On this episode of Rottler Featured Series, join us at one of America’s premier auto racing engine building, rebuilding, testing, design and development facilities, Ed Pink Racing Engines in Van Nuys, California.

EPRE conducts engine design and development on a large variety of engines. Recent projects include a 2 valve 4 cylinder 2.7-liter methanol fueled racing engine and 4 valve engines developed for off road truck racing.

Other engine projects at EPRE vary from the rebuilding and updating of 900 hp turbocharged race engine for GTP vintage racing, Cosworth DF Formula One and Indy engines, and Cosworth XD Indy engine for vintage racing. They’ve also done the design evaluation of a motorcycle engine and contributed to the development of road racing engines for use in South America.

To get all this work done, EPRE depends in a trio of Rottler machines, including an S7M surfacer (now the S85 series), an F67A CNC (now the F69A), and an EM69HP CNC Engine Machining center. According to head machinist Gianni Jeong, these machines have allowed them to double their weekly output while producing work that meets, and often exceeds, manufacturer specs.

We’re pleased to play our part in this legendary shop’s story!

Rottler Equipment in the Shop

For this episode of Rottler Featured Series, we’re in Bellingham, Washington at LKQ Remanufacturing, part of the LKQ Corporation family. LKQ is a global leader providing alternative aftermarket, specialty salvage and recycled auto parts and services to repair and accessorize vehicles.

Speaking with Production Manager, Anthony Coomes, we learned the suite of Rottler machines on his factory floor are key to reducing labor costs while improving quality and efficiency.

LKQ has a dozen of our systems in his operation running the gamut from valve refacers, surfacers and seat cutters, to our H85AXY hones, and the F69A multi-purpose CNC for boring and surfacing.

Coomes told us that he really likes his Rottler lineup because they’re easy to learn, accurate, and one person can run several machines simultaneously, which keeps his costs under control and ensures top notch work product.

For our part, we’re pleased to be working with LKQ because of their commitment to sustainability and practices that renew and extend the life of key automotive components, keeping them on the road and out of the landfill.

For this episode of the Rottler Featured Series we’re in Kathleen, Georgia to see Brian Anderson owner of AnderFab Machine.

AnderFab is a general purpose and performance machine shop taking on jobs from single cylinder engines all the way up to 959 Pro nitrous motors. One of the secrets to the variety of work this small business handles is its impressive line-up of Rottler equipment.

They put their first machine, a F69 multipurpose machining center, in the shop back in 2021. Since then, they’ve added a H85A vertical hone, the EM69HP engine machining center, a VR12 refacer, and a SG9MTS valve seat and guide machine.

Anderson told us that his “arsenal” of Rottler equipment allows them to be more productive because they can tackle a whole bunch of jobs all at once. And it’s not just the quality of the work the machines do that he likes. “[Rottler’s] support and follow-through were a huge decision maker,” he said.

We asked Chris Barrier, one of AnderFab’s machinists, which machine he felt was the biggest gamer changer and he answered without hesitation, the H85A hone. Because it’s fully automatic, he can set it up and walk away to work on something else while “the hone does its thing.”

High quality work, greater productivity, and happy customers. That’s what we like to hear. Check out their video!

For episode 35 of the Rottler Featured Series, we’re in Groton, Connecticut to see Gary Espinoza, owner of the legendary machine shop Larry’s Auto Machine where they offer all levels of engine building, from mild to 1150HP blown pump gas hemi.

Gary got into the business in 1988 and he’s never just wanted to build engines, he wants to build engines that win races. Not surprisingly, is engines have done that over 1,700 times. It doesn’t matter what the race application is either — circle track, drag, boat, you name it — and there’s a vehicle power by a Larry’s Auto Machine-built engine winning it.

One of the interesting things about Gary and crew is that these guys for the most part learned their trade hands-on. None of them had any experience in operating a CNC machine. So, when they got their first Rottler machine (an F68A) and found that it, like them, works in inches and has touch screen controls that even a novice can use, they knew they’d made a great choice.

These days the shop floor at Larry’s looks a lot like a Rottler show floor. In addition to the F68 multi-purpose CNC (now upgraded to F69 capabilities), they’ve also got an H85A automatic hone, an S85 surfacer, an SG9HP seat & guide machine, and an EM69HP engine machining center for those seriously high horsepower applications.

Gary’s guys will tell you that their suite of Rottler machines give them the kind of power and productivity you can’t get anywhere else. Machinist Anthony Franco told us there are days where he’s “honing, decking, porting, boring, and doing a valve job all at the same time” thanks to Rottler’s “set it and let it run” automation.

