David Vizard my interview.
Turbo Mini Forums

After recieving an intriguing email from Mr V some months back & exchanging a few back & forth I actually recieved a phone call from the man himself. Sure made a dull week all the brighter !
We chatted for a good while, mostly about the A-Series & Minis as you'd expect.
Anyway David took some of his time to answer a few other questions I had, so here's short interview for you. I suspect we may see him on here sometime soon ........
Enjoy !

DV Interview.

1} With all the products that have been/are available & the development work that has been carried out for the A-Series engine over the decades, do you think there are many gains left to be made to extract more power?


DV Well Phil it depends on which direction you look technically. For instance how much more is to be gained from 4 valve heads for the A Series. How much more if we limit things to 5 port heads. What about turbo's - a subject obviously close to your heart. Right now my biggest fascinations are in the direction of turbo motors and 5 port headed engines. I really want to build a turbo 'A' Series as i have a lot of hi-tech turbo stuff that I have not used and I am sure it would result in more power per lb of boost. On the 5 port front I am still driven to make 150 hp from a 5 porter for 1300 cc class racing.


2} If there are still gains to be made, in which area do you think the biggest achievements can, or will be made?


DV If that question is directed toward turbo stuff I would be asking you so let's stick with the N/A 5 port stuff for the moment. The down and dirty answer in terms of 5 porters is that the principle gains are all in 3 predominant area's. These are cylinder head development, and that has by no means topped out, valve trains and friction reduction.

3} With all the years you’ve been involved in developing engines, how do you manage to keep yourself focused & driven to continue working so hard?


DV Imagine you are a sex maniac except your focus is engines instead!

4} With all the things you’ve achieved in your life is there any one thing that stands out that you’re most proud of?

DV If I can change 'proud of' to something similar like 'really pleased about' then I can be very specific here. In my 50 plus year career I have been rich and poor, on top of the world and down in the dumps. Every time it has been the poor and down scenario I have been overwhelmed by how many good friends I have that go so very far beyond that extra mile.


5} Are there any things you would still like to achieve?


DV Yes I would like to see my youngest daughter succeed in motor racing. She has inherited the skill to drive and has the courage to tackle anything that comes her way on the track. What does worry me is whether she fully understands just how much effort it takes to succeed in the big league. As of now she has her sights set on being a Pro Stock drag race champ. At 16 years old she has had the opportunity to drive racers that will top 180 in the quarter mile. Now I have to say that sort of speed is a little scary for most people but for her it seemed little more than ho-hum.

6} What was your first car, & when did you own it ?


DV A 1956 Austin A 30 that I and my brother got in 1959.

7} What would you consider you’re most valuable/essential tool in your workshop ?

DV - In order of importance - dyno, flow bench, seat and guide machine, mill, lathe, porting tools and grinding bench, computer for engineering purposes (I have absolutely zero games on my computer - it's all business - that is if you can call playing with race engines all day business) computer for word processing and editorial production.

8} What’s the most powerful engine you’ve had the pleasure of working on ?


DV About 1800 to 1850 hp was a one time deal but I have built several engines in excess of 1500 hp.

9} What was the first engine you modified & when did you do it ?


DV That would have be the two stroke motor of one of those little bicycle 'Power Pack' deals. It was about 50 cc and that would have been about 1957 ish.

10} If you don’t already own it, what would be your dream car/cars ?


DV I glad you said cars here so I don't have to make a confined choice. Given such a choice of say 4 cars my first would be a true touring capable 'A' Series powered Mini, next a 427 King Cobra, a hopped up crew cab Ford diesel truck for towing the racer and the latest supercharged Cadillac CTS Sports Coupe (0-60 in 3.9 seconds with a computer limited 165 mph top speed (soon fix that computer) for my wife to drive me in on cross country trips. (she is great chauffeur - fast and smooth).

11} Is there any one thing you would consider essential to a good engine build ?

DV Cost effective reliability.

12} What do you think you would be doing if you’d never got into engine development & the pursuit of horsepower ?


DV I have often thought of that. My answer here is that a life without race cars is hardly a life. I would have probably died at an early age due to incurable boredom.

13} What would be the first thing you would do if today was your last day?


DV I see the point of your question here and the reality is I would spent it with the people most precious to me but the day before that -- win the Daytona 500.

14} As you were originally based in England, what was the reason for your move to the USA ?


DV There are many reasons why i wanted to move to the US but ultimately I was pretty much forced to go. I have had bronchial problems since about the age of 6 when I had malaria, dysentery and pneumonia - all in quick succession. This coupled with a respirator failure while grinding cast iron heads about 1968-69 resulted in some pretty sorry lungs. A Mini collector and close friend of mine, Dr. Marcus Gartner was visiting my place in Bishops Cleeve and my coughing caught his attention so he gave me a once over. After doing so he announced that if I did not get into a hot dry climate he would give me about 2 years at best. A few weeks after that the guy that owned HP books based in Tucson, Arizona, turned up on my doorstep and wanted to know if I would like to move to Tucson (located in the Arizona desert) and write a series of books. That move probably saved my life.


