Engine Candy

[showbizkid]

Studebaker Indy Engine by Hugo90, on Flickr

Don't know what museum this is in, but the placard explains that it's one of 2 factory DOHC engines built for Agajanian in 1953 for his Indy effort. It further says that during trials, the high-torque starter twisted off the first engine's crankshaft nose, so the second was not run and the effort abandoned.

I did a little digging, though, and Paul D. Smith in his book Merchants of Speed says that this engine did break the 200 MPH barrier during trials before the mechanical failure. Cool stuff!

[DEEPNHOCK]

Speedway Automotive in Lincoln, Nebraska.

[fstst56]

Bill Smith's (Speedy Bill) Museum of American Speed, located on the corporate campus of Speedway Motors in Lincoln, Nebraska www.museumofamericanspeed.com

[52-fan]

It's a shame that often a pioneering effort in engine development is stopped by a seemingly small malfunction. Of course, replacing a broken crankshaft is no small deal on a hybrid engine, but racing is like that. It would have been interesting to see how one of these engines would have fared after the teething problems were solved.

[JRoberts]

As impressive as this picture is these engines are even more impressive in person. If you are ever traveling anywhere near Lincoln stopping by this museum should be a must. Set aside a few hours to go through it. It is a great place for car folks.

[Bob Andrews]

Your title inspired me to share my own "engine candy":

Built by Nimesh Solanki, it is how I hope my r2 Lark engine will look before I'm done.

And my runner-up: Malcolm Berry's Wagonaire:

[3x2stude]

Can anyone tell me if the block in this vison of lovelyness is a stock V8 block?

Jon Kammer