Gessford Machine, 2004 Machine Shop of the Year
If you asked a roomful of people to make a list of the 20 most exciting cities in the world, you would probably find New York, London, Paris, Rome and Beijing on every list. While the exact order and final tally of cities might vary, it’s unlikely that Hastings, NE, would even be mentioned. But
Coretalk: AERA EXPO 2005 Set For Las Vegas Hilton In April
The EXPO will showcase leading edge technology with live, operating demonstrations of equipment, tools, supplies, parts and services. Exhibits will be open on Thursday, April 28, from 10:30 am-6 pm; Friday, April 29, from 10:30 am- 6:30 pm; and Saturday, April 30, from 10:30 am- 2:30 pm. EXPO will include a keynote address from NASCAR
Fast Lane: Boundless Opportunities Await You in 2005
By now you have all made your New Year’s resolutions, and hopefully, at least one of those goals tions is to look for new opportunities that will help your business become even more successful. This month’s column should give you some help in keeping that resolution. The elections are finally over and the economy is
Crank And Cam Polishing: Are You Smooth Enough?
Manufacturers are designing today’s engines with tighter tolerances and less room for error. They make more power, live longer, produce less noise, vibration and friction, burn less fuel and produce lower emissions. So in light of all this, it is more important than ever for engine builders to be as perfect, or near perfect, as
Piston Ring Technology: Stock and Performance
Piston rings have one of the toughest jobs inside an engine. They’re slammed up and down between the ring lands thousands of times a minute; they’re subjected to searing temperatures and extreme pressures; and they’re constantly scraping back and forth against the cylinder walls. In spite of all of this, the rings are expected to
Tractor Pulling: It’s Not Your Granddad’s John Deere Anymore
Tractor pulling has been with us for as long as there have been tractors. Farmers used to pull their horses, mules or oxen and, just as today, each bragged that he had the biggest and strongest. Today, at the top echelons of pulling, the technology is equal to anything else in motorsports. Although you won’t
What’s Hot In Performance – Cams, Lifters & Rockers
The camshaft is really the heart of every performance engine because the cam defines the engine’s breathing potential, its torque curve and peak horsepower. The camshaft controls when the valves open, how quickly they open, how far they open (with some help from the rocker arms), how long the valves are held open, and when
Not So Stock: NASCAR Motors and Their Street Counterparts
The engines in NASCAR’s newly introduced Strictly Stock class of stock car racing in 1949 were literally stock, right off the dealer’s showroom floor. Today, they’re anything but. So what happened? Evolution. Like any sport or industry, evolution has moved NASCAR racing to where it is today, a multi-million dollar business. The engines, called ‘motors’
Can You Keep Up With The Changes In The Industry?
In this fast-paced world, keeping up with any industry can be very trying. Keeping up with the latest trends can be the difference between success and failure. Those businesses that remain successful are those that continually stay at the forefront of their chosen field. The engine rebuilding business has seen tremendous change in the past
The Angle On Valve Seats
Valve seats seem to be a fairly simple engine component but they play a critical role in sealing compression and cooling the valves. When a seat becomes worn, it may leak compression and allow the valve to run hotter than normal. The same thing can happen if the seat is out-of-round or has lost its
New Technology:Advances in Engine Building Equipment
How has racing changed your engine building business? No, it’s not a hypothetical, industry-generic question; in this case, it’s directed at every reader of this magazine. A strange question? It may seem to be. If you race – or build motors for racers – it’s probably an easy one to answer. But if you stay
Topline Automotive Buys, Reopens Hylift Facility, Engine Builder, August 2004
A full-line of flat mechanical tappets, lash adjusters and encapsulated hydraulic roller lifters are again being produced by the original Hylift machines and team. The previous Hylift OE lines that were in Zeeland, MI, have now been relocated to the Muskegon plant. “The same people who made ‘The Beautiful Lifter’ are back manufacturing with precision
Is There A ‘Spec Engine’Program In Your Future?
In an attempt to reduce the high cost of racing, many sanctioning bodies and racetracks are experimenting with or already using what could be described as “spec engines” or “crate engines.” General Motors was one of the first to offer a crate engine for racing, but now numerous manufacturers including Ford and Dodge have crate
Big-Inch Cadillac’s
While some engines are relatively rare in machine shops, the big Cadillacs have remained a consistent source of income. These engines are Cadillac’s last big hurrah at traditional big-cube, flagship GM engines. Surprisingly, they are also a scaled-down version of a V-12 engine that made it through early production and road-testing before being scrapped as
Researching the Rebuilding Market for Multi-Valve Cylinder Heads
Cylinder head work has provided a good income for many of our readers over the years. All engines eventually need a valve job and guide work if they accumulate enough miles. Head work may also be needed if an engine overheats and blows a head gasket, if the head develops a crack, or an OHC
2004 AETC Conference
The 14th annual Advanced Engine Technology Conference (AETC) saw a return to the Antlers Adam’s Mark, in downtown Colorado Springs, CO, Jan. 8-11. The return to this facility, though higher priced than those used in the recent past, was requested by a poll of last year’s attendees because of the higher quality of the hotel
Showdown Pits Engine Builders Against Themselves
For the 1,500 members of the cheering crowd, the battle was between two teams of professional engine builders, both of which have enjoyed great success building engines for some of NASCAR’s most popular – and successful – drivers. For Lanny Barnes and Mike Maiwald, though, the real challenge wasn’t to beat the other, but NOT
Sprint Car Motors
While the World of Outlaws, the All Stars, and USAC are the most well known of the sprint car racing organizations in this country, there are nearly fifty organizations that sanction sprint car racing. In addition, that doesn’t take into account the racetracks throughout the country that have their own division of sprint cars. Although
Cylinder Bore Refinishing with Honing Tools
By ring friendly, we mean a finish that provides good support for the rings, retains oil and does not require a lengthy break-in period. For most engines today, a ring-friendly finish means a plateau finish. A plateau bore finish is what all types of rings eventually produce when they are fully seated, so the closer
Putting the ‘Power’ in Powersports
Performing rebuilds and other machine services on ATVs, personal watercraft (PWC) and snowmobile engines may provide your shop with a little added boost during a down period without having to retool your entire shop. However, to make the most of the opportunity, you should know what type of market you can serve best – ATV,