Speedway Motors Museum of American Speed
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        • 272 ci Miller DOHC v-16
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        • Rodeck 406 Engine
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        • 1915 Wilbee V-8 Engine
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        • Hudson Twin H-Power 6 Cylinder
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        • Robert Roof
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      • Speedway Motors Drivers >
        • Jan Opperman
        • Doug Wolfgang
        • Joe Saldana
        • Cheryl Glass
        • Tiny Lund
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        • Don Brown
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        • Bob Coulter
        • Tim Schulz
        • Grady Wade
        • Larry Dickson
        • Howdy Williams
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        • Don Droud Jr.
        • Frank Brennfoerder
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   Born in Munich Germany on October 24, 1901, Charley Voelker later settled in Detroit where he was introduced to racing by working as a mechanic on sprint cars. 1930 found him as a mechanic on Abe Jenkins “Marmon Meteor” which set a 24-hour endurance record at the Salt Flats.
​
   Lockheed Aircraft employed Charley as a layout designer where he was involved in the design of the first low wing monoplane during the years 1930-33. Also in 1933 Volker served as a mechanic on the Graf Zeppelin when it made a record non-stop flight from Germany to Akron, Ohio and then to Chicago that was hosting the World’s Fair.

     From 1934 on, Voelker was self-employed as the owner of Voelker Engine Company in Detroit. He designed, machined and built transmissions, gearboxes, and engine components such as crankshafts, pistons, connecting rods, etc. for such renowned racing people as Lou Moore, Rex Mays, Mauri Rose, Frank Lockart, Dutch Kline, Lew Welch of the Novis, and Jim Hurtubise. Voelker had teamed with Louis Meyer for his 1933 and ‘36 Indianapolis victories by building his engine components.
   1936 found Charley Voelker designing and building one of the first quick change rear ends for race cars. When viewing an engine built by Voelker, noticed the name on the engine is “Voelker Engine”. It seems that a pattern maker spelled his name wrong on the engine and it stayed that way.
An example of Charley’s workmanship and devotion to his work is demonstrated by the following incident. Rex Mays had qualified his car for the Indianapolis 500 mile race and on a subsequent tear down he found a crack in the crankshaft. Charley was contacted and asked if he could machine a new crank and have it ready for the race the following week. 
​
   Charley not only had it machined in three days, but he delivered the crank personally and helped install it in the race car.
​One of the high points of Charley Voelker’s career came in 1939 when teaming up with boat owner Harold Wilson, as engine designer and mechanic. They won the Presidents Cup Race on the Potomac River with “Miss Canada III” and were presented the award personally by President Roosevelt in the White House.
  • Charles Voelker was from Detroit and became involved with racing by working on sprint cars in the 1920s.
  • In 1930 he worked on Ab Jenkins “Mormon Meteor” which set a 24-hour record at Bonneville.
  • Voelker also designed 4 and 12 cylinder engines.

Block Mfg.: Voelker
Material: Cast aluminum pieces                       Cylinders: 6           
Heads: Voelker 
Material: Cast aluminum pieces                       Cam design: Dual Overhead Cams (DOHC)  
Cam drive: Gear driven
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  • Home
  • About
    • History
  • Displays
    • Vehicles >
      • Open Wheel >
        • 1935 Miller-Ford
        • Mechanical Rabbit
        • Johnny Lightning Special
        • #8 Blue Crown Spark Plug Special
