You might not know his name, but you are almost certainly familiar with his creations. Ed Pink’s works include engines used by drag racers, endurance car racers, and even the Singer Porsche 911. The icon known as “The Old Master” has died at age 94.
Ed Pink was born in Los Angeles in 1931. Growing up at the start of the age of hot rods, he quickly joined in. He worked at the speed shop of hot rod and drag racing icon Lou Baney, learning the art and science of building engines for very fast cars.
Pink Grew Up At The Perfect Time For Selling Speed
After coming back from serving in Korea, Pink opened a garage and raced a car on the El Mirage dry lakebed in Southern California. The garage was not a success, so he went on to work for speed equipment icon Eddie Meyer Engineering, where he learned even more about building high-performance engines.
In 1961, Pink opened his own engine shop. Some of his early customers included TV Tommy Ivo. Ed Pink Racing Engines developed a reputation for its 426 Hemi engines in top fuel dragsters as well as ignition and cylinder head work for other models.
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When Vels Parnelli Jones Racing wanted to turn the legendary Cosworth DFV Formula 1 engine into one suitable to run the Indianapolis 500, it contacted Ed Pink. He did some machine work on the engine, which became a dominant force in IndyCar for nearly two decades.
At his peak, Pink built engines for half a dozen IndyCar teams, with his engines winning the Indy 500 once and propelling Arie Luyendyk and Tim Richmond to rookie of the year awards.
A Career Among The Best In The Business
The next stop for Pink was the 24 Hours of Daytona. Pink built Porsche flat-six engines for Jim Busby’s cars, which ran at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Pink is said to have cracked the fuel injection systems of the privateer versions of the Porsche 962 to add 80 horsepower. Power that was normally reserved for a special factory-affiliated car, and which made his engines dominant in the IMSA series.
That led to a factory engine program for Pontiac in GTP Sport Car racing and Trans Am. He also helped develop the Buick turbo V6 that raced in IndyCar and the IRL from 1982-1997. Four-cylinder engines for Ford and Toyota won 10 USAC National Midget Series championships, and a V8 for Ford won the USAC National Silver Crown Series four times in a row.
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Ed Pink continued learning and building, winning for a range of automakers until his semi-retirement in 2008. He sold his business, but has remained involved in the industry. Pink’s last engine build was completed at age 92, and it was a Ford 427 SOHC Cammer V8.
His experience and legacy continue even years after retirement. It’s why he was the choice when Porsche reimaginer Singer needed some help developing engines for its incredible cars. Pink was inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame in 2018.
For more than half a century, Ed Pink was a leader when it came to turning fuel into horsepower. A presence that will not soon be forgotten.
RIP, Old Master.
Sources: Autoweek, Car and Driver, Historic Porsche, Hot Rod, SEMA
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