Good morning Panic.
I think the point of using out of the ordinary engines is to be creative and have fun. Here's an article that mentions Bob Stahl of Huntington Beach, California.
https://www.deseretnews.com/article...dream-of-perfect-slippery-race-cars.htmlI know him because he's a very close neighbor of one of my sons. Bob has an unblown VW bug engine powered VW bug that has run over 159 MPH on the Bonneville salt flats. He has a modest home machine shop with the basics, lathe, milling machine and welders. Using those basic tools to make everything for his engine but the heads and crankshaft and parts for the chassis/body to make it safe at those speeds he has had great success and continues to improve his performance.
Bonneville and the California dry lakes are among the last refuge of home built race cars because other forms of racing have been taken over by the big spenders and corporate entities. It is nothing short of amazing to see what home fabricators continue to bring to Bonneville and the dry lakes. Each year my buddy who runs at Bonneville buys me a souvenir photo calendar and you'd be really impressed at the variety of the creations that run there, how good they look and how fast they go. They vary from Studebaker pickup trucks to streamliners. In drag racing a top fuel run is over now in 3 seconds and change and the sportsman classes (gas coupes and sedans, altereds, street roadsters, etc) are long gone.
