engine builder, october 2014

EngineBuilderMag.com

SERVING ENGINE BUILDERS & REBUILDERS SINCE 1964

Special 50th Anniversary Issue

2014OCTOBER

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2 October 2014 | EngineBuilder

ENGINE BUILDER founded Oct. 1964Copyright 2014 Babcox Media Inc.

ENGINE BUILDER (ISSN 1535-041X)(October 2014, Volume 50, Number 10): Published monthly by Babcox Media Inc., 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333 U.S.A. Phone (330) 670-1234, FAX (330) 670-0874. Peri-odical postage paid at Akron, OH 44333 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ENGINE BUILDER, 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333.A limited number of complimentary subscriptions are available to individuals who meet the qualification requirements. Call (330) 670-1234, Ext. 275, to speak to a subscription servicesrepresentative or FAX us at (330) 670-5335. Paid Subscriptions are available for non-qualified subscribers at the following rates: U.S.: $69 for one year. Canada: $89 for one year.Canadian rates include GST. Ohio residents add current county sales tax. Other foreign rates/via air mail: $129 for one year. Payable in advance in U.S. funds. Mail payment to ENGINEBUILDER, P.O. Box 75692, Cleveland, OH 44101-4755. VISA, MasterCard or American Express accepted. Publisher reserves the right to reject any subscription that does not conform tohis standards or buying power coverage. Advertising which is below standard is refused. Opinions in signed articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of this magazine or itspublisher. Diligent effort is made to ensure the integrity of every statement. Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by return postage.

COVER DESIGN BY NICHOLE ANDERSON

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Greetings From BonnevilleRacing is the sexy and an exciting expression of theautomotive industry. It represents a large portion of theparts sold and labor performed. And, if we’re lucky,we’ve experienced multiple forms of racing.Contributing editor, Dave Sutton, made the muchanticipated trek to Bonneville this year for Speed Week.In this article he recalls 100 years of history at the Flats,and clues us in on today’s record chasers. Read abouthis journey to the Flats here.

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Rebuilding the Ford ‘FE’Ford has produced the FE series engines for almost 20years and in this time period, this series of engine gainedquite a following. After researching the FE, contributingeditor Bob McDonald was intrigued about its internalworkings. He had always heard about and seen some ofthe more popular FE engines such as the 390, 427 and428, but never had a chance to dive into one... Until now!

Break-In Oils and LubesA lot of things can go wrong during those first few minutesfollowing the initial start-up of a freshly built engine. Theengine has to build oil pressure quickly so all of the criticalwear surfaces will receive lubrication. Assembly lube isdesigned to cling to surfaces better than ordinary motoroil so there will be a protective film of lubricant until theengine is cranked over and started. Find out more aboutassembly lube inside this article.

Modified Ford Model BsKnown as the Model B, Ford produced this 200 cu. in. enginefor only four years beginning in 1932. Sporting only fourcylinders, it was basically an upgrade of the earlier Model Apowerplant. Shortly after its introduction, a wave ofprofessional upgrades made every stock B a potential raceengine. Check out this article and all the conversions thatmade the Model B an exciting early race engine.

Columns

Engine Builder’s 50th....................37Engine Builder staff and contributing companies weigh-in on the history of theengine rebuilding industry

Diesel Dialogue ............................65By Engine Builder staff Internal Affairs: Diesel Crankshafts and Rods

Tech Tips ......................................74When to Upgrade a Performance Head Gasket

Profitable Performance ................92By Dave SuttonUpdate on the Magnum 392 Charity Engine Build

DEPARTMENTSEditor’s Page ........................................................4Industry News......................................................6Events ..................................................................10Shop Solutions ....................................................142014 Supplier Spotlight ........................................95Cores/Classifieds/Ad Index ..................................98

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Rebuilding History


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Along the rolling hills of northwesternKentucky, the landscape is dotted with horsefarms and stables. In this gentle countryside,

prized thoroughbreds and quarter horses roam thelush, grassy farmlands.

And within this part of the state where miles ofwooden fences rise on each side of the roadway, nottoo far from the town of Florence on US HWY 42,there breeds a different kind of horsepower – onethat roars from a Late Model racer.

Nestled next to King’s Florence Speedway inWalton, a half-mile, clay, oval track carved into thetop of a hill, sits the Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame –a 2,500-sq. ft. building that seems to be bursting atthe seams with racing late model history andmemorabilia.

Everything fromhelmets, clothing andtrophies of racing legends to parts and completevehicles themselves, pack this pole building. Photos,event posters and newspaper clippings line themaze of walls throughout the Hall of Fame,remembering racing legends such as Larry Moore,Dick Potts, Red Farmer and others.

Built from donations in 2001 on the grounds nextto the dirt track, which came to life more than 50

years earlier, the Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame is alabor of love for executive director Bill Holder andits curator, Jim Klette, and other volunteers.

I stopped by the HOF for a visit in September onmy way to the PERA convention in Louisville, andwas taken back by the amount of time, energy andlove for the sport of racing that was poured into thefacility.

“We’re a 501C3, non-profit organization. There isno money involved in this. It is strictly volunteer,”Holder said, as he took me around the roomcrammed with donated late model racer items.

Fortunately for race fans, this place exists.Unfortunately for up-and-coming drivers, it’srunning out of room. Just outside the building on acement floor, sits a number of donated racecarsunder a makeshift canvas tent roof and sides.

Holder and Klette are looking to raise donationsto build an addition to the structure in an effort tobetter house the outdoor cars, and give more roomfor the museum artifacts that have been added asracing treasures since the early 2000s

Holder, an auto racing journalist who haspenned numerous articles for various magazines,including Engine Builder, said one dirt track thisyear held a 50/50 raffle with its race fans and the

money raised was donated to the museum.“I’d like to see more of the dirt tracks hold a

50/50 raffle during the season – then we couldeasily raise the money for the upgrade,” Holdersaid.

If you are a dirt stock car fan and are in thearea of the HOF, I urge you to stop by and checkit out. You, too, will see that this race fan museum,

designed to preserve racing history, is itself, worthpreserving. ■

For more information on the HOF, visithttp://ndlmhof.wordpress.com.

To contact Holder on donations to the museum, [email protected].


Honoring Horsepower History in Horse Country

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EDITOR Ed [email protected]

Hall of Fame Executive DirectorBill Holder Bill Holder, (Left) andJim Klette, curator of theNational Late Model Dirt TrackHall of Fame

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Rain Delay: MotherNature Rules theRecords at BonnevilleRainy weather postponedattempts by Danny Thompson,son of racing legend MickeyThompson, to set a land speedrecord for a piston engine car onthe Salt Flats of Bonneville thisyear.

Thompson's attempts at aland speed record – 439 mph –were hampered by rain atBonneville's annual Speed Weekin August, as well as the event

in September.Note: For more on Speed Week in

Bonneville, see Dave Sutton’s reportbeginning on page 78.

Not only were many fans lookingforward to Thompson’s recordattempt, but this also was the 100thAnniversary of Salt Flat racing atBonneville.

However, the Southern CaliforniaTiming Association, which certifies

the racing records, concluded theday’s leading up to Thompson’sSeptember attempt that salt wouldbe too soggy for racing, thus endingthe speed-setting season.

Last month, according to CNN,Thompson came within 20 mph ofthe record held by George Poteet,who survived a 370 mph crash lastmonth at Cook's Shootout, anotherpopular racing event.

Thompson tried to pass 392 mphto set the record for his vehicle class,and eventually be the first to drive apiston engine car 450 mph.

Thompson’s Challenger II vehicle,named after his father's record-breaking car, reached 419 mphduring one leg of his race, and laterhit 424 mph.

But the vehicles clutch failed onthe return trip, forcing Thompson tofall short of the official record. To seta record, the average speed of twotrips is needed.

Thompson, and other racersrained out this year, will now settheir sights and hopes for betterweather next August.

For updates on Speed Week 2015,visit the SCTA at www.scta-bni.org.

PERA Cleans Up withTechnical Programs atAnnual ConferenceCleaning technologies and facilitytours highlighted the ProductionEngine RemanufacturingAssociation’s (PERA) 69th annualconference held at the SeelbachHilton Hotel in Louisville, KY, Sept.17-19.

The organization also held itselection of officers, naming FrankOwings of Titan Engines aspresident. Owings replaces outgoingpresident Robert McGraw of AERManufacturing.

During the technical presentationsof the conference, Andy Logan of


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Danny Thompson and hisChallenger II racer.

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Church & Dwight discussed the useof sodium bicarbonate in the abrasive cleaning of engines andcomponents.

Chris Hanthorn of Henkel Corp.took to the podium and discussedpractical approaches to selectingcleaning agents to handle partscoated with oil/grease, rust, andpaint. Hanthorn also addressedproducts that enhance thecasting/forging and stampingprocesses

Kyle Bates of SafetyKleenprovided details on the company’slineup of ArmaKleen aqueouschemistries for use in parts cleaning.

Other presentations during thethree-day event included:

• Brandy Walker, of AERManufacturing Inc., who discussedAER’s use of a “line side” system formanaging flow through the plant.

• Randy Bauer of Jasper Engines& Transmissions, who explainedwhy Jasper utilizes the pull image

system to manage the material andproduct flow to maximize just-in-time delivery.

• Jason Nord, Director of PeopleServices at Jasper, spoke on hiscompany’s approach to management

from the employee’s perspective. • An exercise in Values Voting by

Bill McKnight, team leader fortraining for Mahle Aftermarket.McKnight’s audience interactivepresentation demonstrated howdecisions we make at work areaffected by our core values andpersonal biases.

Attendee tours this year included: • An evening at Churchill Downs,

home of the Kentucky Derby,courtesy of AER Manufacturing;

• Jasper Engines & Transmissions’Leavenworth, IN facility;

and; • a shop tour of Republic Diesel.

Michael Cardone Jr.Presented with MEMA's2014 Triangle AwardMichael Cardone Jr., owner andchief strategy officer, CARDONEIndustries, was presented theTriangle Award, the highest honorawarded by the Motor & Equipment

ManufacturersAssociation(MEMA), duringthe Motor &EquipmentRemanufacturersAssociation (MERA)GolisanoConference, held inRochester, NY onSept. 24. MERA istheremanufacturingdivision of MEMA.

CardonefoundedCARDONEIndustries with hislate father, MichaelCardone Sr., in1970. Beginning injust a single room inPhiladelphia, thebusiness has grownto become a majorglobal supplier withmore than 6,000employees.CARDONEIndustries nowspans threegenerations, and isthe largest family-owned


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Engine Builder publisher, Doug Kaufman, presents an achievementrecognition award to PERA’soutgoing president Robert McGrawduring the organization’s annualconference.

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remanufacturer of motor vehicleparts in the world.

Cardone’s years of services havealso been recognized by theAutomotive Warehouse DistributorsAssociation (AWDA) and theAutomotive Hall of Fame.

Michigan Racer WinsEngine Pro Race Engine forSecond TimeA Michigan racer won a new raceengine for the second time in asmany years at the 10th AnnualFunny Car Nationals presented byDiscount Tire held recently inMartin, MI. Rick Morley ofAllendale won this year’s prize as hedid in 2012 at US 131 MotorsportsPark.

It was the seventh year runningthe Engine Pro Engine Giveawaypresented by Pro-Filer and is anevent that bracket racers anticipateall year.

With 20 eligible racers, only one

racer would walk away with theengine assembled by PerformanceEngineering and valued at more than$15,000. This year, it again wasMorley.

Sponsors on hand to present theprize were Scott Overlund and TomStuyvesant of Engine Pro, Don Kraiiof Performance Engineering, SueRynberg of Mahle Aftermarket,CeCe DeMond of HastingsManufacturing and Tim Foster fromMelling Engine Parts. Special thanksto Pro-Filer for providing the CNCheads and manifold.

Other sponsors who made thispossible were ARP, Oliver, Ferrea,Comp Cams, JE Pistons, Clevite, Fel-Pro and Milodon.

Maxiforce Relaunches itsYanmar Engine LineMaxiforce, recognized as a brandleader in replacement diesel engineparts, has announced the relaunch ofits Yanmar line, a first in the dieselaftermarket.

Maxiforce is the only U.S. brandoffering Yanmar aftermarket engine



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November 3-6AAPEX 2014Las Vegaswww.aapexshow.com

November 4-72014 SEMA ShowLas Vegaswww.semashow.com

November 28-30Los Angeles Auto ShowLos Angeleswww.laautoshow.com

December 8-10AETC ConferenceIndianapoliswww.aetconline.com

December 12-14PRI Trade ShowIndianapoliswww.performanceracing.com

February 14-15, 2015Race & Performance ExpoSt. Charles, ILwww.raceperformanceexpo.com

For more industry events, visit our website at

www.enginebuildermag.com or subscribe to

www.aftermarketnews.com.

Industry Events

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parts, reinforcing its commitment andleadership in the small diesel enginemarket. Maxiforce’s Yanmar rangewill now cover 11 engine modelsfound in Yanmar and John Deere,ThermoKing, Bobcat, Takeuchi, Onan,Cub Cadet and Kholer OEMapplications to name a few.

“We are very excited to relaunchour Yanmar line with more extensivecoverage,” said Paul Kelly, VicePresident, Sales and Marketing.“Currently these engines are notbeing rebuilt because of the price andavailability of parts, but now we areoffering a new lease on life for thesepreviously “throw away” engines, aswell as a new revenue stream for theengine rebuilders.”

ACL Distribution AcquiresACL Bearing CompanyACL Distribution, Inc. hasannounced the acquisition of theassets of ACL Bearing Company of

Tasmania, Australia.ACL Distribution of Grand

Rapids, MI, is a manufacturer anddistributor of engine bearings for theautomotive aftermarket and for TheBearing Company, a supplier of ACLDistribution.

The company was a manufacturerof bearings and other automotivecomponents for the OE andreplacement markets throughout theworld until entering receivership in2009. The Bearing Company is theprimary source for the U.S.company's Race Series brandperformance bearings.

ACL plans to open a plant andmanage production in Tasmania bythe end of the year.

In announcing the transaction,Tim Vehlewald, President and CEOof ACL Distribution, remarked, “Theacquisition is a serious event for ACLDistribution. We now have controlof our destiny in that the output ofthree factories in Tasmania is at ourcommand," he said.

Vehlewald said the purchase willallow his company to overseeproduction and allows them toproduce Race Series bearings asrequired.

Get more industry news atwww.EngineBuilderMag.comor sign up for our weeklynewsletter on the site’s homepage.



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Talkin' Bout Those Good VibrationsWe get a lot of broken bolt, brokentap, and broken easy out work in ourshop, mostly because we are good atit! We are usually the last guys calledbecause we are not known as thecheapest, but the guys that alwayscan do the job. When we are tryingto remove a broken tap without anEDM, we spray it first with PBBlaster, our favorite penetrant, thenuse a small brass punch and smallhammer to gently work the tap freein all directions. Often, you can thenuse a slender needle nose plier,forceps, or four-pronged tap removerbetween the flutes and turn andremove the broken tap.

