Headmaster Jagersberger – Converting Flatheads into OHV Engines
Joseph W. Jagersberger was a very early racing car driver who competed against Louis Chevrolet prior to the first Indianapolis 500-mile Race. He was also the manufacturer of early speed equipment and his RAJO heads became well known to Ford and Chevy lovers.
Studebaker Sleeper
A crude-looking ’53 Studebaker drag racing car from Iowa has its share of rust, dings, dents and paint flaws, but under its hood is a one-of-a-kind Pontiac intake manifold that has some very sophisticated engineering behind it. Davenport, IA, resident Jim Allen has owned the Studebaker Starliner Coupe since 1959. It was back in 1964 that he purchased the factory experimental intake to go on the 421-cid Pontiac Super-Duty V8.
Racing with the Ramchargers
Before Neil Newman’s tenure with Chrysler Marine Division, he had gone to school at the Chrysler Engineering Institute (CEI) with many members of the original, legendary “Ramchargers” drag racing team.
GM’s LT4 Small Block Sets New Company Benchmark for Power and Torque
The all-new 2015 Corvette Z06 is the most powerful production car ever from General Motors and one of a few production cars available in the United States that delivers more than 600 horsepower. The Z06’s LT4 supercharged 6.2L V8 engine is SAE-certified at 650 horsepower (485 kW) at 6,400 rpm and 650 lb-ft of torque
Don’t Gamble When Choosing Cylinder Heads
A cylinder head is much more than a casting that tops off the block, holds the valves and forms the combustion chambers. The head works in combination with the camshaft, induction and exhaust systems to determine how the engine breathes, the engine’s power curve and personality. The “right” cylinder head on an engine will deliver
Vintage V8s: Exploring 100 Years of Cadillac Engines
For more than a century, the name Cadillac has been synonymous with performance, style and passion. And in those early years of the Cadillac Automobile Company, it was a former loom mechanic – Henry Martyn Leland – who was credited with forging the technologies that separated Cadillac from the other automobile businesses that were springing
A Look Into Jon Kaase’s Shaft-Mounted Rockers for Big-Block Fords
At first glance, Jon Kaase’s new shaft-mounted rocker arrangement for his P-51 big-block Ford cylinder heads conveys stability. To the competition valve train, it contributes both strength and accuracy. However, the new arrangement possesses many more appealing prospects, some of which are concealed. For example, the 0.900in wide aluminum rocker bodies are characterized partly by
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
Problems that Plague Chrysler’s 3.5L Engine Creates Rebuild Opportunities
This engine, and its 2.7L, 3.2L and 4.0L cousins, represent a significant service opportunity for engine rebuilders from all the heat damaged inflicted upon them. If ever there was a service opportunity ripe for the taking,Chrysler’s 3.5L SOHC V6 engine (and its 2.7L, 3.2L and 4.0L cousins) is it. This engine was introduced back in
Cylinder Head Porting
Huge flow numbers may be impressive, but optimizing airflow at mid-valve lift is key to power. If airflow though a valve port is plotted on a graph for the entire valve cycle (from opening to peak lift and back to close), the area under the curve is total airflow, which corresponds to total power. So
Service Issues on Ford 4.6L SOHC & DOHC Engines
In 2005, Ford introduced a three-valve (3V) SOHC version of the 4.6L for the newly restyled retro-look Mustang. Major changes included the use of two intake valves and one exhaust valve per cylinder to increase air velocity, torque and power, variable cam timing and a weight-saving aluminum cylinder block. Ford’s overhead cam 4.6L V8 engine has been
The Importance of Compression Ratios and How To Measure Them
NHRA Top Fuel and Funny car teams replace them after every race pass and every second qualifying pass. Pro Stock teams replace them after every 40 passes approximately, and weekend warriors replace them every 12 to 18 months, sooner if their engines are nitrous-assisted. At piston replacement time questions of spec changes usually arise –
Variable Valve Timing Systems
By the early 1990s, almost all import automotive manufacturers had a successful variable valve timing (VVT) system in production. These systems offered higher performance from smaller displacement engines at higher rpm. As these vehicles exceeded their new car warranties, technicians learned the ins and outs of these systems and how regular oil changes could increase
GM Unveils All-New 450 hp Small Block LT1 V8 for 2014 Corvette
The new Corvette LT1 engine, the first of the Gen 5 family of Small Block engines, combines several advanced technologies, including direct injection, Active Fuel Management and continuously variable valve timingto support an advanced combustion system. “Our objective for the development of the all-new LT1 was to raise the bar for performance car engines,” said
Muscle Car Engines: What’s Old Is New. And The Greates Of All Time
Baby boomers wanted to go fast even if they were just driving to the grocery store. The open road was calling and America answered. But the government intervened and quickly started killing the culture in the early to mid-’70s. Then the gas crisis of the late ’70s put the final nail in the coffin. Or
7 Shop Survival Tips
Ford 5.0L/302 "Cobra" Cams Problem: Ford made a limited number of the Mustang Cobras with a "super-high-output" 5.0L in ’93, ’94 and ’95. They all had a unique roller cam (p/n F3ZZ-6250-A) that can be identified by the "GT" stamped on the barrel, right behind the distributor gear (see Figure 1, at right). This cam
What
That’s why you have to choose the gaskets you install very carefully. Gaskets have to fit correctly and have the durability to maintain a long lasting seal. Applications that are unusually demanding often require specially engineered gaskets that can handle higher pressures and temperatures without failing. Advancements are constantly being made in gasket materials and
Engine Builder Shop Solutions: March 2012
Transferring Gaskets For Intake Port Matching I have found an effective way to transfer the gasket to the intake manifold without losing the “port location.” First, have the completed long block with the heads and its ports finished. Next, do all the pre-fitting of the gaskets and manifolds or “mock-up” work. Make any machining or
Tips For Selecting The Proper Circle Track Cam
This isn’t always your fault, but this is often followed by the racer selling the cam to a fellow racer who thinks it’s the best cam he ever ran. Why did this cam work so well for one racer and not for another? The reasons can be many. The following are some tips for selecting
Build With Bolt-On Horsepower, But Proceed With Caution
Whether the speed equipment is old school hardware or electronic in nature, you can be sure it is designed to turn automobile engines into more efficient air pumps. “Because the engine really is an air pump, I tell my customers one of the biggest things they can do is bolt on a different exhaust system,”