Race Proven - The Legend
What is an Offenhauser, or most often referred to as an "Offy?" To those not familiar with auto racing, or more specifically, auto racing history, Offenhauser may just be the name of an excellent German restaurant on the lower East Side, NY where you could get the best Sauerbraten under the New York City sky! But, in reality, Offenhauser was/is one of the best, and most successful auto race engines ever built. It was a joint effort started by Harry Miller in the 1920's, and Fred Offenhauser, who later joined the company and further improved the engine. Very powerful, small displacement, monobloc high compression 4 cylinder motors, putting out an enormous amount of hp for their sizes, and that hp approached, or even exceeded 1000 hp on some of their builds, an incredible number! Now the term "Monobloc" construction, very uncommon, where the block had no detachable head, and therefore no head gasket which is one of the weakest points on high compression powerful engines! This allowed the high compression numbers of 15:1+ that the engines made. Maybe now the title will make sense, "Headless Warrior."
Vince
Here, a little more history on the Offenhauser story from wiki:
The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers.
The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the "Offy", was an overhead cam monoblock 4-stroke internal combustion engine developed by Fred Offenhauser and Harry Arminius Miller. Originally, it was sold as a marine engine. In 1930 a four-cylinder 151 cu in (2.47 L) Miller engine installed in a race car set a new international land speed record of 144.895 mph (233.186 km/h). Miller developed this engine into a twin overhead cam, four-cylinder, four-valve-per-cylinder 220 cu in (3.6 L) racing engine. Variations of this design were used in midgets and sprints into the 1960s, with a choice of carburetion or Hilborn fuel injection. When both Miller and the company to whom he had sold much of the equipment and rights went bankrupt in 1933, Offenhauser opened a shop a block away and bought rights to engines, special tooling and drawings at the bankruptcy auction, and he and other former Miller employees took over production. They and former Miller employee, draftsman Leo Goossen, further developed the Miller engines into the Offenhauser engines.
One of the keys to the Offenhauser engine's success and popularity was its power. A 251.92 cubic inch (4,128.29 cm³) DOHC naturally-aspirated four-cylinder racing Offy with a 15:1 compression ratio and a 4.28125-by-4.375-inch (108.744 mm × 111.125 mm) bore and stroke could produce 420 hp (310 kW) at 6,600 rpm (1.77 hp per cubic inch, 81 kW/L) making it remarkably power-dense. Other variants of the engine produced even higher outputs of 3 hp per cubic inch (137 kW/L), unparalleled for their size and capacity in power-to cubic-inch/cylinder-count ratio. Another reason for the engine's success was its reliability. Its monobloc construction made it immune to head gasket or cylinder stud problems, and allowed for higher cylinder pressures.
From 1934 through the 1970s, the Offenhauser engine dominated American open-wheel racing, winning the Indianapolis 500 27 times. From 1950 through 1960, Offenhauser-powered cars won the Indianapolis 500 and achieved all three podium positions, winning the pole position in 10 of the 11 years.
Race Proven - The Legend
What is an Offenhauser, or most often referred to as an "Offy?" To those not familiar with auto racing, or more specifically, auto racing history, Offenhauser may just be the name of an excellent German restaurant on the lower East Side, NY where you could get the best Sauerbraten under the New York City sky! But, in reality, Offenhauser was/is one of the best, and most successful auto race engines ever built. It was a joint effort started by Harry Miller in the 1920's, and Fred Offenhauser, who later joined the company and further improved the engine. Very powerful, small displacement, monobloc high compression 4 cylinder motors, putting out an enormous amount of hp for their sizes, and that hp approached, or even exceeded 1000 hp on some of their builds, an incredible number! Now the term "Monobloc" construction, very uncommon, where the block had no detachable head, and therefore no head gasket which is one of the weakest points on high compression powerful engines! This allowed the high compression numbers of 15:1+ that the engines made. Maybe now the title will make sense, "Headless Warrior."
Vince
Here, a little more history on the Offenhauser story from wiki:
The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers.
The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the "Offy", was an overhead cam monoblock 4-stroke internal combustion engine developed by Fred Offenhauser and Harry Arminius Miller. Originally, it was sold as a marine engine. In 1930 a four-cylinder 151 cu in (2.47 L) Miller engine installed in a race car set a new international land speed record of 144.895 mph (233.186 km/h). Miller developed this engine into a twin overhead cam, four-cylinder, four-valve-per-cylinder 220 cu in (3.6 L) racing engine. Variations of this design were used in midgets and sprints into the 1960s, with a choice of carburetion or Hilborn fuel injection. When both Miller and the company to whom he had sold much of the equipment and rights went bankrupt in 1933, Offenhauser opened a shop a block away and bought rights to engines, special tooling and drawings at the bankruptcy auction, and he and other former Miller employees took over production. They and former Miller employee, draftsman Leo Goossen, further developed the Miller engines into the Offenhauser engines.
One of the keys to the Offenhauser engine's success and popularity was its power. A 251.92 cubic inch (4,128.29 cm³) DOHC naturally-aspirated four-cylinder racing Offy with a 15:1 compression ratio and a 4.28125-by-4.375-inch (108.744 mm × 111.125 mm) bore and stroke could produce 420 hp (310 kW) at 6,600 rpm (1.77 hp per cubic inch, 81 kW/L) making it remarkably power-dense. Other variants of the engine produced even higher outputs of 3 hp per cubic inch (137 kW/L), unparalleled for their size and capacity in power-to cubic-inch/cylinder-count ratio. Another reason for the engine's success was its reliability. Its monobloc construction made it immune to head gasket or cylinder stud problems, and allowed for higher cylinder pressures.
From 1934 through the 1970s, the Offenhauser engine dominated American open-wheel racing, winning the Indianapolis 500 27 times. From 1950 through 1960, Offenhauser-powered cars won the Indianapolis 500 and achieved all three podium positions, winning the pole position in 10 of the 11 years.