IN the past Ed Alsbury, a safety engineer and hobby racer of Class H cars from Kirkwood, Mo., has used the popular little Crosley engine in his cars. Class H mills are limited to 46 cubic inches. His latest homebuilt, which will hit about 95 mph wide open, has a rear-mounted, four-cylinder, 50-hp Mercury outboard motor. He chose this power package to keep the weight down; the finished car weighs 685 lbs. with gas and oil.
The JABRO body, a glass fiber job by James Broadwell, allows the engine to be mounted fore or aft. (The first JABRO car appeared on Mi’s cover in May 1958.) For ease of maintenance the body may be completely removed by removing two bolts up front and two at the rear.
The Merc engine is mounted on its side and power is taken off the top instead of the propeller end. A pair of custom adaptor plates hitch the gearbox to the engine. A washing machine pump handles 20 gallons of water a minute at 6000 rpm. The radiator is up front, with long hoses running around the driver to a special water manifold. Each cylinder has its own hose connection with the manifold. As an outboard the engine runs at 70°; here it runs at 180° with the cooling system. Alsbury has kept the engine stock; the fine power-to-weight ratio allows this, makes souping-up unnecessary.”
The JABRO body, a glass fiber job by James Broadwell, allows the engine to be mounted fore or aft. (The first JABRO car appeared on Mi’s cover in May 1958.) For ease of maintenance the body may be completely removed by removing two bolts up front and two at the rear.
The Merc engine is mounted on its side and power is taken off the top instead of the propeller end. A pair of custom adaptor plates hitch the gearbox to the engine. A washing machine pump handles 20 gallons of water a minute at 6000 rpm. The radiator is up front, with long hoses running around the driver to a special water manifold. Each cylinder has its own hose connection with the manifold. As an outboard the engine runs at 70°; here it runs at 180° with the cooling system. Alsbury has kept the engine stock; the fine power-to-weight ratio allows this, makes souping-up unnecessary.”
Robert Hegge
Another "Blast from the Past" from the Modern Mechanix website. (Mechanix Illustrated, April 1962)
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