Gaerte engines being liquidated

[doyle hargraves]

Roger long ,Jack Boggs ,Paul Schafer

[Barbecueboy]

I remember smith with those engines, he was tough to beat back then.

Probably the best super race I ever saw at Fayetteville was his win going by some big names on the outside in that car with those engines......loved seeing that white car roll in.

[Mason87]

Was that the year he won the lucas race?

[Barbecueboy]

That was the race....yes

I watched the last 15 laps from the infield coming right out of 4, it was electrifying to see someone rip around the outside like that at that joint.....don't think I've ever seen anything close to it there since.

I don't even remember who all he went by just that he did....was cool.

[Mason87]

Yea man I was there also, probably the best super race I've ever seen there.

[purvis]

This is probably not the first and won't be the last company to close. Engine builders, chassis builders and any other part builder in racing are pricing themselfs out of business. It seems like they would notice that car counts have dropped.and tracks are closing.

This is exactly what the British told the Colonies in 1696.

[mcarter815]

This is probably not the first and won't be the last company to close. Engine builders, chassis builders and any other part builder in racing are pricing themselfs out of business. It seems like they would notice that car counts have dropped.and tracks are closing.

In this case, it’s probably that nobody wanted to take over the business.

[dirtcrazy4u]

We have a winner. Mcarter. You are correct. Joe is probably turning over. Gaerte engines were in more open wheel sprint cars in Indiana. He had his hand in many fields of racing. I believe one of the kids, his daughter maybe, was going to take over the daily operations and someone else was coming in to run the production end of things. Shame.

[chupp n bloomer fan]

I think Shane Yoder ran them too.

[riddle28]

we own a motor shop, you have to be able to adapt and always find new avenues to stay relevant. However the biggest issue is, building engines is a trade like many others that the older guys are hanging it up and no younger people care about learning how to run all the machines and how to build motors. I'm 28 and i dont know anyone my age that has any interest in learning it

[chupp n bloomer fan]

we own a motor shop, you have to be able to adapt and always find new avenues to stay relevant. However the biggest issue is, building engines is a trade like many others that the older guys are hanging it up and no younger people care about learning how to run all the machines and how to build motors. I'm 28 and i dont know anyone my age that has any interest in learning it

And what really sucks for you guys is the technology is ahead of what oval racing uses.

You can buy a 4 cylinder turboed stock with 400 hp, or I6-V6, twin turboed with high 3’s-400 hp. That’s technology you guys can’t even use for the most part.

Some shops do do that stuff, but if you’re circle track based I’m sure you aren’t. If you are, cool though.

[Jking24]

The other thing that kills most shops is the money is just isnt their for someone outside the family to come in and learn the trade. You have to work for next to nothing at most of these shops. That coupled with the very high investment to start your own shop leads to not much interest outside of the children of the shop owner. Most people won't stake a career choice on the possibility of outliving the shop owner and potentially taking over one day. I love building engines and have worked in a few shops early in my career but their was no sustainably for someone that didn't just love doing it and nothing else. Basically I'd still be doing it today if it was not for the money

[Car Biz]

I think Shane Yoder ran them too.

Yes he did. Patterson ran them as well. When I was a kid if you had a 430 Gaerte you were a hotdog!

[PRCKartRacer9]

I heard a story once about Moran hiding fuel injectors inside his extra large air filter for his late model. I believe it was around the time he ran a wedge with one of these power plants. Either way, everyone recognized this name whether it was lates or sprints. I ran Chevettes as a teenager and told dad we should put one of their 4 cylinders in our car!!! He laughed and said look at the price tag. We dont have that much wrapped up in our whole operation!!

[JCSullivan00]

we own a motor shop, you have to be able to adapt and always find new avenues to stay relevant. However the biggest issue is, building engines is a trade like many others that the older guys are hanging it up and no younger people care about learning how to run all the machines and how to build motors. I'm 28 and i dont know anyone my age that has any interest in learning it

I don't entirely agree with this. While my family is still into dirt stuff, I kind of moved on and bought myself a street car to play around with. I've got a Cadillac CTS-V, and really got into fooling with the engine stuff.

It lead me to the realization that the LS engine is probably hurting engine builders. If you wanted a cool engine for your old classic, you went to a builder or machine shop and had them do a bunch of work to your sbc. Now if you want something, you go get a junkyard LS, maybe throw some new parts at it and toss a cheap ebay turbo on it. People your age are VERY VERY into LS engines, and are putting them into everything. They just either do the work themselves, or mail order parts that are ready to bolt on. Places like Brian Tooley Racing are getting HUGE while engine builders are slowly dying off.