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
Tuning in to the Sport Compact Market
While the American muscle car segment is getting a shot in the arm with the Mustang, Charger, GTO and others, the sport compact market is not going away any time soon. Much has been said about the possible demise of this once fast-growing market but according to some manufacturers there is still plenty of business
Engine Bearings and Crankshafts, What makes them [not] tick?
The relationship between the crankshaft and main bearings is an integral one. Any metal-to-metal contact can have catastrophic results, and if the carnage was the result of improper finish or fitment, you’ll likely get to work on your relationship skills again. There are many analogies to explain how its parts relate to the engine as
Which Cranksfaft Meets Your Racing Needs Best?
There are a lot of racing crankshafts in the automotive aftermarket today. You’ll find a wide variety of styles, strokes, weights and price ranges from which you can choose. The question you need to be asking is which crank is “right” for the engine you’re building? The answer to that question depends on several things
Rebuilding the Ford 3.0L
This engine came out of the Cleveland Engine Plant #2 (CEP2), originally opened in 1955 to manufacture the 361 cid truck engine. By 1985, this facility was down to 400 employees and on the verge of closing. Then in 1988, plant renovation was begun (with the 3.0L Duratec engine family on the drawing board) at
Coretalk: Pentagon 9/11 Survivor To Keynote PERA Convention
After American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon, very close to his second floor office, LTC Birdwell was thrown to the ground and engulfed in flames. Of the burns that consumed 60 percent of his body, nearly half were third-degree burns. With more than 30 operations and months of multiple skin grafts and burn
Engine Parts Coatings
Lubricity, heat management, corrosion protection and cosmetics. These are the main benefits that coatings can provide when applied to the surface of various engine parts. But there are different coating materials for different purposes, so the key to maximizing engine durability and performance with coated parts is using the right coating materials in the right
Coretalk: NAPA Awards Crank Biz To Hi-Tech’s New Venture
The Hi-Tech Blueprint series crankshaft is restored to the original factory blueprint specifications. Blueprint Series crankshafts are delivered directly to NAPA stores in the U.S. on an overnight basis, including a program for Alaska and Hawaii. The company offers application coverage for more than 1,000 part numbers for auto, truck and marine. “NAPA chose this
Gen III GM Small Block Engine, LS1 Motor for Cars, Trucks
The first generation small block was revised to create the second generation LT1/LT4 that was used for some applications from ’92 to ’97, but the results didn’t satisfy the people at GM Powertrain, so they started all over in ’91 and designed a brand new small block. It’s officially called the “Gen III” motor, but
Engine Boring and Honing Equipment
Cylinder boring and honing is the heart of most engine builders’ operations. The equipment you use will have a lasting effect on the quality of the product your shop sends out the door on a day-by-day basis. While equipment varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, so too do your needs for a specific type of machine.
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
Engine Kit Opportunities
In nearly all aspects of today’s competitive consumer market, the customer is king, brand means everything, and warranties on parts and services are a given, right? Great news for the value-minded shopper, but what about the supplier? In the automotive industry, of course, OEMs have been offering unprecedented warranties and financing terms for the past
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
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’
Engine Balancing
In the dark ages of the automotive industry, engine balancing was considered an art practiced exclusively by performance engine builders. Only those wizards of speed (it was widely believed) could understand the forces that caused drivetrain vibration – and more importantly, those that stopped it. Those few who could balance an engine were looked upon
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
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
What’s Wrong With Our Industry
What’s wrong with the engine building industry today? It’s a simple question that has no simple answer. Like many other – if not every – industry facing difficult times, the factors impacting this market are varied, complex and frustratingly hard to pin down. Are the woes of the industry the fault of customers or suppliers?
Align Yourself
The crankshaft main bores are the foundation of every engine block. The alignment of the main bores is important because their position establishes the centerline of the crankshaft and how the crank aligns with the cylinders, deck surfaces and camshaft. Misalignment in the main bores can cause binding and premature main bearing wear. Misalignment occurs