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hen Heather and Chris offered me the opportunity to be a part of this year’s Dennis Kirk Garage Build, I jumped at the chance. When they told me they wanted me to build the engine, I was doubly honored. In my previous life, my friends and I street-raced Mustangs, Camaros, Nova’s, and Malibu’s with little or no substantial financial resources. Back then, everything we did was done out of our garages or in our driveways. During the winter we borrowed spaces heated with a wood-burning stove or a kerosene space heater. These are some of the fondest memories I have. The garage is where some of the best ingenuity is discovered. With necessity comes trial and error. Garage Builders worldwide benefit from the time spent trying to make chicken salad out of what some would call chicken shit. The engine for the Dennis Kirk Garage Built FXR is going to be based on Harley Davidson’s Evolution.
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AApril pril ‘22 - May ‘22 - CYCLE SOURCE MAGAZINE
Article And Photos By: Jason Hallman Produced from 1984 through 2000 (FXR Only), the “EVO,” as it is commonly referred to, is considered by many to be the most venerable engine Harley has ever produced. Because of its similar footprint to all big twin engines produced from 1936 through 1999 (except Touring and Dyna) and its massive availability of aftermarket parts, many refer to the EVO as the “small block Chevy” of Harley engines. Available in many sizes and configurations, from 80 cubic inches all the way up to 151 cubic inches, the EVO is easily considered the perfect engine to represent the best opportunity a “Garage Build” would offer the average garage builder using an average mechanical aptitude and average hand and power tools. Cycle Stop USA is known locally for producing fully restored engines from the crankshaft pin all the way to the last nut and bolt. Based on your budget and your desired outcome, we can build anything from a Knucklehead to the new Milwaukee
8 engine. For this build, Chris gave me full reign to tap into my inner “garage builder” and build exactly the type of engine I would have built for myself, given the limitations most of us have in our home garages. Now this by no means, means that I will not be thorough. In fact, I intend to touch on all of the pertinent tips and tricks that I have learned and show you just exactly how you can build a killer running EVO on a budget with a few friends, a few tools, and (if you are like my friends and I) a few beers. Any tools I use along the way will be illustrated and any tools deemed “specialty” will be included too. I will do my best to only use tools that you (or a friend) would have access to.
