"This engine is just cooler than dangit," Mr. Coker said.
The man whose vintage vehicle tires adorn about 70 percent of the great classic cars rolling around the country and parked on the lawns at various concours has brought the great Lencki Six back to life. The night before the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show opened its massive doors in Las Vegas, Mr. Coker and his team of engineers fired up the Lencki for the first time in public in a half century.
"That is a man's motor," Mr. Coker yelled over the smooth staccato "whappitywhappitywhap BRAAAP" of the re-fired six.
While they built a stand for it that looked like the front end of an old Indy roadster, Mr. Coker doesn't want to put it into any particular car, or at least any car he would build.
"I want the Chip Fooses and Troy Trepaniers of the world to use it," he said.
Indeed, copies of the engine should be available in about six months at around $100,000 each. It's the perfect setup for somebody spending $2 million to try and win the Ridler or the AMBR hot rod car shows.
What's a hundred grand to a guy like that? After all, "This engine is a real ground-up man motor," Mr. Coker reiterated. And who wouldn't want a ground-up man motor?
This report appeared on the website of Autoweek magazine, a Detroit-based sister publication of Tire Business. Autoweek, along with Automotive News, another Crain publication, is covering the SEMA Show, as is Tire Business. Keep checking www.tirebusiness.com for updates from Las Vegas.
