Sure his name is CHAS. BUD' HOWSEMAN. He was the son in law to the team owner Lew Welch who was a wealthy businessman with a penchant for racing. He sold components to FORD motor company in the 40s and 50s allowing him to have the financial freedom to try his luck at racing. Frank Curtis was a good friend of my father in laws and his shop was across the street in Glendale Ca. .A band of brothers were formed and the NOVI legacy was born. They were the first race team to fly their racing operation to the events across the country, everyone else was using single axle trailers and pick up trucks to get to the races. They used Flying tigers out of LAX airport... an off shoot co. from WW2 days.
The car chief- crew chief - was Jean Marcinac (spelling) He and my father in law made the NOVI sing... Good Times!
FRENCHY was a mechanical genius.. He was the mastermind behind the cars, in the beginning the cars were very strong but had teething problems. Some of those problems were breaking rings and blowing head gaskets, while talking to Frenchy about the engines woes, BUD had a fix... Why not cast the cylinder head and the block as one unit? Problem solved! If you find a team photo he would have been the one of the younger stronger ones, one tough sum bitch he was. Creative thinkers were rewarded with bigger pay checks and the feeling of accomplishment on and off the track. Great pictures thanks for posting!!!
That could be BUD sitting on the wall in front of the car. He was never too far away from Lew or Jean. Cant see the face in that pic. He was fresh back from WW2 and was full of Piss and Vinegar.
I’d like to have some of the seasoned engine fanatics chime in on who came up with some of the important things in engine design. For instance I’d like to know who was the first to come up with the 180 degree or “dual plane” intake manifold for V8’s. Who invented hydraulic lifters, the 90 degree crankshaft, pushrod oiling, canted valves, thin wall casting and on and on? It’d be interesting to hear about some of that being discussed while we are amazed by these incredible engines.
This IHC engine looks very much like the Premier engine in the early race car at Indy museum, 4 cylinder, OHC, hemi OHVs. But the Premier has a gear driven cam instead of chain.
First dual plane manifold for a V8 was probably Oldsmobile rocket in 1949. But Buick had it on a straight 8 in 1941. 90 degree crankshafts were used in steam engines during the 19th century. The first car to use hydraulic lifters in its design was the Cadillac V 16 engine (Model 452) first offered in 1930. Pushrod oiling was also used in steam engines during the 19th century.
Thank you J Hansen, that is it. I would love to hear it run, over 900 ci as I remember. Notice the exposed crankshaft?
Yes I did notice the crankshaft,,and the rods and the cam and the valves,hell almost everything is exposed on this fantastic engine!
Wow thanks I did not know about the steam engine technology that crossed over. I was pretty sure Caddy had the first 90 degree crank in an ICE V8 back in the 20’s, but I never even thought about steam power before. The late 19th and early 20th centuries must have been exciting for young inventors and daydreamers. Mechanical technology was exploding. I know this may not go over too well but a very similar situation is going on in the transportation sect with the new electric vehicles and technology coming on line like gang busters now.
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