The Ball 60 racing engine was designed and manufactured by Henry "Hank" Ball, founder of the B&D Racing Engine Laboratory at Drayton Plains, Michigan. The engine first appeared in 1946, remaining in production at a relatively modest level until late 1948 or possible early 1949. The Ball was notable as being one of a handful of crankshaft front rotary valve (FRV) racing engines which appeared in the early post-WW2 period to challenge the might of the disc rear rotary valve (RRV) Hornet and McCoy designs. By all accounts, the Ball was a very serious contender which could push a McCoy 60 quite hard if properly prepared. However, the 1947 appearance of the all-conquering Dooling 61 settled that particular debate decisively in favor of the RRV models. The complete story of the Ball 60 may be found in a detailed article on this web-site.