DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

Can someone school me on this place? has it been discussed on the forum before because I can't find a thread on it. What was it? Speedshop/racecar builder? Detroit? Any help is appreciated.

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

Diamond Racing Engines in Louisiana? Used to be a Diamond Rcaing Engines in Warren Michigan years ago. Built some great Pro Stock and Modified eliminator motors.

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

----Diamond Racing is alive and well in Warren. I was with the owner just yesterday! Very well regarded in the Detroit area. I have a good boating buddy that worked there quite a while back and he has always said that the business was well run and did things right. They built a bunch of offshore racing engines too.....Bill S

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: [email protected]</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Diamond Racing Engines in Louisiana? Used to be a Diamond Rcaing Engines in Warren Michigan years ago. Built some great Pro Stock and Modified eliminator motors. </div></div>

Thanks Bill and Sam - any motors done for well known racers in pro stock and modified Sam? Bill? Did the factories use them for &quot;works&quot; prep for NHRA back-door stuff? I seem to remember an article on them being involved with cross-rams for Mopar super stock hemis?

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

----Des,,,Ill call my buddy about some of Diamonds history. He used to ocean race and used Diamond engines while he was working there so should be able to fill in some of the history.

----I just saw your PM and will get to it as soon as I can.....Bill S

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

Pretty sure they're name was on the side of the Motown Missile Dodge Challengers that were run in Pro Stock back the the '70's. Cars were driven by Don Carlton I think.

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

I believe Diamond built engines for Fred Gibb in the end for the 1971 AHRA championship and also I believe did work for Don Carlton and the Motown Missile era. many other also in Modified Eliminator and even Comp Eliminator. Hey Bill did Diamond ever hook up with Elks Racing Heads from Ohio? I seem to remember a Diamond-Elks thing? Maybe not.

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

Here is a photo....

http://www.chromjuwelen.com/de/magaz...n-missile.html


[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/3gears.gif[/img]

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

----Des,,,the original founder of Diamond was Jim Cavallaro. Butch Elkins did all the head work. Nick Plantis was the machinist and after Diamond went west to work at Venolia (pistons).Fritz Kayle was the assembler and after Diamond went to MacLaren and then went on to found Katech. Quite a group with an amazing amount of knowledge. Jim (the guy I was with yesterday) sold the company a while back and my friend, Mark, couldnt remember who has it today but apparently they have changed thier focus in the last few years. Mark left there in 1972 but still has good friends from Diamond that he sees regularly. Diamond did a lot of development work on Hemi heads and 440 stuff. A good portion of that was done with input from Koffel of Flintstone Flyer fame. Mark didnt think that Chrysler used them directly however.......Bill S

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

Thanks Bill - anybody who may remember Werner's car? Guess you know where I am going with this.

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

----Des,,,Im guessing that no one would remember the car as I think they only built the motor and didnt install it, but I could be wrong......Bill S

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

I thought Diamond-Elkins hooked up sometime back then. Des, like Bill said most engine shops had nothing to do with the cars themselves.

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----Mark didnt mention it but Butch Elkins may have become a minority partner at some point. He apparently was a really talented guy with headwork.....Bill S

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

I remember a few decades ago when I bought a flat red painted, LO23 1968 Hemi Dart. It came with an NOS 1970 426 hemi block and a bunch of stuff from Diamond Engineering including a magnesium crossram still in the box from them. It appeared to have been cut open, modified and welded up again.

I bought the Dart just to keep the NOS engine. I sold the Dart a couple weeks later for twice what I paid....

...it later turned out to be Dick Landy's 4-speed Hemi Dart.

DOH! http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...pson2Thumb.gif

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...LO23dart-1.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...8c/LO23vin.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...erticard-1.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...c/scan0016.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...68c/parts4.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...68c/parts1.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...68c/parts5.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...68c/parts3.jpg

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/t...68c/parts2.jpg

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

Steve, you still got that box the cross-ram came in? per chance...

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

Nope. The car sold in 1988, along with the Hemi Dart specific parts. I kept the block, heads, and rotating assembly, put it together and eventually sold the running engine in 1993.

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

Just looking for a close shot of the branding/logo

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

So Steve, you owned Dandy Dick Landy's Hemi Dart in the 80's? WOW what a car!

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

YUP. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

If I had simply sanded off the flat red paint I would have found the original Landy colors in the door jambs....like the later owner did.

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

I feel sick. One of my non Chevy heros! A real car too.

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

----I would like to have been a fly on the wall watching that Magnesium manifold get welded back together! Mark did remember the guys at Diamond working on the magnesium cross-rams......Bill S

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

----Steve,,,I just found out that a guy named Chuck Kurzawa did the welding job on that magnesium intake. He must have been some welder!!! Also, my friend Mark remembered a 68 Hemi Dart that looked very much like the one you had that was around the Detroit area prior to you owning it, but he wasnt absolutely sure.......Bill S

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: olredalert</div><div class="ubbcode-body">----Steve,,,I just found out that a guy named Chuck Kurzawa did the welding job on that magnesium intake. He must have been some welder!!! Also, my friend Mark remembered a 68 Hemi Dart that looked very much like the one you had that was around the Detroit area prior to you owning it, but he wasnt absolutely sure.......Bill S</div></div>

Chuck Kurzawa was pretty famous in the Detroit area as a Top Fuel owner and driver. Ron....
P.S. Bill, did he have anything to do with making parachutes?

Re: DIAMOND ENGINEERING
 

----I can ask, Ron......Bill S

Re: DIAMOND RACING ENGINES
 

Sad postscript - I believe this guy ported the heads on my LS7 in 1971 while at Diamond Racing. Apparently a genius of cylinder head flow and port work. R.I.P Mr. Elkins.

http://www.bcfh.com/obituaries/Warren-Elkins1922190667/