Video: Historic Ed Pink Racing Engines Shop Tour Before Demolition

One thing that is constant in Southern California is change. You can visit places yearly, and every time you’re there, things are different. Things have been torn down, different things have been built, and everything changes. However, one of the fixtures in Van Nuys, California has been the Ed Pink Racing Engines shop. Since 1965 — that’s 57 years — Pink has been building his masterpieces of internal combustion out of that shop.

While the building isn’t where he built his first engine, it has been an absolute fixture both in the neighborhood and the performance engine world. The reason the city has decided to tear down the building? The 2028 Olympics will be coming to Los Angeles, and they need the land for a bus terminal. “The city is going to take over the entire city block,” says Pink. “So far, they haven’t given us a date yet, but we’re looking for a new building. We’re still at the original location for now.”

The upside is that the company the 92 year-old founded so many decades ago isn’t folding up shop, or even slowing down, as Ed Pink Racing Engines makes preparations for a move. But, with almost six-decades of history preparing to be leveled, what better time for a shop tour than now? Pink opened his doors to Total Seal’s Lake Speed, Jr. and Mitchell Stapleton of the popular Stapelton42 YouTube channel for a complete shop tour.

While he might have started with a borrowed dyno and a team of three to watch the analog gauges while he made a pull with an engine, these days, he has a completely modern SuperFlow dyno setup with all the bells and whistles, able to test engines in a variety of situations.

The shop has come a long way in the past 57 years, from a few machines and a dyno on loan from Vic Edelbrock, to a full-service machine shop with modern in-house engine testing equipment. Fortunately, it’s only moving thanks to the property issue, and will be operating at its new location sometime in the future. Whether that’s sooner or later depends on how fast the city moves and how quickly they can secure a new location.

Regardless, take a few minutes to watch the full video above, to not only get a look at the infamous shop space, but hear some of Pink’s stories from his 60-plus-year career. It’s well worth your time.

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Greg Acosta

Greg has spent twenty years and counting in automotive publishing, with most of his work having a very technical focus. Always interested in how things work, he enjoys sharing his passion for automotive technology with the reader.
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