Ultimately, what sets an engine built by Larry’s Auto Machine apart from others is their ability to find engineering advantages in small places and be able to leverage them into big performance gains. “In truth,” Garys says “this business would not be as successful as it is without Rottler.”

We couldn’t be prouder to call Larry’s Auto Machine a customer and partner. Check out the video!

In this episode of the Rottler Featured Series we went to Muscatine, Iowa, home of Shepherd Engine Development. There we met up with owner Jim Shepherd to see the secrets behind his race-winning engine builds.

Jim’s been building performance engines since the late 1990’s with work in NASCAR, drag (especially drag and drive), and especially, dirt late model, both open and spec.

Rottler plays a central role in Jim engine building. His shop features an H85AX hone and an F60 series machining center, a pair of machines he’s pleased to say can be run at the same time by a single person.

We’re extremely proud to have Shepherd Engine Development as part of the Rottler family. Check out his video!

On episode 21 of the Rottler Featured Series we went to Mullins Race Engines in Mt Olive, Illinois.

There we met with owner Chase Mullins to get a tour and see how he uses Rottler machines to build 7-to-8 race winning engines a week.

Mullins has been a Rottler customer since the 1990s and currently employs two F69As, two S80 series surfacers, an H85A hone, and a spanking new SG series seat and guide machine.

With his Rottler equipment Mullins’ shop not only builds winning engines, but also CNCs custom parts with the speed and precision that makes the shop a leader in North America.

Check out the video!

Join us in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma this week where we’re visiting Ben Rice, owner of Buddy Rice Precision Engine.

Ben’s grandfather started the business back in 1945, pursuing his interest in racing. These days the company rebuilds engines for the cars you see every day on the street.

With the help of his suite of Rottler equipment – an F69A automatic machining center, an H85A vertical hone, an S85 surfacer, and an SG9MTS seat & guide machine – Ben and his guys are taking old engines and making them like new once again.

Ben tells us he runs his Rottler equipment all day every day because it performs leaps and bounds above any other equipment – even for difficult to hone blocks like Wisconsin engines.

Check out Ben Rice’s and his family-run shop’s story!

Roush Yates-built Ford engines win the NASCAR Cup Series title three years in a row

We here at Rottler Manufacturing are pleased to share that Roush Yates Engines, a Rottler partner since 2012, has powered Team Penske and Joey Logano to win the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship!

This win marks the first time that Ford has won the NASCAR Cup Series title three years in a row (Logano in 2022, Blaney in 2023, and Logano in 2024) and the first time that has been achieved by Team Penske. Logano is the first Ford driver to win at least three Cup Series championships and the 10th driver in NASCAR history, joining fellow three-time winners Tony Stewart, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, David Pearson and Lee Petty; four-time champion Jeff Gordon; and seven-time titleholders Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.

As we celebrate this amazing achievement, we would like to thank Roush Yates Engines for allowing Rottler and our F69A automatic machining centers and H85AXY vertical honing machines to play a vital role in its success. Knowing that our equipment is a key part of every Ford NASCAR engine they build fills us with a sense of immense pride and accomplishment.

Here’s to more shared victories and continued success in the future!

More About the Roush Yates – Rottler Partnership

Rottler Featured Series: Roush Yates Engines

Roush Yates Engines – Rottler Manufacturing Partnership Announcement

For episode 17 of the Rottler Featured Series we’re off to Troy, Missouri to see Joe Creason of Creason Racing Engines. Joe gives us a tour of the shop where he builds championship-winning engines for everything from drag and truck pulls to dirt track racing.

While we’re there we also get to see Joe’s collection of Rottler equipment including his F69 machining center, his S80 surfacer and SG seat & guide machine, as well as his shiny, new H85AX hone.

Joe also gives us a glimpse of his Engine Master-winning engine from 2017, which he built entirely with Rottler equipment.

Ask Joe why he relies on Rottler equipment and he’ll tell you, he’s got a production mindset and that means time is money. With Rottler in his shop he has the confidence that not a minute or dollar will be wasted.

Check out his video!

For episode 8 of the Rottler featured series, we head on down to Mooresville, NC to see Todd English at Roush Yates Engines.

Todd and his team have over 450 race wins (including 375 NASCAR wins), and Rottler has been there since day one. And, while they have a whole suite of Rottler machinery, Todd specifically credits the Rottler F69A Programmable Automatic Machining Center as key to their win at Le Mans.

Check out the story!