LEONARD: A CUBIC INCH OBSESSION
Mon, 2009-07-27 22:33
Sonny Leonard admits that building bigger and larger engine displacements became an obsession early in his 
career.
That’s why after starting off with 400 cubic inches in the early stages
of his career, his engines are now in excess of 900 cubic inches; he’s
got 1000 on his mind.
“I worked my way though a 390 to a 427 and then a 454, then when you get that large, you always want to go a little larger,” said Leonard, as he and the Sonny’s Racing Engines team unloaded their midway display at the ADRL U.S. Drags II in Dinwiddie, Va.
Leonard has built efficient and championship winning motors since getting into the race engine business in the late 1970s. Today he’s one of the leading suppliers of engines in the Extreme Pro Stock division. Sonny Leonard admits that building bigger and larger engine displacements became an obsession early in hiscareer.
That’s why after starting off with 400 cubic inches in the early stages
of his career, his engines are now in excess of 900 cubic inches; he’s
got 1000 on his mind.
“I worked my way though a 390 to a 427 and then a 454, then when you get that large, you always want to go a little larger,” said Leonard, as he and the Sonny’s Racing Engines team unloaded their midway display at the ADRL U.S. Drags II in Dinwiddie, Va.
Leonard has built efficient and championship winning motors since getting into the race engine business in the late 1970s. Today he’s one of the leading suppliers of engines in the Extreme Pro Stock division.
The two keys to building the large displacement engines and making them efficient were fabricating a sturdy crank and a block that could house all of the massive internal mayhem. He credits development programs with Sonny Bryant with the crank upgrades and the P & S Foundry for delivering a block which could accept the taller deck heights. He’s forged a working relationship with Donovan in the early 1990s to produce blocks capable of displacing the engines in excess of 700 inches. Leonard has since developed working relationships with Dart, CN and LSN to produces engines in excess of 900 cubic inches.
Leonard credits a 1983 trip out west with Bryant as a turning point in what he describes as an obsession to build bigger and bigger engines.
“We used to take 454 cranks and offset the journals like 90 thousandths and use a smaller bearing to get that extra stroke,” Leonard recalled of the early days of mountain motors. “Those ran a little quicker and to take it to the next step was to call a crankshaft company and they would weld up the existing journals and make it a four inch stroker. I went out west with Sonny Bryant and he helped out a lot.”
Leonard has built engines for the best of the best in applications where large displacement engines are part of the show. At the end of the day, he believes he made the right decision traveling the path of larger displacement.
“It takes a lot of time money and desire but I think we’ve done well at achieving that,” Leonard admits.
career.
That’s why after starting off with 400 cubic inches in the early stages
of his career, his engines are now in excess of 900 cubic inches; he’s
got 1000 on his mind.“I worked my way though a 390 to a 427 and then a 454, then when you get that large, you always want to go a little larger,” said Leonard, as he and the Sonny’s Racing Engines team unloaded their midway display at the ADRL U.S. Drags II in Dinwiddie, Va.
Leonard has built efficient and championship winning motors since getting into the race engine business in the late 1970s. Today he’s one of the leading suppliers of engines in the Extreme Pro Stock division. Sonny Leonard admits that building bigger and larger engine displacements became an obsession early in his
career.
That’s why after starting off with 400 cubic inches in the early stages
of his career, his engines are now in excess of 900 cubic inches; he’s
got 1000 on his mind.“I worked my way though a 390 to a 427 and then a 454, then when you get that large, you always want to go a little larger,” said Leonard, as he and the Sonny’s Racing Engines team unloaded their midway display at the ADRL U.S. Drags II in Dinwiddie, Va.
Leonard has built efficient and championship winning motors since getting into the race engine business in the late 1970s. Today he’s one of the leading suppliers of engines in the Extreme Pro Stock division.
The two keys to building the large displacement engines and making them efficient were fabricating a sturdy crank and a block that could house all of the massive internal mayhem. He credits development programs with Sonny Bryant with the crank upgrades and the P & S Foundry for delivering a block which could accept the taller deck heights. He’s forged a working relationship with Donovan in the early 1990s to produce blocks capable of displacing the engines in excess of 700 inches. Leonard has since developed working relationships with Dart, CN and LSN to produces engines in excess of 900 cubic inches.
Leonard credits a 1983 trip out west with Bryant as a turning point in what he describes as an obsession to build bigger and bigger engines.
“We used to take 454 cranks and offset the journals like 90 thousandths and use a smaller bearing to get that extra stroke,” Leonard recalled of the early days of mountain motors. “Those ran a little quicker and to take it to the next step was to call a crankshaft company and they would weld up the existing journals and make it a four inch stroker. I went out west with Sonny Bryant and he helped out a lot.”
Leonard has built engines for the best of the best in applications where large displacement engines are part of the show. At the end of the day, he believes he made the right decision traveling the path of larger displacement.
“It takes a lot of time money and desire but I think we’ve done well at achieving that,” Leonard admits.
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