ORIGINAL: daven
Those are some neat looking engines, although I think the JETT BSE motors give it a run for the money.
I'll take the Jetts - the looks are a byproduct of functional design. The fact that they look *****in' is a happy byproduct.
Then again, I can't imagine form was never taken into consideration sometime during the design process.
The Fitzpatricks are gorgeous works, I do admit, but I always thought they looked a little gimmicky, i.e. show versus go. The ad hype made me suspicious right off the bat, and sure enough while they were great runners with power in league with the good sport engines of the day, they did not set any precedents in terms of performance. But man, they were a classy looking and viable alternative to the oft mundane crowd of sport .61's. Well, viable if we don't consider the cost, but for some that was secondary and now they have a very nice collectible engine in their hands, a part of more contemporary American model engine history.
MJD