The Briggs & Stratton Raptor series is a line of single-cylinder, four-cycle flathead engines that has been in use since the early 1970s.
Briggs & Stratton is an American Fortune 1000 manufacturer of gasoline engines with headquarters in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
A flathead engine, otherwise sidevalve engine, is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as in an overhead valve engine.
The Briggs Raptor 1 was an industrial based 5 horsepower flathead model 13 engine.
The second Raptor, released in the 1980s, saw an upgrade to four horsepower standard. This would be the year that Briggs introduced the aluminum-bore dual-bearing block. It had a cast-aluminum connecting rod that decreased internal mass and improved engine life.
Released in 1995, the third and final Raptor, the Raptor III, had five horsepower. The only thing different from the II was that this one had a cast-alloy crank with a carbon-infused piston. This engine sold phenomenally, however, and almost phased out its two predecessors. Hundreds of thousands of these engines remain in service today, and are the best-selling racing engine of all time.
All Briggs flatheads since the introduction of the II have been designed after the racing engine, most notably the I/C. However these engines have none of the racing parts.
The Briggs & Stratton BlockZilla motor is a more advanced form of the earlier Raptor motor. The block is built up to handle more power. This means that the block is about 6 lb (2.7 kg) heavier and has much more structural integrity. Also the exhaust and intake ports are set on an angle. In all, this motor is built to race, but the Raptors II and III are choice among many race teams.
The Ford GT40 is a high-performance endurance racing car with the Mk I, Mk II, and Mk III model cars being based upon the British Lola Mk6, and were designed and built in England, while the GT40 Mk IV model was designed and built in the United States. The range was powered by a series of American-built engines modified for racing. The GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four consecutive times, from 1966 to 1969, including a 1-2-3 finish in 1966. In 1966, with Henry Ford II personally in attendance at Le Mans, the Mk II GT40 provided Ford with the first overall Le Mans victory for an American manufacturer, and the first victory for an American manufacturer at a major European race since Jimmy Murphy´s triumph with Duesenberg at the 1921 French Grand Prix. The Mk IV GT40 that won Le Mans in 1967 is the only car designed and built entirely in the United States to achieve the overall win at Le Mans.
An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorized method of propelling small watercraft. As well as providing propulsion, outboards provide steering control, as they are designed to pivot over their mountings and thus control the direction of thrust. The skeg also acts as a rudder when the engine is not running. Unlike inboard motors, outboard motors can be easily removed for storage or repairs.
The straight-eight engine or inline-eight engine is an eight-cylinder internal combustion engine with all eight cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase. The type has been produced in side-valve, IOE, overhead-valve, sleeve-valve, and overhead-cam configurations.
The Vauxhall Slant-4 is an inline four-cylinder petrol car engine manufactured by Vauxhall Motors. Unveiled in 1966, it was one of the first production overhead camshaft designs to use a timing belt to drive the camshaft. The Slant-4 block was used as a development mule for the Lotus 900 series of engines. Vauxhall used the engine in a variety of models until production ended in 1983.
The Ford FE engine is a Ford V8 engine used in vehicles sold in the North American market between 1958 and 1976. The FE was introduced to replace the short-lived Ford Y-block engine, which American cars and trucks were outgrowing. It was designed with room to be significantly expanded, and manufactured both as a top-oiler and side-oiler, and in displacements between 332 cu in (5.4 L) and 428 cu in (7.0 L).
The Y-block engine is a family of overhead valve V8 automobile engines produced by Ford Motor Company. The engine is known for its deep skirting, which causes the engine block to resemble a Y, whence it gets its name. It was introduced in 1954 and used in Ford cars and trucks to replace the side-valved Ford Flathead V8, and replaced by the Ford FE engine and the Ford Windsor engine in 1962, and lasted until 1964 in Ford trucks.
The Y platform, or Y body, designation has been used twice by the General Motors Corporation to describe a series of vehicles all built on the same basic body and sharing many parts and characteristics. The first was for a group of entry-level compacts including the conventional front-engine compacts built by GM divisions Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac from 1961 to 1963. The second, and current, incarnation is used for a high-end rear-wheel drive automobile platform from the 1980s through the 2000s.
The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of V8 automobile engines used in normal production by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors between 1955 and 2003, using the same basic engine block. Referred to as a "small block" for its comparative size relative to the physically much larger Chevrolet big-block engines, the family spanned from 262 cu in (4.3 L) to 400 cu in (6.6 L) in displacement.
