By Martha Maglone:
About six or seven years ago, noted engine builder Kenny Duttweiler was invited to speak at the PRI show. They told him to look respectable and show-up at 7:30am, half an hour before his presentation. Hair cut neatly, finger nails cleaned, the appearance of a successful businessman, he duly arrived. It was the biggest empty space he’d ever seen. “Must have been three hundred empty chairs or more; they’re optimistic, I thought.” By 8:00am the place was packed.
Following his feats of power production with the famous land-speed record breaker, the Streamliner, Kenny Duttweiler is admired as much for capturing the turbo era and its mood at the Bonneville Salt Flats as the life he has lived since the age of 12, cleaning carbon deposits from engine valves in the flower of his youth with his father .
Naturally aspirated or turbocharged: the difference is dramatic
Last year in naturally aspirated form, the Streamliner generated 642hp compared to 2660hp with the turbochargers engaged—same engine, same day. “I had 70 pulls on the dyno,” he comments, “some of them normally aspirated, some at different boost levels, some with vacuum in the sump and some not. But when I hook up those turbochargers, adjust boost levels to 45psi, boy, does it make power!”
Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Saturday, Dec 10, 8 till 8:50am: Kenny’s presentation is open to all, a free walk-in and sit-down affair. Expect astute analyses followed by a question-and-answer session. So head for room number 243, grab a seat and enjoy.
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