The Legendary Racing Engine and the Men Who Built it
Written by racing historian Gordon Eliot White, Offenhauser is one of the absolute best and most interesting automotive books on racing ever published.
All the important men responsible for creating such an effective – and beautiful – racing engines are discussed in depth, giving you a solid foundation as to how the creation of the Offenhausen engine came about. The talents and contributions of all the engineers involved such as mechanical genius Harry Miller and Fred Offenhausen, Lou Goossen as well as Louie Meyer and Dale Drake and are discussed in depth.
Visually, it’s the many rare photographs, engineering drawings and illustrations showcasing how the engines were designed, developed and built that are truly fascinating to see. Views inside the Miller, Offenhausen and other factories exhibit the construction of racing cars and the fabrication of their parts, most of which were engines.
One of the most interesting chapters is the one called “Offy, Meyer & Drake Sports Car Specials” which profiles the many different racing cars that relied on Offy power to compete competitively. And, of course, there’s plenty of information on the many single-seat roadsters that raced at Indianapolis with that big four-cylinder beauty under their hoods. And, yes, there’s lots of sprint car information, too, while charts, lists and numerous sidebars add greatly to book’s broad reaching appeal.
First published in 1996 by Motorbooks International, this long out of print hardcover book can easily be found online. Hardcover versions run about $150-plus new and $35 used; softcover versions can be bought for $90 new. Either way if you want to know more about this incredible engine, perhaps the most significant American racing engine ever made, you owe it to yourself to read this insightful book. It’s an engaging book that you will find immensely enjoyable, to the point that you will have trouble putting it down once you start reading it.
