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Weslake & Co also known as Weslake Research and Development was founded by Harry Weslake, described as England's greatest expert on cylinder head design, with premises in
Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...
, East Sussex, England. Weslake is most famous for its work with
Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...
,
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,
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and the Gulf-Wyer  Ford GT40 Mk.I.


Early days

Harry Weslake was born in
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in 1897 to Henry John Weslake, a director of Willey and Co, gas engineers, whom he would join from school. At 16, he modified a Rudge Multi to race at local hill climbing events. In
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he joined the Royal Flying Corp, against the wishes of his employers Willey & Co, who wanted him to continue his apprenticeship. When he was demobbed in 1919, he had already received his first patent with his father in 1918 for a device to improve carburettors. However both his parents died shortly after, and with no link to Willey's, Weslake left and set up a workshop with 3 others in Exeter. The workshop marketed his Wex carburettor design, which was used in motorsport, with Weslake being a regular at
Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
. It was after a discussion with J E Greenwood, chief engineer at Sunbeam Cycles competition team while at Brooklands, that Weslake developed an air flow meter to test gas flow in the combustion chamber. This work led to him working as a consultant to the Sunbeam team. Due to his growing reputation, Weslake was invited to work with W. O. Bentley to tune his racing engines cylinder heads, which resulted in the first
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win. It was the collapse of his company Wex Carburettors Ltd in 1926 that saw Weslake move to Automotive Engineering. In 1935, after a turbulent relationship with Automotive Engineering, he left to set up his own business based at the Alta racing car factory called Weslake & Taylor, consulting for companies such as
Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
, MG,
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and Swallow Sidecars (later to become
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). It was at Swallows where he had been instrumental in modifying the side valve
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engine to overhead valve used in the first SS sports car. He also worked on the larger SS engine, which Motorsport Magazine described as


World War II

Weslake was involved in the development of the
Rolls-Royce Merlin The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British Coolant#Liquids, liquid-cooled V12 engine, V-12 Reciprocating engine, piston aero engine of 27-litre (1,650 cu in) Engine displacement, capacity. Rolls-Royce Limited, Rolls-Royce designed the engine an ...
engine for both aircraft and tank usage."Harry Weslake", ''Speedway Star'', 9 September 1978, p. 25 During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Weslake worked with
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, Walter Hassan and Claude Baily, on the design of the
Jaguar XK engine The Jaguar XK is an inline 6-cylinder dual overhead camshaft (DOHC) engine produced by Jaguar Cars between 1949 and 1992. Introduced as a 3.4-litre, it earned fame on both the road and track, being produced in five hemispherical head di ...
. In addition he worked as a consultant on the Jowett Javelin flat four engine, and for Karrier and Scammell trucks.


Weslake Research and Development

In the 1940s, Weslake set up his research company in Rye, and was contracted by Norton to work on improving gas flow on their Manx engine. He also designed the cylinder head for the overhead valve version of the
BMC A-series engine The Austin Motor Company A-series is a British small straight-4 car, automobile engine. Launched in 1951 with the Austin A30, production lasted until 2000 in the Mini. It used a cast-iron block and cylinder head, and a steel crankshaft with thre ...
that was used in the
Morris Minor The Morris Minor is an economy car produced by British marque Morris Motors between 1948 and 1971. It made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6  ...
, the
Mini The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...
, the BMC ADO16, the
Austin Allegro The Austin Allegro is a small family car that was manufactured by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland (BL) from 1973 until 1982. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent ...
and the
Morris Marina The Morris Marina is a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive C-segment, small family car that was manufactured by the Morris Motors, Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1971 until 1980. It served to replace the Morris Minor in the Mo ...
and received royalties on each of these engines manufactured. He was also used as a consultant on the BMC B-series engine & BMC C-Series engine. Weslake acted as consultant to
Facel Vega Facel S.A. was a French manufacturer of pressed steel automobile components and, subsequently, complete automobiles of their own design. To intensify its World War II war effort, French subcontracting company for military aeronautics Bronzavia ...
for the development of its new 4 cylinder engine to be used in its new Facellia model. The
Rover Company The Rover Company Limited was a British car manufacturing company originally founded in 1878, beginning car manufacturing in 1904. It primarily operated from its base in Solihull, Warwickshire. Rover also manufactured the Land Rover series from ...
employed Weslake to develop a new head for its 3-litre engine, the final development which was used in the
Rover P4 The Rover P4 series is a group of mid-size luxury saloon cars produced by the Rover Company from 1949 until 1964. They were designed by Gordon Bashford. The P4 designation is factory terminology for this group of cars and was not in day-to-d ...
110 and the
Rover P5 The Rover P5 is a series of large sedan (car), saloon and coupé cars that were produced by Rover (car), Rover from 1958 until 1973. The models were marketed under the names Rover 3 Litre, Rover 3.5 Litre and Rover 3½ Litre. The P5 was a lar ...
. Weslake would also work as a consultant with
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
, developing a wedge head combustion chamber for their RB engine which was first fitted as Stage II in 1963. In 1953, Weslake were given a patent for a unique layout of having valves provide a weak and rich mix to enable high compression ratios to be used without pre-ignition or pinking of the charge taking place. This was a precursor to Honda's
CVCC CVCC, or , is an internal combustion engine technology developed and trademarked by the Honda Motor Company. The technology's name refers to its primary features: Compound refers to the use of two combustion chambers; Vortex refers to the vo ...
engine which appeared in February 1971, five months after the Weslake patent expired.