        • #45 “The Pup” Champ Car
        • Wolfgang #4 Sprint Car
        • #4 LeFevre Dirt Champ Car
        • Opperman's 4x Sprint Car
        • #1 Dunseth Sprint Car
        • #5 Randol Offy
        • 4x Sedan
        • Wolfgang 4x Sprint car
        • 4x Offset Roadster
        • #43 Christie Miller
        • #57 Plymouth STP
        • Blue Crown Special
        • Tamale Wagon
        • #11 Kinser Sprint Car
        • #1 Kodiak Special
        • Channel-Lock Special
        • Stealth Special
        • Andy Gump Sprint Car
        • #94 Kenny Weld Sprint Car
        • Black Deuce
        • #1 Delrose Holt Silver Crown
        • #30 P.O.B Sprint Car
      • Indy Pit >
        • #54 Chicago Rawhide Special
        • #81 Central Excavating Special
        • 1914 Cornelian
      • Music Room >
        • Lively Set Car
      • Bill's Garage >
        • 1953 Corvette
        • Hedy Lamarr's 1958 Cadillac
        • 1920 Model T Ford Hot Rod
        • Lady Luck T-Bucket
        • 1949 Kurtis Sports Car
        • Jack Beck's Alfa Romeo
        • 8 Ball Hudson
        • Ariel Square Four Motorcycle
        • Turbine Powered Daytona Boss
        • 2003 Honest Charley's Flathead Motorcycle
        • #2 Harley-Davidson Motorcycle
        • Coors Extra Gold "32
        • The Dale Car
      • Land Speed >
        • MacKichan-Schulz Streamliner
        • Rossi's 1927 T Cosworth
        • Eelco Wee Eel II
        • #494 Model A Streamliner
        • #43 Creel Streamliner
        • Ron Main's Flatfire Streamliner
        • HAL Dry Lakes Roadster
        • Art Gerrick's Dry Lakes Car
        • 1933 Chevy Streamliner
      • Safety >
        • Jack Petty Ford
      • Show Cars >
        • Bergler's 'More Aggravation'
        • Red Baron
        • 1934 "Sweet Dreams" Ford Roadster
        • "Big Daddy" Roth's Outlaw Tribute
        • 1937 Studebaker Extremeliner
        • Boothill Express
        • Fahrner's X-Ray Roadster
        • Goldbrick
        • Venus
        • Zausner & Moal Speedway Special
      • Luxury Cars >
        • Tucker
        • Duesenberg Model J
        • Essence of Bucciali
      • Legends in Racing >
        • '65 Mustang GT
        • Shelby Series 1 Roadster
        • Pumpkin Seed
      • Dragsters >
        • GMC Dragter
        • Tony Nancy Wedge II
        • 303 Roadtser
        • Smaldino & Yates "Fargo" Dragster
        • E.J. Potter's "Whizzer" Drag Bike
      • NASCAR >
        • #21 Pearson Mercury
        • #26 Curtis Turner 1956 Ford Sunliner
        • 1956 Pontiac Sedan
        • Robert Yates Racing Ford
        • #9 Kasey Kahne
      • Le Mans >
        • Cadillac LMP Le Mans Prototype
      • Model T >
        • Montier Ford
        • 5 Millionth Ford
        • Lloyd Fisher Fronty Race Car & Hauler
        • #6 Voboril Brothers
        • Craig-Hunt T-Powered Race Car
        • The Galvanized Bullet
        • Twin-Engine Model T Speedster
        • Spruce Deuce
        • Mercury Speedster
        • Edsel's Hot Rod
        • Fronty-Ford #27
        • 1908 REO
        • 1886 Benz Replica
        • 1912 Indian Board Track Racer
      • Model A and B >
        • ​1931 Model A Coupe
        • Hy-Point Special
        • Red Devil Pickup
      • Flathead Ford V-8 >
        • 1950's Roaring Roadster
      • Orphan Engines (Misc.) >
        • #26 Miller Fertilizer Special
        • #60 Super Modified
        • Arnold's Auto Wrecking Jalopy
        • #2 Ranger Sprint Car
      • Quarter Midgets >
        • Micro-Sprint #95
        • 1959 Moss (1/2) Midget
        • TQ Midget
        • Offyette Quarter Midget
        • Elvis's Quarter Midget
        • Dreyer Junior Racers
        • #8 June Bug
      • Midget Racers >
        • Lloyd Axel #5
        • Edmunds-Sesco Midget
        • #97 Henderson
        • #46 Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser
        • #1 Edmunds-Kenyen
        • #10 Lynch Offy
        • #1 Bardahl Special
        • #4 Ramada Inn Offy