When the tap wants to move, butsometimes just won't, we vibrate thetap and/or pliers with a vibratoryetching pen. Don't bother with acheap etching pen! In some applica-tions they will work, but not as well asa higher power unit. Many times, thiswill allow the tap to back out freely. Ifnot, then we just start to break theflutes with a small punch, again vi-brating the larger parts with the pen,while blowing air to the bottom of thehole with a fine tipped blowgun.

We also have a blowgun and reg-ulator attached to a small CO2 tankfor blowing out the broken chips. Inthis case, the freezing action of theCO2 will contract the chips and tapand allow easier removal. Definitelywear a face shield and gloves for thatoperation! Continue until removed.The pen and CO2 deal also workswhen removing stubborn small car-buretor parts, too.

Timm JurincieTUF-ENUF Auto & Marine PerformanceAvondale, AZ.

No BugsI put an aquarium bubbler in thecoolant tank on my crankshaftgrinder to keep the coolant moving.This keeps the algae from bloomingand keeps the coolant better to workwith. I used a pair of old main capswired to the base to form a stand.

When I don't grind for a week ormore it really helps keep the coolantclear.

Randy TorvinenTorvinen's MachineMenahga, MN

Vacuum Checking Ports With EGR HolesIt's difficult to vacuum test the ex-haust valves on the 5 valve per cylin-der VW cylinder head and manyother heads due to the EGR hole ineach port.

I've found an easy solution. Savethe dried silicone from the tip of thetube of silicone. With the exhaustvalves out of the head, slip the sili-cone into the EGR hole. A little oil willhelp it to seal the EGR hole.

Reinstall the valves. Now you canvacuum test each port by itself without having to block off all theports.

Ronnie MyersMAR Automotive, Inc Philadelphia, PA

Square Rings In A Round HoleWe have a quick trick to use whilechecking ring gaps on odd engines thatyou may not have a ring squaring toolfor, and/or the pistons are not of a flattop design.

Set your digital-dial calipers for thedepth you want to check the rings, lockthe set screw, and carefully use the buttend of the calipers to square the ringsin the bore. Check them a few timesaround the circumference as they willmove around a bit until they are niceand square. This will get Gilligan offthe island if you don't have a ringsquaring tool that will fit the bore.

Also, be sure to deburr your ringswhen finished grinding gaps. We alsogo a step further on the oil scraperrings as these are steel. We lightly grinda small chamfer with the belt sander onthe outside corner of the steel oil railsas these will scratch the bores aftersome run time. We then lightly deburrthe chamfered edge with a Scotchbritewheel on the pedestal grinder, and

then finish with a light lap on the topand bottom surface of all the rings toensure no hang ups on the ring lands.(I can't take full credit for thisprocedure. We adopted it from the"Blueprint It and Build It Right" articlewritten for Engine Builder by the lateJoe Mondello.)

Jake SampsonSampson Racing EnginesInver Grove Heights, MN

Check It Out And Check It OffChecking your parts before startingthe job is very important. Manyyears ago I worked in a machineshop assembling and installing en-gines after hours. It was very impor-tant to have all the correct partsbefore we closed the doors at night,because there were no secondchances.

The first thing to do is make sureall the parts are there. Next, matchall the part numbers to the invoice,and last check all the sizes to makesure they are what the block andcrankshaft are finished to. Gettingthe job done with as few problems aspossible is what we all want. If youcheck everything ahead of time, thejob will go together much easier andfaster.

Ken MarlarSterling Engine PartsMinneapolis, MN

Liner Seal LubricationUsing Vaseline, grease, white lead ordense lubricants such as engine oil,vegetable oil, antifreeze, brake fluid,castor oil, vegetable shortening andsilicon spray IS NOT RECOMMENDED for a liner seal lubricant. Currently, aftermarketsuppliers recommend using a soapywater solution.

Due to changes in liner sealmaterials, recommendations for seallubricants have also changed overthe past few years. If you check anold service manual and compare it toa new manual or tech bulletin, you


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will usually find a different recommendation. Someproducts can cause premature swelling of the seal rings,creating installation difficulties and seal damage. Others cancorrode the liners or other engine parts during assembly. Used inexcess, others can physically damage the seals during installation.

The heavy consistency of these products could reduce theexpansion volume needed when the seal is compressed into theconfines of the block bore.

This "hydraulic lock" condition will often shear off a section of theseal or can cut an entire strip from the seal resembling a rubber band.Not only could this distort the cylinder liner resulting in piston scoring,but can also cause coolant leakage past the seal into the lube oil. This typeof failure is very common with the International 300 and 400 Series dieselswhen correct procedures are not followed.

Engine Pro Technical Committee with thanks to Advantage Engine Parts

EngineBuilderMag.com 15

Shop Solutions –The Power ofKnowledge

Engine Builder and Engine Pro presentShop Solutions in each issue of EngineBuilder Magazine and at enginebuildermag.com.

The feature is intended to provide machine shop owners and engine tech-nicians the opportunity to share theirknowledge to benefit the entire industryand their own shops.

Those who submit Shop Solutions thatare published are awarded a prepaid$100 Visa gift card.

Engine Pro is a nationwide network ofdistributors that warehouse a full line ofinternal engine components fordomestic and import passenger car,light truck, heavy duty, industrial, marine, agricultural and performance applications.

They also produce engine parts underthe Engine Pro name that offer premiumfeatures at an affordable price.


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Several months ago,(April issue) wecovered some

history of the well-knownFord FE series engines.

It’s amazing that thesewell-known, American Ironseries engines do not get therecognition they deserve.

Many hotrodders and oftenowners do not know the truemeaning of the FE and exactly howthis engine came into existence.

But, on the other hand, there arequite a few Ford guys out there whodo know the meaning of the FE andhave a deep passion for this piece ofhistory.

Ford produced the FE seriesengines for almost 20 years and inthis time period, this series of enginegained quite a following.

After researching the FE, I wasintrigued about its internalworkings. I had alwaysheard about and seen someof the more popular FEengines such as the 390, 427and 428 but never had achance to dive into one.

A friend of mine hadpurchased a 1962 Galaxie afew years ago, and theprevious owner hadinstalled a 390 with a fourspeed in the car. The car was fun todrive and gained some nostalgicrecognition on the road, but theengine did smoke quite heavily attimes and did consume quite a fewquarts of oil and foul several sparkplugs on some very short tripsaround town.

The engine was supposedly

rebuiltwhen my

friend had purchasedthe car, but something wasdefinitely wrong with this powerplant. So, we took this opportunityto take the engine out so we couldexplore an FE engine.

Note: While company names arementioned in this piece, it is up tothe builder to research enginecomponents and parts for asuccessful performance build. Formore information on manufacturersand suppliers of performance

engine parts, see theMarch 2014 Engine

Builder’s Buyers Guide issue,or use the electronic version

at www.enginebuildermag.com.

Breakdown on the TeardownHere is a run down of the engine inthe car. Upon tear down, the enginewas a 390 cubic inch with pointsdistributor, aluminum dual planeShelby intake, Holley 750 doublepumper carburetor with manualchoke, and fitted with a set of 1-7/8”headers, which are unique and wraparound the frame of the car.

The engine had been bored .030”and fitted with a set of TRW dishedpistons and a Comp Cams hydraulicflat tappet camshaft.

The engine had apparently beenrebuilt, but the machine work on


The Ford ‘FE’Rebuilding an American ‘Iron’ Icon

FE F

eatu

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To add quality luster to our FEproject with functionality wechoose a Moroso steel powdercoated 8 quart oil pan p/n18608 with trap doors andbaffles for FE engines withfront sump chassis applicationsand Moroso fabricatedaluminum billet rail valve coversp/n 68461.

BY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Robert McDonaldemail: [email protected]

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this particular rebuild was hideousto say the least.

The bores were out of round andhad anywhere from .006” to .009” ofbore taper. The valve guides in thecylinder heads were completelyworn and the crankshaft looked asthough it was starting to graduallyeat the main bearings. Also, thecamshaft was very hard to turn inthe block.

Plan of AttackSo, here was the plan for our rebuild.The cylinder heads were a set of 390GT 14 bolt exhaust heads that hadvalve sizes of 2.08” and 1.65”.

These cylinder heads had someminor work done as far as some milddescent port work with new valvesand a set of larger diameter springs.

There was a chance that we couldpossibly salvage these cylinder headsdepending upon further teardown.

We found another stock 390 blockthat we could bore and transfer all

the parts. The crankshaft was inrough shape but should be able toundergo some machining to bereused. Basically, we would do somemachining get some new bearingsand gaskets and transfer all theparts. Come to find out, there wouldonly be one glitch in our plan, whichwould be the crankshaft.

Turning a crankshaft is somethingthat I generally will turn over to agood friend of mine who hasmachined crankshafts for years. Theonly problem that I had was one ofsome sad news. In the past severalmonths, my friend had becometerminally ill and could no longermachine.

So, I called around and someonehad suggested another shop thatwould turn the crankshaft, whichwas in another town about 40 milesaway. We shipped the crankshaft andwaited a couple of weeks until itsreturn.

When the crankshaft returned, wemeasured with a micrometer andcould not believe our eyes. Thecrankshaft was in worse shape thanwhen we had started.

It’s like whoever ground thejournals on the crankshaft did nottake the time to first index the

crankshaft. The only thing we coulddo at this point is to purchase a newone. But, where do you find a newcrankshaft for an FE?

Well, that question was easilyanswered. It seems as though the FEwas quite popular and that there areseveral companies that were catering


FE Feature

Our original engine wasoutfitted with a set of 1969 390GT heads p/n C8AE-H whichwere fitted with 2.08” Intakeand 1.65” Exhaust valves. Theintention was to use theseexisting heads until they weretorn down and thoroughlyinspected.

The front cam bearing installedwith thrust plate oiling slot atthe 4”oclock position.

The rear cam plug is installedbackwards compared to typicalengines with the cup side facingoutboard.

The stroker assembly came with King mainbearings, King big block Chevrolet rodbearings, Scat H-beam connecting rods6.700” long, and Mahle forged power packpiston and ring set.

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to the hotrodders that love them. After doing some research, I found

that SCAT Crankshafts and EagleSpecialty offer several differentoptions for a complete rotating“stroker” bottom end assembly.

Note: For more “stroker”components and suppliers, check outthe July issue of Engine Buildermagazine.

Rotating AssemblyThe rotating assembly packageconsists of three different crankshaftstrokes to choose from, which is3.98”, 4.125”, and 4.25” compared tothe stock stroke, which was 3.78”.

These crankshafts were alsooffered in forged4340 or castnodular iron andwere fitted with FEmain journals2.438” and smallerbig blockChevrolet rodjournals which are2.200”. The“stroker” assemblyalso came withyour choice of H-beam or I-beamrods with yourchoice of twodifferent lengths6.49” (stock) or6.700” andpremium forgedpistons with flat-top or dishdesign.

When we firststarted the project,we were lookingbasically just to doa stock rebuild andto learn moreabout the FE.

At this point,we still want tokeep a budgetbuild in the backof our mind, butwhich strokeshould we use?

Our stock ironcylinder headswere ok, so if weused them we feltthat a small stroke

increase would be beneficial and alsogain some cubic inch displacement.We found a SCAT rotating assemblywhile shopping online for a littleunder $2000, which consists of a cast4.125” stroke crank, H-beamconnecting rods, and .030” overMahle flat top pistons and rings.

So, we started the block prepanticipating the arrival of our bottomend. We bored and honed thecylinders to 4.082”, align honed themains, and decked the block .017”which would bring the pistons out ofthe bore above the deck about .003”.

We sonic cleaned the block andinstalled new cam bearingscontinued to start disassembling thecylinder heads. Once again, we werefaced with a roadblock.

The guides in the cylinder headswere worn and the valve seats wereliterally destroyed and the valvefaces were pitted and would notclean up in the valve grinder.

The rotating assembly arrived sowe checked the balance of thecrankshaft assembly with ourflywheel and clutch components andended up adding some Mallory(heavy metal) to the crankshaft tocomplete the balancing procedure.

The clearance checks wereperformed on the connecting rodbearings and main bearing of therotating assembly and averaged from.0027” to .003 on the mains with .005”of thrust clearance and .0024” to.0026” on the rods.

The pistons had .0055” cylinderbore clearance and the rings werefiled to fit with .018” on the top ringand .022” on the second ring. Withsuch a nice and beefed up bottomend in this FE the only way tocompliment these internalcomponents was to use a set ofaluminum heads.

Of course, the word budget cameup again, but at this point we hadthrown it out the shop door.

Heading into the HeadworkAluminum cylinder heads for the FEare pretty common. There are acouple of companies makingaluminum replacement cylinderheads, but Edelbrock seemed to bethe best choice for our application.Edelbrock offers several differentversions of the FE cylinder head that


FE Feature

All bearings and components werecoated with assembly lube prior toinstallation.

The rocker arms are not oiled by the pushrods. The blockdeck has a passage on the drivers side that feeds thecylinder heads from the #2 cam bearing journal and thepassenger side is fed by a passage from the #4 cambearing journal. These passages were restricted by tappingthe deck and using a 3/8” set screw and drilling a .078”hole. This prevents the top end from over oiling onacceleration and is recommended when using anaftermarket rocker system.

After balancing, the Scat 4.125” stroke crankshaft wasinstalled in the block.

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19 ACL Distribution_Layout 1 10/16/14 2:09 PM Page 19

will fit a variety of FE engines that are reasonably priced. We choose a bare cylinder head with unfinished seats

and guides because we wanted to do our own port workand fit the heads with our choice of valves for this boresize. Stock size valve stems on the FE is 3/8” and wewere going to install 11/32” stem valves.

Since the 390 has a small bore compared to the 427, wehad Ferrea custom make some valves, which were 2.15”for the Intake and 1.65” on the exhaust.

Once we received the valves, we sent the heads toBrian Maloney of Maloney Competition Systems inMartinsville, VA, to change the valve guides, a multi-



The “raw” Edelbrock cylinder heads for the FE came outreally nice with quite a few hours in the seat work andporting.

The valve train set purchased from Comp Cams includedsolid roller lifters p/n 839-16, valve springs p/n 943-16,locks p/n 611-16, retainers p/n 749-16, seals p/n 529-16,lash caps p/n 621-16, locators p/n 4785-16, and shim kitp/n 4757.

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21 Egge Machines_Layout 1 10/16/14 2:09 PM Page 21

angle valve seat job and port thecylinder heads.

To further compliment thecylinder heads, we wanted toupgrade the existing stock rockerstands. Not knowing our camshaftprofile at this time, our thoughtswere entertaining the idea of a solid-roller camshaft. Since the camshaftwould be more aggressive somestronger rocker shafts and supportsalong with roller tip rockers wouldbe cheap insurance for ourapplication.

