This 1/4 scale Riggle midget race car was designed and built by Jim Riggle, of North Dakota, in the mid-1980s. Jim made the patterns and molds for this 4-cylinder, water-cooled, DOHC mono-block engine. It sports pressurized dry sump lubrication, 2 valves per cylinder, a peristaltic oil pump, a water pump, a fuel pump, and it burns methanol on spark ignition. The engine proved to produce 4.5 hp at 15,500 revolutions per minute on a dynamometer. He also produced the chassis and Midget car body, which provided the perfect platform to test his new engine. It has many hours of racing time and could break the rear tires free at almost any speed.
Note the detailed interior with wooden steering wheel and machined transmission. The suspension and roll cage are also designed along the lines of the popular Midget race car class that has been in competition since the 1930’s or so, and is still a popular event at 1/4 and 1/2 mile dirt tracks around the USA. This scale model car is 37″-long, 16″-wide, 12″-high, and weighs 31 lbs. Watch an older video of Jim running the engine in his 1/4 scale race car below.
