Offenhauser
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Industry | Automotive |
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Founded | 1933 |
Founder | Fred H. Offenhauser |
Products | Racing engines |
The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Miller_marine_racing_engine.png/220px-Miller_marine_racing_engine.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/47/TomsheOffy24.jpg/220px-TomsheOffy24.jpg)
The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the "Offy", was an
In 1946, the name Offenhauser and engine designs were sold to Louis Meyer and Dale Drake. It was under Meyer and Drake that the engine dominated the Indianapolis 500 and midget racing in the United States.[7] In 1965, Meyer was bought out by Drake, his wife Eve and their son John. From then until Drake's son John sold the shop to Stewart Van Dyne, the Drake family designed and refined the engine until its final race days.
One of the keys to the Offenhauser engine's success and popularity was its power. A 251.92 cubic inch (4,128.29 cm³)
From 1934 through the 1970s, the Offenhauser engine dominated American
The Offenhauser shop began to do machine work for Lockheed in 1940, as the arms build-up for anticipated war began. The last prewar engine was shipped on July 17, 1941, and the plant began producing hydraulic systems after the Pearl Harbor attack. Leo Goossen finally became a full-time Offenhauser employee in 1944, and Fred Offenhauser sold the company in 1946.[7]
In 1959
When Ford came onto the scene in 1963, with much increased competition and sanctioning body rule changes,[
Common Offenhauser engines
Offenhauser produced engine blocks in several sizes. These blocks could be bored out or sleeved to vary the cylinder bore, and could be used with crankshafts of various strokes, resulting in a wide variety of engine displacements. Offenhauser (and Meyer-Drake, in later years) frequently made blocks, pistons, rods, and crankshafts to specific customer requests. However, certain engine sizes were common, and could be considered the "standard" Offenhauser engines:[7]
- 97 cu in (1.59 L) - to meet the displacement rule in many midget series
- 220 cu in (3.6 L) - displacement rule in AAA (later USAC) sprint cars
- 270 cu in (4.4 L) - displacement rule for the Indianapolis 500 under AAA rules[11]
- 255 cu in (4.18 L) - for Indianapolis (during the 1930s fuel consumption rules)
- 252 cu in (4.13 L) - displacement rule for Indianapolis under USAC rules
- 168 cu in (2.75 L) - displacement rule for turbocharged engines at Indianapolis (to 1968)
- 159 cu in (2.61 L) - displacement rule for turbocharged engines at Indianapolis (1969 and later)
World Championship Indianapolis 500 summary
From 1950 to 1960, the Indianapolis 500 was a round of the
Season | Cars entered | Winning driver | Second driver | Third driver | Pole sitter | Race report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | 31 | Johnnie Parsons | Bill Holland | Mauri Rose | Walt Faulkner | Report |
1951 | 32 | Lee Wallard | Mike Nazaruk | Manny Ayulo | Report | |
1952 | 30 | Troy Ruttman | Jim Rathmann
|
Sam Hanks | Fred Agabashian | Report |
1953 | 32 | Bill Vukovich | Art Cross | Sam Hanks | Bill Vukovich | Report |
1954 | 34 | Bill Vukovich | Jimmy Bryan | Jack McGrath | Jack McGrath | Report |
1955 | 35 | Bob Sweikert | Tony Bettenhausen | Jimmy Davies | Jerry Hoyt | Report |
1956 | 32 | Pat Flaherty | Sam Hanks | Don Freeland | Pat Flaherty | Report |
1957 | 31 | Sam Hanks | Jim Rathmann
|
Jimmy Bryan | Pat O'Connor | Report |
1958 | 31 | Jimmy Bryan | George Amick | Johnny Boyd | Dick Rathmann | Report |
1959 | 33 | Rodger Ward | Jim Rathmann
|
Johnny Thomson | Johnny Thomson | Report |
1960 | 33 | Jim Rathmann
|
Rodger Ward | Paul Goldsmith | Eddie Sachs | Report |
See Indianapolis Motor Speedway race results for a more complete list.
In the 11 World Championship years, the Meyer-Drake Offenhauser engine partnered for at least one race with the following 35 constructors:
- Adams
- Bromme
- Christensen
- Emil Diedt
- Frank DelRoy
- Dunn
- Eagle
- Elder
- Quin Epperly
- Wayne Ewing
- Hall
- Kurtis Kraft
- Eddie Kuzma
- Langley
- Lesovsky
- Carl Marchese
- Maserati
- McLaren
- Meskowski
- Lou Moore
- Nichels
- Olson
- Pankratz
- Pawl
- Phillips
- Rae
- Schroeder
- Sherman
- Russ Snowberger
- Stevens
- Sutton
- Trevis
- Turner
- A. J. Watson
- Wetteroth
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(excluding the 1950-1960 Indianapolis 500) (key)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1959 | Leader Cards Inc. | Kurtis Kraft Midget | L4
|
? | MON | 500 | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | POR | ITA | USA | 0 | - | ||
Rodger Ward | Ret | ||||||||||||||||
1960 | Reventlow Automobiles Inc | Scarab F1
|
L4
|
D | ARG | MON | 500 | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | POR | ITA | USA | 0 | - | |
Chuck Daigh | DNA | DNQ | DNS | Ret | DNS | 10 | |||||||||||
Lance Reventlow | DNQ | DNS | Ret | ||||||||||||||
Richie Ginther | DNS |
References
- ^ "Kings of Indy: the phenomenal Miller-Offenhauser I4 engine". 27 November 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "This Offenhauser Racing DOHC four is the most storied of American racing engines". Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Offenhauser. The Greatest Racing Engine Ever Built?". 24 December 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
- ^ "Fred Offenhauser". National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. 1999. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
- ^ Circle Track, 9/84, pp.82-3.
- ^ Circle Track, 9/84, p.83.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-62654-041-5
- ISBN 9780760319185– via Google Books.
- ISBN 9781610608060– via Google Books.
- ^ "The Immortal Offenhauser Racing Engine". 16 March 2017.
- ^ "Assembling A 270ci Offenhauser IndyCar Engine: Step By Step". 3 March 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2022.