Green Strategies: Propane – A Gas on the Rise
The issue of the automotive and heavy-duty industry moving toward more alternative fuel useage will always be an important topic of discussion for the rebuilding industry. And, no matter which side of the fence you are on regarding a reduction in petroleum in today’s vehicles, alternative fuels may provide more engine-related opportunities to your business.
Tips to Keep the Shop Clean from Top to Bottom
To help engine and performance shops improve cleanliness and productivity, Cintas Corporation offers 10 tips for maintaining a clean shop environment. 1. Plan daily floor maintenance. Shop floor cleanliness is increasingly important as many technicians take customers into the service area to discuss their vehicle’s condition. To keep floors in the teardown/rebuilding area clean, develop
Choosing the Right Rings
Choosing piston rings for a performance engine build is not as simple as it sounds. Your ring choices may be limited depending on the dimensions of the ring grooves that are available. The location of the wrist pin may also limit what you can do with rod length and stroke if you want to build
A Fitting Solution to Lasting Longer
Since 2000, Abradable Powder Coatings have been used in auto production to coat supercharger rotors. These “clearance coatings” can also be used to safely minimize piston clearances, minimize piston rock and slap and promote better ring sealing and increase power. When clearance coatings are used, leak down lasts longer, too. For the last eight years,
Assembling the Pieces of Our 392 Magnum Project
Customer sales reps (CSR) who work for your local W.D., or any parts person for that matter, are expected to not only take orders, but are often times called upon to choose the parts a shop will use for a build or repairs. Reps may be asked to help diagnose a problem or failure without
9th Annual Edelbrock Car Show
Edelbrock’s 9th Annual Car Show will be held on Saturday May 3, 2014 benefiting the Rev’ved Up 4 Kids charity. On Friday, May 2, 2014, Edelbrock will once again be opening the doors of their corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility to the public for free shop tours. Participants will get the opportunity to take a
History in the Making: 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe
I enjoy history. And I’m guessing that those in the engine performance and rebuilding industry like you have an affinity toward history as well. It could be why many of you are in the business of bringing back to life engines that have accumulated miles of roadway travel on family vacations, or set records on
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson team up with Valvoline for Reinvention Project
Starting February 11, 2014, car enthusiasts everywhere can put their know-how to the test in an attempt to guess the various features of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s and Jimmie Johnson’s creations. A virtual garage hosted at www.ReinventionProject.com invites consumers to select the parts that the drivers hand-picked for their high-performance trucks, from Chevrolet Performance engines, to American Eagle
Add Listing
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. Updated annually in print and constantly online, this is a year-round resource for professional engine builders and machine shop seeking the products and services designed to
Building a 392 Magnum for the Independence Fund
Ever since the column I did in about stroker motors a few years ago (“Love the One You’re With,” Engine Builder, March 2010), the idea of building one of these engines, a less than everyday stroker combination, has been on my mind. To recap, the premise of the article was simple — Look at the
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
Identifying and Removing the “Time Stealers” from Your Shop
Your engine shop may be great at rebuilding powerplants for customers, but one thing your staff can’t do is build “more time.” Whether it’s silver, gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies or even cold, hard cash, we take numerous measures each day to protect our valuable items, some more drastic than others. We use locks, banks, safes
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,
Fuel Feature: Eliminating Poor Throttle Response
Impact of Today’s Gasoline on Carbureted Engines The pump gasoline sold at gas stations around the country has changed quite a bit over the last several decades. The first major change was the removal of lead from the gasoline. The next major change was to reformulate the gasoline to reduce both the evaporative and exhaust
Shop Solutions: October 2013 Issue
Balloons Belong at Birthday Parties Not in Transmissions I rebuilt a 454 GM engine that went into a motorhome application. It ran well, and no problems immediately appeared. But later on, it was towed in with a main bearing failure in the thrust area. I gave the customer another engine, and a month later it
Head Gasket Q & A
Cylinder head gasket design has become more sophisticated than in years past. The following FAQs on head gaskets may give you a better understanding of WHY you need to rebuild a particular engine. Can an overheating motor cause a head gasket failure? One reason head gaskets fail is because of engine overheating. If the engine
Star Date 2025 Closer to Reality
Hold on, because some industry experts predict a bumpy ride ahead By Dave Sutton In 11 years – 2025 – the industry will still exist, but might be as much as 50 percent smaller, with fewer repair shops, machine shops and wholesale distributors, according to some industry professionals I recently surveyed. Their overall consensus was
Identifying and Removing the “Time Stealers” from Your Shop
Your engine shop may be great at rebuilding powerplants for customers, but one thing your staff can’t do is build “more time.” Whether it’s silver, gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies or even cold, hard cash, we take numerous measures each day to protect our valuable items, some more drastic than others. We use locks, banks, safes
Replacing Oil Pump Intermediate Shafts
By the time an engine needs a new oil pump it has had considerable wear. By the time an engine needs a new oil pump it has had considerable wear. The cylinder walls, rings, cam and lifters all wear. The material worn off all goes to the oil pan where some is washed out during
Chevy 3.1L Cam Bearing Bore Issues
Some of the later roller cam 3.1L blocks for the ’93-’94 Chevy VIN M are showing up with oversize cam bearing bores that appear to have been caused by spun cam bearings. If a new cam bearing is installed in a bore that has been damaged, it will spin in the block, cut off the
