In a message dated 3/20/04 4:06:48 PM, fred_rednor@yahoo.com writes:
>Amazingly, these
>motors were originally designed to power the pumps of fire
>trucks!
>
>Perhaps this isn't so off topic in the sense that whatever
>attracted me to Euro style auto racing also attracted me to
>bicycling.
Well, not quite. by the time they were powering Cooper and Lotus to championships they were purpose built and not derived from the fire pump motor BUT the 1100cc SOHC motors that powered Lotus, Cooper and a whole lot of sports cars in the 50s were derived from the fire pump motor. It was designed by Wally Hassan, a very capable gent who also had a hand in th Jag XK engine. Phil Brown Returning to topic in San Rafael, Calif.