The Engine That Changed Everything: Inside the World's First Racing Billet Clone Engine

What happens when you take a humble pressure washer motor and transform it into a 10,000 RPM racing beast? Paul Crafton just proved it's not only possible—it's revolutionary.

The racing world has been buzzing about billet clone engines for years. Everyone talks about building one. Some even claim they're "working on it." But when the checkered flag drops and the dust settles, there's only been one question that matters: Who actually did it first?

The answer came roaring across the dirt track at South Carolina's Big O Tribute Race, wrapped in the unmistakable sound of a 236cc engine screaming at 10,000 RPM. Paul Crafton and the GoPowerSports team didn't just build the world's first racing billet clone engine—they proved it could win.

The Moment Everything Changed

"We started with the Tilton block, which is already a great platform," Paul explains, his voice carrying the quiet confidence of someone who's just rewritten the rulebook. "We just made it better."

Better is an understatement. While traditional cast iron blocks struggle with heat management and require constant clearancing for performance parts, Paul's billet creation slipped together like a precision Swiss watch. The 236cc kit that normally demands hours of careful fitting? It literally "just slapped together."

But the real magic happened when the green flag dropped.

Racing at the Edge of Insanity

Picture this: 35 of the fastest go-karts in the Southeast, each powered by engines that were never meant to see a racetrack, screaming around a dirt oval at speeds that would make your local highway patrol nervous. The Big O Tribute isn't just a race—it's a proving ground where engines either become legends or become scrap metal.

Paul's billet engine faced the ultimate test: 60-80 laps of sustained 10,000+ RPM operation without a single oil change, pit stop, or moment of mercy. The track surface was unforgiving. The competition was fierce. And somewhere around lap 30, disaster struck.

"The whole air filter was as black as this microphone," Paul recalls, describing the moment he realized their engine was essentially breathing through a straw. "It was caked in mud and tire rubber—just a little sliver of air getting through."

Any other engine would have seized. Any other race would have been over.

Instead, something extraordinary happened.

The Temperature That Shocked Everyone

While other engines were cooking themselves into oblivion, Paul's billet creation was running a full 50 degrees cooler than its cast iron competitors. Even with a completely clogged air filter choking the life out of the intake, the engine never missed a beat.

"It stayed sealed up. The ring seal was really, really good at the end of the night," Paul explains. "Sometimes with cast stuff, especially when they get hot, the ring seal kind of goes away. But this thing—I bet it was still just as sealed up as when we started it."

The result? An 11th place finish out of 35 racers, with a handicapped engine that should have been dead in the water.

Imagine what it could have done with a clean air filter.

The Science Behind the Magic

What makes a billet block so superior? It starts with rigidity. Cast iron blocks flex and warp under extreme stress, creating gaps where precious compression escapes. Billet aluminum, machined from a solid block, maintains its shape even when pushed to the absolute limit.

But Paul's innovation goes deeper than just material choice. The new design accommodates larger cranks without clearancing, holds more oil (20-25 ounces compared to the standard 16), and features precision-machined surfaces that create perfect seals every time.

"The oil capacity alone is going to help everything," Paul notes. "It's going to be a better deal all around."

For the GPS 180—GoPowerSports' legendary 3-hour endurance race—that extra oil capacity could be the difference between finishing and watching your engine turn into expensive paperweights.

The Spark Plug War Nobody Talks About

In the middle of our conversation, Paul dropped a bombshell that's sure to ignite debates in garages across America: the great spark plug controversy.

"Everyone's all about these 3910X spark plugs just because they're racing plugs," Paul admits. "Yeah, they might be high performance for a short period of time, but they're going to foul out on you."

His preference? NGK spark plugs. "You can have them in for months, years. They're just workhorses."

It's the kind of practical wisdom that separates weekend warriors from championship builders. While others chase the latest racing parts, Paul focuses on what actually works when the pressure is on.

What's Next: The GPS 180 Challenge

As impressive as the Big O performance was, Paul's already looking ahead to an even bigger challenge: the GPS 180 Minibike Race on November 8th, 2025. Three hours of non-stop racing on machines that were never designed for such punishment.

"I'm already working on my bike for this year," Paul confesses with a grin. "I had so much fun last year, and now I've got some tricks up my sleeve."

Those tricks include the new billet block, advanced suspension tuning, and lessons learned from countless hours of testing. But perhaps most importantly, Paul's planning to actually practice this year—a radical departure from his previous strategy of showing up race morning and hoping for the best.

"Last year I never practiced the track. I didn't do anything. I showed up that morning and almost didn't make it up the first major hill," he laughs. "This year, I want to actually try."

The Future is Billet

While Paul remains characteristically cautious about release dates ("Spring 2026, maybe"), the implications of his breakthrough are already rippling through the racing community. This isn't just about one engine or one race—it's about proving that the impossible is just another engineering challenge waiting to be solved.

The billet clone engine represents more than just superior performance. It's a statement that innovation doesn't require abandoning what works—it requires making what works even better.

As Paul puts it: "We haven't changed to a different crank setup or anything. It's still a pressure washer crank. But the fundamentals are just so much better now."

Ready to See History in the Making?

The full story of this revolutionary engine, complete with technical details, racing insights, and Paul's legendary straight-talk approach to engine building, is captured in the latest episode of Minibikin' Ain't Eazy. Whether you're a seasoned engine builder or just curious about what happens when engineering meets pure determination, this conversation will change how you think about small engine performance.

Watch the complete episode below and witness the moment everything changed:

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Want to experience the GPS 180 for yourself? Practice day is October 4th, 2025, and the main event is November 8th, 2025. Visit gps180race.com for more information and registration details.