Performance Lifters, Pushrods and Valve Springs
Low friction roller lifters replaced flat tappet lifters many years ago in stock production engines, but there are still plenty of hot flat tappet cams bumping the valves open in vintage muscle cars, street rods and race cars. Even NASCAR is still using flat tappet cams to actuate the valves. The advantage of flat tappet
2011 Machine Shop Market Profile – Part 1
For what seems like an eternity, it has almost become commonplace to wait for the eye roll, the shake of the head and the hangdog expression before hearing the familiar refrain, “Oh, man, let me tell you…” In the engine building business, of course, the standard response industry-wide has, for many years, been simple:?Lousy. Numbers
Communication Breakdown: Diagnosing Engine Bearing Failure
Engine builders turn into medical examiners when this happens; getting the story behind the story is what you must do to understand what went wrong and what to do to avoid it in the future. According to engine bearing experts, a failed bearing is not usually the fault of the bearing but rather the fault
Racing Oils
As a motorhead physicist, I get to look at engine lubrication from theviews of both an oil formulator and an engine failure analysis expert.Since I used nitromethane fuels when I raced funny cars, I’ve seen morethan my share of engine failures. I’ve also formulated oils for usewith alcohol and nitro burning engines, but let’s leave
Tips for Hotter Street & Strip Performance
Long’s HO Enterprises Performance Auto (www.hoenterprisesclassics.com) in Birnamwood, WI, sells hot rod parts, but his once traditional view on performance is changing as he sees his sons working on late-model imported cars with port fuel injection and “coffee can” exhausts. “Yeah, I think it’s all electronics now, but at least they’re car guys” Long points
Trial and Error Can
Sometimes, owners with tuners or power enhancers have the capabilities to read trouble codes if something happens. But this may or may not point them in the right direction. A great example is one that came by the shop the other day. The owner had an ’03 6.0L Power Stroke that had lost power. When
Ford 4.6L SOHC Labor Cost Study
Ford has built the 4.6L motors in both the Romeo Engine Plant, located in Romeo, MI, and at the Windsor Engine Plant and the Essex Engine Plant, both located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The 4.6L has been offered in 2-valve SOHC, 3-valve SOHC and 4-valve DOHC versions. The engines were also offered with both aluminum
Does Ignition Tuning Still Matter? Things You Need To Know
Spark plugs never foul out anymore, and the old term “it’s breaking up at high rpm” has literally disappeared from the racer’s vernacular. And now thanks to digital electronics, even the spark advance curve can be programmed on a laptop computer instead of adjusting weights and springs that fly around inside of a distributor. How
Owner Maintenance: Who
Over the past several years, I’ve written a lot articles on maintaining your machine shop equipment. I’ve always believed in being proactive when it comes to maintenance and preached it many times in this column. I am convinced that by doing maintenance up front you’ll keep these expensive machines lasting longer and performing better for
Oiling Systems For Grassroots Racing
One of the first things to look at when building an engine is the oiling system. Dry sump systems are very scalable and efficient but are not known to be inexpensive by any means. Wet sump systems, on the other hand, offer affordability and can handle some impressive performance applications, but using all stock components
Playing In The Mud Can Bring Profits To Your Shop
Despite the recession, motorsports continues to grow. This coming December, the International Motorsports Industry Show and the Performance Racing Industry trade shows expect to welcome a combined 2,000 exhibitors and more than 65,000 attendees to see performance products in Indianapolis and Orlando. These shows are a virtual who’s who of the racing industry as you
Common Failure Modes
For years, B&G Machine had been a diesel machine shop serving Seattle and the upper Northwest part of the U.S. To address certain market conditions in the mid- to late-’90s, we began building diesel engines. In doing so, we tried to identify the engines that would best serve a captive market – markets that would