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.

1967 NHRA Nationals Drag Race – Indianapolis. Don Prudhomme joined with Lou Baney and Ed Pink to create the striped Baney-Prudhomme Ford 427 SOHC dragster.

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.