Weslake

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Gurney-Weslake engine.

Weslake Research and Devlelopment was founded by Harry Weslake, a cylinder head specialist who had been instrumental in modifying the side valve Standard engine used in the first SS (later to become Jaguar) Sports Car. He also designed the cylinder head for the overhead valve version of the morris series A engine that was used in the Morris 1000 and the Mini. He was involved in the design of every Jaguar engine up to and including the V12 of the early 1970´s. He also designed the Straight-4s engines for the 1958 Vanwall Formula One Grand Prix Car, an engine that was using a lot of technology and experience from a single-cylinder Norton motorcycle engine. The Vanwall car went on to win the 1958 F1 constructors cup.

In 1966 Dan Gurney commissioned Weslake Engineering to build an Aubrey Woods designed 3.0 liter V12 Formula One engine for his 1967 Eagle T1G. Their efforts produced a V12 that was smooth and powerful, but lacked reliability. The engines were made with obsolete World War One Royal Navy surplus machinery, as a result parts from one engine would not fit another, making life difficult for the Eagle team. However, Gurney did win the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, a non-championship event, and the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix with the Eagle-Weslake V12 engine.

In addition to three Jaguar Le Mans victories in the 1950´s Harry Weslake and his company provided the engines that powered the Ford GT40 to four consecutive wins at Le Mans in the late 1960´s

Weslake Engineering went on to design a series of successful motorcycle engines during the 1970s that were also used in early shifter karts. Harry Weslake died in 1978