CarTech®, Inc.
838 Lake Street South
Forest Lake, MN 55025
Phone: 651-277-1200 or 800-551-4754
Fax: 651-277-1203
© 2017 by Tyler Greenblatt
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from the Publisher. All text, photographs, and artwork are the property of the Author unless otherwise noted or credited.
The information in this work is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. However, all information is presented without any guarantee on the part of the Author or Publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurred in connection with the use of the information and any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Readers are responsible for taking suitable and appropriate safety measures when performing any of the operations or activities described in this work.
All trademarks, trade names, model names and numbers, and other product designations referred to herein are the property of their respective owners and are used solely for identification purposes. This work is a publication of CarTech, Inc., and has not been licensed, approved, sponsored, or endorsed by any other person or entity. The Publisher is not associated with any product, service, or vendor mentioned in this book, and does not endorse the products or services of any vendor mentioned in this book.
Edit by Wes Eisenschenk
Cover art by George Trosley
ISBN 978-1-61325-398-4
Item No. CT575
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available
Written, edited, and designed in the U.S.A.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
DISTRIBUTION BY:
Europe
PGUK
63 Hatton Garden
London EC1N 8LE, England
Phone: 020 7061 1980 • Fax: 020 7242 3725
Australia
Renniks Publications Ltd.
3/37-39 Green Street
Banksmeadow, NSW 2109, Australia
Phone: 2 9695 7055 • Fax: 2 9695 7355
CONTENTS
Dedication
Foreword by Buzz Kanter
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Early Era – 1915 and earlier
Chapter 2: F-Head Era – 1916–1929
Chapter 3: Pre-War Flatheads – 1929–1941
The Motor Company
The Chassis
The Powertrain
People and Pop Culture
Military, Police and Racing
Chapter 4: Knucklehead Era – 1936–1947
The Motor Company
The Chassis
The Powertrain
People and Pop Culture
Military, Police and Racing
Chapter 5: Panhead Era – 1948–1965
The Motor Company
The Chassis
The Powertrain
People and Pop Culture
Military, Police and Racing
Chapter 6: Shovelhead Era – 1966–1984
The Motor Company
The Chassis
The Powertrain
People and Pop Culture
Military, Police and Racing
Chapter 7: Evolution Era – 1984–1998
The Motor Company
The Chassis
The Powertrain
People and Pop Culture
Military, Police and Racing
Chapter 8: Twin Cam Era – 1999 to Present
The Motor Company
The Chassis
The Powertrain
People and Pop Culture
Military, Police and Racing
This book is dedicated to my grandfather, Don Stroika, who passed his life-long love of anything with an engine on to me. We never had much in common until I was 16 and got my first car, a Cadillac DeVille, which is what he had been driving since he was 16 and bought a 1929 Caddy as his first car.
Our