>It's my understanding that Mr. Huffaker used to produce the hottest engines
>and quickest BMC cars for SCCA racing, winning many championships along the
>way. Is he still in business? Are his set-ups still the best around, or
>does it depend on the type of racing you plan to do?
Huffaker Jr. and Sr. now operate out of a shop at Sears Point Raceway.
Joe Jr. is in the process of demonstrating that they still know more
about BMC engines than anyone else, by building and driving an FP Midget
(using a 1275cc engine) that goes as fast as the 2-liter EP 914s. There
are a few other companies that specialize in BMC cars -- BHP Developments
is one I know of, I'm sure I'll think of the rest later on -- because of
the prevalence of Spridgets in F, G and H Production racing. (Oh, right,
Rebello Racing in the East Bay also does British motors and some of their
derivatives, such as the Datsun engines that were originally copied from
the BMC engines that were originally copied from the 1932 Chevy Stovebolt
Six. I wonder where Chevy copied the designs?)
The Huffakers also ran a competitive Pontiac-powered car in IMSA for
several years, proving that they know how to get the most out of any
obsolete cast-iron pushrod-powered engine and not only British ones.
The driver, Terry Visger, has already won at least three national SCCA
championships in the 1975-77 era driving an MGB for the Huffakers.
If I had the money and the time to get good enough to learn how to use
it properly, I'd have the Huffakers build me a competitive engine for
the race B. They can get about 175 bhp (for about 26 minutes; National
races last typically 25 minutes) out of a B-series engine, which is what
it takes to win a national championship. Considering that this is
something like a 50% to 60% improvement on the mild-but-hopefully-durable
engine in my race car today, at a higher cost than what I've probably
already put into it, it's impressive.
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