The Smooth Science of Cylinder Honing
The basics of honing cylinder blocks hasn’t changed much in recent years, but what has changed are the type of abrasives being used by many engine builders. Silicon carbide and aluminum oxide honing stones of various grits have long been used in power honing machines and portable hones to finish cylinder bores. These types
PERA’S Core Corner
This month we are going to look at some issues that have certainly been identified in previous issues of Engine Builder. However, based upon the number of recent inquiries at PERA headquarters we thought it might be a good time to bring them to everyone’s attention again as a helpful reminder. First, is the 2.9L
IRS Addresses Phantom Incomes And Ghost Core Values
Sometimes patience and perseverance pays off. Over eight years ago my client, the Automotive Parts Rebuilders Association (APRA), learned that the Internal Revenue Service had issued new internal guidelines directing how rebuilders must value their core inventories for tax purposes. Of particular concern to the industry was the way IRS wanted a rebuilder to value
Nationwide Warranties
The competition faced by engine builders has never been tougher. There seems to be no end to the new car incentives that the manufacturers can dream up in order to continue the torrid pace of new car sales. This factor, along with consumer perceptions of improved OEM engine quality and performance, several years ago was
Matt
Matthew and Daniella Schroeder know what it’s like to make something out of nothing. They have managed to turn Matt’s Motor Worx, located in Montevideo, MN, into a diverse and thriving business that started with just four bare walls. Matt learns a lot from owning and driving a late model dirt stock car, and this
Vincent Mancini Sees the Future of PERA ; Right Here, Right Now
You might think that a popular rock band would have nothing to contribute to an engine remanufacturer. You might think the best way to make a profit is to slash expenses by all means necessary. Or, you might think things would be better if your customer would just see your side of the story for
It’s A Tough Market
Is this a tough market to do business in? You bet it is. Will business ever be what it once was when small block Chevy engines fit into almost every GM car, and machine shops had an abundance of both work and customers? Not likely. Will the quality of engines continue to improve, lengthening the
Rebuilding the Toyota 3.0L V6 SOHC Head
The Toyota 3.0L V6 was introduced in Toyota trucks in 1988 with single overhead cam heads. This engine was designated as the 3VZ-E and was available for the truck line until 1995. This eight-year run means there are literally tens of thousands of these engines and heads out there for remanufacture. According to
Great Scott! Wichlacz Takes Over as AERA Chairman
Wichlacz Takes Over as AERA Chairman Scott Wichlacz’s story begins the way many rebuilders’ stories begin: a young boy tinkering with lawnmower and tractor engines, taking apart the component parts of mechanisms and putting them back together, always knowing that this would be his chosen career. One thing led to another, and Wichlacz moved on
Blum Hopes To Help Bring PERs Up to Speed Technologically
The Production Engine Remanufacturers Association (PERA) will be coming up roses when it welcomes its new chairman at its annual convention, hosted this year in Point Clear, AL. Wilfried Blum will have some impressive shoes to fill as he replaces Jim Ormsby of Franklin Power Products, located in Franklin, IN, as president for 2001. Blum,
The Future Of OEMs In The Reman Aftermarket
Some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the independent automotive remanufacturing industry have maintained a symbiotic relationship since the introduction of the first automobiles; other OEMs are still lagging behind when it comes to getting involved in reman automotive aftermarket sales. However, today the future of the relationship between the two is critical not only to
Net Worth Marketing Machine Shop Services In The New Millennium
In an age of dot-coms, sound-byte advertising and consumer attention spans getting shorter, companies from the largest to the smallest have had to adjust their marketing strategies to keep pace. Production engine remanufacturers (PERs) and machine shops/custom engine rebuilders (CERs) are no exception. Today
Rebuilding the New Chevy 262
This enabled GM to shorten the development process dramatically because it was able to adapt a proven design. But it also allowed it to share a lot of the existing tooling from the V8 production lines so the engines could be on the road sooner. The original 200 V6 that came out in 1978 was
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
Message From Incoming PERA President Jim Ormsby
Sometimes we need to exceed even our own expectations. That’s the message from Jim Ormsby, incoming Production Engine Remanufacturers Assoc-iation (PERA) president and current general manager of Franklin Power Products, a production engine remanufacturer (PER) located in Franklin, IN. They’re words that all PERA members should take to heart if they wish to re-energize shrinking
The Obd Ii Shop: Will Machine Shops Be Able To Pass Added Technology Costs On To Their Customers?
These days, OEMs push the envelope in terms of precision engine building techniques. Will machine shops be able to pass added technology costs on to their customers? After a recent tour of the DaimlerChrysler Kenosha, WI, engine plant, I came away with a lot more questions than answers about the future of engine rebuilding, especially
Machine Shop Market Profile
In Part I of our annual profile of the custom engine rebuilder/machine shop market (see June, 1999 issue, page 54) we provided details on the average number of engines, cylinder heads and crankshafts produced monthly by the typical machine shop during production year 1998. Also included in Part I
Obd II Shop : The Sensitivity Of Obd-IISystems Will Present Significant Change For Shops
For nearly 30 years, engine rebuilders were sheltered from the dramatic changes sweeping through the automotive industry. While other shop owners and technicians scrambled to relearn almost everything they knew because of computers, engine rebuilding remained essentially the same. Now, machine shops, custom and production engine rebuilders are faced with relearning virtually everything they know.
LPG Conversions: Renewed Interest In The Use Of LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) And LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas)
The recent move to clean up inner city exhaustemissions has resulted in renewed interest in the use of LPG (LiquefiedPetroleum Gas) and LNG (Liquefied Natural gas) as motor fuels.These fuels are almost pure propane with a little butane present. Tax incentives are being offered to encouragefleet operators to convert to gaseous fuels and more vehiclesare
1998 Market Update – CV Shafts
One of the biggest issues still facing rebuilders is the controversyover the pros and cons of grinding CV joints. Though many CV unitrebuilders will tell you it’s getting harder to remain competitiveunless you grind, nobody grinds unnecessarily in this tight marketbecause of the costs of machine work and labor. Craig Russell of Drive Plus, Inc.,