Jake Swanson was running a Honda Midget out in CA earlier this year. I know they tested, I don't know if they actually ran it during races.

They have run two races with the car, Hanford and Ventura. From what I saw the car was very competitive, I know at Ventura he got caught up in an incident that eventually side lined him. Both races there where no engine related issues.

Bingo. Just the person I was talking about. So far, the engine has proven very competitive.

I would go a different route though and use the B18 non VTEC engine.

Dart makes a billet aluminum block and head. Moroso makes custom oil pans and dry sumps. You can get an Eagle Crank & Rod kit for dirt cheap.

Put together some drag cams, over size valve and some other stuff....

You now have a budget (read, under $15,000) that will keep up with all the latest stuff running out there, but will turn 11,000rpm and only be 1999cc.

Actually the Honda is not new. Greg Bragg not only has raced the enigne many times he won a BCRA feature with the engine a few years ago. The engine is still in excess of $20,000 ($25,000 I believe). The reason for this is that Honda does not support the development and to get an engine to start with you have to pay "retail".

Talk to Keith Iaia about the Honda, originally he was working with Honda US (before developing the Focus engine) to develop a midget engine, then Honda (Japan) pulled the plug on the program.

It seems to me that this is more or less the same story I've heard with every new midget engine. :-)

Specifically, that's pretty much what I was told by the NEMA competitors who are developing a Mazda-based engine.

...My whole venture into the Midget engine business started with Honda. Before the Ford, we did a complete development based on the B18 Honda. Heck, 100% of the work was done either right there at American Honda headquarters in Torrance, or in the Garage of Honda's Director of Special Projects, Dix Ericson. That car ran really well, and they even did a feature article on it in Good 'ol OPEN WHEEL magazine.

We wanted to do a program with Honda similar to what we wound up doing with Ford - something that would carry at least some level of factory support, and could be based upon building a consistent product with stability and economy. In other words - new engines from the factory. American Honda was 100% all-for this program and gave it their support. Unfortunately, after the thing was completed, tested, and proven - after Tommy Hunt pledged USAC/west support for it (Capels was being kind of a jerk about it...) Honda Japan decided they did not want any part of it. Would not even sell us the engines. One phone call to Hank Dertian at Ford from my friend Steve Lewis had us hooked up with big blue, and the whole thing took off in a new direction and wound up becoming the FFMS.

Honda makes really, REALLY nice stuff. And for a guy looking to put one engine (or maybe a few) together from cadavers out of the junkyard its a good way to go. But until Honda Japan decides they want to be in Midget Racing I don't think much more will come of this. American Honda does not have the horsepower.

The S2000 motor is a beautiful piece. To make it run straight up against the big stuff is doable - and I know there are some folks planning on doing just that. I wish them luck - really I do. But I don't think any of this addresses the real problems confronting what we call "National" Midget Racing. As I see it, "National" Midget racing is being kept alive right now out of the sheer love a hard core group of car owners have for the sport - it makes no sense on any other level. Unless fundamental changes are made to the program as a whole, a non-factory, S2000 based Midget will be a lot like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, IMHO.

Keith

$25,000 is lot more than the car owner told me

"DIRT CHEAP"

Someone told me this along time ago

GOOD
FAST
CHEAP

You cant have all 3 of those together!

If u want it to be GOOD & FAST....it wont be CHEAP
If u want it FAST & CHEAP....it wont be any GOOD
If u want it to be CHEAP & GOOD....you wont get it very FAST

The quick answer is easy enough to be put into the rules next year. It is 11.9999999 : 1 compression ratio. Still enough to burn methanol, not too high to blow head gaskets and ruin bearings.