15} What initially sparked your interest in cars & making things go faster ?

DV Nothing - I think it's genetic so I was born that way!

For those of you that don't know David will be in the UK in september for a one off seminar at the Swansea university & has altered his usual topics to include more information specific to the A-Series. This is a one off & would be well worth seeing for theose of us chasing the big numbers with the A-Series ! http://www.davidvizardseminars.com/

WWW.TURBO-MINI.COM

Nice one phil!! You didn't ask if he had a sister?

That's my obvious bias but I wonder what he thinks about EFI for the 5-port head.

http://www.jbperf.com/

First car an A30, eh ?

Wonder if he might be interested in tuning the blobule ?.

That is great news that he may come on here. I hope those negative comments that were posted a few days ago about him don't scare him away.

On 8th Jul, 2012 Turbo Phil said:
After recieving an intriguing email from Mr V some months back & exchanging a few back & forth I actually recieved a phone call from the man himself. Sure made a dull week all the brighter !
We chatted for a good while, mostly about the A-Series & Minis as you'd expect.
Anyway David took some of his time to answer a few other questions I had, so here's short interview for you. I suspect we may see him on here sometime soon ........
Enjoy !

DV Interview.

1} With all the products that have been/are available & the development work that has been carried out for the A-Series engine over the decades, do you think there are many gains left to be made to extract more power?


DV Well Phil it depends on which direction you look technically. For instance how much more is to be gained from 4 valve heads for the A Series. How much more if we limit things to 5 port heads. What about turbo's - a subject obviously close to your heart. Right now my biggest fascinations are in the direction of turbo motors and 5 port headed engines. I really want to build a turbo 'A' Series as i have a lot of hi-tech turbo stuff that I have not used and I am sure it would result in more power per lb of boost. On the 5 port front I am still driven to make 150 hp from a 5 porter for 1300 cc class racing.


2} If there are still gains to be made, in which area do you think the biggest achievements can, or will be made?


DV If that question is directed toward turbo stuff I would be asking you so let's stick with the N/A 5 port stuff for the moment. The down and dirty answer in terms of 5 porters is that the principle gains are all in 3 predominant area's. These are cylinder head development, and that has by no means topped out, valve trains and friction reduction.

3} With all the years you’ve been involved in developing engines, how do you manage to keep yourself focused & driven to continue working so hard?


DV Imagine you are a sex maniac except your focus is engines instead!

4} With all the things you’ve achieved in your life is there any one thing that stands out that you’re most proud of?

DV If I can change 'proud of' to something similar like 'really pleased about' then I can be very specific here. In my 50 plus year career I have been rich and poor, on top of the world and down in the dumps. Every time it has been the poor and down scenario I have been overwhelmed by how many good friends I have that go so very far beyond that extra mile.


5} Are there any things you would still like to achieve?


DV Yes I would like to see my youngest daughter succeed in motor racing. She has inherited the skill to drive and has the courage to tackle anything that comes her way on the track. What does worry me is whether she fully understands just how much effort it takes to succeed in the big league. As of now she has her sights set on being a Pro Stock drag race champ. At 16 years old she has had the opportunity to drive racers that will top 180 in the quarter mile. Now I have to say that sort of speed is a little scary for most people but for her it seemed little more than ho-hum.

6} What was your first car, & when did you own it ?


DV A 1956 Austin A 30 that I and my brother got in 1959.

7} What would you consider you’re most valuable/essential tool in your workshop ?

DV - In order of importance - dyno, flow bench, seat and guide machine, mill, lathe, porting tools and grinding bench, computer for engineering purposes (I have absolutely zero games on my computer - it's all business - that is if you can call playing with race engines all day business) computer for word processing and editorial production.

8} What’s the most powerful engine you’ve had the pleasure of working on ?


DV About 1800 to 1850 hp was a one time deal but I have built several engines in excess of 1500 hp.

9} What was the first engine you modified & when did you do it ?


DV That would have be the two stroke motor of one of those little bicycle 'Power Pack' deals. It was about 50 cc and that would have been about 1957 ish.

10} If you don’t already own it, what would be your dream car/cars ?


DV I glad you said cars here so I don't have to make a confined choice. Given such a choice of say 4 cars my first would be a true touring capable 'A' Series powered Mini, next a 427 King Cobra, a hopped up crew cab Ford diesel truck for towing the racer and the latest supercharged Cadillac CTS Sports Coupe (0-60 in 3.9 seconds with a computer limited 165 mph top speed (soon fix that computer) for my wife to drive me in on cross country trips. (she is great chauffeur - fast and smooth).

