The Engine That Refused To Die: An Offenhauser History
The Offenhauser four cylinder engine is one of the most incredible power plants in the history of American motorsports.
It's basic design was conceived as a boat engine in the 1920s, making about 125hp. By the time it was all said and done, Offy engines raced into the 1980s and were making 10 times the power they were at first.
The story of the Offy is so amazing because of the cast of characters involved in its creation, the fact that it survived so many attacks, direct and otherwise, on it from bankruptcies, to world wars, to racing rules and more, it survived and thrived.
This is the history of the Offenhauser, from its origins to its heights of success in American racing and how this small engine crafted by brilliant minds and hands dominated competition in a way that we'll never see in racing again.
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Designed to Dominate: The Ford DOHC V8 Story - An Indy 500 Legend
Ford's foray into the Indy 500 in the 1960s is a motorsports story for the ages. In 1963 the company used a pushrod engine derived from their successful 260ci small block V8. After nearly winning the race with that effort, engineers were turned loose to build the ultimate version of the engine.
What they designed was dual overhead camshaft, 255ci V8 that made peak power at 8,000 RPM, was tested to within an inch of its life, and arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ready to win. While 1964 didn't go Ford's way, the engine would win 7 Indy 500 races, countless USAC events, and spur the development of a horsepower war that lasted into the 1970s with turbochargers and ever increasing speeds.
This is an in-depth exploration, starting in 1962 of the development of this awesome engine.
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Blown Into Obscurity: The False Start of Centrifugal Superchargers in Drag Racing
Today, centrifugal superchargers play a huge roll in the sport of drag racing. They are capable of making huge power efficiently and the technology built into them is of the highest orders of strength and precision.
This is a far cry from the early 1960s when four guys, thousands of miles apart thought that drag racing needed a new boost option for the masses. The Dahms brothers in Connecticut came out with their Eliminator centrifugal supercharger and in California Ran Stuber and Bob Chernow created the Stubercharger. Beautifully constructed and seemingly functional they both failed to capture any sales or a market who wanted them. Perhaps a total of two were ever built. And then they disappeared.
Why? How? What happened? In this first of several installments on the history of centrifugal superchargers, we look into the curious case of two designs just a couple of decades ahead of their own time.
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The 313mph Backyard Hot Rod: The Story of Art Arfons' 2,500hp Anteater
The history of land speed racing is marked by some of the most innovative, interesting, and oddball vehicles ever made. One of them belonged to Art Arfons and was known as The Anteater.
Using a turbocharged and supercharged 1,710ci Allison aircraft engine, it was Arfons' first dedicated Bonneville car. It ran more than 300mph and was actually used to try and set a speed record at Daytona International Speedway as well.
This is the story of a unique car that was full of cool ideas, went more than 300mph and mixed it up with the most advanced and high budget efforts of the day for a fraction of the cost.
A true 313mph backyard hot rod.
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Masters of Disaster: The Men Who Invented and Perfected Oil Well Firefighting
This is the story of three men.
Three men who through their own bravery, creative approach, and lifelong obsessions, created the industry of oil well fire fighting.
Tex Thornton, Myron Kinley, and Red Adair all built up each other's knowledge and success to make scads of money while risking their lives on a daily basis to put out burning oil and gas wells, cap blown out wells, and otherwise battle the most intense and wild forces Mother Nature has to offer.
You'll learn about the major triumphs in their careers, how they came to find themselves in this wild line of work, and why they all fell so deeply in love with it. These guys traveled the globe to places that are remote in 2025 but were beyond exotic more than 75 years ago.
It's all true but it's still unbelievable.
The Dork-O-Motive Podcast hosted by Brian Lohnes is a research driven, story fueled, mechanically stoked look at the machines, people, and history that make up the modern mechanical world. Whether it's the stories of the men and women who have done amazing things in racing, the machines that roar around tracks and shape the Earth, or some bizarre mechanized history, Dork-O-Motive is here to bring you the story in a fun, well-researched, and informative way!
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