Stuart Hilborn (9 October 1917 – 16 December 2013), was born in Calgary, Canada. Hilborn was an automotive engineer. He became interested in amateur racing on dry lake beds before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. After the war, he began experimenting with ideas for mechanical
fuel injection
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All comp ...
, and tested them on his own race cars. Only a few years later, his injectors were adopted by professional racers with notable success, including the first to break the 150-mile-per-hour mark. Starting in 1949, Hilborn-equipped cars claimed dozens of victories at the Indianapolis circuit.
Hilborn eventually started a company to sell his injection systems to the public, which became popular with the
hot rod
Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...
ders of the 1950s and 1960s. A classic mechanical Hilborn injection system is recognizable by its distinctive flared
velocity stack
A velocity stack, '' 'trumpet, or air horn, is a trumpet-shaped device of differing lengths which is fitted to the air entry of an engine's intake system, carburetor or fuel injection.
It is unrelated to the noise maker or signaling air horn.
...
intake pipes, rising straight up from each cylinder, flared at the open top, and usually polished or plated for a bright, shiny finish. Today, that company continues to provide performance products including mechanical and electronic fuel injection systems.
Hilborn was inducted into the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Hall of Fame, as well as the HOT ROD Magazine Speed Parts Hall of Fame for the first Mechanical Hydrogen Fuel Injection.
[Freiburger, Davi]
Stuart Hilborn of Hilborn Fuel Injection - Where It All Began
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References
External links
Hilborn Injection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hilborn, Stuart
People from Calgary
1917 births
2013 deaths
Automotive engineers
Canadian expatriates in the United States