Start of F1 involvement

From the start of the
Vanwall Vanwall was a British motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall ...
Motor racing team, Weslake worked as a consultant, initially developing a new head for the
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
engines used. During 1956, Weslake worked with Leo Kuzmicki, Colin Chapman and
Frank Costin Francis Albert Costin (8 June 1920 – 5 February 1995) was a British automotive engineer who advanced monocoque chassis design and was instrumental in adapting aircraft aerodynamic knowledge for automobile use. Career Costin was an engineer ...
to develop a new
Vanwall Vanwall was a British motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall ...
car, which
Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...
drove to a win in a non championship F1 race, and convinced him to join the team in 1957. The car would go onto win the first constructors championship title in 1958. Weslake would go on to work as a consultant for Coventry-Climax, by advising them on port design for their FPF engine that was used by Cooper and Lotus Formula One teams.


Gurney Weslake

In 1966
Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of motorspo ...
commissioned Weslake Engineering to build an
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designed 3.0-litre V12 Formula One engine for his Eagle Mk1. The engine had initially been a design for BRM, but lost out to their own H16 design. Their efforts produced a V12 that was smooth and powerful. At Monza, an insight into the future of engine design was seen for the first time. The engine had four valves per cylinder at a narrow included angle (thirty degrees) that allowed a single cover to enclose both the close-spaced camshafts on each bank. The sixty-degree-vee layout had a larger bore than stroke (72.8 × 60 mm). Gurney won the 1967 Race of Champions at
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, a non-championship event, and the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix with the Eagle-Weslake V12 engine. At Monza in 1966, was available. This increased to during the winter. At the 1967 Brands Hatch Race of Champions, Dan Gurney's engine gave and Richie Ginther's engine gave . On test, up to had been achieved. At Monaco, Gurney had , Ginther . Later in the 1967 season quotes of were made. (These are figures from '' Motoring News''.) The engines peaked at around 10,000 rpm. A figure of was mentioned at the start of 1968, but after money ran out, a test made at the B.R.M. factory recorded only 378 bhp (this may have been a 'tired' engine). Harry Weslake had an eventual goal of @ 12,000 rpm. Later Ford sponsored (75.0 × 56.25 mm) versions in 1972 were quoted at @ 10,500 rpm. Harry Weslake and his company provided the Gurney-Weslake cylinder heads for the engines that powered the Gulf-Wyer Ford GT40 Mk.I to two consecutive wins at Le Mans, in 1968 and 1969.


Ford Weslake V-12

In 1970, Harry Weslake agreed to develop a V12 engine for Ford and JWA, the operator of the
John Wyer John Wyer (11 December 1909 – 8 April 1989), was an English automobile racing engineer and team manager. He is mainly associated with cars running in the light blue and orange livery of his longtime sponsor Gulf Oil. Biography Early lif ...
sports car team. The engine was devised after a meeting between Weslake, Ford's motorsport director Stuart Turner and GT40 designer Len Bailey at the British Grand Prix, and
Keith Duckworth David Keith Duckworth (10 August 1933 – 18 December 2005) was an English mechanical engineer. He is most famous for designing the Cosworth DFV (Double Four Valve) engine, an engine that revolutionised the sport of Formula One. Early life ...
's reluctance to let the
Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had f ...
be used in sports car racing. Weslake and his stepson, Michael Daniel designed a 3-litre V12 with cylinder dimensions of 75 x 56.5mm in an aluminium-alloy block, which was designed to allow a bore increase up to 80mm, and was unusually strong to withstand the rigours of 24-hour racing. A cast magnesium sump added to its stiffness and was cross-bolted to the caps of the five main bearings, which were downsized relative to previous Weslake designs to reduce weight and friction. The engine first run on the 20 December 1971, recording a peak power of 450bhp, compared with 451bhp for a DFV on the same rig. The initial design was signed-off for further development by Ford and JWA, however the relationship started to falter after Weslake's push to use the engine in F1, and poor tests in a modified Brabham BT39 and a Gulf-Mirage M6. Gordon Murray and Derek Bell said there was issues with the tests, and subsequent test at
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showed the DFV and V12 powered Mirages were near identical. However, with Ford's racing budget being smashed after the
1973 Oil Crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...
, Weslake took JWA to court to try and reclaim the development costs, which JWA settled out of court. The undeveloped engine, which was finally tested independently at 461 bhp, was sold to Terry Hoyle for £10,000 to keep Weslake afloat.


