Back in the early 1980s when the Indy 500 was still the kind of place where you could build some weird stuff and try to run it as hard and as fast as it would go, the engines were super interesting. Turbocharged Offy mills were still a strong contingent of the field but there were loads of “stock block” style cars out there as well. The rules favored the “stock block” style engines back then as an effort to keep costs down. Like every other time someone tried to do that (manage costs) in racing history, this effort ultimately failed but when it was favorable to try something new, many racers did. That beings us to this awesome Craigslist tip that we got which is an ad for a Hawks small block Chevy block that was likely run at the Brickyard.
This style of engine was what John Buttera and Ronnie Capps (different guy than you are thinking of) ran in their famous 1982 effort that combined drag racing know how with incredible fabrication and Indy guy engineering. Strong and build to last under hard conditions, these aluminum engines have the same basic layout as a typical SBC in many ways but have been enhanced for racing in others. As the cars of the day were monocoque design, there are no provisions for engine mounts on this thing. It must be installed into a car using motor plates front and rear. The Y-block style deep skirts mean that things like a standard Chevy front cover need to be modified to work, etc.
If you have the druthers and the skills to fabricate stuff, this little engine would be bad ass in a hot rod and it would stop people in their tracks, especially those who knew what they were looking at. Loads of work but the payoff could be cool. Want it?
Craigslist link: This Hawks aluminum small block Chevy is awesome
Another use for the world’s most versatile and popular engine.
Sounds like a lot of dicking around for little reward…
Dick is a dick. That is all.
Have a hawks engine block , never been built. Looking for more info.