At the end of the first installment of this series
we left off just after Wayne F. Horning and Harry Warner had split up. In the last
issue we touched on the story of Wayne Horning and now we'll return to Harry Warner.
As mentioned earlier, after Wayne and Harry dissolved their partnership in early
1950, Harry Warner retained the business mane "Wayne Manufacturing Co." and
after a time of resettlement got back into the production of 12 port Wayne Chevrolet
cylinder heads. Harry moved his business to 7153 Encinal Blvd., La Cresenta, CA.
The amount of time until production resumed was necessitated by the large amount of
post casting, machining that each head required, as well as that always present factor in
new businesses' finances. This was a real family type business. Harry's wife
took care of the bookkeeping and secretarial chores and young son Dam, then in high
school, helped out when he could. By late 1950, Harry was casting a dozen Wayne
heads a month, doing most of the machining himself.
After Harry had gotten settled and back into
production on the Wayne Chevy heads, he was able to devote more of his time to the final
stages in his development of a 12 port head for GMC's. Wayne Horning was also
working on a 112 port GMC head at this time, and was actually on the salt flats of
Bonneville in the Fall of 1950. As we will see, the concepts for these two heads,
while having certain similarities, are however quite different. This is most
noticeable in the area of mechanical concept and the way in which that concept relates to
the average GMC owner. Therefore, as we remember that Harry and Wayne had both been
involved for many years with these engines, it is no small wonder that they both came up
with 12 port heads for GMC's at about the same time. By late 1951, both men were
offering 12 port heads for GMC's, with Harry Warner also offering 12 port heads for
Chevrolet.
Harry was involved at Indy in 1951, when Bill
Johnson's car ran a 12 port Wayne Chevy. In 1953, Harry was back again with the
"Wayne Manufacturing Special," this time with one of the new Wayne 12 port
GMC's. The car was driven by the highly successful South American driver Jorge
Daponte. The car (the dame one that Bill Johnson ran in 1951) turned 133 mph in an
attempt to qualify, but it wasn't quite enough.
Harry continued to produce both 12 port
Wayne Chevy and 12 port Wayne GMC heads on throughout the 1950's. In 1955,
Harry mover the business again, this time to larger quarters at 432 So. Victory Blvd.,
Burbank, California. Harry continued to put his engineering and design abilities to
use and he designed and built on of the most fascinating and perhaps most exotic of all
six cylinder specialty heads. This was the now famous Wayne DOHC (Dual Overhead Cam)
12 port head for GMC. What a dream cylinder head it was; dual overhead cams, six
intake ports, six exhaust ports, a crossflow head, fuel injection, WOW! What a piece
of machinery! Three sets of castings were made, and the engine was assembled and
tested. The engine incorporated a special front cover extending from the bottom of
the normal front cover area, up to and covering the full front of the motor all the way to
even with the the dual overhead cam covers. This contained a fully gear driven
assembly.
As wild as this head was, Harry had future
plans to go even further. He had a design for enlarging the valves in the DOHC head
to 2 1/8 in., that's right, 2 1/8 in. for both intakes and exhausts. This monster
valve head was also going to have dual spark plugs and penthouse design combustion
chamber. Even beyond this incredible work, Harry had plans for a 24 valve DOHC
engine, that's four valves per cylinder. This 24 valve head was to have had chain
driven cams. Harry had hoped for production to begin in 1955 on these two
modifications of the basic DOHC head. Sadly those two master pieces never left the
drawing board. The 12 valve DOHC head with the monster intakes/exhausts was to have
sold for $1000 complete with special pistons, fuel injectors and a contemplated new gear
type belt designed to eliminate the gear train. The 24 valve head was planned to
retail for $1200. The location of three 12-valve DOHC Wayne GMC engines, is still a
mystery. As word of them turns up form time to time, it seems certain that at least
one still survives. What a cylinder head that was, what and engine! It makes
the mouth water just to think of it.
A perusal of an old "Wayne Engineering
Co." catalog, reveals a vast array of parts and services. In addition to the 12
Port Wayne GMC heads, Harry continued to provide all the items for the 12 port Chevy.
He also covered stock head units (both Chevy and GMC) with such items a intakes,
pistons, fuel injection units and the pump drive kits for the roller cams and tappets,
custom pushrods, etc., the list seems endless. He also did custom cylinder head work
on stock units porting and polishing; built complete ready to race custom engines, both
Chevrolet and GMC, had available full pressure cranks for the early Chevy, special main
caps, oil pans and dry sump oil systems, dress up goodies like finely finned aluminum
valve covers and side plates. If you needed it or wanted it, and it was for Chevy or
GMC Harry Warner had it or could get it or could build it. He even made available
some items for the V8 Chevy. That's right, V8's. He offered Quad-Cam covers,
dual or triple intake manifolds, special pistons, reworked cylinder heads, Hilborn fuel
injection, crankshaft assemblies and exhaust systems, all for the Chevy V8, Harry
was dedicated Chevy and GMC man.
