Though largely known for his drag racing Hemis, the engines that Ed Pink built over the last 60-plus years have won races in a wide variety of motorsports, from midget racing all the way up to Indy car racing. That adaptability and Pink’s longetivity, not to mention his capability, this earned him a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Petersen Automotive Museum, presented at last week’s SEMA show.
Pink, who many call “The Old Master,” began building engines in 1948 under the tutelage of Lou Baney after attending trade school in Los Angeles. It was there that he first became proficient in building Chrysler’s Hemi V-8 for drag racing purposes. “We ran our own dragster, then we got some pretty good guys to drive for us, like Mike Snively, Tom McEwen, and Connie Swingle,” he told Jim Donnelly for a profile on him in Hemmings Muscle Machines #28. Because Hemis at the time were so prevalent, “we’d buy all the 392s we could, tear ‘em apart and have 30 to 40 blocks to sell.”
Ed Pink at the Edelbrock dyno in the early 1960s. Photo courtesy Petersen Automotive Museum.
Over the next decade, Pink would work for hot rodding legends Eddie Meyer and Vic Edelbrock, but in 1957 he decided to open his own shop. At first, he specialized in cylinder heads and ignition, but as the popularity of drag racing grew, so did his business and his reputation for building winning engines. During the drag racing heyday, he counted among his customers such drag racing superstars as Don Prudhomme, Don Garlits, Tommy Ivo and Shirley Muldowney. Complete Ed Pink-built Top Fuel engines went for as much as $7,500 in the early 1970s.
Then in about 1980, Pink focused his attention elsewhere after noticing that the top drag racers had started to hire their own in-house engine builders, funded by major sponsorship contracts. He remained in the engine building business, however, applying his talents to midgets, stock cars, and even to the Indy car efforts of racers such as Al Unser and Roger Mears. As Petrolicious noted in a look at the Ed Pink Racing Engine business last year, Pink also dabbled in building engines for IMSA and Le Mans prototype racing, and NASCAR drivers such as Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne have driven cars powered by his engines.
Ed Pink and A.J. Foyt at Indy. Photo courtesy Petersen Automotive Museum.
Pink continued to run his business until selling it to Tom Malloy in 2008 and these days runs Ed Pink’s Garage with Bob Brandt, a shop that, if anything, seems devoted to a wider range of projects, including restoration, street rod construction, and research and development work.
“Ed Pink rarely found a branch of motorsports that he was unable to excel in,” the press release announcing the award noted. “No matter the challenge, The Old Master rose to meet it, and it is because of that sense of determination, track record of success, and a legendary kind streak that Ed Pink was chosen as this year’s Robert E. Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award winner.”
Ed Pink with a Chrysler 426 Hemi built for funny car use. Photo courtesy Petersen Automotive Museum.
Pink had been inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2012.
Previous winners of the Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award include Carroll Shelby, George Barris, Andy Granatelli, The Ford Family, Vic Edelbrock, Jack Roush, Ed “Isky” Iskenderian, Bill “Speedy” Smith, Alex Xydias and Wally Parks.
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