Performance Quotient Brands,

also known as PRW,manufactures a stainless steelrocker arm system for theFord FE engines. Thisstainless rocker arm system islabeled under p/n 3239022and fits engines from the 352through the 428 cu.in.

This kit comes completewith 16 alloy 17-4ph stainlesssteel 1.75 ratio rockers (withsilicon bronze bushings),hardened shafts, individuallynumbered billet aluminumrocker shaft supports and

spacers, aircraft quality studs,12 point nuts, shims, ball stylelash adjusters, and pushrodlength checkers.

This Performance QuotientFE shaft rocker system isdesigned to fit all low andmedium rise, tall port OEMproduction, Edelbrock andother aftermarket cylinderheads.

Fuel System UpgradeSince our project hadprogressed into a real nicepiece of art with some reallynice parts, why not bring the

old into the new. Our previousengine was carbureted, so why notcompliment this build with modernday fuel injection. FAST (Fuel AirSpark Technologies) builds severaldifferent combinations of an EZ-EFIsystem for an FE application.

For our combination, we chose amulti-point system, which came withan Edelbrock Victor single planeintake, 1375 cfm throttle body, 36 lb.injectors (we opted for 60 lb. becausewe wanted to make more than 500hp), wiring harness and ECU, fuelpump and all related sensors,fittings, and fuel line.

By choosing the fuel injection we


FE Feature

A Hex-a-Just timing set is manufactured byCloyes for FE applications which prove to bevery useful in degreeing the camshaft to obtainthe right amount of advance.

The solid roller profile for the street useapplication was ground by Dema Elgin ofSuperlobes.

16-26 FE Engine 10/16/14 1:49 PM Page 22

could modernize the vehicle but also wanted toimprove drivability and hopefully gain some fuelefficiency. It’s not that we couldn’t tune thecarburetor for various driving conditions becausethat is what we could have done years ago.

We really wanted to give this FE a modern dayappeal. In fact, when dyno testing the engine, we aregoing to run the engine on the carburetor withelectronic ignition and then bolt on the fuel injectionto compare. The biggest difference in thecomparison will be the size of the throttle bodycompared to our Holley 750 carburetor.

When the fuel injection kit arrived, we also sentthe intake manifold to Maloney Competition to beported. The runners in the intake manifold as castwere in need of some attention and would not

support the power gains we were in hopes of. After the port work and changes were completed on

the cylinder heads and intake we had to get some flownumbers.

Not only to see where we stood on airflow, but to alsohelp aid in designing the camshaft profile. Airflow isvery important to know where to fully open and closethe intake and exhaust valves for maximum power foryour application.

Our combination yielded 11.0:1 compression with 431cubic inches, so with our ported cylinder heads andintake along with our 1-7/8” headers and four-speedtransmission, a custom grind camshaft was in order.

We wanted theengine to havegreat throttleresponse, good


FE Feature


The original engine had an aftermarket windage traythat we cut and modified with unidirectionalwindage tray screen from Moroso p/n 22912.

ARP manufactures quality fasteners for the FEengine family. Our build included the use of ARPhead and main bolts.

16-26 FE Engine 10/16/14 1:49 PM Page 23

vacuum, and low down stumppulling torque, but make somehorsepower on the top end.Camshafts are a unique scienceand while there are only a handfulof people who can see these eventsand understand them, means thatcamshafts are often miss-ground.

For camshaft knowledge andcustom grinds, I often use DemaElgin of Super Lobes. Located insouthern California, Dema hasbeen in the camshaft grindingbusiness since 1957. For thisapplication he recommended alobe separation of 112-degrees on asingle pattern grind with 261-degrees of duration at .050” and.383” of lobe lift, which with 1.75rockers would yield .640” lift with.026” of lash.

After having the camshaftground, Comp Cams help sort therest of the valve train. Thisincluded the appropriate valvesprings, retainers, locks, lash caps,valve stem seals, shims, and lifters.

Additional Add-onsWe had breathed new life into ourpiece of American Iron, and it wasbecoming exciting. With the enginenear completion, we wanted tofind some dress-up items toenhance our historic piece.

Low and behold if we did notfind that Moroso manufactures aset of billet aluminum valve coversfor an FE.

Not only would these be a greataddition, but they also manufac-ture an 8-quart kick out road raceoil pan that is powder coated withinternal baffling. These items proveto be a real work of craftsmanshipand were a nice addition to ourproject.

Two things to mention for thisbuild would be fasteners and theharmonic damper.

First of all, the entire engine wasoutfitted with ARP fasteners. TheSCAT connecting rods camestandard with 7/16” ARP bolts, butARP also carries a complete line offasteners for the FE engines.

These included the main bolts,head bolts and stainless accessoryfasteners for water pump, intake,front cover, fuel pump, valve

covers, oil pan, and distributorhold down.

A great way to insure consistentperformance from an engine is bythe bolts that hold it together.

Second, would be the harmonic


The use of a Fluidampr in anyperformance build is cheap insurancein keeping out harmful torsionalvibrations that can cause damage toany engine.

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25 Henkle_Layout 1 10/16/14 2:07 PM Page 25

damper. Torsional vibrations in anengine become out of control andwill destroy the engine. Rememberthat every action has an equal andopposite reaction.

Also, when the crankshaft flexesfrom the cylinder firing, it has torebound. Fluidampr by HorschelMotorsports offers a damper for theFE engines and we felt that with thereputation of Fluidampr this wouldalso be great insurance for the powerlevels we were in hopes of achieving.

Note: For an electronic version of Bob’s“FE Feature” from the April issuebeginning on page 60, visit:http://issuu.com/babcox/docs/april_eb■


FE Feature


The Ford FE engine is a Ford V8 engine used in vehiclessold in the North American market between 1958-’76 in-cluding Galaxies, Fairlanes, Mustangs, Torinos Thunderbirdsand Ford pick-up trucks.

The “FE” stands for Ford-Edsel, and the powerplant wasoriginally intended for the release in Ford’s new car – the“Edsel.”

The engine’s design grew from the purpose that Fordneeded a medium-sized engine to get more power than asmall block, and yet weigh less than a big block for theirline of medium-sized cars.

The “FE” was considered a Y-block design because theblock casting extended 3.625” below the centerline of thecrankshaft, which was about 1” below the journals of thecrankshaft. The Y-block design offered great support for thecrankshaft.

However, this engine should not be confused with the“Y-block” family of Ford overhead valve V8s introduced in1954 to replace the side-valved Flathead engines fromFord.

All of the “FE” blocks share the same bore spacing of4.63” and a deck height of 10.17”. The crankshaft main

journals are 2.749” and the connecting rod journals are2.438”. Their engines also used two different connectingrod lengths 6.488” and 6.540”.

Now the “FE” engine has 10 different bores and four dif-ferent strokes. They can be classified into two generations.Generation I was from 1958 until 1966 and included the330, 332, 352, 360, 361, and 390 cubic inch displace-ments.

From 1966 until 1976, Generation II appeared withlarger bores and strokes, which included the 406, 410,427, and 428 cubic inch displacements. These engineswere produced under two versions, the “FE” which was in-tended for cars, and “FT” which was intended for use inbuses and light trucks.

The best way to differentiate between the “FE” and “FT”is to look for the motor mount bosses. If the motor mountbosses are on the side of the block, then the purpose wasfor a car.

If the motor mount bosses are on the front of the block,then the purpose was for truck or bus. Also, most truck andbus applications were produced with a steel crankshaft in-stead of a nodular iron.

FORD FE HISTORY

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27 Motorstate Distribution_Layout 1 10/16/14 2:07 PM Page 27

Engine building is a processthat should go well wheneverything is done correctly

(all the parts have been machinedto the correct tolerances, assembledwith the correct clearances andprotected with the right kind oflubricant).

Or, it can end disastrously ifparts don't fit right (too tight or tooloose), if there's not enoughlubrication when the engine is firststarted, or if the motor oil that'sused during the break-in processfails to protect the cam and liftersor doesn't allow the rings to seat.

A lot of things can go wrongduring those first few minutesfollowing the initialstart-up of a freshlybuilt engine. Theengine has to buildoil pressure quicklyso all of the criticalwear surfaces willreceive lubrication.

Assembly lube is designed tocling to surfaces better thanordinary motor oil so there will bea protective film of lubricant untilthe engine is cranked over andstarted.

From that point on, oil pressureshould take over and flush awaymost of the assembly lube. That'swhy priming the oil system priorto starting it is so important.Priming prevents a dry start andreduces the lag time for oil toreach the bearings, cam and upper

valvetrain components.Ordinary motor oil can be used

to lightly lubricate cylinder walls,lifter bores, wrist pins, piston rings,timing chains and bearing surfaces.

But if the engine sits for morethan a few days, much of theprotective oil film will trickle backinto the crankcase.

Adding a viscosity improversuch as STP to ordinary SAE 30motor oil will help it cling to criticalsurfaces longer, and adding a doseof extreme pressure additive suchas zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate(ZDDP) or zinc-moly will provideadditional protection for the camlobes and lifters if the engine has a

flat tappet cam. But the best choice for

lubricating and protecting criticalparts is an engine assembly lube.Assembly lubes are typically a lightmoly-based, high-pressure greaseor specially formulated oil withextreme pressure additives and rustinhibitors.

Some lubes have a paste-like


Breaking Down Break-In Oils and Assembly Lube NeedsLu

bri

cant

Fea

ture

Assembly lube contains extremepressure additives to protectcritical parts like bearings, camlobes, lifter bottoms and othervalvetrain parts.

Regardless of what brand ortype of engine break-in oil isused, the oil should only remainin the engine for the initialbreak-in period. It should thenbe changed along with the oilfilter.

BY LARRY CARLEY, TECHNICAL EDITOR

28-36 Break in Oils 10/16/14 1:47 PM Page 28


29 Royal Purple_Layout 1 10/16/14 2:07 PM Page 29

consistency and are applied with abrush while others are more likehoney and can be applied from asquirt bottle.

There are dozens of assemblylubes available, including those fromvarious oil suppliers as well ascamshaft and bearing manufacturers.The ingredients in these products are

proprietary and there are differencesfrom one product to another. Somegrease-based products are not solublein oil and will end up in the oil filterafter the has been running. Others areoil-soluble and will continue tocirculate with the motor oil until theoil and filter are changed.

Regardless of which product you

choose, a thin coating of assemblylube should be applied on all high-friction, high-load surfaces such ascam lobes, lifter bottoms, pushrodends, rocker arm and valve stem tips,as well as all the rod, main and cambearings.

The assembly lube will stay on thesurfaces of these parts and providethe much-needed lubrication until oilpressure can take over. Motor oil(straight weight or a multi-viscosityoil) can be used to lubricate lesscritical surfaces such as the cylinderbores.

Break-In OilThe assembly lube and motor oil thatcoat the engine’s internals shouldprotect the metal surfaces againstcorrosion until it’s time to fire up theengine for the first time. At thatpoint, you (or your customer) willhave to decide on what type ofbreak-in oil to use.

As with assembly lubes, there area variety of different break-in oilsthat can be used for the initial startup and break-in process. Break-inoils are usually specially formulatedstraight SAE 30 or SAE 40 oils butsome are multi-viscosity oils (5W-30,15W-40 & 10W-40).

Many people say a conventionalmineral-based SAE 30 motor oil thatcontains extra extreme pressureadditive (ZDDP and/or moly) andlittle or no friction modifiers is bestfor engine break-in.

Others say they use aconventional SAE 30 oil or a multi-viscosity oil (5W-30 or 15W-40) witha bottle of engine break-in additivewhich contains the extra extremepressure additive to protect the camand lifters).

All agree that a high level ofZDDP is absolutely essential if theengine has a flat tappet cam(especially a high lift performancecam with higher than normal loadson the cam lobes). Extra extremepressure additive is also beneficialfor roller cams with stiff valvesprings, too.

Some people prefer to use a SAE30 non-detergent motor oil to breakin a newly built engine. Others use aconventional 15W-40 diesel oilbecause it contains a higher level of


Lubricant Feature




31 Driven Oil_Layout 1 10/16/14 2:06 PM Page 31

ZDDP than motor oils for gasolineengines. And some just use the samemotor oil they plan to use in theengine for regular use for the initialbreak-in, then change it after a fewhours or 50 to 100 miles to get rid ofthe contaminants.

Straight Weight Or Multi-Viscosity?Opinions vary as to whether or notyou should use a straight weightSAE 30 motor oil or a multi-viscosityoil breaking in a new engine.

Straight weight oils contain nofriction modifiers which are used togive multi-viscosity oils their widetemperature range. Frictionmodifiers are long chain polymerssimilar to synthetic rubber that areground up and blended into multi-viscosity oils. This allows the use of athinner viscosity base oil for easiercold starting and reduced friction. Asthe oil heats up, the friction modifierthickens and allows the oil to behave

more like a heavier viscosity oil atoperating temperature.

That’s great for everyday driving,improving fuel economy andincreasing horsepower, but forengine break-in some say the lessfriction modifier in the oil, the better.Others counter and say that'snonsense and that friction modifiershave little or no impact on enginebreak-in.

Detergents and dispersants areother additives that are put in motoroils to help keep the engine clean. Anewly built engine should have novarnish or sludge deposits, but itmay contain some residual debrisfrom machined parts that were notthoroughly cleaned before they wereinstalled, or even casting residuefrom a new block or heads.

There will also be wear particlesgenerated by the piston rings,cylinder walls and othermoving/sliding parts as the enginebreaks in. Any such particles or

contaminants that are inside theengine must be suspended andcarried away by the oil to the oilfilter.

Those who favor a low-detergentor no-detergent oil say leaving theparticles in the engine longer willspeed up the ring seating process.Those who favor an oil with highdetergency say suspending andremoving any wear particles asquickly as possible protects thebearings, wrist pins and other partswith close tolerances and high loadsagainst damage and premature wear.

Mineral-Based OrSynthetic?Then there's the issue of whether ornot a synthetic oil can be used forengine break-in. Most people prefer using aconventional oil for the initial break-in, and then use a conventional oilfor the next 1500 to 5000 miles beforeswitching to a synthetic if they want


Lubricant Feature



to use a synthetic oil.Synthetic oils are made from

higher quality base stocks thatprovide superior lubricity as well aslongevity.

Some say synthetic oils are “tooslippery” for use as a break-in oilwhile others say using a high qualitysynthetic oil for the initial break-in isa waste of money because the oil willbe drained within a few hours or fewhundred miles once the initial break-in process is finished.

There’s no straight answer to thisquestion because of how long it takesfor the rings to seat depends on howthey cylinder walls were finished.

A traditional one or two-stepcylinder honing process leaves afairly rough surface finish withpeaks and valleys. This type ofsurface finish will require more timefor the piston rings to graduallyscrape off the peaks and wear downthe surface.

