Panther Engine Is Alive … ALIVE

Friends,

As I type this, the sun is setting in Florida. 30 minutes ago the 120 hp, 3,000cc Corvair for the The Weseman Panther was completing a 1 hour break in run in our front yard. It started after 3 seconds of cranking and ran flawlessly for a 65 minute progressive break in run. This is the first engine with Dan’s American made billet crankshaft.

Above, Dan and I stand next to the running engine and cover important technical topics like the fact that Rachel made pot roast and said we could all eat dinner over at their place after the engine run as done. I would like to say there was some drama involved, but in reality the engine cranked right up, ran steady, we monitored all the temps and the oil pressure, which hardly fluctuated during the hour. It all went just as good engineering is supposed to: No surprises. At the end of the run Dan did give in a little and say that he was pleased with the turn out. We have a very full week of work heading into College #24, so there will be no pause to celebrate. We will be going  back to the shop after dinner to prep more parts for the College.-ww

Here is a video of the Panther engine on the test stand: