Crystal Balls and Beer Glasses
Between SEMA and AAPEX in Las Vegas in November to the Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Indianapolis in December, the end of each year often gives us a chance to take a breath from the stress of the year’s engine building activities and start planning ahead.
Understanding the Basics of Your Business – Taxes
They say nothing in life is certain except for death and taxes. In most parts of the world, taxes are part of life and certainly part of running an engine building business. In the US, large expenses associated with running an engine building business are federal, state and local taxes.
Why That 5.3L LS Can Be A Parts Nightmare
The combinations of pistons, gaskets, camshafts, lifters, cam bearings, head bolts, timing sets and oil pumps are endless. And though the options don’t seem quite as large, quoting a 6.0L GM without a year and VIN is just about as difficult.
Why Cutting Fluids Are Imperative to Machining
In order to produce the best performing engines with tight tolerances and finishes, CNC machines require cutting fluids to perform at the highest levels. You might think a fluid is a fluid is a fluid, but you’d be wrong.
Ultrasonic Cleaning Technology
Ultrasonic cleaning is one of the ways engine builders can choose to clean parts, but what is it and how does it work? Is it the too-good-to-be-true stuff of science fiction or is it the best technique ever for cleaning the dirtiest of engine components? The truth, as they say, lies somewhere in the middle.
Sleeves and Liners – Metallurgic Magic
Dry sleeves and wet liners have long been used to repair and restore cracked or worn engine cylinders, but they are also used to reinforce aluminum blocks that are being built for serious performance applications.
Porting Strategies for Diesel Cylinder Head Performance
Diesel engine intake ports and combustion chambers are unique to the way the engine performs. If you look inside the intake runner of a diesel engine, you’ll find that it is very different from that of a gasoline engine.
335 Ford Engine is Still Alive
In the ‘80s I rebuilt a myriad of 335 Ford engines for daily use, mostly for farm pickup trucks. Most of those trucks had the 351M and the 400M that sported the 1˝ taller deck.
Shop Solutions – November 2017
Priming an engine with a half-inch drill and getting oil to all rockers without this mod takes 36 minutes. After the mod it takes less than a minute. Here’s what I do on Dart Big M blocks.
