GM 604 RUSH Engine
Every year, Ingram Engines pumps out an average of 130 engines. Of those 130 engines, nearly 100 of them are GM 604 engines built for racing series such as RUSH, Crate USA, SECA and FastTrak. Find out what goes into making this engine such an impressive powerplant out on the track.
ATV/UTVs – Not Just a Glorified Golf Cart Anymore
When the world of ATVs (All-Terrain Vehicles) began to sprout up and dealerships everywhere began selling these off-road machines, performance modifications also began to grow right along with them. As with any recreational machine, whether on or off-road, there will be many who want a little more than the typical performance. Getting more power and
Ford FE Stroker Build
Guardian of the Galaxie How Ford’s FE Engine Rose from the Ashes of Disaster to Become a Versatile Veteran Ford’s FE engine has had a rich history that, today, is often overlooked or at least misunderstood. Many of us who have been around awhile have heard the term FE, but not a lot of people of today’s
Third-World Problems, First-World Production
Ask the typical reader of Engine Builder what his biggest business challenge is and you might hear complaints such as bargain basement internet parts sales, competition from OEMs and an inability to find enthusiastic employees. Ask Andrew Yorke about his headaches and things sound a bit different. “Things that all my fellow engineers take for
Supercharged 481X Top Sportsman Engine
Steve Morris and his shop, Steve Morris Engines, specialize in boosted, supercharged and turbocharged engines, and only build motors with more than 1,000 hp! This 481X Top Sportsman engine is no exception. Find out what went into making this 3,500 hp powerplant.
FE Dyno Pulls Show Benefits of Carburetors and EFI
We intended to dyno the engine two ways: first, we wanted to break the engine in and fine-tune it with a carburetor. Then, we would convert the engine over to fuel injection and compare power differences. This would be a great opportunity for a real-world comparison.
New Engines Force New Pistons
As engines get smaller, motorists expect the same performance as a larger V6 or V8 but with the fuel economy of a four cylinder. Turbocharging makes little engines breathe big, but it also increases the load and temperature the pistons have to endure. This, in turn, requires pistons made of alloys that can withstand higher temperatures and combustion pressures. Yesterday’s castings won’t cut it for these kinds of applications.
The Ford ‘FE’ – Rebuilding An American Iron Icon
Ford produced the FE series engines for almost 20 years and in this time period, this series of engine gained quite a following. After researching the FE, I was intrigued about its internal workings. I had always heard about and seen some of the more popular FE engines such as the 390, 427 and 428 but never had a chance to dive into one – until now.
Head Surfacing and Straightening
Clean, smooth and flat have always been requirements for proper head sealing whether you are building a stock engine or a monster motor for a ProStock drag car. Head gaskets can only accommodate so much distortion and roughness across the face of the cylinder head and deck. Resurfacing the desk surface on a cylinder head and/or engine block should restore flatness and achieve the required smoothness.
Don’t Gamble When Choosing Cylinder Heads
A cylinder head is much more than a casting that tops off the block, holds the valves and forms the combustion chambers. The head works in combination with the camshaft, induction and exhaust systems to determine how the engine breathes, the engine’s power curve and personality. The “right” cylinder head on an engine will deliver
Cylinder Head Porting
Huge flow numbers may be impressive, but optimizing airflow at mid-valve lift is key to power. If airflow though a valve port is plotted on a graph for the entire valve cycle (from opening to peak lift and back to close), the area under the curve is total airflow, which corresponds to total power. So
Custom Crankshafts and Connecting Rods
As an engine builder, you get to decide what parts go into the engines you build. If you’re rebuilding a stock engine to stock specifications, you’re probably going to use a reconditioned stock crankshaft and connecting rods to keep costs down. There’s no reason to upgrade these parts because they should be adequate for the
Breakin-In Is Hard To Do
Before we begin discussing assembly lubes and break-in oils, I would like to emphasize that no one factor is responsible for racing success (or failure). It’s like an algebraic equation with a lot of variables, all of which must be addressed. The same is true of engine assembly and break-in. You must utilize only those
New Products for Modern V8 Engines
The numbers aren’t there yet, but engine builders and suppliers are taking notice of the new V8s. What has taken so long? For one, the new engines are more expensive and more complex. Some shops do not have the capability or expertise to work on them just yet, but more and more shops do. One
Late Model Performance Cylinder Heads
As the economy continues to come out of its slump, cylinder head manufacturers are seeing a growing demand for new cylinder heads that can deliver race-winning performance. Whether the heads are upgraded aftermarket heads for traditional small block/big block Chevy and Ford applications, or hot heads for the latest generation of Chevy LS and
HPBG: Racing Piston Technology
Munro had a problem with melting his cast pistons so he kept trying to develop his own out of melted down GM pistons. Today’s piston makers use a little more modern techniques, but the principle is the same: try, test and improve. On the outside, pistons tend to look the same. They are round slugs
Smooth Moves: Today’s Surfaces Often Demand Different Finishes
When multi-layer steel (MLS) head gaskets became commonplace a number of years ago, there was a lot of concern that aftermarket surfacing procedures might not be able to reproduce the mirror-like finish that the vehicle manufacturers said was absolutely necessary to seal MLS head gaskets. The challenge was to duplicate the factory finish using out-dated
Common Failure Modes
For years, B&G Machine had been a diesel machine shop serving Seattle and the upper Northwest part of the U.S. To address certain market conditions in the mid- to late-’90s, we began building diesel engines. In doing so, we tried to identify the engines that would best serve a captive market – markets that would
It
The above statement is bold, you may think. Are you thinking that it doesn’t applyto your business? You may think you’re doing okay. Yet my statementapplies to everyone – from a one-man shop to a shop with 100 employeesor more – because if you don’t do it, your competitor will! The most recent Machine Shop
A Closer Look at BBC Bracket Racing Cylinder Heads
However, it proved to be just the opposite – sportsman racers loved it and it allowed local drag racing to thrive and grow. Back in its infancy, I covered weekly bracket racing in Southern California at the now defunct Irwindale and Orange County International Raceways. The action was hot and heavy with full fields of