        • #76 Honker
        • #4 Rex Mays Offy
        • #44 Ed's Auto V8-60
        • Lewis-Yeley Midget
        • Wilke-Pak Mopar
        • #8 Reichenbach SESCO Midget
        • #78 Red Caruthers Midget
    • Engines >
      • Miller Room >
        • 272 ci Miller DOHC v-16
        • 1932 Miller 308 c.i. DOHC V-8
        • 1953 Studebaker DOHC V-8
        • Miller DOHC 200 c.i. 4 Cylinder engine
      • Open Wheel >
        • Moser
        • Rodeck 406 Engine
        • 220 Offenhauser
        • Robert Roof SOHC
        • Rajo-Lencki 4
        • Gallivan DOHC
        • 1913 Chalmers
        • Plymouth Weslake
        • Voelker 6
        • Foyt DOHC Indy Engine
      • Indy Pit >
        • 2002 Toyota RV8F CART engine
        • Cosworth DFX Indy Engine
        • Mercedes Indy Engine
        • Brayton V-8 Indy Engine
        • Drake V8
        • Fronty-Ford "DO" Engine
        • 1935 Studebaker Straight-8
        • Fueling Oldsmobile Indy Engine
        • Weslake Chevy Conversion
        • Gurney-Eagle Ford Indy Engine
        • Supercharged Offy 110
      • Bill's Garage >
        • 1915 Wilbee V-8 Engine
      • Land Speed >
        • Ron Main's Flat Fire
        • MacKichan-Schulz 302 CID Chevrolet
      • Luxury Car Engines >
        • 1930 Cadillac V-16
      • Legends in Racing >
        • Yunick Twin Turbo
      • Model T >
        • HAL Akron-Hed
      • Model A and B >
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      • Flathead Ford V-8 >
        • V-8 60 Ardun OHV Conversion Display
        • Tornado OHV Conversion
        • Robertson Flathead
        • V-8 Ford Birner
        • Ford Alexander
      • Orphan Engines (Misc.) >
        • Hudson Twin H-Power 6 Cylinder
        • 1923 Chevrolet Series M
        • Sweet 16 Chevrolet
        • Hispano-Suiza Engine
        • 1911 Reynolds Rotary Valve 4-Cyl. Engine
        • Alfa Romeo Twin Cam Engine
        • Bugatti Type B Engine
        • Scheel Rotary Valve Head
        • The "Cheater" Manifold
        • Chevy Twin Turbo
      • Midget Racers >
        • SESCO Engines
        • V-4 Cylinder Chevrolet Wilson
        • 2-Cylinder Offy
        • Stapp Engine
        • SCAT Engine
        • V-8 Cylinder Oldsmobile 215
        • Popp SOHC
        • Marchese DOHC
        • Simonek Engine
    • People >
      • Famous Builders >
        • A.J. Watson
        • Harry A. Miller
        • Ed Iskendarian
        • Stu Hilborn
        • Mickey Thompson
        • Smokey Yunick
        • Carroll Shelby
        • Vic Edelbrock Sr.
        • Robert Roof
        • Leo Goossen
      • Speedway Motors Drivers >
        • Jan Opperman
        • Doug Wolfgang
        • Joe Saldana
        • Cheryl Glass
        • Tiny Lund
        • Lloyd Beckman
        • Cliff Sealock
        • Don Brown
        • Keith Hightshoe
        • Bob Coulter
        • Tim Schulz
        • Grady Wade
        • Larry Dickson
        • Howdy Williams
        • Jay Woodside
        • John Wilkinson
        • Ray Lee Goodwin
        • Don Droud Jr.
        • Frank Brennfoerder
        • Woody Brinkman
        • Bill Utz
        • Ed Bowes
        • Harold Leep
        • Thad Dosher
        • Roy Bryant
        • Dick Sutcliffe
        • Don Maxwell
        • Danny Wallace
        • Lonnie Jensen
        • Jerry Stone
        • John Gerloff
        • Bob Burdick
        • Shane Carson
        • John Larson
        • Ed Leavitt
        • John MacKichan
        • Bill Smith
        • Greg Weld
        • Gordon Woolley
        • Kyle Berck
    • Toys, Etc. >
      • Buck Rogers
      • Lunch Boxes
      • Pedal Cars
      • Tether Cars
      • Soap Box Derby
      • Cookie Jars
      • Car Mascots
      • Taxi
      • Car Club Plaques
    • Safety Display
  • Events
    • Cars & Coffee
    • Speedsters Trials & Reunion
    • Plan Your Event
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Membership
  • Contact
  • Visit
    • Harvest Hosts
    • School Field Trips
    • FAQ
  • Shop