Handling Stress Fractures
Salvaging Cracked or Flawed Engine Parts through Detection and Repairs Cracks are often blamed as the cause of a head failure. In many instances, the cracks are not the cause of the failure, but a symptom of another underlying problem such as overheating, detonation or incorrect installation (wrong torque on head bolts, dirty bolt threads,
Scratching the Surface: Coatings and Treatments for Engine Components
When it comes to preserving performance parts, it’s the ‘Icing on the Cake’ Various kinds of coatings and surface treatments can be applied to engine parts like icing on the cake to improve durability, enhance scuff resistance and lubrication, control heat, boost thermal efficiency and reduce friction. No single coating or surface treatment can
Choosing Camshafts – Picking Performance
Choosing the “right” camshaft is not only the cornerstone of building a performance engine, but also its centerpiece. Choosing a cam can give anyone a headache – especially if they choose the wrong cam for a given application. There’s a lot of science involved in cam selection, so keep reading and we’ll help you
Fuel Feature: Eliminating Poor Throttle Response
Impact of Today’s Gasoline on Carbureted Engines The pump gasoline sold at gas stations around the country has changed quite a bit over the last several decades. The first major change was the removal of lead from the gasoline. The next major change was to reformulate the gasoline to reduce both the evaporative and exhaust
Toyota Oversize Valve Lifter Modification
A Video from John Edwards of Cost Mesa R&D Automotive Machine Shop, Costa Mesa, CA that shows How to Resize OHC Oversize Lifters According to Edwards, occasionally, you will need to buy lifters to make valve adjustments because the one piece tappet is of a specific height and must be changed. This is the case
Shop Solutions: October 2013 Issue
Balloons Belong at Birthday Parties Not in Transmissions I rebuilt a 454 GM engine that went into a motorhome application. It ran well, and no problems immediately appeared. But later on, it was towed in with a main bearing failure in the thrust area. I gave the customer another engine, and a month later it
Maintaining Your Balance: Engine Building Tips to Reduce NVH and Increase Life
A high revving racing engine obviously needs a good balance to minimize these destructive forces, but balancing can be just as beneficial to low revving engines, too. Nobody would argue with the fact that engine balancing is right up there with “blueprinting” an engine. The goal is to equalize the reciprocating and rotating forces inside
Harry A. Miller’s Masterpiece Motors
Miller’s engines and cars were – and still are – works of art Each year, in early July, some five-dozen racing relics come thundering out of the pages of history books to circle the famous one-mile long track at Milwaukee’s Wisconsin State Fairgrounds. There are Lozier, Mercer, Hupmobile, Ford, Chrysler and Kurtis creations with
