PML Offers Deep Transmission Pan for the C5 Corvette
PML has added a great looking, solid construction, transmission pan to its line of products especially for automobile enthusiasts. PML designed this transmission pan specifically for C5 Corvette owners who push their Corvettes to the limit and for owners who just want to take care of their Corvettes. This pan would also be useful for
Elgin Industries Opens Distribution Facility and Plans Additional Manufacturing Operations
Elgin Industries, one of North America’s leading manufacturers of original equipment (OE) and replacement engine and chassis components, has opened a standalone product distribution facility in Elgin, IL. The new facility will serve the growing packaging, private label and specialized shipping requirements of aftermarket distributors and other customers served by the company. The new distribution
Buyer’s Guide Listing Update
The Engine Builder Buyers Guide is the industry’s most-complete resource of parts, equipment, shop supplies and services for domestic and import, automotive and heavy-duty, conventional and high performance engine builders/rebuilders. Published in print and online, this is a year-round resource for professional engine builders and machine shop seeking the products and services designed to improve
December Issue Shop Solutions for Engine Builders
Piston Ring Gapping Tip Some of you may know this ring end gapping tip, but I have never seen it anywhere. Not even in ring package instructions. This has to do with checking the flimsy oil rail gaps. Most conventional size bores are not much of a problem. The rails on those sizes usually have a lot
Fuel Caddy Released to Help in Engine Shops
JohnDow Industries, a manufacturer of portable fuel containment products, recently announced a complete makeover of its Fuel Chief poly gas caddy line. The new “Fuel Cart” is constructed of high molecular weight, high density polyethylene (HMW-HDPE) and carries the UN/DOT and Transport Canada Approval (UN 3H1). Mark Pfleeger, Vice President-Sales & New Business Development stated
Dart Machinery Introduces Aluminum ‘LS Next’ Block
One year after revealing its remarkable cast iron LS Next engine block, Dart Machinery reduces its mass and announces an aluminum counterpart. Created from the finest casting materials and weighing 107 lbs, the LS Next was the first aftermarket block to comprehensively address high-performance troubles in the original equipment LS power unit. Laden with innovations,
A Decade of Dynamic Engine Design – Roush Yates Engines Celebrates 10 Years
In December, Roush Yates Engines (RYE) celebrated its 10th Anniversary and will reset the compass into a new area of the business, but it’s all according to plan. Engine builders who used to see RYE at local races as competitors, will now be able to work directly with them and their vast resources when building
Manifold Matchmaker – Tips for Selecting the Right Manifold for Your Engine Build
Every engine needs some type of intake manifold to route air into the engine’s cylinders. With carbureted engines, the intake manifold has a wet plenum and runners because the manifold has to flow air and atomized fuel at the same time. Consequently, the manifold runners can’t turn or twist too sharply otherwise the heavier fuel
Vote for Your Favorite Video in ‘Search for a Champion’ Racing Sponsorship Contest
Performance enthusiasts and other consumers can go online to vote for their favorite video entries in the Champion brand’s popular $125,000 “Search for a Champion” racing sponsorship contest, with each registered vote qualifying for a free entry in a sweepstakes for hundreds of Champion T-shirts and hats. To register and vote in the contest, simply
Eric Grant — SEMA’s First Executive Director of SEMA Hall of Fame — Passes Away
Eric Grant, SEMA’s first executive director and member of the SEMA Hall of Fame, passed away on Dec. 23. Grant’s contributions to and impact on the specialty-equipment industry are not based on producing performance parts or increasing vehicle speed, but his importance to the growth of the automotive aftermarket and SEMA’s early years cannot be
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
Engine Run Stand Tips
Engine test stands have evolved through development and engineering to help support engine shops, dyno testing facilities and technical trade schools, as well as manufactures. When the topic of dyno testing is tossed around, many think of exhausting every ounce of horsepower and torque. Others focus on profits and cost per hour. This is where a well-engineered engine run stand
Dyno-Might: Utilizing a Dynamometer to ‘Boost’ Engine Builds
Some would say that one of the criteria for being a “real” performance engine builder is having your own engine dyno. A dynamometer is not just a tool for measuring horsepower and torque (though some people think that’s all a dyno is used for). It’s a quality control tool that allows you to make sure
Hydrocarbon Heartburn? — Effects of Sulfur Reduction in Motor Oils
Let’s face it, things change. Not only have the prices of gasoline, diesel and motor oils changed in the last decade or so, the chemical makeup of these products have all changed, too. The reduction of sulfur in diesel fuel, gasoline and motor oil has had measurable effects on fuel injectors and other vital engine
Time in a Bottle — Reasons Behind Changing Engine Oils
When I was just a young pup in the 1960s working on lubes for Shell Research and Development, passenger car motor oils (PCMO) were much simpler and easier to understand. There were only three performance levels: motor light (ML), motor moderate (MM), and motor severe (MS). Auto manufacturers and lube oil marketers worked closely with
Eastern Oklahoma County Technology Center Students Are Top Hot Rod Builders
Team Moroso, from Eastern Oklahoma County Technology Center in Choctaw, Okla., defeated 22 other schools from across the nation to win the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow National Championship recently at the PRI Trade Show in Indianapolis. School instructor Jim LaFevers tutored a six-student group that broke the event’s national record in breaking down and then
November Issue Engine Builder Shop Solutions
Jeep 3.8L Oil Pressure Problem Many late model 3.8L Jeep engines are losing oil pressure at the oil pump due to failure of the bypass valve. This results in destruction of not only the crankshaft, but the connecting rods. To fix the problem, you need to find the bypass valve inside the plastic timing cover.
PERA Announces New Board of Directors
Randy Bauer, of Jasper Engine & Transmission Exchange, Jasper, IN; and Robert Stanley of The Armakleen Company, Princeton, NJ, were elected to the board of directors of the Production Engine Remanufacturers Association (PERA) at the organization’s 68th Annual Conference held recently in Dallas, TX. Bauer and Stanley replace board of directors Bill Levy, U.S. Tool & Mfg. Company,
Computer ‘Tools’
Infusing Software Technology into a Performance Build For years, computer-aided design (CAD) has been used in the automotive industry to develop prototypes of body styles, as well as to design auto components including engine parts, electronics and even tires. In fact, Dr. Patrick J. Hanratty, an American computer scientist who is known as the “Father
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,
