Originally Posted by
LIQUID NIRVANA
INITIAL POWER DEVELOPMENT
An engine was built and mounted on a old twin engine Molinari racing tunnel. We took it to our Florida test base in Stuart and ran up and down the Indian River above the locks. The engine performed well and was cruising in excess of 100 MPH even though we weren’t pushing things. The first day went fine without incident. About half way thru the second day, the driver got it too high out of corner and blew it over backwards. The water was only 10 ft deep so the motor end went to the bottom and the front stuck out of the water. We could not see the driver and feared he was stuck in the boat under water. Jack Leek and I were in the chase boat and started immediately to the crash sight. Unfortunately, we didn’t even get on plane and the engine quit. Franticly we tried to figure out what was wrong and restart the engine. We had run out of gas! After quickly changing tanks we rushed to the sight. On the way there I stripped down to my skivvies ready to dive in and rescue the driver. The day before we had seen a 12 ft alligator lying on the shore but today he wasn’t there. All I could think on the way to the crash site was diving into the water and having that alligator show up. As we got closer we saw Rich bobbing behind the boat. The front of the boat sticking out of the water had blocked our view of him. I dove in and grabbed Rick. He was mad as a hornet, but not hurt.
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