High Performance Crate Motor Buyer's Guide

by John Baechtel

Automobile manufacturers and aftermarket builders have gotten into the business of producing and selling race-ready, high performance engines. They arrive in a crate--guarantee and all! This book explains these engines to the enthusiast, including what components do and don't come with the engine, how the engines are built, power torque outputs, which engines best fit which applications, costs, problems, shortcomings, and legal issues.

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

John Baechtel served as technical editor of Car Craft Magazine in the seventies, executive editor of Hot Rod Magazine throughout the eighties and then editor of Car Craft again in the nineties. He was a GM motorsports consultant for ten years and then opened a race engine testing facility for over a dozen years before retiring early to write technical and historical automotive books and manage a growing group of automotive high-performance enthusiast websites.

He is a Bonneville racing veteran, 200 MPH Club Member, International FIA speed record holder and avid collector of land speed record memorabilia and LSR model cars. He builds his own race engines and is the author of a dozen technical books on engine building and race car construction. He enjoys researching and collecting vintage engines and speed equipment.