Ford tuning work

During the 1970s, Weslake manufactured the Cologne RS2600 engine that Ford fitted to the
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via a subsidiary Weslake Capri. This also included the special Weslake aluminium heads used for Ford's touring car challenge. The Weslake Ford Capri went on to finish 10th and 11th at the 1972 24 hours of Le Mans, and the 1971 and 1972 driver titles in the European Touring Car Championship. Jeff Uren's Race Proved linked up with Weslake who provided the Ford Essex V6 tuned engines. The customers had various tuning choices; the standard Ford Capri-spec 3.0 L engine with 138 bhp and 182 ft-lbs of torque, the 170, 180, 190 and the mighty 218 bhp Tecalemit fuel-injected version, which in a 1972 Motorsport Magazine article about the Race Proved Cortina Savage was timed as fast to 0-60 mph as a
Jaguar E-Type The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British FMR layout, front mid-engined sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars, Jaguar Cars Ltd from 1961 to 1974. Its sleek appearance, advanced technologies, ...
V12.


Motorcycle engines

Weslake Engineering went on to design a series of successful motorcycle engines during the 1970s were also used in early shifter
karts Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size moto ...
. The Weslake parallel twin was used in Sidecar racing and was fitted to several motorcycle frames including Seeley. Peter Collins of
Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 14 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wit ...
and England won the 1976 Speedway World Final on a Weslake engined bike. Harry Weslake's last project was for Lord Hesketh, developing a 992cc air cooled vee-twin for the Hesketh V1000. The Weslake eight-valve head for twins was sold to Nourish Racing Engines who continue to manufacture the design.


Aero engines

In the 1970s, Weslake Aeromarine was set up after a request for assistance from the UK
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. The company developed a variety of two stroke and four stroke engines: * Weslake Type 060 * Weslake Type 116 * Weslake Type 200 * Weslake Type 274 * Weslake Type 342 * Weslake Type 430 * Weslake Type 548 * Weslake Type 860 * Weslake Type 1527 The company was purchased, along with the engine designs by Normalair-Garrett in 1979. In 1980, Weslake & Co restarted Aero engine work developing the following engines: * Weslake W50 * Weslake W40/50-73-02 * Weslake W42/55 * Weslake W65/75-118-02 * Weslake CF 122/E The rights to the Aero engines were sold in 1984 to Emdair.


Powerboat engines

During the 1960s, Weslake were used as consultants to improve turbo-charged diesel engines for powerboat racing.


Later developments

Since Harry Weslake's death, the company worked on a variety of engines under Michael Daniels, Harry Weslake's stepson, including the Diesel Air Dair 100, Weslake A80 and the Excelsior-Henderson X-Twin. Bruce Penhall rode a Weslake
speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...
motorcycle to many successes in the early 1980s, including two World Individual Speedway Championships. The company was split up, with Weslake Capri owned by Capri specialist Ric Wood Motorsport since 2012. The marine and aero engine business is owned by AVVRON Ltd


Harry Weslake's Death

Harry Weslake died in 1978 while attending the World Speedway Championship at Wembley.


Honours

Harry Weslake was awarded the Segrave Medal in 1976 for developing the four-stroke speedway engine that Peter Collins won his World Championship on. The Goodwood Revival Festival has since 2017 named its trophy for Spridget racing The Weslake Cup, in honour of Harry Weslake, and his work on the A-series engine.


See also

* Elva *
Harry Ricardo Sir Harry Ralph Ricardo (26 January 1885 – 18 May 1974) was an English engineer who was one of the foremost engine designers and researchers in the early years of the development of the internal combustion engine. Among his many other works, ...
*
Frank Halford Major Frank Bernard Halford CBE FRAeS (7 March 1894 – 16 April 1955) was an English aircraft engine designer. He is best known for the series of de Havilland Gipsy engines, widely used by light aircraft in the 1920s and 30s. Career Educate ...


Further reading

* ''Lucky All My Life: The Biography of Harry Weslake'' by Jeff Clew


References

{{Reflist


External links


Official websiteGurney Weslake official homepage
Formula One engine manufacturers Companies based in East Sussex Engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom