Esslinger Engineering is now...
Esslinger Engineering is now offering a crate motor designed to give theMini-Stock racer plenty of power at a reasonable cost.
When it comes to entry-level racing--either on dirt or asphalt--there isno doubt that the Mini-Stock classes are among the most popular outthere. The costs are easier to contain, the cars are cheaper and not asadvanced, and the lower power levels compared to V-8s keep the speedsmanageable.
A second advantage of the Mini-Stocks is there is basicallyonly one engine out there. Yes, there are racers out there campaigningToyotas and Chevrolets, but by and large they are the individualistslooking to do things their own way and hate following the status quo.Ford's venerable little four-banger is hands-down the popular champ whenit comes to the Mini Stocks. The engines hold up well to racing stress.They were produced in the millions and can be found relatively easily.There's nothing fancy about them (which makes them easy to work on; it'seasy to source parts for them).
The idea for the new crate...
The idea for the new crate engine made sense because EsslingerEngineering is already producing its own cylinder heads. The up frontcost for designing and casting custom cylinder heads is steep, butpresident Dan Esslinger says it is worth it because stock heads are soongoing to be impossible to find.
So it's interesting that while the crateengine wave came crashing down on us a couple of seasons ago, we haven'tyet seen a four-cylinder crate offering. Until now, that is.
A couple ofyears ago, the folks at Esslinger Engineering, one of the mostrecognized shops in the country when it comes to buildinghigh-performance four-cylinder engines for any application, introducedits aluminum CNC cylinder head for Ford's 2.3- and 2.5-liter engines.The head was not only an improvement over the stock unit; it was also aresponse to the anticipated shortage of cylinder heads that is now uponus.
"The cylinder head was a success,'' says Dan Esslinger, thecompany's president. Customers seemed to appreciate a complete cylinderhead ready to bolt on. The logical next step is a complete, turnkeymotor for racing. "If you look at the trend of just about everything inracing, the old-school racers are moving on and they are being replacedby guys that want to race and don't want to work on their stuff somuch," explains Esslinger. "And that's OK, because racing is the funpart.
The aluminum cylinder heads...
The aluminum cylinder heads are fully CNC machined. The higher costversus a stock head is offset because, out of the box, they run slightlybetter than a high-end fully ported stock head. If you've ever paid agood head porter to fully work four intake and four exhaust ports, thenyou already know it doesn't come cheap.
"All the big manufacturers have jumped in with crate engines.Chevrolet, Ford, and Dodge all offer something, and even otheroperations are selling their own versions of V-8 crate engines. What wedidn't see available was something for the four-cylinder guys. Whatwe've put together we feel is a pretty good combination that providesgood power at a good price."
Indeed, Esslinger Engineering's two cratemotors are built using many parts that are purpose-built for racing.They include the CNC aluminum cylinder head, bigger stainless steelvalves, solid lifters with roller rockers, a gated oval track oil pan,Wiseco pistons, and Esslinger Engineering's own CNC aluminum water pump.
"What we tried to create was something that made good power but wasn'ttoo exotic. It may not be the perfect fit for everywhere and everycondition, but it will work very well in most places," Esslinger says."For us, everything we've done before was a custom engine. That was trueeven in the racing classes that required basically stock engines,because we spent so much time chasing the smallest power gains. Thiscrate engine allows us to build a really good quality race engine andlower the cost because eliminating all the custom changes really cutsdown on the man hours."
 Cost savings can be found...  Cost savings can be found in the crate package because the engines usecommon parts and all the machining processes are the same. Eliminatingthe custom work allows better components at a lower price. |  Main bores vary depending...  Main bores vary depending on which engine you purchase. The 2.3-literengine uses the older blocks with the larger main journals. 21/2-literengines use the longer-stroke crankshaft, which has a smaller mainjournal. |  To keep costs down, OEM cranks...  To keep costs down, OEM cranks are used. Every crank is balancedin-house before it is installed in an engine. Stroke is 3.125 inches forthe 2.3-liter engine and 3.400 for the 2.5. |
 Esslinger Engineering uses...  Esslinger Engineering uses quality racing parts on all the rotatingassembly, including Wiseco pistons and Total Seal rings, to improveperformance and reliability. |  All rod journals are the popular...  All rod journals are the popular "Honda size," or 2.33 inches. Rodlength is 5.7 inches to improve the rod/stroke ratio. |  Common parts packages not...  Common parts packages not only means less time spent on custom work, buthopefully also means more parts in stock and less wait for your engineto ship. |