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Assembling A 270ci
Offenhauser IndyCar
Engine: Step By Step
Joe Fetherling - photographer; Thom Taylor -
writer
Mar 3, 2015

Bill Akin is assembling a 270ci Offenhauser

dual-overhead-cam IndyCar engine. He uses
new forged alloy Diamond pistons. The rods
are original hollow pieces with full-floating
bronze bushings, and from centerline to
centerline are 8 inches long. He will use
either Chevy or Chrysler big-block rings,
depending on the final bore size.

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The turned and polished crank is suspended

with a chain fall above the bare crankcase.
Bill will assemble the bronze main webs and,
once assembled, lower the crank assembly
into the crankcase.

Looking down from one end of the

crankcase, you can see the reliefs and web
ears that correspond to the bronze split
webs.

The four bronze split webs are attached to

the crank. They have ears that line up to
notches in the block to position the crank
assembly. The webs are seated, then bolted
into corresponding pads in the crankcase to
secure the crank.

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Bill tightens the third main web. The

crankcase is just to the left and below the
crank assembly.

The crank assembly relies on a shrink fit, so

the ears of the webs are registered to their
proper position on the pads after the
assembly is lowered into the crankcase. The
assembly will not completely seat into the
case until heat has expanded it, at which
point, if the line bore has been done properly,
the crank assembly will drop into position.
Prior to dropping the crank into the case, the
case was heated for about 10 minutes.

This is the point that heat will be needed.

You can see the gap between the end
support and the crankcase itself (arrow).

Looking down at the crankcase from the top,

you can see the webs bolted into place and
the crank fitting snugly into the case.

The next major assembly is the block.

Looking into the bore, you can see how the
valves are arranged, with two valves
activated by one cam bank and the other two
from the opposing cam. The studs are used
to bolt the block assembly to the crankcase
assembly.

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The valves are assembled into the block with

this compressor. The spring and retainer are
placed over the stem and then compressed
to place the keeper onto the valve assembly,
much like a typical engine.

The cam lobe rides on the end of the radius-

cup follower (arrow), shown here for
reference, only as the valve assembly is
assembled in the block.

There is no adjustment for valve lash, so the

ends need to be filed to the desired stem
height to adjust the valves. Bill uses this
filing block as a guide for the proper stem
length. He leaves a bit of extra length
because it's easier to remove material later
once he dials the lash in. In fact, the only way
to add stem length would be to alter the
valve seat—not a desired outcome.

The stem is filed to the predetermined height

set by the block so there is no guessing.

Once the valves have been filed, the cam

housings are installed.

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Then the cams are installed.

Bill checks valve-lash clearance, then

removes the tower and files, then assembles
and checks again to ease into the proper
lash: 0.0016 inch on the intake and 0.0018
inch on the exhaust.

The cam is hollow and has a hole at each

lobe and journal for oil lubrication. The cams
rotate counter-clockwise. Cam selection was
based on the track; milder cams for short
tracks where you needed extra torque
coming out of turns, and more radical cams
for long tracks to gain top end.

This is the block before the crankcase is

attached. A finned aluminum side plate will
be installed that covers this area. The valves
have been installed and the pistons are next.
The two long tubes (arrows) are the drain
backs for the cam oiling.

The assembled crankcase is ready to accept

the block. The middle gear is on the crank,
and the bottom gear is for the oil pump.

The Duplex oil pump contains two sets of

gears, one behind the other. One set provides
pressure, and the other scavenges at 78 psi
to force oil to the camshafts. Oil passages
run up through the gear tower at the front of
the block to feed oil to the camshafts.

The four piston and rod assemblies have

been inserted into the block with a ring
compressor, as with a regular engine. The
block will now be mated to the crankcase
and the rod ends carefully positioned onto
the crank journals.

As the block and crankcase come together,

Bill loosely installs the rod caps. He smears
silicon where the block and crankcase will
mate, then registers the studs to the block,
and brings the two assemblies together as
he tightens the rod caps. Once all of the
caps are installed and torqued, then the
crankcase and head are ready to be bolted
together. All of this has to happen before the
silicon sets up.

The assembled block is lowered onto the

assembled crankcase. Silicon has been
smeared onto the two mating surfaces
before attachment, at which point the two
are bolted together and then torqued.

The center gear is called the "half time" gear

because it has two sets of teeth, with the set
behind at half the speed of the crank to run
the cams. The front set of teeth engages
with the crank gear at the bottom. The
magneto drive is the set of smaller gears
and shaft to the right.

This is the starter drive that ties into the

crank snout. It receives a splined shaft that
goes into the external starter, which is a two-
man operation. The splined shaft is actually
an early Ford driveshaft because the splines
are identical.

The trunion mount supports the front of the

engine in the chassis. It was designed this
way to allow some movement between the
engine and chassis, as chassis flex could
otherwise stress or bind the engine's rotating
assembly. The pad is for the magneto, and
the spud with the slot is what drives the
mag.

Top dead center is determined by the timing

indicator at the back of the crank, as marked
by the "church key" beer-can opener doing
double duty as the indicator.

A dial indicator is set up to touch the No. 1

cam follower, then the cam is rotated until
the dial indicates the valve opens
0.0010.002 inch, at which point the cam gear
is registered to line up with the holes in the
cam end.

Once the holes line up, then the cam gear is

torqued down and timing is set to start and
initially run the engine, at which point the
timing can be dialed in.

The gear tower is installed and safety wired.

From the rear, the gear tower supports are

bolted in, the flywheel is installed and safety-
wired. The teeth on the flywheel accept the
multi-disc clutch. The crankcase breathers,
cam covers, and fuel injection are all
installed. The Hilborn injection works just
like all mechanical injection systems with a
positive displacement pump. To our left at
the back of the tower is the Hilborn injector
pump, and to our right is the tach drive.

Offy engine master Bill Akin with another