It may take a few hundred toseveral thousand miles before therings are fully seated. During this

time the engine should be run atdifferent speeds rather than aconstant RPM to help the seatingprocess. Alternately accelerating theengine followed by a long slowdeceleration and high intake vacuumwill likewise help the rings seat morequickly.

On the other hand, if the cylindersare “plateau” honed with a multi-step honing process that includesbrushing as the final step, the surfacefinish on the cylinders will be muchcloser to a broken-in profile.

There will still be plenty of valleysin the crosshatch to retain oil for ringlubrication, but the sharp peaks willhave been mostly removed reducingthe time and wear required to seatthe rings. This, in turn, means therings will finish seating very quicklyreducing wear particles generated bythe break-in process.

Consequently, it should make nodifference if a conventional oil orsynthetic oil is used for the initialbreak-in. The deciding factor wouldbe the cost of the oil itself.

Many late model engines arefactory-filled with multi-viscosity5W-20, 5W-30 or even 0W-40synthetic or synthetic-blend oil fromthe start, and may not specify thefirst oil change for several thousandmiles.

This approach to engine break-inmay work well enough for stockengines (which are plateau honed)and everyday driving, but would betoo risky for most performanceapplications. Using a break-in oil forthe initial start up, cam and ringseating process and engine tuningadjustments, then draining the oiland replacing it with either aconventional or synthetic oil is muchthe preferred approach.

How Long?The companies who supply speciallyformulated engine break-in oils havedifferent recommendations as to howlong their break-in oils can be left inan engine.

The typical recommendation is touse the break-in oil for the first hour

Lubricant Feature



or so of run time and tuning, thendrain it and change the filter. Somesay their break-in oils can be left inthe engine while doing dyno pulls oreven for one night of racing.

One supplier says their productcan be left in for up to 400 miles ofstreet driving while another says theuse of their break-in oil should notexceed 1000 miles. Follow the break-in oil supplier's recommendationsfor how long their product should beleft in the engine and when it shouldbe changed.

The point here is that break-in oilis for break-in only.

A break-in oil should NOT remainin the engine longer than necessaryto complete its initial task.

It gets dirty quickly so the soonerit is drained and the filter is replaced,the better.

Draining the oil and changing thefilter removes harmful wear particlesand residual assembly contaminantsbefore they can cause damage.

Following up with a second oilchange at low miles or after a limitednumber of hours of operation is alsoa common practice to make suremost of the contaminants are keptout of the engine.

Some people will complete theinitial break-in process with break-inoil, drain it and use conventionalmineral-based oil for the next 50 to500 miles.

They will change the oil again andextend the next change interval to1000 to 3000 miles before theychange it again and possibly switchto a synthetic motor oil.

Others will do the initial break-inand drain, then go straight to asynthetic oil if the rings appear to befully seated.

For performance applications,some type of “racing” oil isrecommended for optimumprotection after the engine break-inprocess has been completed.Ordinary motor oils (both

conventional and synthetic) thatmeet current API “SN” and ILSACGF-5 specifications are formulatedfor late model engines with rollercams and emission controls.

They are designed to provideimproved fuel economy and toextend the life of the catalyticconverter. The level of ZDDP hasbeen reduced to less than 800 ppm (itused to be 1200 ppm or higher), sothe ability to prevent wear on a highlift flat tappet cam with higher thanstock valve spring pressure isminimal.

Racing oils as well as streetperformance oils that are formulatedfor older engines with flat tappetcams contain the extra ZDDP and/ormoly to protect the cam and preventpremature cam failures. Racing oilsalso use high quality base stocks andadditives that are designed to handlehigher temperatures and loads.

Some racing oils also containspecial additive packages for use


Lubricant Feature




35 Motovicity_Layout 1 10/16/14 2:06 PM Page 35

with alcohol fuels.Lower viscosity synthetic oils

such as 0W-40, 5W-20, 5W-30 and5W-40 are thinner oils that alloweasier cold starting and reducedfriction for better performance andfuel economy.

However, thinner oils also requiresomewhat closer bearing clearancesto maintain the oil film between themoving parts.

A heavier viscosity oil is better forlooser bearing clearances and willmaintain higher oil pressurereadings at peak temperature andengine speeds.

Another note about using lowviscosity motor oils in a performanceengine is that windage drag, oilaeration and a drop in oil pressurecan become problematic at higherengine speeds unless the engine isfitted with a well-designed oilscraper, windage tray and oil pan, oreven a dry sump oil system.

Engine Break-InRecommendationsFirst and foremost is cleaningeverything thoroughly BEFORE itgoes into an engine. That includesbrand new parts out of the box aswell as machined and reconditionedparts. Cylinder bores should be scrubbedwith hot soapy water and a brush toremove honing residue. A quickwash and rinse or wiping withsolvent can leave a lot of debris onthe surface that will end up in the oil.Oil holes in the crankshaft andengine block should be brushed andflushed to remove any trappeddebris.

Use assembly lube on all criticalparts, and oil on everything elsewhen the engine goes together. Theengine should also be assembled in aclean room where there is no dust orairborne contaminants. Assemblytools also need to be clean.

The engine’s oil system should beprimed before the engine is cranked

and started to prevent a dry start.As soon as the engine starts, it

needs to be revved to 1500 to 2200RPM and keep there for 20 to 30minutes while the cam and rings areseating. Varying the RPM helps seatthe rings more quickly. Keep an eyeon oil pressure during this criticalphase and listen for any unusualnoises such as rapping, knocking,tapping or clattering that mightindicate something is loose,misadjusted or is not receivingadequate lubrication.

Once the initial fuel, ignition andvalvetrain adjustments have beenmade and initial dyno pullscompleted, shut the engine off, drainthe break-in oil, and remove andinspect the oil filter for any signs oftrouble (such as metallic debris thatindicates unusual wear is occurring).

Refill with oil, install a new filterand continue with the tuning orbreak-in process as needed. Changeoil and filter again after 50 to 500 miles(or so many hours of run time). ■


Lubricant Feature




39-62 50th anniversary 10/16/14 1:45 PM Page 37


38 SBI International_Layout 1 10/16/14 2:05 PM Page 38


50 Years

BY DOUG KAUFMAN, PUBLISHER

The next time you’re on a TVgame show or playing triviawith friends, and the question

is, “What is the most significantmonth in the history of thetransportation industry?” let mesuggest that you answer, “October1964.”

May I present the evidence for myargument?

October 1, 1964: The world’s firsthigh-speed rail system opens betweenTokyo and Osaka in time for the 1964Olympics. The trains ran at 130 mph.

On the same day, at an officialceremony across the Pacific Ocean inSan Francisco, cable cars were nameda National Historic Landmark. Thesevehicles travel at a much more sedate9.5 mph.

On October 15, 1964, “The Spirit ofAmerica” piloted by Craig Breedlovesets the world land speed record atthe Bonneville Salt Flats. Breedlovehit 526 mph on his return run beforelosing his braking parachutes andgoing out of control and crashing intoa lake. He survived the crash andcaptured the world record, only tolose it again a few weeks later. Healso achieved a less well-knownrecord on this day – the nearly 6 mileskidmark Breedlove left during hiscrash is listed as the longest in historyby the Guiness Book of WorldRecords.

And in October 1964, BabcoxPublications printed and mailedVolume 1, Issue 1 of AutomotiveRebuilder, starting a 50-year history ofserving the automotive partsrebuilding industry.

No one can say the trip has beeneasy. Like the San Francisco CableCars, we’ve had a lot of history, someof which has been up and down. Likethe Japanese Shinkansen, or bullettrains, that now can travel upward of185 mph, we’re moving a lot fastertoday than when we first started. Andlike the Spirit of America, we’ve leftsome long trails in this industry.

I’ve been with this magazine fornearly 15 years. My predecessor,Dave Wooldridge, served as editorand publisher for 30 years. Both seemlike a long time, but at trade shows,on phone calls, in conferences andletters, I have heard from many ofyou that you’ve been subscriberseven longer.

Back in January, I asked readers tolook through your shop’s archives tofind the oldest copy of this magazineyou could. The oldest issue? 10 years?22 years? 35? Not even close.

The oldest issue was submitted byDon Fedak, a retired performanceexpert and Engine Builder contributorfrom Brantford, Ontario. Don still hasa mint condition copy of Volume 1,Issue 1.

For those of you who don’t stillhave that first issue, let me remindyou of what we promised back then:

“Every issue of AutomotiveRebuilder will include specificeditorial departments, feature newsarticles, photographs, charts,diagrams, etc., designed to help you,– the rebuilder – do a better job.

“Automotive Rebuilder consistentlywill present ideas from successfulrebuilders throughout the country on

production and marketingtechniques.”

I think we’ve done a great jobkeeping those promises, but wecouldn’t have done it without acommitment from the readers, writersand advertisers over the years. Bigthanks to all of you!

Several companies that advertisedin that first issue are still in businessand remain partners with EngineBuilder as we move into our next 50years. Some of these long-livedveterans told us they wanted to offertheir perspective on how they’ve seenthis industry change over the first 50,so this special supplement was born. Ihope you enjoy the photos andcomments to follow.

I’d like to thank the industryfriends I’ve made during my time onthe magazine as well as a fantasticteam here at Babcox. ManagingEditor Greg Jones and GraphicDesigner Nichole Anderson havedone a great job writing and creatingthis section. Editor Ed Sunkin andAdvertising Services Manager TinaPurnell made sure everything fittogether perfectly.

You’ll be able to see even morephotos in a special anniversarysection on our website atEngineBuilderMag.com – Iencourage you to check it out.

We said it then and we mean it tothis day: “We accept the challenge ofbeing the independent monthly voicein the booming automotiverebuilding industry.” Things may bedifferent, but our commitment to thisbusiness hasn’t changed. ■


The Rebuilding Industry’sKey InnovationsWhen asked about what innovationsin the past five decades that have beenkey to the industry’s growth andsuccess, there was a trend in favor ofan all-encompassing answer –technology. While technology is theumbrella answer, there are numerousaspects of technology and itsadvancements that have made theindustry what it is today.

“The internal combustion engine isa marvel of engineering, withmanufacturing tolerances becomingtighter every year,” says Bob Davis,global communications manager atSunnen. “The engine rebuildingindustry has had to continuallyimprove the precision and efficiency of

the rebuilding equipment to keeppace. Innovations such as computercontrols, touch-screen displays, ballscrew technology and automatedsystems have allowed engines to berebuilt to the ever-more-stringentfactory specs.”

Scott Stolberg, president and CEOof A&A Midwest, which owns EngineQuest, echoes those remarks that theindustry has survived due to its abilityto adapt to changes in technology.“Over the years, there have beenchallenges that experts thought wouldbe the end of the industry and wesimply figured it out,” Stolberg says.“For example, fuel injection waspredicted to kill the industry. It causedshort-term pain, but that is nowbehind us. People wonder whathybrids will do to our industry. I

predict we will find a way to capitalizeon these drive trains also.”

Matthew Meyer, general managerat RMC, points to advancements inCNC machines, cutting tools and otherreverse engineering equipment asinnovations that have helped us getwhere we are today. “Computers arepresent in most shops and are used inconjunction with most of the newequipment today,” he says. “We alsobelieve that the Internet has helpedmany businesses in marketing andadvertising products and services, andallows the consumer to be able to shoparound for competitive pricing onparts, services and other products. Inthe same manner it has probably hurtjust as many companies that couldn’tkeep up with advancing technology.”

The Internet has changed the


50 Years

A&A Midwest, Engine QuestScott Stolberg’s father, Aaron, and Uncle Alex, got theirstart buying war surplus after WWII. They then had theopportunity to sell engines to rebuilders. They boughtthem in the Midwest where car bodies didn’t last and soldthem on the west coast where the industry really grewup.

Amsoil Inc.Lubrication is an essential part of the equation when itcomes to engine building. Without lubrication the frictionwould turn an engine into molten metal. AMSOILPresident and CEO, Al Amatuzio, founded his companyon the same principles that defined his career as a jetfighter squadron commander – excellence, integrity andstrong leadership. In 1972, the breakthrough came.AMSOIL 10W-40 Synthetic Motor Oil, the result of yearsof research and inspired by aerospacetechnology, became the first synthetic motor oil in theworld to meet American Petroleum Institute servicerequirements. It outperformed conventional oils on allcounts, signaling a new age in lubrication science. Today,virtually every other motor oil manufacturer has

recognized the superiority of synthetic lubricants andfollowed the AMSOIL lead with introductions of syntheticmotor oils of their own.

Engine & Performance Warehouse, Inc. (EPWI)Engine & Performance Warehouse, Inc. (EPWI) wasestablished in 1977. EPWI was an outgrowth of theoriginal business, Heads by Paul, an automotive machineshop established in 1972 that specialized in performancecylinder head work. EPWI was formed to address a voidin engine parts supply, and has grown to become one ofthe largest wholesale distribution companies in theUnited States that specializes in engine parts andperformance components.

Hastings Manufacturing CompanyHastings Manufacturing Co. was born into the automotiveindustry in 1915. For nearly 100 years HastingsManufacturing Company has been serving the internalcombustion industry with the design and manufacture ofhigh-quality piston rings that improve combustionefficiency and reduce oil consumption.

GETTING STARTED...

Ever since the first engine was placed in an automobile, people have been devoting timeto making it better. In the past 50 years specifically, advancements in technology havehelped develop the engine and its many working parts into a machine capable of much

more than was ever thought possible in the 50 years prior. In this issue, Engine Builder’s 50thanniversary, we highlight several companies that have helped advance the engine and theaftermarket industry over the past 50 years.

BY GREG JONES, MANAGING EDITOR



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world, and the aftermarket enginerebuilding industry is no exception,even if it was slower than otherindustries to adopt it.

“The Internet has been a significantchange for us as it made findingobscure vintage automotive partseasier than before,” says Ernie Silver,president and CEO of Egge Machine.“Up until the advent of the Internet,the restoration industry wasdependent on swap meets and localsources of parts. The Internet made itpossible for vehicle restorers to findparts anywhere in the world. Thespeed at which information is nowavailable opened up whole newmarkets, and is amazingly helpful tosustaining business.”

More specific to automobile enginesthemselves, Sarah Kollar, marketingmanager for Hastings Manufacturing,says varied materials for piston ringshave helped grow the industry.

“Ring coatings and surfacetreatments beyond phosphate, chromeand plasma sprayed have also greatlyimproved,” she says. “Now, theindustry offers additional options suchas nitriding, diamond-like coatingsand ceramic chrome. Theseimprovements are important with the

changes in the industry, demandinglonger engine life, higher oil economy,lower blow-by, longer life oilformulations and so much more.”

Rick Simko, director, sales andmarketing for Elgin Industries, alsomentioned piston technologyimprovements as importantinnovations.

“Martin Skok’s early innovation inpiston pin hardening is an excellentexample of the important

contributions of the engine rebuildingaftermarket,” Simko says. “Each newgeneration of componentmanufacturers and rebuilders hasadvanced the science of engineperformance through criticalenhancements in metallurgy,component design and machiningcapabilities.”

