Watch a Homebuilt V-12 Roar to Life and Put 661 HP to the Wheels

Pete Aardema and Kevin Braun scheme up and build amazing engines for their land speed race car, which has taken on El Mirage and the Bonneville Salt Flats. We’ve toured their Southern California shop and were amazed by the feats of hot-rodding invention as they built a 6.0-liter V-12 from scratch. We don’t visit as much as we’d like, but thankfully, Greg Quirin has been keeping close tabs on their racing and engine-building exploits, chronicling the successes and setbacks in video form. The latest video shows the fabrication of a 5.0-liter V-12 that will enable the team to compete in a separate class.

The engine begins with a fabricated engine block made from aluminum. Billet main caps are welded to box tubing that hold iron cylinder sleeves. When Aardema first explained it to us, it seemed too simple, although plenty of precision machining was required to make it all happen.

The video delves into the difficulties of making long V-12 camshafts from scratch, some of the interesting internal machining of the one-off aluminum block, and machining valve reliefs in the pistons. Quirin, who fabricated the wiring harness for the V-12, asks some great questions as the video chronicles the progress of the build, giving us some insight into the thought process that went into creating this unique powerplant. Watch as it fires up while mounted in the lakester it will eventually propel along the salt, and listen to its roar as it makes some dyno runs. Even with the limits of the dyno, which can’t run faster than 200mph, the 303-cubic-inch V-12 bested the output of the team’s previous LT5-based engine, putting 661 hp to the wheels. With more engine speed left and a rising power curve, things are looking promising for the 5.0-liter mill.

If this doesn’t make you want to go see some land speed racing for yourself, we don’t know what will! We plan on being at Speed Week again this year. Hopefully, we’ll have news of this innovative machine as it takes a shot at the record.