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
Machine Shop Market Profile
Interviews conducted with parts and equipmentsuppliers, as well as machine shop owners and custom engine rebuilders,generally point to market demand which has remained flat whenengine production numbers are compared to year earlier figures.Recent survey results of machine shops concerning production year1997 confirm these assumptions. Automotive Rebuilder magazine conducted a surveyof the machine shop membership of
Valve Stem Seals
Valve stem seals play a critical role in controlling valve lubrication as well as oil consumption. If the seals do not fit properly or are not installed correctly, the guides may be either starved for lubrication or flooded with oil. Either way, the engine is going to have problems – and you’re going to have
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
Ideal Supply – “Farming” For Opportunities
As the winner of our fifth annual "MachineShop of the Year" award contest, Ideal Supply Co., Listowel,Ontario, can claim a number of "firsts." It is the firstCanadian recipient of our award and, to our knowledge, it is alsothe first machine shop which has obtained ISO (International StandardsOrganization) 9002 certification. About two hours due east of
“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
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
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,
Understanding Alternator Current Output
The amount of electronic and electrical equipment in today’s cars has increased exponentially over the past decade and we can look forward to even more in the near future. The demands for electrical power are increasing and, consequently, greater output currents are needed from the alternator. In this article, we will examine what determines the
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
Performance Marine Engines – Meeting Customer Expectations
Life is a series of compromises. Human relations almost alwaysinvolves compromises of some sort. You want Chinese for dinner,she wants Italian; something has to give. Even if you go yourseparate ways, it’s a compromise and a decision to not dine together. Believe it or not, it’s the same with machinery. Any exercisein design is a
Why Parts Get Coated
I never would have believed you could get those kind of resultsfrom a glorified paint job. With those words, another skeptic(in this case, a NASCAR Winston Cup engine builder) had come toaccept the value of special coatings applied to engine components. At the time, such skepticism was not totally unwarranted. Likeany emerging technology, the coating
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,
Waste Minimization: Ways To Reduce, And Even Eliminate, Hazardous Wastes From Your Cleaning Process
Managing your shop’s wastes shouldn’t be hazardous to your business.Although there is a lot involved with managing wastes from cleaningoperations including operating costs to disposal requirements,the good news for rebuilders is that there are ways to reduce,and even eliminate, hazardous wastes from your cleaning process. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), materialsand wastes of
Valvetrains: Better Materials & Design
Pushrods would seem to be an endangered species these days, atleast as far as most new engine designs are concerned. The onlybrand new engines built in recent years with a pushrod valvetrainhave been Chrysler’s 8.0L V10 for the Viper and Dodge Ram, andGeneral Motors new "LS1" 5.7L small block V8. All therest have either been