Quiz Archive

About Quiz #213 Ratier (UPDATE: van Blerck engine!)

When we made this quiz we expected it to be a tough one. Still we were amazed by the number of mails we received. What we wanted you to tell us that this engine was used in a small French Sports car, called the Ratier. It is believed that only one of these cars still exists, a 748cc owned by the Ratier Company. Several people, Arthur Montague, Norman Holloway and Glen Robb had the make of the engine correct, but the best answer came from Fons Alkemade who proves that he is a real expert on French makes: “This is a French Ratier. I did see one many years ago in the museum in Chatellerault, a chassis of 1927. The company is known for its propellers which they are making since 1908. Nowadays the company is named Ratier-Figeac but it is not independent anymore.” With this third win Fons now enters the list of jury members. Congratulations! (RB) We were in for a surprise when two quiz entrants mentioned that the 16 valve engine is an American marine engine from the Van Blerck Motor Company. The Van Blerck and Ratier engine are indeed the same engines, apart from the transmission. Dan Acierno sent us this leaflet of the inboard engine and says that many of these engines ended up in sports cars. Greg Smith mentions a similar Van Blerck engine that came up for sale in Australia a few years ago. Greg tells us that the Van Blerck Motor Company started about 1906 by a Dutch immigrant to the USA, Joseph “Joe” Van Blerck. Amongst other things they produced fire engines and marine engines up to and including V12’s. The factory had various addresses from Monroe, Michigan to Red Bank, New Jersey, but in 1931 when this engine was current they were at 2200 Diamond Street, Philadelphia. This leaves us with another mystery as we don’t know who first produced this aluminium engine. Was it made by Ratier and then sold to Van Blerck (as the date suggests)? Or was it produced by Van Blerck and licensed to Ratier? We will award another T-shirt to the reader who knows and can prove this.

Update by Stan Grayson who is the former senior editor of Automobile Quarterly. He confirms that the engine in question was not from Ratier, but was designed and built by Joe Van Blerck in Red Bank, NJ, in 1929. He wrote an article about Van Blerck which was published in the July/August issue of WoodenBoat magazine, which includes a photo of the Van Blerck, Jr. “The engine is an all-aluminum, ohc engine that weighs about 165 pounds. Originally, it was intended as a somewhat portable replacement for less efficient outboard motors. A number were used to power midget race cars. Van Blerck was a great pioneer of the marine engine.”

Friday, 19 October 2007