Phil Irving

Philip Edward Irving OBE, C.Eng., F.I.Mech.E., M.S.A.E., (1903–1992) was an Australian engineer and author, most famous for the Repco-Brabham[1]Formula One and Vincent motorcycle engines. He also designed Velocette engines and was involved in the drawing of EMC's 125cc water-cooled single cylinder racing engine of 1961 which he 'reverse-engineered' from an MZ 125cc racing engine supplied by the drawing's commissioner, Dr Josef Ehrlich, the owner of Ehrlich Motor Cycles (EMC).

During the 1930s and 40s, Phil Irving wrote a technical column in Motor Cycling magazine under the pseudonym 'Slide Rule' [2] some of which were later reprinted in book form as Motorcycle Technicalities. Amongst the other books he authored are Tuning For Speed, Motorcycle Engineering and his autobiography, Phil Irving - An Autobiography.

Irving's life was devoted to his passion for Motorcycles and Motor Racing. Australian business owner Ken James was quoted as saying, "You can't stop Phil, he just needs to be around engines and make them sing." An Australian company KH Equipment Pty. Ltd, continues to build and improve on the Vincent line under the name 'Irving Vincent '[3] in Hallam, Victoria, Australia.

To honour Irving's 'great achievements,the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport named its highest engineering award the Phil Irving Award, one of the recipients is Ron Tauranac.[4]

There is also a Phil Irving Trophy motorcycle race held at Phillip Island during its annual Island Classic race meeting.[5]

Published books

  • Irving, P.E. (1986) [1948]. Tuning for Speed (6th ed.). Menoshire. ISBN 0-908031-29-7. 
  • Irving, P.E. (1961) [1961]. Motorcycle Engineering (1st ed.). Temple Press. 
  • — (1962). Autombile Engine Tuning. London: Temple Press Books. 
  • — (1967). Two-Stroke Power Units. London: Newnes. 
  • — (1976). Rich Mixture: A Motorcycle Miscellany. Australia,: Research Publications. 
  • — (1977). Black Smoke. Australia,. 
  • — (1979). Restoring & Tuning Classic Motorcycles. 
  • Irving, P.E. (2004) [1983]. Motorcycle Technicalities (1st ed.). Turton & Armstrong Pty. ISBN 0-908031-82-3. 
  • Irving, P.E. (1992) [1992]. Phil Irving - An Autobiography (1st ed.). Turton & Armstrong Pty. ISBN 0-908031-49-1. 
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See also

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References

  1. ^ Sir Jack Brabham biog.
  2. ^ http://www.bevenyoung.com.au/prdt1315.htm
  3. ^ http://www.irvingvincent.com/
  4. ^ [1][dead link]
  5. ^ [2][dead link]
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Last modified on 19 March 2013, at 18:26