The Ford flathead V8 is a V8 engine of the valve-in-block type designed by the Ford Motor Company and built by Ford and various licensees. During the engine's first decade of production, when overhead-valve engines were rare, it was usually known simply as the Ford V‑8, and the first car model in which it was installed, the Model 18, was often called simply the "Ford V‑8", after its new engine. Although the V8 configuration was not new when the Ford V8 was introduced in 1932, the latter was a market first in the respect that it made an 8-cylinder affordable and a V engine affordable to the emerging mass market consumer for the first time. It was the first independently designed and built V8 engine produced by Ford for mass production, and it ranks as one of the company's most important developments. A fascination with ever-more-powerful engines was perhaps the most salient aspect of the American car and truck market for a half century, from 1923 until 1973. The engine was intended to be used for big passenger cars and trucks; it was installed in such until 1953, making the engine's 21-year production run for the U.S. consumer market longer than the 19-year run of the Ford Model T engine for that market. The engine was on Ward's list of the 10 best engines of the 20th century. It was a staple of hot rodders in the 1950s, and it remains famous in the classic car hobbies even today, despite the huge variety of other popular V8s that followed.
The World Karting Association, or WKA, is the largest sanctioning body for kart racing in North America. The WKA was founded in 1971 and is located directly behind Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The WKA is believed to currently have approximately 5,000 members. Over 50,000 people have been WKA members since the organization's inception in 1971.
Lawnmower racing is a form of motorsport in which competitors race modified lawnmowers, usually of the ride-on or self-propelled variety. The original mower engines are retained, but blades are removed for safety. The sport attracts all ages, and is usually entered into in a spirit of fun rather than extreme competitiveness, though many participants do take it seriously.
Edelbrock, LLC is an American corporation engaged in the design, development and manufacture of specialty automotive and motorcycle parts. The company is headquartered in Torrance, California along with its R&D, manufacturing, distribution and Russell Performance Plumbing divisions. The Edelbrock Sand Cast and Permanent Mold foundries are located in San Jacinto, California, and the Carburetor Division is based in Sanford, North Carolina.
Quarter Midget racing is a form of automobile racing. The cars are approximately one quarter (1/4) the size of a full size midget car. The adult size midget being raced during the start of quarter midget racing, used an oval track of one fifth of a mile in length. The child's quarter midget track is one quarter that length, or 1/20th mile.
Eshelman was a marque of small American automobiles (1953–1961) and other vehicles and implements including motor scooters, garden tractors, pleasure boats, aircraft, golf carts, snowplows, trailers, mail-delivery vehicles and more. The Cheston L. Eshelman Company was incorporated on January 19, 1942, and was based on the sixth floor of an industrial building at 109 Light Street in Baltimore, Maryland, with aircraft production facilities located in Dundalk, Maryland. The company president was Cheston Lee Eshelman, the first vice-president was Sidney S. Zell, and the first treasurer was Frank K. Kris.
The Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle (CERV) is a series of Chevrolet experimental cars. Chevrolet Staff engineer, designer, and race car driver Zora Arkus-Duntov started development of the CERV I in 1959, and began work on the CERV II in 1963. Chevrolet chief engineer Don Runkle and Lotus' Tony Rudd discussed creating a new show car to demonstrate their engineering expertise in 1985; It would become the CERV III. Corvette chief engineer Dave Hill unveiled the CERV IV in 1993, a test vehicle for the 1997 C5 Corvette.
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder V configuration engine with the cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two sets of four, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft. Most banks are set at a right angle (90°) to each other, some at a narrower angle, with 45°, 60°, and 72° most common.
The Briggs & Stratton Animal is a single cylinder, four-stroke overhead valve engine used in many go-karting series, such as the IKF, WKA and others. It is based on Briggs & Stratton's 6.5 horsepower generator engines.
A T-head engine is an early type of internal combustion engine that became obsolete after World War I. It is a sidevalve engine that is distinguished from the much more common L-head by its placement of the valves. The intake valves are on one side of the engine block and the exhaust valves on the other. Seen from the end of the crankshaft, in cutaway view, the cylinder and combustion chamber resembles a T - hence the name "T-head". An L-head has all valves at the same side.
Bandolero car racing is a type of entry-level racing in the United States and Canada. Many bandolero car drivers move into Legends racing. Cars can reach in excess of 50 mph, but do not accelerate very quickly. The most wins in Bandolero race cars used to be held by Joey Logano but was broken in 2016 by Clay Thompson. The cars are built like miniature stock cars, with a tube frame and sheet metal cage. Drivers enter through the roof of the vehicle. Most drivers range from 8 to 14 years old, but older drivers can also race. The cars race on 1/4 mile, 3/8 mile and 4/10 mile ovals and also road courses and dirt tracks. Currently, there are 2 divisions in Bandolero racing.