Wayne Manufacturing Company’s “Twelve Port” Engine Display

Wayne Horning and Harry Warner were young engineers at Lockheed Aircraft when the hot rodding phenomena began sweeping the country. By the late 1940’s they had built a “twelve port” cylinder head to solve the breathing problems that were limiting Chevy and GMC six-cylinder engine performance. The original head design used three intake and four exhaust ports, each sharing duties to serve multiple cylinders and both intake and exhaust manifolds on one side of the engine. Wayne and Harry’s cross-flow, twelve port head employed six intake ports on one side and six exhaust ports on the other side of the engine. They formed Wayne Manufacturing and were building and marketing their own cylinder heads, intake and exhaust manifolds, valve covers and other accessory items. 

Wayne Manufacturing sold parts or completed engines to hot rodding fans via their catalog and became a huge success at drag strips and other racing venues into the mid 50’s when overhead valve V8 engines became readily available. No records confirm exactly how many Wayne twelve port heads were built, the total number is estimated at less than 400, but their role in early hot rodding is indisputable. 

The engine displayed here is a 216-cu.in. Chevy six with a Wayne twelve-port head, Wayne intake and exhaust manifolds, three Stromberg carburetors and a dual point distributor. This set up is very similar to one of the popular engine configurations Harry Warner ran in his ’33 Ford Roadster at drag strips. 

On loan from Jeff Goldstein, The Piston Palace, Warwick, RI