Ed Pink Racing Engines forced to find new location
Ed Pink Racing Engines, the shop that has been building race-winning engines of all kinds since the 1960s, is being forced to look for another location after the City of Los Angeles announced plans to demolish several buildings as part of a project to build transportation infrastructure needed for the 2028 Summer Olympics. The location on Raymer Avenue, in Van Nuys, California, has been the home of Ed Pink Racing Engines since 1965.
The YouTube channel Stapleton42 recently got a tour of the soon-to-be-demolished facility from Ed Pink himself. The video shows the various departments in the shop, from parts receiving and inspection to engine disassembly, machining, assembly, and dyno testing. Pink has an encyclopedic memory of the history of the shop and highlights some beautiful engines spanning a remarkable variety of motorsports.
When asked by Stapleton42 about a timeline for the expected move, Pink replied, “So far they haven’t given us a date yet. We’re looking for a building.” We’re hoping that the shop can find a suitable location. There are numerous industrial areas dotted along the San Fernando Valley on either side of the train tracks that run northwest to southeast across the Valley, so with any luck, they won’t have to go far.
A few years ago, we spotlighted Ed Pink Racing Engines and the sonorous flat-six Porsche powerplant it builds for Singer.
The San Fernando Valley was, and still is, an epicenter of motorsports and custom car fabrication. Today there’s Icon, where fantastic restomods of all kinds are crafted, and Armada Engineering, where the Baja-racing Boot is built for Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus. Valley Head Service is another Valley speed shop that has endured the test of time, but other shops have come and gone. Drag racers Dick Landy and Don Prudhomme used to call the Valley home, and their garages have long since been repurposed. The last time we stopped by Prudhomme’s old address, it was a toy distributor. So, as much as we hate to see such a landmark of motorsports relocated, the work that Ed Pink Racing Engines has done spans far beyond Van Nuys, and even if the shop doesn’t build another engine, which it surely will, Ed Pink’s legacy will last for generations. After all, it’s not the building that’s special; it’s the mastery and metalwork from those who have worked there, both past and present.
Few names carry more impact in the drag racing world than Ed Pink. He’s in a class of people on which the modern drags are built. It may be true that the actual building isn’t all that important, but that is also kind of like saying that Constitution Hall isn’t as important as what took place in it. Certainly true, but the historical value of places shouldn’t just be mindlessly tossed aside in the name of progress.
Wherever you land, Mr. Pink, THANK YOU for helping give multiple generations of racers and race fans so much!
That was the sire of many historic things. All to be torn down for a Bus Stop.
This is an absolute crime!
This is a common theme over the last 30 years. Unfortunately cities are short cited and have no respect for the past. Tear it down and “build back better” this shit makes my stomach turn. I owned an Ed Pink engine years ago and now I wish I never sold it. Wherever Ed goes magic will follow, but it’s still a shame. For this very reason I’m voting with my feet and heading to Arizona! Good luck Ed!
North Carolina will welcome Ed Pink Racing Engines any day!
Being torn down for the 2028 Olympics. The Olympics is the biggest fraud on taxpayers and citizens anywhere in the world it is done. So much money and wasted effort for something that often gets abandoned after it is done.
Ed Pink should move out of California since he has to move anyway. We love go fast stuff in Texas.
I’m surprised he’s stayed there this long; except for a few places – who are essentially printing money with their success – most race shops & the craftsmen of history have moved on. Some saw the writing on the wall as early as the ’80s. The combination of regulation, taxes, expenses, and land values has rendered the racer’s & hot-rodder’s paradise of the mid-20th Century a fond but distant memory.
I expect Edlebrook will also go away since it is no longer owned by the family anymore. Another loss to California, once considered the home of the hot rod industry.
Stop funding people that hate you.
what a joy to watch this video of a man who is a legend in motorsports racing, and when you hear the guys who work there speak of their employer you know that ed pink treats people right, what a testament to an amazing guy, i hope ed you live to be 220 years old
Few names associated with drag racing and high performance engine building are as legendary as Ed Pink. Hoping he finds a building and continues to be a force in the industry for years to come.
Portrayed by Steve Buscemi in that old Tarantino movie right? Or maybe I’m not as clever as I think.