And of course, let’s not forgetsignificant innovations outside theengine, such as oil. “The AMSOIL


50 Years

SCAT EnterprisesIn 1966, SCAT founder, Tom Lieb, saw there was anopportunity making crankshafts. Demand quicklyexceeded supply. SCAT invested in equipment anddeveloped a supply line for cores. The rest is history. In1972, SCAT looked at rod manufacturing and took on thatchallenge as well.

Melling / Dura-BondThe Melling story began in 1946 in Jackson, MI, whenGeorge Melling Sr. and his son Ben started production ofaftermarket oil pumps. In 1952 they introduced the firsthigh-volume oil pump, which revolutionized theautomotive aftermarket industry for oil pumps. In 1975,Harry Melling took over the company as the thirdgeneration president. Harry’s passion for NASCAR gotthe company involved in racing in 1979. By 1999, Harry’stwo sons, Mark and Matt, took over Melling as the fourthgeneration of leadership. In 2000, Melling continued togrow with the acquisition of Dura-Bond BearingCompany. Dura-Bond is a world leader in camshaftbearings, powder metal valve seats, valve spring shims,and engine hardware. Between Melling and Dura-Bondthe company offers an extensive product portfolio of

replacement and performance parts which have a longtrack record within the industry.

SunnenThe Sunnen story started in a St. Louis garage in 1924,when a young mechanic named Joe Sunnen devised anew tool – the adjustable valve spring compressor – thatmade it easier to work on automobile motors. Hefollowed this invention with a unique cylinder hone thatwas quickly recognized by mechanics to be the fastestand most accurate equipment available for sizing cylinderbores. These two products were so successful he soonhad to move operations from the garage to a smallfactory. By 1929 the company outgrew that facility andmoved to its present location in Maplewood, Missouri, asuburb of St. Louis. The factory has expanded many timesover the years, but as we celebrate our 90th anniversaryit is still the Sunnen World Headquarters, with subsidiariesin 12 countries and over 50 authorized internationaldistributors around the globe.

Champion Brands, LLC Champion Brands, LLC, originally Lowe Oil Co. foundedby Ralph Lowe in 1956, is a globally recognized industry

CONTINUED ON PG 48

Hastings Manufacturing Co. wasfounded in 1915. For nearly 100years Hastings has been servingthe internal combustion industrywith the design and manufactureof high-quality piston rings.


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contribution of introducing syntheticoil technology to the industry madetoday’s sophisticated engines possiblewith tighter tolerances and potency,”says Ed Newman of AMSOIL Inc.

Company InnovationsWhile technology in general was theprimary answer to what innovationshelped grow the industry over the past50 years, when asked aboutinnovations within their own

companies that have helped theindustry, the answers were morespecific to certain engine parts.

“Over the years a number ofSunnen innovations have beenstandards of the industry, and havestood the test of time,” Davis says. “Itall started with a unique hand heldhoning tool, variations of which arestill used today. The Sunnen CK-10Cylinder King cylinder hone – a gamechanger many decades ago – is

legendary around the world, and thenew PLC-controlled SV-20 verticalhone with ball screw precisioncontinues the heritage by setting thenew standard.”

Sunnen was also instrumental inadvancing the use of diamondabrasives to reduce honing time andimprove productivity. Anothercompany that has contributed a lot tothis industry is Elgin Industries.

“From our earliest innovation –high-quality, affordable piston pins –to our latest breakthroughs in thedevelopment of one-piece, thick-wallpushrods and super-cryogenichardening capabilities for high-performance parts, Elgin hasconsistently partnered with OEMs andrebuilders to identify and addressemerging challenges associated withsmaller, lighter and more powerfulengines,” says Simko.

Outside of engine parts, AMSOIL isa company that has contributed a lot tohow well all those parts functionwithin an engine.

“AMSOIL’s history is a checklist ofindustry firsts, including first API-rated 100% synthetic motor oil, first“extended drain” 25,000 mile/oneyear motor oil, 100:1 Pre-mix 2-cycle


50 Years

leader in specialty lubricants for over 58 years. Throughthe years, Champion has grown to produce and blendmore than 350 different products including fuel,chemicals, motor oils, additives, and lubricants for theracing, automotive, heavy truck, agricultural, industrial,commercial, and specialty markets. Headquarters arelocated in Clinton, Missouri, just 75 miles southeast ofKansas City.

Elgin IndustriesElgin Industries is celebrating its 95th anniversary thisyear, and from our founding in 1919 through today wehave been dedicated to manufacturing world-classproducts for the engine rebuilding industry. Our founder,Martin Skok, was an automotive technician at an Elgin,Illinois-based vehicle dealership when he becamefrustrated with a serious shortage of high-qualityreplacement piston pins. Early pins were capable ofdelivering only a few thousand miles of service andvehicle owners were often forced to wait six months orlonger to have their engines repaired. Skok rented spacein a nearby factory and quickly developed the processesrequired to produce high-quality, long-lastingreplacement pins. He soon expanded into a variety ofother products, including oil pumps, push rods, timing

components, king pin sets, steering gear sets, andpistons. He designed and developed a prototype for oneof the industry’s first electrical starter motors. As hiscompany grew, Skok played key roles in supporting otherearly manufacturing pioneers. In fact, a few of the biggestbrands in the engine rebuilding industry can trace theirhistories to early financial and other support from MartinSkok. He later helped raise the industry’s profile on theworld stage through the iconic Elgin Piston Pin Special,which competed with significant success in theIndianapolis 500 for many years. We were among the firstmanufacturer members of the Automotive EngineRebuilders Association (AERA) and the Auto CareAssociation, and remain a member today. Ninety-fiveyears later and now a global OE and aftermarketmanufacturer, Elgin is still owned and operated by theSkok family, including Martin Skok’s son, Martin Skok Jr.,who is chairman; and grandchildren Bill Skok, Tom Skokand Cheryl Hogrewe.

RMC Rogers Machine Company (RMC) was founded in 1957 byAl Rogers. Mr. Rogers was operating a successful groupof machine shops in Michigan and saw the need for asource of quality and affordable engine rebuilding

CONTINUED ON PG 52

In 1972, AMSOIL’s Synthetic Motor Oil became thefirst synthetic motor oil in the world to meetAmerican Petroleum Institute service requirements.It outperformed conventional oils on all counts,signaling a new age in lubrication science.



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oil, synthetic gear lube for automotiveuse, synthetic motor oil for dieselengines, as well as synthetic oil forracing, marine and turbochargedengines,” says Newman.

AMSOIL’s innovations haveenabled higher-performance enginesand equipment, reduced air pollutionand fuel consumption, maximizedconvenience via extended drains andcreated less waste oil.

Just as AMSOIL has betteredlubrication, companies such as Engine& Performance Warehouse, Inc.(EPWI) and Engine Parts Warehousehave made one-stop shoppingavailable to the industry.

“EPWI is an engine kit specialist,”says Dusty Dodge, director ofmarketing for EPWI. “EPWI and otherengine parts warehouse distributorshave long seen the convenience ofincluding all of the needed enginerebuild components in a single box.EPWI has built and supplied in excessof 1.3 million engine kits.”

“Engine kit programs made pricingand engine rebuild much easier for thecustomer,” says Paula Flowers, CEOof Engine Parts Warehouse. “Westocked everything necessary for theengine rebuild so the customer could

order all his parts with one phone calland receive it the next day.”

While not all companies sell asmany parts as EPWI and Engine PartsWarehouse does, companies likeHastings and SCAT Enterprisesspecialize in specific engine parts.

“In 1956 we invented the Flex-Ventoil control ring, which quickly becamethe international standard for mostengine applications,” says Kollar. “Inthe 1980’s the Flex-Vent oil control ringbecame the choice of OEM’sworldwide and is still specified intoday’s engines.”

“When Detroit had to make carscompatible with high performancemodifications, SCAT responded bymaking crankshafts, connecting rodsand rotating assemblies for all theseapplications,” says Tom Lieb, SCAT’sfounder. “SCAT invested intechnology and modern computerdriven machining methods to supplythe best possible crankshafts andconnecting rods at competitive

pricing.”Egge Machine is another company

that has helped innovate a specificengine part – pistons.

“Up until the 1950s mostproduction vehicles came with castiron or steel pistons,” says Silver.“Egge Machine was among the firstcompanies to offer cast aluminumreplacement pistons in the U.S. EggeMachine designs its pistons to allow


50 Years

machinery. He started in Denmark with AMC crankshaftgrinding, align boring and resurfacing machines and thenmoved on to Italy with Berco, Zanrosso andRuaro/Scledum, finally settling on Robbi, Picconitti andComec. RMC is still the U.S. distributor for Robbi to thisday. In 1973 Ray Meyer (current owner) had a partneredperformance auto parts and machine shop business, thisis where he met Mr. Rogers and purchased most of hisshop machinery. Ray broke away from that business in1986 and joined up with Mr. Rogers as his sales man in hisequipment business. Mr. Rogers had an accident in 1986and became paralyzed leaving Ray and Mr. Rogers’ familymembers to keep the business going. Shortly after Mr.Rogers felt it was in the family’s best interest to sell thecompany. In 1987, General Parts Inc. (CarQuest) acquiredRogers Machine Co. and renamed it RMC EngineRebuilding Equipment and Ray was rehired as thePresident. CarQuest saw a great fit to have their ownequipment company to supply their auto parts machineshops with equipment. In 1992 CarQuest felt the need toget out of the equipment business, at which time RayMeyer purchased RMC and has been the sole ownersince. So we continue on as the new RMC, providing thelatest technology in the industry and staying true to our

philosophy “Dedicated to serving all your enginerebuilding equipment needs.” Currently, we still importequipment from Robbi (Italy), use U.S. suppliers for CNCmachines and tooling and manufacture specializedfabricated machines, fixtures, and tooling generally madeto order at our 15,000 square foot manufacturing facilityin Saginaw, MI.

Egge Machine Co.Egge began its life as an automotive repair shop inPlainview, TX in 1915. The original name was “E.N. EggeAuto,” named after its founder E.N. Egge. E.N. repairedanything and everything that came into his shop. As thebusiness progressed, he developed the ability to sandcast aluminum pistons, primarily because replacementpistons were simply not available. In the early 1920s E.N.moved the company to downtown Los Angeles where itremained for many years. Eventually his two sons, Nelsand Sy, joined the company and they began toexperiment with permanent steel molds to make pistons.Shortly after E.N. died, Sy began Egge Marine andspecialized in marine applications. Nels Egge took overthe operations of the original company and relocated thebusiness to Gardena, CA in 1958. Nels improved his

CONTINUED ON PG 62

Champion, originally Lowe Oil Co., wasfounded by Ralph Lowe in 1956. Forover 58 years the company has been aglobally recognized industry leader inspecialty lubricants. Through the years,Champion has produced and blendedmore than 350 different products.



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for the differing expansion rate ofaluminum. In addition, since ring setsfor some early applications are nolonger available, Egge has redesignedthose pistons to accommodate modernring sets.”

Adding to the list of engine parts,

Caitlin Green, vp of marketing for Pro-Filer Performance Products sayscylinder heads, intake manifolddesigns and casting technology havebeen key innovations as well. “As faras I know we were the first with a Pro-Stock style “As Cast” 12-degree BBC

Spread Port Head,” she says.Melling Engine Parts is another

company that has helped develop thelandscape of the industry with itsinnovations in oil pumps and itsacquisition of Dura-Bond BearingCompany, a leader in camshaftbearings.

“In 1952 we introduced the firsthigh-volume oil pump, whichrevolutionized the automotiveaftermarket for oil pumps,” saysCharles Barnett, vp of sales andmarketing for Melling. “BewteeenMelling and Dura-Bond we offer anextensive portfolio of replacement andperformance parts.”

Just as the engine parts themselvescontinued to improve over the years,the machines for making them alsoimproved.

“In 1999, RMC was the first topresent a CNC machine as a completeturnkey engine block machiningpackage,” says Meyer. “From thatpoint on we have continued to be aleader in developing newadvancements using CNC technology.We have come to the realization that asingle purpose machine still may haveits place in the industry (example:dedicated resurfacers, align boring,rod boring equipment), but mostcustomers need to get the most valuefor their dollar.”

While some companies areprogressing forward with newproduct innovations, others such asPackard Industries, are rebuilding thepast with today’s modern technology.

“We specialize in the obsolete,”says James From, marketing managerfor Packard. “We have taken variouspistons, bearings, timing chains andgears, reversed engineered them,corrected many of the flaws that hadcaused their downfalls and remadethem using today’s technology andmaterials.”

Industry ChangesIt’s obvious that today’s engines aremade up of a lot of moving parts, andthose parts have changed along withthe numerous changes in the industryover the years. What our advertisershave seen change the most over theyears has been related to engine size,increased foreign competition, issueswith getting younger people involvedin the industry, and engines lastingmuch longer.


50 Years


Founded in 1957 by Al Rogers, RMCwas originally known as RogersMachine Co. Over the years, thecompany has changed hands, buttoday it still offers customers CNC,fabrication and tooling machines.



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“Over the past few decades, we’ve seen engine downsizing,onboard diagnostics and brain boxes, turbo boosting, advancedcombustion, and advanced valve timing,” Newman says.

One of the biggest changes in the industry is the fact thatengines last upwards of 250,000 miles today versus perhaps 50,000miles within recent memory, resulting in fewer engines in need ofrebuilding.

“This shrinking market has rewarded those shops who are ableto provide fast turnaround, precision work and reduce human

error, all which can be aided withmodern equipment,” Davis says. “Thebiggest expense is still labor, and ashrinking pool of skilled machinistsmakes it even more important thatequipment be easy to set up and operateon a consistent basis so today’s tighttolerances can be met.”

EPWI agrees that today’s engineshave forced the industry to change.

“There are generally fewer rebuildopportunities and fewer components inan engine to replace that’s offsetsomewhat by a continually growingvehicle population,” Dodge says. “Theindustry has seen rapidly changing

engine technology and more advanced and sophisticated systems,shorter engine production runs and greater engine variety, andfewer production engine rebuilders and machine shop/engine

builders. The survivors are well run, creative andtechnically competent machine shops/engine builders whohave adapted to a changing marketplace and technologies.”

Both Engine Quest and Elgin echo the fact that peopleare the ones that keep the industry moving forward.

“The challenge for all business today is people,” Stolbergsays. “Ours is not the kind of industry people grow upaspiring to be in. But if you work in it, you can find it veryrewarding.”

“To us, this remains a people business and we work veryhard to exceed the expectations of all our customers, fromcustom engine rebuilders to much larger globalcompanies,” Simko says. “Some manufacturers – havingbeen acquired and consolidated with other organizations –have lost sight of the people side of this business, but wenever have.”

Aside from technology and people, the economy hasalso played a major role in how this industry has changed.

