Reddit mentions of Beast

One of Ilmor's employees, Jade Gurss, wrote a book about this engine a few years ago. Great read on the background of the engine and all the pitfalls the engineering team had!

If you want to read more about how this engine came to be I would recomment you guys to read Beast by Jade Gurss

I really enjoyed Beast. Goes in depth on the 1994 Indy 500 and the special engines that Penske brought. It also goes into talking about the build up to the split.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937747336/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_LwbeBbJ12W11C

Buy this book

https://www.amazon.com/Beast-Jade-Gurss/dp/1937747336/ref=asc_df_1937747336/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312178235188&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10979648467133401519&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9016869&hvtargid=pla-492092935402&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=60258871337&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312178235188&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10979648467133401519&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9016869&hvtargid=pla-492092935402

Not an answer to your question, but you should definitely order this. Excellent read.

Black Noon is a book about the tragic 1964 Indy 500 where they had to stop the race due to a massive crash and the death of two drivers.

Beast is about the 1994 engine that Penske created with Ilmor that found loopholes in the rulebook and allowed them to dominate the Month of May at Indy.

Go Like Hell is a fantastic book about the legendary Ford vs. Ferrari rivalry in the 1960's at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit is a book about Phil Hill and his journey from California midget racing to Formula 1.

All of these are great reads that your dad would find some enjoyment in I'm sure.