What A Year It’s Been…What!? It’s Been A Year?
As I sit here pondering the many topics I could choose to write about for my last column of 2004, I’m suddenly struck by the unbelievable fact that it is December already! Of 2004! Where did 2003 go? What happened to April, for crying out loud? Of course, the holiday shopping days always seem to
Engine Kit Opportunities
In nearly all aspects of today’s competitive consumer market, the customer is king, brand means everything, and warranties on parts and services are a given, right? Great news for the value-minded shopper, but what about the supplier? In the automotive industry, of course, OEMs have been offering unprecedented warranties and financing terms for the past
Valve Refacing Equipment and Procedures
There comes a time in the life of every valve when it must either be replaced or reconditioned. Valve faces become worn and eroded as the seats wear, the stems wear where they contact the guides, and the tips of the stems can become worn or mushroomed from the constant friction with the rocker arms
Planning For Failure Can Save You When It Happens
It’s an old story. A customer brings in a rebuild job and you do your normal quality job. You dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s and walk away from the engine stand knowing you’ve done a good job. The customer pays and off he goes with his prize. You make the mortgage
What A Year It’s Been…What!? It’s Been A Year?
As I sit here pondering the many topics I could choose to write about for my last column of 2004, I’m suddenly struck by the unbelievable fact that it is December already! Of 2004! Where did 2003 go? What happened to April, for crying out loud? Of course, the holiday shopping days always seem to
Not So Stock: NASCAR Motors and Their Street Counterparts
The engines in NASCAR’s newly introduced Strictly Stock class of stock car racing in 1949 were literally stock, right off the dealer’s showroom floor. Today, they’re anything but. So what happened? Evolution. Like any sport or industry, evolution has moved NASCAR racing to where it is today, a multi-million dollar business. The engines, called ‘motors’
What’s Hot In Performance – Cams, Lifters & Rockers
The camshaft is really the heart of every performance engine because the cam defines the engine’s breathing potential, its torque curve and peak horsepower. The camshaft controls when the valves open, how quickly they open, how far they open (with some help from the rocker arms), how long the valves are held open, and when
Tractor Pulling: It’s Not Your Granddad’s John Deere Anymore
Tractor pulling has been with us for as long as there have been tractors. Farmers used to pull their horses, mules or oxen and, just as today, each bragged that he had the biggest and strongest. Today, at the top echelons of pulling, the technology is equal to anything else in motorsports. Although you won’t
New Clean Diesel Technology
With gasoline prices in the U.S. bouncing around the two dollars per gallon mark, record high oil prices and growing uncertainty over the price and availability of future oil supplies, any new technology that can give consumers more bang for their buck should be welcomed. Domestic vehicle manufacturers have virtually abandoned further development of electric
Cleaning Aluminum Engine Components
Engine rebuilding may be your career, but component cleaning may be one of your biggest jobs. Ever since the earliest days when engine builders had only a hot tank and a solvent sink to clean their parts they have been looking for better methods to get parts clean. Back then, most parts were cast iron
The Angle On Valve Seats
Valve seats seem to be a fairly simple engine component but they play a critical role in sealing compression and cooling the valves. When a seat becomes worn, it may leak compression and allow the valve to run hotter than normal. The same thing can happen if the seat is out-of-round or has lost its
Can You Keep Up With The Changes In The Industry?
In this fast-paced world, keeping up with any industry can be very trying. Keeping up with the latest trends can be the difference between success and failure. Those businesses that remain successful are those that continually stay at the forefront of their chosen field. The engine rebuilding business has seen tremendous change in the past