“Many of the industry’s key players have returned totheir basic root products to reduce overhead and eliminateslow moving inventory due to the slow economy,” Meyersays. “Smaller shops with one to three employees without aniche market, or those that can’t afford to invest inadvanced technology, struggle to remain profitable. Priceson shop labor, machinery, tooling, and supplies willcontinue to rise because of reduced sales volume andinventories causing special order situations for once normalstocked items.”

Speaking of once normally stocked items, PackardIndustries has seen an increased number of discontinuedproducts that rebuilders today are looking for.

“We are constantly looking at whether to reproducecertain parts,” From says. “There is not an everlasting


50 Years


Prompted by the onsetof pony and musclecars, SCAT began in1966 with founder, TomLieb makingcrankshafts, connectingrods and rotatingassemblies. Over theyears SCAT invested intechnology and moderncomputer-drivenmachining methods tofurther improve uponits products.



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supply. We have to stayon our toes and keepour ear to the ground tothe ever-changingtrends in the industry.One minute early V8(331 and 365) Cadillacsare hot, then the nextminute it is earlyHEMIs.”

Egge Machine hasalso seen how trendscan change amongrebuilders.

“For years engine

swaps in older vehicles have not beenuncommon,” Silver says. “An earlyfavorite replacement engine was theChevy 327, then hobbyists beganadopting the Chevy 350, and now it’sthe General Motors LS engine. Theaffordability and availability of the LSengine has brought major changes tohow our market looks at repoweringolder vehicles. LS swaps have becomevery popular and have eroded a largepiece of the domestic restorationmarket.”

The Future of EngineRebuildingChanging topics from obsolete enginesand parts to how these companies seethe future of the industry, theconversation surrounded technology,sustainability, the environment andspecialization.

“Sustainability is the critical driverbehind current trends in the passengercar industry,” Newman says.“Environmental concerns are thus theprimary impetus behind the study ofsustainable development and science.

“The current aim of newtechnologies is to enable betterperformance with better fuel economyand reduced emissions. As enginedesigns change, lubricants must bedeveloped that are up to the task.Engine designs and lubricationtechnologies must work together.Change will continue because of theseforces pushing us toward asustainable future. How enginesproduce power will continue toevolve. This means motor oils willalso continue to change as well.

“The materials engines are made ofwill also continue to change asdesigners strive to incorporate low-friction components, advancedcoatings and lighter weight materials.And in the realm of motor oil, thefuture will become ever thinner.”

Dusty Dodge of EPWI agrees thatenvironmental issues andsustainability will be growingconcerns, but says he sees continuedopportunities in the industry as well.

“There will be continuedopportunities created by new enginedesigns – the LS series, Ford modularand Coyote designs are examples,” hesays. “There will also be continuedchallenges due to changing vehicleand engine technologies – hybrid andelectric vehicles are examples.”


50 Years


Sunnen is celebrating 90 yearsin 2014. This is a look at thecompany’s old trade showbooth, which often includeddemonstrations of the portablecylinder grinder (cylinder hone)with grit removal suctionsystem. This allowed enginecylinders to be honed with theengine still in the chassis. Thesuction system removed thegrit before it could fall downonto engine components.



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Bob Davis of Sunnen agrees thatmore changes will come with theincrease in hybrid and electricvehicles, but he also sees future use ofmore exotic materials such ascompacted graphite, nikasil and spraycoatings, which are all more difficult tomachine, so tooling and abrasivetechnology must keep up.

RMC also expressed that it seesdifferent ways parts might bemanufactured moving forward.

“I would imagine with theadvancements in 3D printing we are

going to see some crazychanges in manufacturingparts,” Meyer says. “I alsobelieve we will see muchmore being done toreduce energyconsumption withalternative fuels in heavy-duty and performancemarkets.”

Caitlin Green of Pro-Filer says she sees futurechanges in drag racinghaving an impact on theindustry.

“I anticipate the poweradder classes continuingto grow on the drag

racing side,” she says. “We are addingnew cylinder heads for this market totake advantage of the power adders,instead of the market trying to forcethe power into antiquated parts.”

Paula Flowers of Engine PartsWarehouse also sees growth potentialon the performance side of theindustry.

“Engine builders’ knowledge andexpertise in machining and buildingrace engines is a necessity in thisindustry,” she says. “Performanceengine builders are the backbone of

the racing arena and will continue toprosper.”

Some companies however, believethe original replacement engine partsmarket will shrink.

“There will always be the puristswho insist on restoring vehicles toperiod correct condition,” Silver says.“They seem to be a growing minority.The financial barrier is also a challengefor younger hobbyists considering anolder vehicle. We see youngerhobbyists preferring older importvehicles for their restoration projects. Ifthe trend continues we will see a largerdemand for replacement parts to fitimported production vehicles.”

Others see a rise in demand forrebuilt engines as vehicles continue tobecome more expensive and othervehicle systems last longer.

“This will make repowering anincreasingly viable and appealingoption for many consumers,” Simkosays. “The key is to keep the industrystrong by investing in products andprograms that support the businessneeds of engine rebuilders, andmaking the industry more attractive toyounger professionals.” ■


50 Years

ability to cast permanent mold pistons when hepurchased a quantity of molds from a major OEmanufacturer who deemed the molds ‘obsolete’. Nelsmoved the company to its current location in Santa FeSprings in the early ‘70s and eventually turned thecompany over to his son, Robert.

Packard IndustriesPackard Industries was built in 1978 on the idea ofcovering the day-to-day costs of business with wholesaledivision. Our main objective was to supply the variousspecialist retailers in the industry. At first we did notactually provide engine parts. We started out with a smallsuspension line, water pumps and fuel pumps. As wegrew we added the engine parts. In the early years therewas little to no competition as many of our competitorsonly dealt in a certain engine make. We would offer partsfor something as common as an engine overhaul kit for a216 Chevrolet to something as unique as a set of pistonsfor REO.

Pro-Filer Performance Products, Inc.Pro-Filer Performance Products, Inc. got started in theengine building industry after realizing the need for ahigh quality, aerospace grade, cylinder head and intake

manifold in the high performance aftermarket industry.We began in a niche “big motor” drag racing marketsince those were the engines we were involved with atthe time. After seeing the improvements and horsepowergains over OEM parts of the same size, we saw theopportunity to expand the line to meet needs in variousmotor markets. Needless to say it has been an exciting 12years.

Engine Parts WarehousePaula Flowers’ parents owned and operated a machineshop and parts store in Louisville, Ky. Growing up shespent a lot of time at the shop and eventually workedthere. It wasn’t long before Flowers realized a need for awarehouse distributor with a focus on internal engineparts. From that idea, Engine Parts Warehouse was bornwith the help of three partners, Paula Flowers, MarkFlowers and Zorado Shelton. It was difficult at first as thecompany’s potential customers were also its competitors.However, the company’s persistence was rewarded bythe confidence in other engine builders in the area thatneeded inventory. Engine Parts Warehouse laterexpanded into performance parts with PBM PerformanceProducts and Erson Cams. ■

Pro-Filer Performance Productsmanufactures cylinder headsand intake manifolds. It was oneof the first companies to make aPro-Stock style “As Cast” 12-degree BBC Spread Port Head.


Celebrating Our 43rd Year asAmerica’s Engine Parts Source!

EPWI is an outgrowth of the original business, Heads by Paul, a performance machine shop established in1972 by EPWI’s owner and President, Paul Van Woensel. HBP specialized in high performance cylinder headwork. EPWI grew out of a void in engine parts supply chain, and has grown to become one of the largestengine parts specialty distribution companies in the United States.

“We’re one of the largest engine parts distributors in the country. And our job at EPWI is to supply the productsand services our customers need -- at the right time, at the right place”, said Paul Van Woensel, President ofEngine & Performance Warehouse. “We have the widest brand selection, and over 125,000 part numbers on-hand at any given time. We stock over 110 replacement and performance product lines and maintain anexceptional 96% daily fill rate to our customers. We continually add to our product offerings, and expand ourinventories with the products our customers need and want. And our EPWI Engine Kit catalog is the best in thebusiness with over 640 pages of application coverage & information. Over the years, EPWI’s product salesinclude well over 1.3 million engine kits! We also produce and stock the broadest coverage of remanufacturedcrankshafts & crank kits available anywhere. EPWI truly provides its customers “one-stop shopping”, everyday.

EPWI has grown over the years from its original warehouse in Denver to 12 strategically located warehousesin the central and western United States. They are ideally located to provide superior service in 21 states withfree next-day ground for most shipments in the markets they serve. Dallas, Houston & Portland have recentlymoved to new & larger facilities, and several other warehouses have expanded their shelving space to betterserve customers with expanded inventories & product lines.

EPWI is committed to superior customer service and expert support. Their machine shop and jobber cus-tomers are served by 14 field sales representatives, and 35 qualified engine parts customer service represen-tatives that have a collective engine parts experience that is unparalleled in the business. Customer supportprograms include their robust B-to-B website, Specials Catalog, targeted pricing programs, special “pallet” pro-grams, web-based “street pricing” guides, and the Engine Pro national Parts Finder program. They have anunwavering commitment to help their machine shop, engine builder and jobber customers compete and grow.

EPWI is driven by their passion for the automotive aftermarket and the industry they serve. They continue tocontribute significant time and effort to further the industry and its goals, and are active supporters in industrytrade organizations.

For more information, visit us at www.epwi.net, email us at [email protected] or call 800-888-8970.


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Despite having similar appearances, a diesel crankshafthas some primary differences from its gasolinecounterparts. A gasoline engine uses a spark to ignite

the fuel. A diesel engine, operating at a much highercompression ratio, uses the heat produced by compression toignite the fuel. Diesel engines typically have a longer strokethan the bore diameter, so to handle this load, dieselcrankshafts are much larger physically.

Diesel crankshafts can be found in a variety of materials.From strongest to (relatively speaking) weakest, you’ll findbillet steel, steel forgings, cast steel, nodular iron, malleablesteel and (in some cases) cast iron. Heavy-duty diesel crankshave hardened bearing surfaces (case hardened) with themost common form of hardening being the induction process,according to industry experts.

Strengthening or ReplacingInduction surface hardening is a well-known and widely usedprocess in the global diesel engine manufacturing industry. Itwas originally used primarily to harden bearing journals, -improving their wear resistance, but it is also recognized as aviable technology for improving the fatigue resistance ofhighly-stressed diesel crankshafts.

Induction hardening and induction tempering are rapidlybecoming the processes of choice for manufacturingcrankshafts for diesel engines of all sizes. In addition to thephysical requirements of dealing with diesel crankshafts,industry experts caution that availability of replacementbearings will have a direct impact on whether you should – orcan – service these behemoths.

Unlike bearings in the automotive aftermarket, diesel bearings may not be available in convenient oversizes so it’s agood idea with out-of-the ordinary shafts not to grind themuntil you have the bearings in hand.


Diesel D

ialogue

Internal AffairsDiesel Crankshafts and Rods

BY ENGINE BUILDER STAFF

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But whether you repair orreplace a crank ultimatelycomes down to how badly itwas damaged. If it was broken,more than likely replacement isyour only option (butremember that in most cases, abroken crankshaft is the resultof some other issue).

Additional common causesof damage to diesel crankshaftsinclude spun bearings,resulting in a loss of journalhardness; viscous dampenerswearing out, resulting in abroken crank; failure of thebalance box assembly, resultingin a broken crank; and cracks inthe journals.

Breakdown on the Diesel MarketAnd, while there are differencesbetween the diesel and gasolinematerial components, there eventends to be two sides of the mid-sizediesel spectrum: on one side there is

street performance and on theother there is all-out diesel raceparts.

Street performance diesels dealmainly with engine parts that areprimarily for bolt-on applicationsand can make great power gainswithout sacrificing the integrity ofthe vehicle as a daily driver.

All-out racing diesel enginebuilders typically get moreinvolved in custom made internalengine components in order towithstand the stress from the hugeamount of torque they produce. In atypical mid-size diesel engine, forexample, replacement parts such as


Diesel Dialogue


All-out racing diesel engine builders typicallyget more involved in custom made internalengine components in order to withstandthe stress from the huge amount of torquethey produce.



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pistons are pretty easily obtainable.But this is not the case with dieselcranks and rods, for the most part.

CrankshaftsAs for all-out performance, whetherfor drag racing or tractor pulling,the aftermarket has stepped up.There are several crankshaft

manufacturers that offer customcrankshafts for Power Stroke,Duramax and Cummins engines.Due to the high torque loads andcylinder pressures these enginescan generate, a lot of engineeringand work goes into making acustom crankshaft for theseapplications.

A stock diesel crankshaft istypically forged, a process in whicha chunk of steel, usually made of4340 or 1020 alloy, is heated to acertain temperature and poundedinto shape with a forging die. Thisis why forged cranks have suchwide parting lines due to thematerial that oozes out during theprocess.

Forging offers strength comparedto casting. A “cast” component, onthe other hand, is made when thematerial is melted and poured intoa mold. But it could leave areaswhere the material is thicker orthinner and is prone to stresscracks.

A custom crankshaft for dieselengines is made from a solid chunkof billet steel that is literally carvedinto shape. The steel is usually 4340alloy, which is the most common forcrankshafts due to the fact that itoffers high tensile strength (themaximum stress that a material canwithstand before failing). Also, 4340responds well to heat-treating,which is performed after machiningand increases the tensile strengthfurther. During the heat treatmentprocess the crankshaft is subject toextreme heat in order to control thebehavior of the material oftenreferred to as its “grain.” Thisprocess offers core hardness, andthe crankshaft is hardened all theway through, increasing thestiffness of the material.

Some crankshafts are “nitrided,”a process during which nitrogen isdiffused into the surface of themetal to create case-hardening. Thisis used to increase bearing life anddurability.

What are some things you needto consider when purchasing adiesel crankshaft?

First, what do you want it toweigh? The rule of thumb is if youwish to lighten the crank, you cansafely reduce the weight by 5percent, but no more than 10percent. The more you lighten thecrankshaft, the less durable it will be.But a lighter crankshaft has lessrotating mass, so the engine will revup quicker. But lighter cranks alsohave less inertia and will drop revsfast as well.


Diesel Dialogue




69 Quality Power Products_Layout 1 10/16/14 1:59 PM Page 69

Counterweight ConsiderationsThe counterweights of thecrankshaft are also something toconsider.

Some shops do what is known asknife-edging. This is where the coun-terweights of the crankshaft are ma-chined to look like a knife blade

rather than just being square cutfrom the factory.

The theory behind this is to helpthe crankshaft “cut” through the oilas the counterweight rotates in theoil pan.

This is used to gain better oilcontrol and create less windage.The method now has shifted from

knife-edging to more sophisticated,aerodynamically engineeredcounterweights. Somecounterweights now resembleraindrops, which create less oilsplash and deflection.

Custom crankshafts are alsooffered with what is known asmicropolishing. This is performedusually two different ways.