As time wore on and the public's attention and
desire turned more and more to the Chevy V8 and the other V8's, like Olds and Chrysler,
Harry found that he just wasn't getting the return that his considerable talents
warranted. So, as America rolled into the 1960's, Harry moved on the to other
fields. His remaining active business years were spent doing specialty design and
manufacturing work for the famous Jet Propulsion Lab, in nearby Pasadena. In the mid
197's, Harry finally retired.
Harry Warner had kept alive the products and the
services that Inline racing fans have come to depend on and to appreciate. And he
stayed in the business long after most all the others had moved on. Warner estimates
his total production of Wayne Chevy and Wayne GMC's, was less than 200 total. The
majority of these were Wayne Chevy heads produced up until the time he and Wayne Horning
split up. This makes the overall production figures really quite small. The is
especially noticeable of you consider the fact that heads have come to feature so
prominately in the cars of so many winning racers, including recent winners at Bonneville.
The longevity of these heads is in itself a mark of a mark of distinction that
honors all those responsible for the design, production and marketing of these works of
hot rod art. To this end; the promotion of and the development of, six cylinder
racing, Harry Warner deserves the thanks and praise of all of us whose pulse is always
quickened when we see or hear an inline engine.
Sadly, Harry Warner is nol onger with us, having
passed away a couple of years ago. His memory still is strong with his many many
friends and family. His contributions, so many and so diverse have left a major
imprint, one that is impossible to miss. We all miss him and remember him warmly,
even those of us who only knew him from a distance of thorough the sound of one if his
creations. His legacy to all of us is sweet, as is the music that his engines still
wonderfully make. His example of dedication, brilliance of mind , sound practicality
of design, and just plain good ole American know-how, are certainly the thing stories are
made of, and also the stuff that successful lives are based on.
****
Perhaps a short look at the
Wayne GMC will be helpful, not only to understand it better for those of us who aren't too
familiar with it, but also to help distinguish the principle differences between the Wayne
GMC 12 port head and the Horning GMC 12 port head. The Wayne GMC 12 port head used a
stock valve cover and side plate, although the finned aluminum dual breather valve covers
and aluminum side plates were decidedly a nice touch. The rockerams and shaft were
also stock. The Wayne 12 port head used the stock valve sequence, thereby allowing
for the use of the many grinds of cams available. This was major difference between
the Wayne and the Horning heads as the Horning head used a new valve sequence and needed a
special cam. The Wayne GMC head sat flush on the block. This design allowed
for some major advantages. The first being that the pistons were the means of
determining the compression ratio. The second was that the valve size was only
limited by the bore size. A third advantage of this design was that very short
pistons could be used, these oftened weighed approximately 30% less than other types.
The valves sat vertical and were activated by stock rockers. The intakes were
1 15/16 in. and the exhausts we 1 11/16 in. Port faces were slanted to give a direct
flow into the dead, the same port design as the Wayne Chevy head. The head when
mounted on 3 15/16 in., bore, 4 in. stroke, 292 cu. in. GMC, with 12:1 compression and
running straight alcohol fuel, with fuel injection, developed 320 h.p. at 52 rpm.
The first dozen heads were cast iron, then he switched over to aluminum for the duration
of production. Pistons were available in sizes 3 15/16, 4, 4 1/8, 4 3/16 inches,
with compression ratios ranging from 9:1, up to 15:1. There was an attention to
design details that show in areas such as the fact that the full extent of piston travel
was held within the water jacket area of the block to assist cooling and to promote long
ring life. Also, available was a special aluminum front cover with special drives
for the fuel injection and dry sump oil system. The stock water pump was used and
the distributor was in the stock location. Perhaps the most overriding feature of
the Wayne 12 port head for GMC, and a fact that was certainly central to Harry Warner's
design concept and his personal business style as well, can be found in this statement for
the "Wayne Engineering Co." catalog of 1955, "The head has been designed so
that the individual, building up and engine, or converting his stock GMC engine, may use a
maximum of stock parts, thus reducing costs. The stock camshaft is used, reground to
customer requirements." Harry Warner had a feel for the common backyard hot
rodder, the part-time racers and his designs and his business philosophy showed that
concern and that camaraderie. His designs let you use as much of what you already
had as possible let you add as you went and still gave you in the final form, the power
and dependability that made you competitive.
 |
The Wayne 12 port head for GMC,
showing intake (bottom) and exhaust
(top) ports. |
Harry Warner with his beloved `34 Ford roadster, the
car he drove to Calif. to join Wayne Horning in the business venture that led to the 12
port heads. |
|
|
Another view of Harry Warner with his
Wayne Chevy powered `34 Ford
roadster. |
| One of the hottest and most beautiful engines to ever grace the
engine compartment of a car. Frank Iacono's Wayne GMC powered his `33 Ford coupe to
astonishing records at drag strips throughout Southern Calif. |
|
|
The photo shows Jorge Daponte on left
and Harry Warner behind the #95
"Wayne Manufacturing Special," as it
was ready for the 1953 Indy 500 race.
This was the same car that Bill Johnson
had run in 1951 at Indy, but now it had
a different engine; the 12 port Wayne
GMC. Lap speeds of 133 mph were
achieved, but he car failed to qualify. |