The Hunt Story:

World war two had reached America, and a young air plane mechanic named Joe Hunt was learning just what it took to keep fighting machines in the air when the going got rough. One of the features that often saved the day for both man and machine was an ignition system that put out its hottest spark at maximum engine speed, and also had a minimum of parts to get shot off. This wonder-sparker was called a magneto. Completely self-contained, the magneto made its own electricity and carried its own internal coil, Bolt it on, hook up the plug wires and go flying.

Joe Hunt soon figured out how to adapt magnetos to race cars and starting with Johnny Parsons Sr's Indy 500 win in 1950, Joe's magnetos became standard circle track equipment. All this might sound like so much ancient history, if it weren't for the fact that nothing has quite replaced the magneto in all the years since! Sure, stores are now full of battery powered electronic ignition systems that can put out a lot of volts,and modern forms of racing require computerized spark management, but the simple elegance and dependability of a magneto has never been challenged.

USAC Vice President Tommy Hunt, son of Joe, thinks he knows why: It's the old bullets-through-the-propeller thing -- magnetos keep bringing the patrols safely home. Many a racer has used a high tech battery ignition system, reports Tommy, until silicon gremlins started playing keep-away with the electrons, and the racer then reached into the back of his bag of tricks for a trusty old magneto -- problem solved.

Is Tommy just bragging to honor the memory of his father? Maybe -- maybe not. Perhaps we should ask some W.W.II fighter pilots. The fact remains that magnetos still require no battery or generator, still make sparks that get hotter as the engine turns faster and still keep winning races.

So, just what is it that makes a magneto work? How can it make sparks without any electric power applied to it? Well, imagine you hold a generator or alternator in one hand and a distributor from a conventional ignition system in the other. Now slam the two together with metal-molding force. What you wind up with is a distributor with generator-guts wrapped around its shaft. That's a magneto.

Next, peel a conventional coil like a banana and stuff the innards under the cap of a magneto. You now have a traditional, self-contained, moderately bullet resistant magneto ignition unit just add plug wires. A less traditional variation is gaining popularity: a magneto with an external coil. While this makes one more part for the bad guys to shoot at, the external coil also allows for a more powerful spark.

This brings us to Joe Hunt Magnetos' hottest product, the H-3 magneto system. Consider first that their basic automotive magneto with internal coil is rated at 1,7 amperes -- plenty for countless race wins over the last fifty years. By taking the coil out of the magneto housing, Joe Hunt Magnetos can now offer power ratings of 2,3 amps with conventional permanent magnets and 4 amps with the top-of-the-circle-track-line H-3 which uses rare-earth magnets. There's even a 6 amp unit for drag racing; don't try it in longer races -- it would overheat. Think of the 4 amp H-3 magneto as just the right amount of overkill. The unit comes with the best ten millimeter spark plug wires available -- nothing less would contain the voltage.

A look around the still-thriving shop that was founded by Joe Hunt fifty years ago shows magnetos for all common V-8 engines. As a practical matter, keeping cost down and servicing simple, all applications use the same housing and working parts. The difference is in the base and shaft, which can even be changed if you trade your engine for a different brand and want to keep your magneto. A separate high powered magneto is available for four-cylinder engines such as in Midgets. At the present stage of magneto evolution, this is perhaps the most clever: It rates at 3 amps using rare-earth magnets, yet features an internal coil for ease of mounting and minimal weight.

Admittedly, a magneto is not cheap. But as with most things, you get what you pay for, and in the case of a Joe Hunt magneto, you get the personal attention of manager Roger Gleeson and chief technician Steve Friederich. That's right -- Joe Hunt magnetos are sold and serviced exclusively by Joe Hunt Magnetos. This allows for truly personalized service, such as when an offset magneto-base is needed to clear a supercharger. Steve with over 20 years experience with the company, is even willing to fabricate a base for a unique application, if you think you have an engine he doesn't already have a pattern for. A Buick Straight Eight? No problem, says Steve. Try that at your neighborhood World War Two aviation surplus yard!

In 1960 Joe Hunt did not stop with automotive applications, he turned his genius to motorcycles. Joe adapted the "Fairbanks Morris Magneto" for use in Harley Davidson motorcycles, this proved to be a very exciting and popular ignition system for the Motorcycle world. Not to be overlooked, magnetos for the British bikes followed in 1962.