One is with chemical etching andthe other is with some sort ofmedia. When finished, the entirecrankshaft literally looks like amirror.

The primary reason for thisprocess is to allow the crankshaft toshed oil. This, in turn, creates lessaeration of the oil and helps loweroil temperature.

Connecting RodsEngine builders who want to makebig diesel power, will also need toconsider the integrity of theirconnecting rods. Most mid-sizediesel engines up until the late ’90sto early 2000s were forged. Then,manufacturers started usingpowered metal material for theirconnecting rods.

Powered metal was fine for stockapplications, but as simple bolt-onswere added to increase performance,these parts began to fail. This is


Diesel Dialogue


ReconditioningServices Can Include:• Visual inspection;

• Straightness and alignment;

• Magnaflux for cracks;

• Bushing replacement;

• Hone big and small ends;

• Resize big and small end;

• Check bolts and change if needed;

• Shotpeen; and

• Balance if necessary.



Diesel Dialogue


Cummins Inc.announced that it hasreceived certificationfor its 6.7L Turbo Dieselfrom the California AirResources Board(CARB), meeting theLow-Emission VehicleIII (LEV III) standards.This new standardapplies to all vehiclesunder 14,000 lb. GVWR.The Cummins 6.7L

Turbo Diesel powers the Ram Heavy-Duty lineup, and is thefirst medium-duty diesel engine in the 8,501-14,000 lb.GVWR segment to be certified to the new 2015 LEV IIIstandards.“At Cummins, we demand that everything we do leads to acleaner, healthier and safer environment,” said JeffCaldwell, General Manager – Pickup Business. “Being thefirst in this segment to certify to these new standards

demonstrates our continued commitment to theenvironment, and meeting more stringent requirementswithout hardware changes allows us to maintain the provencapability and reliability that our customers have grown toexpect.”Under LEV III, the nitrogen oxide (NOx) and non-methaneorganic gas (NMOG) standards are combined into a singleNOx+NMOG standard, along with extension of emissions-useful life to 150,000 miles for emissions control systems.LEV III standards also introduce more stringent NOx+NMOGfleet average requirements, which phase in from MY 2015-2022 for all medium-duty vehicles. These new standardswere adopted by the Air Resources Board (ARB) in January2012.This comes as Cummins implements its mostcomprehensive environmental sustainability plan ever. Theplan, announced in early 2014, builds on past successes toaddress the company’s biggest opportunities to make apositive environmental impact – from the materials it buysto its products in use. The plan also includes specific goalsfor Cummins to reduce its environmental footprint.

Cummins 6.7L Turbo Diesel is First to Meet 2015 Emissions Regulations


something to consider when lookingfor power gains out of newer dieselengines.

Connecting rods in a diesel enginecan see a lot of stress because of thehigher compression ratios. Just aswith crankshafts, aftermarketcompanies have answered the callfor producing performanceconnecting rods.

Some companies are offeringstock lengths and bearing sizes,while others are offering customsizes for specific applications.

Most aftermarket stockreplacement rods are made of forgedmaterial such as 4340 with anaddition of chrome, nickel, moly andvanadium. This improves grain flow,strength and durability.

When purchasing a set ofaftermarket forged rods,manufacturers often offerreconditioning services whenengines are in need of freshening.

Forged aftermarket rods are tough

and can take some serious abuse.Connecting rods of this calibershould offer a lifetime of use and canbe reconditioned at a fraction of thecost.

Custom ApplicationsFor more serious power, certainmanufacturers now offer fullymachined billet for customapplications.

These billet rods are offered in an“H” or “I” beam design with achoice of a straight cap or slantedcap and your choice of fasteners.Slant cap designs are often used forcam clearance or small bore applications.

Most custom billet rods are fittedwith bushings on the small end forthe wrist pins but can be machinedfor press-fit wrist pins if the they arecoated with diamond-like coating.

When using billet connectingrods, typical factory bearingclearances work well unless you’re

using a higher viscosity oil. Clearances may need to be

increased depending on application.For some diesel applications,aluminum connecting rods are alsobeing manufactured and used withgreat success.

Whether you’re in need of acustom crankshaft or connecting rod,or just want to upgrade your existingpackage, aftermarket manufacturersare tailoring their products for yourneeds.

And many aftermarketmanufacturers are using qualitymaterials made here in the USA,machined to exact tolerances andspecifications to meet the demandsof your performance dieselpackage. ■

For a complete list of dieselcrankshaft and rod suppliers, visit ouronline buyers guide atwww.EngineBuilderMag.com/BuyersGuide.


Diesel Dialogue




73 NPR of America_Layout 1 10/16/14 1:58 PM Page 73

Arule of thumb forperformance enginebuilding is that if you are

doubling an engine’s poweroutput, or are going much over 550to 600 hp, you should upgrade tosome type of aftermarketperformance gaskets. Upgradesusually require no additionalmodifications. You just swap aperformance MLS gasket for thestock head gasket.

Composition gaskets can usuallyhandle up to 600 hp or so. StockMLS gaskets can usually handlemore, depending on theapplications. But for seriousincreases in power, you need toupgrade to a purpose-builtperformance MLS head gasket.

Performance MLS gaskets oftenfeature special embossments,higher temperature coatings andother design innovations forspecific engine applications thathelp them handle highertemperatures and loads. Some ofthese MLS gaskets use a moregradual radius on theirembossments to reduce stress andimprove conformability so thegasket will evenly distribute loadacross the contact area.

Some MLS gaskets destined forperformance applications may alsoundergo a special stress relievingtreatment to improve theirdurability and ability to retaintorque.

Most aftermarket gasketsuppliers offer some type of MLShead gasket for popularperformance applications such asSB/BB Chevy, SB/BB Ford, SB/BB

Chrysler, and even some sportcompact engines. MLS gasketshave become the “go to” gasketsfor racing and street performanceengines because they can handlejust about anything.

The only exception today is TopFuel and Blown Alcohol dragstersand funny cars which are stillrunning copper shims and O-rings.But who knows, MLS gaskets mayeven find a niche here someday.

One manufacturer told us itslatest performance MLS gasket(which has four layers and a speciallaser welded stopper layer) hasbeen successfully used in a 3,300hp big block Chevy.

Performance FinishMLS head gaskets are made ofseveral layers of embossed stainlesssteel (most are 3 or 4 layers thick,but some have more). A thincoating (.001” to .0015”) of nitrilerubber or Viton is used on the

external surfaces as well asbetween the layers to providemaximum sealing.

Most aftermarket MLS gasketscan handle surface finishes asrough as 60 to 70 Ra microinches,but some specify a smoother finishof 30 to 50 Ra. Smoother is alwaysbetter, and if you can get the finishdown to the low teens or evensingle digit, great! But for mostapplications, a surface finish in the20 to 30 Ra range is more thansmooth enough for a performanceMLS gasket.

If you are building a streetperformance engine that has a castiron block and aluminum heads,and are using conventionalsteel/fiber composite head gasketsor expanded graphite head gaskets,the surface finish should ideally be60 to 80 Ra (360 to 480 Rz).

Don’t go smoother than 40 Ra(240 Rz) or rougher than 100 Ra(600 Rz) with a composition gasket.


Tech

Tip

s

When to Upgrade to a Performance Head Gasket

TECH TIP:

■ CRUSH FAILCrushing is one of the toughest challenges to overcome, andis a common cause of head gasket failure. Hot spots such asthe area between the siamese exhaust ports in small blockChevy heads cause the head to swell more in this area. Aluminum heads can make the crushing problem even worsebecause aluminum expands at a higher rate than cast iron. Ifthe gasket is not designed to withstand the crushing forcesin the hot spot areas, it may permanently deform, lose itsseal and fail.

74-76 Tech Tips 10/16/14 1:41 PM Page 74


75 Cometic_Layout 1 10/16/14 1:58 PM Page 75

Rougher surfaces limit gasketconformance, while smoothersurfaces increase the tendency forgaskets to flow, reducing the gasketsblow out resistance.

If you are using a stock MLS headgasket, the surface finish should be30 Ra (180 Rz) or less unless the MLSgasket has a thicker coating that canseal a rougher surface.

Note: Never apply any kind ofsealer to a MLS gasket! It may reactwith the coating and cause aproblem.

Though Ra (Roughness Average)has traditionally been used todescribe surface finish, most gasketengineers today say a moreaccurate perimeter is Rz, which isthe average difference between thepeak height and valley depth. Racan have a wide variance across agiven surface profile, so Rz gives abetter indication of the actual

texture across the surface.Waviness across the surface is also

important. The less waviness thebetter: no more than .0004” withMLS head gaskets. Trouble is, youcan’t measure waviness with aprofilometer. It takes special(expensive) lab equipment. Wavinessproblems can be caused byvibrations and a lack of rigidity in

milling equipment.The flatness of the head and block

surfaces is also critical in aperformance engine. The maximumamount of out-of-flat should notexceed .001” within three inches inany direction in a stock engine, soeven less is best for a performancebuild.

For a V8 engine, the maximumallowable out-of-flat specification forstock cylinder head and block decksurfaces is .004” lengthwise and.002” sideways. Aim for .002” ifyou’re building a performanceengine. For a V6, therecommendation for a stock engine isless than .003” out-of-flat lengthwiseand .002” sideways. Again, shoot forhalf that with a performance build.

As for an in-line six cylinderengine, the stock recommendation isno more than .006” lengthwise and.002” sideways out of flat. If youhave .003” or less out-of-flatlengthwise and .001” sideways, youshould be in good shape to seal upthe head gasket. ■


Tech Tips

Most performance engines are runninga relatively high compression ratiocompared to a stock engine, andboosted engines create even morepressure in the cylinders. Consequently, if the fuel octane isn’thigh enough or the fuel mixture goeslean, the engine can go into detonation/pre-ignition and self- destruct rather quickly. Usually the engine will burn a piston before itblows a head gasket, but mild detonation over time can crack thecombustion armor on a head gasket.

■ HEAT STROKEHeat is the enemy, so the hotter the engine runs the greaterthe crushing loads on the head gasket. It’s not unusual for aNASCAR engine to run as hot as 260 to 270 degrees F orhigher during a race. Partially covering the grille openingwith duct tape is a common trick pit crews use for improvingaerodynamics, but the trade-off is less airflow to the radiatorand higher engine temperatures.

Speedville.comSpeedville.com is the new address for performance.Whether you’re into drag racing, circle track, road racingor street performance,Speedville.com has you covered! Speedville features allof the quality technical contentthat Babcox Media can provideand that readers have come toexpect from its top-notch tradepublications. Be sure to stop byand sign up for the Pit Crew toearn miles towards gear in theSpeedville Mall and a chanceto win prizes!

Speedville.com330-670-1234www.speedville.com

74-76 Tech Tips 10/16/14 1:41 PM Page 76


77 Modern Silicone_Layout 1 10/16/14 1:57 PM Page 77

Most of us in the automotiveaftermarket have been bittenby the “racing bug” from

time to time. Whether it’s as a racer or a

spectator, I think most of us haveparticipated to some extent. And weshould.

Racing is the sexy and exciting ex-pression of the automotive industry.It represents a large portion of theparts sold and labor performed. Andif we’re lucky, we’ve experiencedmultiple forms of racing.

On the Job PerformanceI deal with some form of racingengines every day, day-in and day-out. Be it drag racing, road racing ordirt circle track, machine shops arebuilding and maintaining race enginesof all forms and manufacture, andengine parts guys are finding andsupplying parts to help them completethe jobs.

Although I’ve never been aparticipant of any form of“sanctioned” auto racing, I’ve enjoyedgoing as a spectator or even as part ofa crew since I was 12.

But this year was supposed to besomething special. This year anopportunity came to go to a gatheringof speed freaks drawn together fromaround the world. An event that I’ve

now learned is on most“Motorhead’s” bucket lists, and wasput forth as the background for a greatmovie that hit limited screens in 2005and is recorded on DVD in many ofour video libraries. The movie was“The World’s Fastest Indian,” and theevent is simply called “Bonneville.”

100 Years of Salt Flat RacingIn 1914 the Moross AmusementCompany engaged racer TeddyTetzlaff to drive a 300 HP Benz,named “Blitzen Benz 2.” Racing acrossthe Bonneville Salt Flats, Tetzlaff brokethe world land speed record mark byrunning 142.8 MPH.

A century later, 2014 was to be avery special Speed Week as it is the100th anniversary year. This year therewas also news that DannyThompson, son of the famous racer,builder and entrepreneur MickeyThompson had brought Challenger IIout of retirement, repowered her andhad his eyes set on a 500 MPH target.This would be a first and a major jumpon the current record for a wheel-driven car.

(Spoiler Alert: See the Industry Newsbeginning on page 6.)

Bonneville or BustMy story starts out with an email froma good friend in California. I grew up

in California and this is also where allof my non-sanctioned racing tookplace. It’s also where I went to schooland where, in 1972, I took my firstauto shop class.

George Lucas once asked,“Where were you in ’72?” Well I wasgrowing up and twisting wrenchesin Cupertino, CA. This is also thecurrent home of a then non-con-ceived Apple Computer and just an-other small city in NorthernCalifornia, not all that far fromLucas’s Modesto.

Lucas Pictures had not yet released“American Graffiti,” but my friends andI were living our own version in ourschool and on those streets ofCalifornia. And now two of thosefriends and our instructor from theaforementioned auto shop wereplanning a trip to the salt thisupcoming summer and they needed afourth member to round things out.So, what else could I do but email backin the affirmative. It seems that overthe past few years we’d all seen “TheWorld’s Fastest Indian.” And somehowwe all had similar bucket lists.

While the trip seemed so far off atfirst, it was upon me in no time.

Still I had time to research, and ifyou’re interested you can start withthe SCTA website, www.scta-bni.org.

The web is full of info, pictures and


Tale

s fr

om t

he W

DBY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Dave Sutton

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79 Federal Mogul _Layout 1 10/16/14 1:57 PM Page 79


Tales From the WD

Anyone seen the racetrack?

Lake Bonneville. Stay to thestarboard side of the cone.

You know you’re in a historicplace when you see this sign.

A classic Bonneville Studebaker.

A cool little pit runner.

The Royal Purple streamliner looks likeit's going 400 mph even standing still.

Record holding 260ci SBChev with turbo and aircraftcarburetor.

The level ofengineering in some ofthese cars wasoutstanding.



Tales From the WDLS powered Firebird takesadvantage of it's aerodynamicshape.

Low budget hauler, but a max effort racer.

This Belly Tank Lakester was avery deceiving new build.

Electronic injected “Flattie” in the Belly Tank.

Turbocharged small block hidingin there somewhere.

What a great use for your old Cup car.

The motors, transaxles andbrakes are very compact onthe Venturi Buckeye BulletIII. The batteries? Not somuch.


videos, but I’ll warn you now, you toowill have a bucket list. And yes, I didwatch the movie again, for about the20th time.

