Coretalk: Consolidated Mfg. Cuts Staff, Shifts Focus Away From Remanufacturing
During a plantwide meeting in late February, company officials told 100 workers their jobs were eliminated. The company retained 20 employees for 30 to 60 days to handle the transition, said Greg Gordon, company president. Consolidated will retain 18 employees. The company, founded in 1940 and one of the nation’s first Ford Motor Co. engine
Coretalk: IMCA Engine Claims Top 400 Through Late Season
A total of 402 claims were made through late September, including 149 in the Modified division, 113 in the Stock Car class and 136 in the Hobby Stocks. There were also two claims in the Sprint Car division and one each in the Northern SportMod and Jeff’s Performance Southern SportMod classes. Claims so far in
Common Technologies, Uncommon Fuels, New Challenges
There is a “shade tree law” from the 1970s that states that computing capacity doubles every few years. In fact, computing capacity for the size of the computer or device has outstripped that by several orders of magnitude in the last five years. As evidence of that, we now see cell phones that were only
Making Horsepower and Horse Sense From Your Dyno
A dyno can give an engine builder an enormous wealth of information and even separate the truth from lies. It’s one thing for a builder to have an idea of what the engine he or she is building is capable of and quite another to know exactly what’s been created. That’s because a dyno, more
New Clean Diesel Technology
With gasoline prices in the U.S. bouncing around the two dollars per gallon mark, record high oil prices and growing uncertainty over the price and availability of future oil supplies, any new technology that can give consumers more bang for their buck should be welcomed. Domestic vehicle manufacturers have virtually abandoned further development of electric
Ford Timing Chains and Belts
So if a customer is driving a vehicle that is more than 5 or 6 years old, he may be driving on borrowed time if the timing belt has not been replaced. The risk of belt failure goes up sharply once a belt surpasses its recommended replacement interval, which for most Ford applications (except the
In Search Of New Markets, Mike Jeffries
Looking for new markets is one of the toughest things we do, so every time the phone rings we listen for an opportunity. Most of what we find is suspect, but over the past 12 months we have rebuilt a number of compact diesels and sold a number of rebuild kits. As a result we
A Kubota diesel engine for rebuild
Engine Builders: If you are considering a Kubota diesel engine for rebuild, the following specifications regarding compression pressures will be helpful. For your installer customers, this information will be useful in engine diagnosis. To obtain an accurate value of cranking compression, the engine should be operated until normal operating temperature is reached. If an engine
Coretalk: September 2001
Ford Plans to Revamp Parts Distribution Network Ford Motor Co. is working to restructure and expand its United States parts distribution network to deliver service and repair parts to its dealers faster and more efficiently. Over the next three years, Ford plans to increase the number of parts distribution centers from 10 to 21, creating
Automotive Rebuilder Interview with Brad Hartmann, Hartmann Bros., Inc.
Brad Hartmann is president of Hartmann Bros. Inc., a heavy duty rebuilding operation located in Abilene, TX. He is the incoming chairman of AERA’s Vanguard committee, the group providing leadership opportunities to AERA members under the age of 40. Hartmann, 31, has been with the company since high school in the 1980s, beginning full-time employment
Cleaning Aluminum
"Ten years ago, when there wasn’t that much aluminum, people were scared," said Mike Wigert, sales manager of spraywasher manufacturer LS Industries. "They didn’t know how to regulate their ovens, they didn’t know which chemicals to use, and they were tarnishing their aluminum parts, and probably ended up hand cleaning a lot of them," he
Rebuilding Toyota 3.0L V6 Engine
In 1988 Toyota introduced its first V6. Most of the information that follows applies to the 3.0L version used in Toyota’s truck applications. The 3.4L is still fairly new to the aftermarket at this point. 3VZ-E – 3.0L SOHC V6 – ’88-’95 The 3VZ-E was also introduced for the 1988 model year on Toyota 4×4
Cleaning Equipment Maintenance
The saying, "An ounce of preventionis worth a pound of cure," definitely holds true when itcomes to the operation of cleaning equipment in rebuilding shops. According to David Zehren, product manager,stationary equipment for Georg Fischer Disa Goff, Inc., Seminole,OK, routine maintenance of cleaning equipment impacts all rebuilders,no matter how large or small. "The issue of
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
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
Power Investments, Inc.: Building An Empire In The Rebuilding Industry
Mike Jarvis, 53, president of Power Investments,Inc., is quietly building an empire in the rebuilding industry.If you want proof, just take a look at his frequent flyer miles(he’s averaged about 2,500 business miles per week over the pastfour years), and the fact that company growth has averaged between12-18% per year, mostly through acquisitions, since 1983.
The Core Market Right Now Is Very Soft
Core suppliers throughout the industry aretrying to interpret the reasons for a slower market this year."The core market right now is very soft", says Bob Grady,president of Rebuilders Automotive Supply (RAS) in Cranston, RI."Unit sales are about the same, but prices and margins aredown and terms are longer, so profits are down too." It’s human
Forklifts
Engine rebuilders often classify themselves as an automotive (car and light truck), and/or medium duty/heavy-duty diesel or industrial rebuilder, and usually primarily stay in one market or the other. Some cross the line and do business in both markets, but most tend to stay in familiar territory where they’re comfortable. Yet rebuilding forklift engines is
Salvage Yards
For more than 75 years, automotive recyclers have had a role in the supplying of used parts to commercial repair operations including body shops, new and used car dealers, auto and truck fleet businesses, independent repair shops and garages. Through recycling more than 11 million vehicles a year with more than $5 billion in annual
Shot Blasting Equipment Maintenance: Simple Does Not Mean Maintenance-Free
The technology of hurling steel or glass shot at more than 100 mph is pretty simple. But in the world of shot blasting machines, simple does not mean maintenance-free. The essence of these machines, no matter what their design, is that clean core parts come at the price of dramatic wear-down of media, as well