main bearings, Winfield Model S carburetors, and magneto ignition was driven by Raul Riganti to a 14th place finish in the 1933 Indianapolis “500” – Daniel Phenicie collection |
Wayne Chevrolet The particular Wayne Chevrolet engine shown at right, was built by Tuck Muterspaugh in 1949 – Mutlerspaugh collection |
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Joe Gemsa (1920 - 1995)
Photo from the Don Radbruch collection
Gemsa was a sprint driver in the 1940s and 1950s and a master machinist who specialized in four-bangers. He designed, built, rebuilt, and restored overhead valve and overhead cam units for Model T and A-B Fords. He is credited with restoring the John Gerber engine that was virtually destroyed during a 1951 race at the Oakland Stadium in California. Click your mouse on the photo above to see another of Gemsa from the Floyd Seago collection.
Johnny DeLong
This photo was taken at Santa Maria, California in 1953. This car was once thought to have been powered by the Riley 4 port engine pictured above but late information indicates this is probably not the car that ran the LaRosa engine. Would anyone with more information about this please contact Bob Lawrence? - Don Radbruch collection
Walt Davis
This photo was taken at Oakland Speedway in California c1940. Mike LaRosa believes the Riley 4 port engine in the LaRosa collection (and pictured above) was in this car before and maybe shortly after World War II – Photo from the George Sowle collection
Click your mouse on the photo above to see another of this car on fire at the same racetrack in 1939 – Photo from the book Dirt Track Auto Racing,1919–1941, A Pictorial History - By Don Radbruch
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Vintage Automobile Racing Engines
Page 2
Midget Engines