Engine Installation Opportunities
Much has been reported recently regarding theneed to grow the engine rebuilding and remanufacturing markets.We’re all aware of the Automotive Repower Council (ARP) whichwas recently formed to increase customer awareness on the alternativesto buying or leasing a new vehicle. And Automotive Rebuildermagazine has provided a number of features and columns dedicatedto ways to expand the
Washington Way: The Activities Of ACC
Americans have a love/hate relationship withtheir motor vehicles. We love the freedom and mobility the automobilegives us. We love the feel of a good car on the open highway andhow it handles on a challenging stretch of road. And we love thestatement that a car makes about who we are and what we want. On
1998 Market Update – Electrical
The information provided in this article is excerpted from a presentationmade by Doug Barron, Manager of Freedom Battery Design & Application,Delphi Energy & Engine Management Systems. The presentationwas made at last year’s Independent Battery Manufacturers Association(IBMA) Convention in Chicago, IL. Barron’s comments pertain to the future requirements of automotivebatteries. However, they also address the increasing
1998 Market Update – Brakes: The Application Specific Bandwagon…The Buzzword Of The Aftermarket Brake Friction World Today
Many in the brake rebuilding market are getting on the ApplicationSpecific Bandwagon. It’s the buzzword of the aftermarket brakefriction world today. "We’re going to have to be application specific because ofperformance requirements coming out of testing procedures thatthe Brake Manufacturers Council is working on," observesGil Laycock of the Friction Materials Standard Institute (FMSI).As one who
1998 Market Update – CV Shafts
One of the biggest issues still facing rebuilders is the controversyover the pros and cons of grinding CV joints. Though many CV unitrebuilders will tell you it’s getting harder to remain competitiveunless you grind, nobody grinds unnecessarily in this tight marketbecause of the costs of machine work and labor. Craig Russell of Drive Plus, Inc.,
1998 Market Update – Cores: The Consolidation Of The Automotive Aftermarket
Core suppliers are watching the consolidation of the automotiveaftermarket with much interest. After all, many businesses intransition are their customers. But while some core suppliersare not as busy as they’d like to be, most don’t blame the consolidationsof large retailers like Auto Zone and Chief for their troubles.Likewise, many don’t believe that the rebuilder mergers
Cleaning – Do You Know Where Your Dollars Are?
Cleaning parts in the machine shop doesn’tcome cheaply. According to Automotive Rebuilder’s Machine ShopMarket Profile about 15.2% of engine machining and rebuildingproduction work involves disassembly and cleaning. According torebuilders that we surveyed, disassembly and cleaning accountedfor the highest percentage of total rebuilding production timein the shop. So there can be significant benefits to reducingcleaning costs
“Heading” In The Right Direction: Heads Are A Hot Commodity These Days
Heads are a hot commodity these days, but itdepends on the application. Some heads like those for Chevy 350and Chrysler 2.2L/2.5L engines are always in demand, but pricesare low because of the glut of cores that are available for theseengines. Even so, anybody who’s selling heads these days has tohave them. The hot heads are
Low Cost Quality Honing For The Small Shop
My son and I run a small automotive machineshop doing engine rebuilding and custom machine work in ruralMissouri. We try to do the very best work possible all the time.Whether we are rebuilding a Ford 8N or a 427 Corvette engine,we use the same amount of care doing the job. When our customerspick up their
Labor and the Law
Grit, grime and grease are just a few of theworkplace unpleasantness with which you contend. Employees areexposed daily to hazardous materials such as solvents, paints,cleaning and restoration products, as well as welding fumes. Protecting your employees’ health and safetyis not only the right thing to do, the law requires it. Your failureto be familiar with
Cost Accounting In The Shop
Do you feel that your shop has the type ofcontrol over costs, expenses and productivity that it needs tosurvive in today’s market? Do you understand how to calculatethe actual cost of each job that you do and the efficiency thateach of your employees achieves on a daily, monthly or annualbasis? Unfortunately, most shop owners do
Cleaning With Jet Spray Washers: Replacing Solvent Cleaning Processes With Aqueous Cleaning.
As more environmental regulations phase outmany chlorinated solvents and ozone depleting chemicals, manyautomotive machine shops and engine rebuilding operations arereplacing their solvent cleaning processes with aqueous cleaning.Some argue that while replacement chemicals have been found, theirtotal safety and part cleaning applicability has not been researchedenough. According to many rebuilders and equipment makers, developmentsin aqueous cleaning
Updating The Asian Import Engine Market: The Learning Curve For Part Identification
"The learning curve for part identificationis awesome" says Bob Gibson as he describes the difficultiesof imported engine core identification. As vice president forsales and marketing at Engine Masters, Inc., a Dallas, TX, productionengine rebuilder, Gibson knows that the demand for import enginerebuilding is growing, and that he’ll do what it takes to be apart of
Small Engine Performance
Most businesses have the same problems and each must look for ways to remain competitive by reducing costs and exploring new markets for existing products or services. And so it is in engine building. There is always someone that is able to provide more features per dollar than you (or at least make someone believe
Cylinder Bore Honing: Main Objective When Refinishing The Cylinders
When an engine is rebuilt, the cylinders usuallyneed attention. Wear tends to create taper in the upper part ofthe cylinder that can reduce ring sealing and increase blowbyand oil consumption if not removed. The cylinder may also be outof round, scored or have other damage that requires correctingbefore a new set of rings will seal
Motor Service, Inc.: Brian Casey, Incoming Engine Rebuilders Association (Aera) Chairman
What do you do after graduating from WorcesterPolytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA, with a degree in managementengineering? Why, run a heavy duty machine shop and service repairbusiness, of course. Well, maybe not always. But that is the wayit has turned out for Brian Casey, incoming Engine RebuildersAssociation (AERA) chairman and one of the guiding hands
Mopar Engine Platforms – 318, 360
Chrysler Corp. hasn’t built a rear wheel drive, V8-powered car (with the exception of the Viper) since the turn of the decade. And the cars that harbored V8s beneath their hoods during the late 1980s were about as appealing to performance enthusiasts as the front-wheel driven vehicles that replaced them. In spite of that fact,
The Nitty Gritty On Small Parts Cleaning: Many Ways To Clean Small Engine Parts
Tom Nichols, CEO and president of AutomotiveMachine & Supply, Inc., Fort Worth, TX, said availabilityis most often the key to why his shop cleans and reuses smallparts. Nichols said each day his shop cleans and reuses many smallparts, including valve locks, shims, springs, retainers, rockerarm assemblies, cam bore caps, nuts, bolts, etc. "Becausewe only
Building Horsepower Through Dyno Testing
Pick up a copy of any racing-oriented automotive publication andas you thumb through its pages you’ll notice a smorgasbord ofads from engine builders. Most of them will have an assortmentof horsepower figures large enough to rival the national debt. Of course, all the numbers are suspect because, in most cases,they were obtained on the advertisers’
1997 Shop Kinks
Machine shops and custom engine rebuilders are, and always havebeen, a resourceful group. Our industry was founded on the principalof bringing component parts from a condition of disrepair to onethat offers equivalent performance to that of a new part. Rebuilt engines offer cost savings and performance benefits thatcan not be found with any other products,