The Inside Angle on Valve Seats: What you need to know to go with the flow
No one knows airflow better than the legendary Joe Mondello, who rose to fame back in the 1960s for his race-winning cylinder head work. “Back in those days, we didn’t have flow benches to test our work. Our test bench was the drag strip. If a modification worked and made the car run faster, that’s
Still The Same Old Grind?
The market for crankshaft grinding has changed a great deal in recent years. With many passenger car and light truck engines now lasting upward of 200,000 miles, there’s much less demand for grinding crankshafts than there used to be. By the time the engine needs major work, the vehicle has often depreciated to the point
Balance of Power (and Profit)
One of the keys to a smooth running, long lasting engine is proper balance of the reciprocating and rotating parts. When a crankshaft is out of balance, the uneven distribution of weight can generate centripetal forces that shake the engine with increasing intensity as engine rpm goes up. Centripetal force (which many people mistakenly call
Cutting Tools and Abrasives
One of tricks of the trade of machining engine parts is choosing the right cutting tool or abrasive for that particular job. Different metals have different machinability characteristics. A cutting tool or abrasive that works well on one application may not work so well on another application. Years ago when most engine parts were
Choosing A Replacement Camshaft
Unless you are doing a totally stock rebuild and reusing the original camshaft, selecting a camshaft depends on what kind of engine you are building and how that engine will be used. A stock engine for a daily driver is obviously an entirely different application than an big stroker motor for a Pro Stock racer.
Race Engine Pistons and Rings
Cubic inches is the name of the game today. The performance piston market is being driven by bigger bore blocks and stroker crankshafts. A few years ago, a 540 cubic inch motor was a monster motor. Nowadays, some professional drag racers are running engines as large as 850 cubic inches, and 600-plus cubic inch big
Intake Manifolds, Fuel Injected Engines, Carburetors
An intake manifold is more than the plumbing that connects the carburetor or throttle body to the ports in the cylinder head. It is an integral part of the induction system that has to match the airflow characteristics of the cylinder head and camshaft, as well as the displacement and rpm range of the engine.
Blueprint For Success: Shop Layouts to Boost Efficiency
Anyone who’s in the engine rebuilding business today knows that to be profitable your shop has to be productive. Whether you’re a production engine rebuilder or a small custom engine shop, the rules are the same. If your shop can produce quality work quickly and efficiently, you’ll make more money than competitors who can’t.
Diesel Pistons
The diesel engine market has been rapidly changing in recent years. Higher fuel prices and changes in emission regulations have brought about a whole new generation of clean diesel engines in both the light and heavy-duty truck markets. According to the Diesel Technology Forum (www.dieselforum.org), particulate emissions from new on-highway diesel engines have been reduced
Valve Seat Technology For Stock and Performance Applications
Valve seats are a critical engine component because they are the foundation of the valvetrain. The seats provide a surface for the valves to seal against when they close so there’s no loss of compression or pressure from the combustion chamber. The seats also help cool the valves by conducting heat away from valves into
New Metals-New Challenges
Cast iron is like an old familiar friend to most of our readers because it’s been around forever. Vehicle manufacturers like cast iron because it’s cheap compared to most other metals, it is strong and durable, and it can be easily cast and machined to make engine blocks, cylinder heads, crankshafts, connecting rods and other
Timing Chains & Gears
As a rule, most pushrod engines use a timing chain to drive the camshaft, though some older four and six cylinder engines use a gear set. A short chain or gear set works well in this kind of application because the camshaft is located in the block just above the crankshaft. In overhead cam (OHC)