Offenhauser 110

Offenhauser was an American racing engine manufacturer that was in business 50 years, from 1933 to 1983. The inspiration for the race winning ‘Offy’ engines was a 1913 Peugeot Grand Prix car. The engine came to feature twin overhead cams, four cylinders, and four valves per cylinder, and went on to power Indianapolis 500 winners an incredible 27 times. Smaller versions, such as the 110, were used to power midget racers. You can learn more about it on the Offenhauser Wikipedia entry and elsewhere on the web, it is a fascinating story.

This customer, pictured with one of these engines below, ordered enough gaskets to make 40 engine sets. There was no head gasket because these cars had no head gasket! That’s is why they could run with very high compression ratios without fear of head gasket failure.

We were supplied with tracings along with dimensions called out, and the type of material desired. For most of the gaskets we used a non-asbestos composite from Inteface Solutions called NI-2085, and all the gaskets were die cut. It was gratifying to hear the customer’s comment on receiving the gaskets:

“Gaskets arrived Mon. and were all beautiful. Thanks for an expert job.”

If you need gaskets for an Offenhauser 110 let me know and I will direct you to the customer.

Lance and friend Ed share coffee with what looks like a beautifully restored Offy 110