11} Is there any one thing you would consider essential to a good engine build ?

DV Cost effective reliability.

12} What do you think you would be doing if you’d never got into engine development & the pursuit of horsepower ?


DV I have often thought of that. My answer here is that a life without race cars is hardly a life. I would have probably died at an early age due to incurable boredom.

13} What would be the first thing you would do if today was your last day?


DV I see the point of your question here and the reality is I would spent it with the people most precious to me but the day before that -- win the Daytona 500.

14} As you were originally based in England, what was the reason for your move to the USA ?


DV There are many reasons why i wanted to move to the US but ultimately I was pretty much forced to go. I have had bronchial problems since about the age of 6 when I had malaria, dysentery and pneumonia - all in quick succession. This coupled with a respirator failure while grinding cast iron heads about 1968-69 resulted in some pretty sorry lungs. A Mini collector and close friend of mine, Dr. Marcus Gartner was visiting my place in Bishops Cleeve and my coughing caught his attention so he gave me a once over. After doing so he announced that if I did not get into a hot dry climate he would give me about 2 years at best. A few weeks after that the guy that owned HP books based in Tucson, Arizona, turned up on my doorstep and wanted to know if I would like to move to Tucson (located in the Arizona desert) and write a series of books. That move probably saved my life.


15} What initially sparked your interest in cars & making things go faster ?

DV Nothing - I think it's genetic so I was born that way!

For those of you that don't know David will be in the UK in september for a one off seminar at the Swansea university & has altered his usual topics to include more information specific to the A-Series. This is a one off & would be well worth seeing for theose of us chasing the big numbers with the A-Series ! http://www.davidvizardseminars.com/

Who made negative comments about him?

I seriously doubt it!

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=485532

One particular comment about heads up arses wasn't too friendly

Uncle Dave has known about the TurboMinis site since at least 2007 - TurboDave and I spent a very jolly evening out with him in Tennessee.

Metric is for people who can't do fractions.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

Great questions Phil, top interview! Well done.

good interview

about the negative comments; i too agree with carl. the 12s road clubman story is one that is thrown around a bit like an old wife's tale so i asked him directly.

"However i have one of my own and its about this mysterious road weight blue clubman that ran a 12 built by your daughter using only your book. Is this pub talk or is there proof as i've read it a few times on your threads on P/H that you claim but never anything to back it up with and im pretty sure they had camera or paper back then as that would be a time i would bloody frame!"

excuse the bluntness :/

David Vizard has died at least three times and survived. He can talk for England at go off at a tangent at the drop of a hat.

rather than doubting him, I am happy to believe his perception of the events has become a little skewed over all those years, maybe even mixed up with other events along his long and twisty life. Alot of his work is behind closed doors. How many current class winning cars run his engines/ heads, you don't know. You only really hear David talking about stuff he's done some time ago, and in the perspective of things it doesn't really matter, other than the story might have been skewed a little, perhaps as a result of his life changing events. Are you really going to hold that against him?

Matt W

I thought my comments may annoy some of the DV fans, but I stand by it.

Show me proof and I'll shut my mouth, it's as simple as that.

Why would he want to come on here anyway?

Recent techie threads that he may be interested in have not exactly promoted healthy debate.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

That's very true Paul. I think it all turns messy at times on here as people like to see results, where some just talk about what should be done but don't do it if that makes sense.

Best 1/4 mile 13.2 seconds @116 mph
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on a carb?
First 5 port miniturbo to make over 200 bhp on Injection?

http://www.mattwoodsphotography.com

Like I have said David is no numpty! And in my book and many others on here david commands much! Respect,

I can add and vouch. For many other peeps on her that agree there's too much negativity towards this gent

The car which ran the 12 second 1/4 the owner now is p&l minis AKA. Fat Head.

He has this in storage in a. Sorry state and needs restoring

He rang me a few months ago to discuss a number of things after I responded to a post on his Facebook page. He wanted me to help him with something to which I declined for reasons that will become obvious.

He knows more about engine performance than any of us, but has probably not kept up with development of the A-Series and turbocharging.

Saul Bellow - "A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep."
Stephen Hawking - "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

turbophil, the guy who not only does great head, also has a fit sister and is mates with DV.

Can I have your autograph phil?

Team www.sheepspeed.com Racing

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

www.twin-turbo.co.uk

Is it the secret cam?

Bit ot, but as a few have a fair bit of hate towards 'fat head' he is now in hospital, not in a good way, cancer IIRC.

Audi s4 b5 - 470bhp & 486ft lbs

On 30th Apr, 2012 Brett said:
yeah stick the bit in and give it a wobble