I arrived in California Wednesdaynight. Thursday morning, the guys andI met up just off Hwy 80 at the foot ofthe Sierra’s. Once we were loaded, wewere on our way.

It had been some time for me, but Ilearned my friends and our instructorhad been socializing since wegraduated back in ’74. I had seen him afew times since then, but it still seemedlike a 40-year anniversary to me.

Our trip was pretty uneventful andthe motor home pulled the hill andgot us over Donner Pass withoutincident, unless of course you callbeing passed by the Oscar MayerWienermobile an incident.

It did produce several related jokesand speculation on just what kind ofrecord it might qualify for. After a stopfor lunch and a trip to the grocerystore we had food and spirits for thelong weekend and the balance of theday was spent motoring into Wells, NV.

We were up early and on our wayto the Salt Flats Friday morning. Ittook about an hour to get from theRV park to our off ramp. And this iswhen things started to change.

This is where we started to seecars, all kinds of hot rods mostly, butalso several trailers and car haulers.We followed the road north until wecame to the famous “Bend in theRoad.” We were greeted by a rangerwho crushed our hopes of seeing400-500 mph cars speeding down thesalt. We were told we could continueto the end of the causeway, butwould have to turn around beforewe could go out on to the salt.

And indeed we did. It does rainhere throughout the year and it’s therain that prep’s the salt so perfectlyfor the speed runs. It had rained justa day or so before we arrived. Itseemed this rain had not evaporatedat all and what we found looked likea lake that stretched out over theflats for hundreds of square miles.Hopes were high that enough waterwould evaporate from some of the

tracks, which are actually on a higherground than where we stood, but tome it didn’t look good. Watching thetrucks driving back in from thestarting line and pit area was verydepressing. It gave evidence to justhow deep the water was as theyplowed through with watercascading from their bumpers.

Building AnticipationThis story was supposed to be aboutwhat it’s like to see a car speed by athundreds of miles an hour. Aboutthe excitement of a race event that isalmost totally open to the spectators.Granted, you can’t be out on the racecourse itself, but the pit area andeven right up to the starting line istotally accessible.

The stories of the friendliness andopenness of the competitors soundsnothing like any other racing event.And we found this to be true whenwe made our way back to the town ofWendover. The parking lots of thehotels and casinos of Wendoverquickly began to fill up with car


Tales From the WD




83 Pro-filer Performance_Layout 1 10/16/14 1:57 PM Page 83

trailers and haulers. At this point most were thinking

this would be a day or two delay asthe track dried. Cars were rolled outand hauler doors opened. We foundfriends and their car and crew in thelower parking lot of the Nugget, andthis soon became camp. It wassuggested that the air museum a fewblocks down had some interestingdisplays and we might burn up sometime while more cars pull in.

If you ever get the chance to pursueyour new bucket list entry, you willwant to visit Wendover and themuseum. It’s not large, but is a greatpiece of history from WWII. This wasalso one of the most interesting partsof our quest for speed. The museum isa large airbase and someday, when thefunds are available, this will be a greatdestination to visit, on its own.

Today, there is only one building ofdisplays, but we were told there’sanother building that had a little to see,but we failed to get good directions. Inour search, we discovered several carsparked outside a hanger a little ways

down from the main building. And ithad an open door.

Buckeye BulletUpon poking my head in the door, Iwas very surprised to find a bodilessstreamliner and a flurry of activitygoing on. When we asked if we mightlook around we were greeted by agroup of very friendly and informative

students from Ohio State University.Their car, The Venturi Buckeye BulletIII (VBB3) was probably the mostfascinating vehicle seen on this trip.The Buckeye Bullet is the name of aseries of student-built, alternative-fuelracecars created by Ohio StateUniversity students. Their first electriccar effort went 307 MPH in 2010.

This car, the VBB3, is powered by


Tales From the WD


The Bonneville Bucket ListThe Bonneville Salt Flats is a densely packed salt pan in Tooele

County in northwestern Utah. The area is a remnant of thePleistocene Lake Bonneville and is the largest of many salt flatslocated west of the Great Salt Lake. The property is public landmanaged by the Bureau of Land Management and is known for landspeed records at the “Bonneville Speedway.”

There are five major land speed events that take place at theBonneville Salt Flats. Bonneville “Speed Week” takes place mid-August followed by “World of Speed” in September and the “WorldFinals” take place early-October.

These three events welcome cars, trucks and motorcycles. The“Bub Motorcycle Speed Trials” are for motorcycles only. TheSouthern California Timing Association and the Utah Salt FlatsRacing Association organizes and plans the multi-vehicle events, butall event promoters contribute to prepping and maintaining the salt.


lithium ion batteries supplying 2mega-watts of power (enough topower 2000 homes), has a total outputof 3000 horsepower, weighs about 3-1/2 tons and has a drag coefficient ofonly 0.13. The student engineersbelieve this should be good for over430 MPH. It has two custom-builttransaxles with an extra output shaftto attach brakes from a 747 airliner.

Just as impressive as the car, werethe students who built her. They gaveus over an hour of their time andinterrupted their luncheon to give usa very detailed introduction to whatmay very well be the future. And weall agreed, these guys are certainlywriting their own ticket to a veryexciting future for themselves and theautomotive industry. You can checkthem out at:www.buckeyebullet.comwww.buckeyebullet.com/BB3.html

Rain DelayThe balance of our day was spentinvestigating the cars andmotorcycles in the parking lotsaround Wendover and with theannual hot rod show out front at theNugget.

That night while we enjoyed thelocal collection of hot rods and clas-sic cars, it started to rain. At thatpoint we all knew what tomorrowwould bring. Saturday morning theSCTA posted on their website thatthe event had been cancelled due tothe accumulation of water on thetrack.

Needless to say, I was verydisappointed to have traveled all thisway and to hear this news. Now Iknow I’m not the first guy to havehis race day rained out. Thishappens in racing all the time.

I guess I am lucky in that evenwithout the timed speed trials, I stillwas able to experience some of thecars and people that make this such awondrous event.

I will get back to Bonneville, and Ihope I can share stories of speed,feats of engineering and interestingcharacters.

Today, I hope you’ll start yourbucket list, or add to it a visit to atleast one, and maybe all of our greatracing events.

If not Bonneville, maybe Daytonaor Indy would be of more interest toyou. I’d like to see the Monte Carlo

Grand Prix someday. Theengineering in a vehicle from any ofthese events would capture me forhours.

And with any luck, I’d findsomeone willing to talk and revealsome of the inner workings and secretsof success in that form of racing.

Because this is where it happens,on the racetracks across America andaround the world. A drive to bequicker, better and faster leads toengineering and invention that one

day makes it’s own way into themore grass roots forms of racing oreven into production vehicles, theninto our lives.

And don’t forget to take a kid to arace or car show. We need theinterest of the next generation. And ifthey’re anything like what I sawcome out of Ohio, the future couldbe very exciting.

I hope to see you on the salt soon.■


Tales From the WD



It was known as the Model Bengine and was produced for onlyfour years beginning in 1932,

hence the ‘Deuce’ for that number inits model year.

Sporting only four cylinders, itwas basically an upgrade of theearlier Model A powerplant.

The “B” engine sported animpressive 200 cubic inches ofdisplacement. Its compression ratiowas a super-low 4.9-1.

The paltry 50 horses it producedcame at about 2,200 RPMs. Its maincomponents included an ignitionsystem, which included a coil and a

centrifugal distributor.The engine certainly didn’t

appear likely to be a candidate forupgrading, but that wouldn’t be thecase.

Shortly after its introduction, therewas a wave of professional upgradesthat evolved making every stockDeuce a potential race engine.

And, single-car garage enginebuilders would find many differentways of devising methods to triple,and sometimes more, its horsepower

with a multitude of aftermarket andhomemade performance parts.

It was a favorite of two types ofmotorsports fans.

First, there was the type thatlooked at it for performance street.But the performance improvementsthat were possible also made it anexcellent candidate for oval trackracing with the sprint car (then calledbig cars).

There was one commoncomponent in a majority of theconversions, that being a pair of two-barrel carbs, usually Winfields.

All these conversions could runon either alcohol or high-test (thencalled ethyl) fuels, but for alcohol, itwas necessary to open up the jets formore flow. The compression ratioswere also higher for alcohol use.

Established B BlockAftermarket Conversions:

HAL B Block ConversionThe HAL conversion was a popularracing conversion for the Deuce. Thisconversion lasted into the 1950swhere it was still competitive. Onsome occasions, the block was boredout to about 220 cid.

Besides the HAL cylinder head,there was also a balanced crank, andeither a single or double overhead


Killer Bees!Modified Ford Model Bs on the Race Track

Bui

ldin

g H

isto

ry

In addition to its carburetors,Winfield also produced a BBlock compatible head, shownhere.

BY BILL HOLDERPHOTOS BY PHIL KUNZ AND AUTHOR

This RAMAR conversionfeatures a steel head, a drysump soiling system, and 1.25inch Winfield Carburetors.

86-91 Mod B Fords 10/16/14 1:39 PM Page 86


87 Safety Auto Parts_Layout 1 10/16/14 1:56 PM Page 87

cam. The latter was the preferred system if the pocketbookwould allow it.

It also used a pair of single-barrel carburetors. It’scompression ratio was about 7-1. It was reported that someof these set-ups were capable of producing one horsepowerper cubic inch of displacement, which was a pretty headyaccomplishment for the time period.

In addition, the very early HAL engines had carburetors

sitting on top of the engine instead of the normal side-draftposition. Hal B Block conversions have been noted withdifferent displacements, some bored out to 220 cubic inchesand sporting a balanced crank.

One restored 1934 HAL sprinter had an illustrioushistory and carried Flynn carburetors along with magnetoignition.

It burned alcohol. During its racing days, it won theNARA Northeast series and was reportedly driven by Indy500 driver, Bill Holland.

Dreyer B BlockConversionPop Dreyer was one ofthe best-known enginebuilders of the period.His cast iron heads

connected to the B Block provided one of the best sprint carpowerplants during the 1930s. The engine also sported twin


Building History


Note that the Stromberg 97carbs on this 1934 sprint car arelocated on a side log outsidethe constraints of the hood.

This high performance head waslicensed by Chrysler for use byFord. On the head was thewarning to use high-performance spark plugs.

The ancient B conversions areeven used today in land speedracing. Note this enginearrangement with the carbsagain outside the body forbetter airflow into the carbs.


Winfield carbs, aluminum intakemanifold and a SOHC cam set-up. Itwas reported that these engines couldproduce over 200 horsepower.

He later would build a block of hisown which would incorporate adouble overhead cam and five mainbearings instead of the three on thestandard B Block.

RAMAR B Block ConversionThe RAMAR conversion consistedmainly of the RAMAR high-compression cast iron head. The set-upwas a perfect match for the early BBlocks. The cast iron head wasconnected to a pair of one and one-quarter inch Winfield Carbs. Alsoincluded in the package was a dry

sump oiling system and magnetoignition. The horsepower was reportedat about 150.

Miller-Schofield B BlockConversionThis conversion was a joint effort withracecar builder Harry Miller. The effortwas financed by a group headed by


Building History


The Indianapolis hometown ofFloyde “Pop” Dreyer is carriedon the exterior of the engine.

Both the Miller and Schofieldnames are contained on thevalve cover of this engine.


George Schofield. The main component thatevolved was the so-called Miller High-SpeedHead, which was carried on the valve cover.

Again, the Winfield carb would be a playerwith this conversion. One of the big players in

this operation was Leo Goosen who made the head designdrawings.

Crager B-Block ConversionThis conversion could really be included as a part of theprevious paragraph, but for clarity purposes, it is presentedseparately. This conversion was born following the failure

of Miller-Schofield to continue in business. Cragar decidedto scoop off the pieces and modified the Hi-Speed Head toits liking and carrying the new name.

A Cragar conversion was seen with a bored 213 B Blockwith the Cragar head, a pair of Winfield carbs, a drilled

crank, and a pressure oil system.

Riley Four-Port Model BConversions

This interesting conversion wassomewhat different from the others ofthe period. It featured, for example, aRiley four-port OHV head, a pair ofStromberg 97 carbs and Mallory Ignition.The configuration featured intakesinside the head with exhausts in theblock. It should be noted that replicas ofthe Riley head are currently beingfabricated by the Scalded Dog SpeedParts in Batavia, Ohio (513-724-0700) toprecise detail of the original. ■

(Note) The author would like to thankCharlie Yapp for his assistance in this article.


Building History

This vintage sprint car ispouring on the coal with Cragarpower under the hood.

The Cragar conversion was basically the same as the Miller-Schofield.


There was certainly nomistaking the Riley conversionwith its carburetor positioning.



Building History


Here is an example ofthat power in action inthis vintage sprinter.

This is the doubleoverhead camversion of the HALconversion, whichput out considerablemore power than thesingle cam version.

Here’s a look at the stock FordB Block.

A view of the HAL conversionsprint car that was driven byIndy racer Bill Holland.


If you've been following ourMagnum Charity build, then youknow it's all about the “Dare.” What started life as an article

some years past on the concept of“Love the one you're with,” hasbecome a “put your money (andtime) where your mouth is.”

We chose to expand on the ideaof taking the engine under the hoodof your customer’s car, andmodifying it rather than searchingout a more desirable muscle carengine. Now, with the money you’dsave by not having to purchaseanother expensive desirable coremotor, invest that money into astroker crankshaft and a set ofmatching pistons to build a biggercubic inch engine that would havemore power than the old factorymuscle car engine and greaterdependability from the newupgraded parts.

We chose an old Chrysler 318.There were literally millionsproduced and I guarantee you noone associates big horsepower and318. No one.

But with a little homework, wediscovered someone has thoughtabout this and pistons are availablefrom ICON, the forged pistondivision of United Engine &Machine Co., more commonlycalled Silv-O-Lite. They catalog apiston that when matched with a 4”stroke crankshaft that would moreoften be used in a 340 Mopar itproduces a 392 c.i. stroker, whenyour block is bored .040” oversize.Things get even sweeter when youconsider this package uses stocklength connecting rods. This is a 74-

cubic inch increase and should reallywake things up under the hood ofany 318-powered Chrysler product.And, you can keep those old 318emblems or stickers in place for theultimate sleeper.

Since we don't have an olderChrysler product to put our 392Magnum in, we thought we might“Dare” to get our readers andvisitors to the up coming PRI Showinvolved by raffling off our finishedproject and putting whatever fundswe can raise to a very good cause –the Independence Fund –www.independecefund.org – whichraises money to purchase motorizedwheelchairs for our returningwounded veterans.

So, to get the ball/engine buildrolling, a shopping list was createdand prioritized and many a phonecall and email were placed. We nowhave a storage room of parts thatexceeds my imagination of what thiscould be.

And, I must state right here thatour desire to produce an interestingand valuable finished product doesexceed the initial concept. Youwould not have to purchase parts tothe extent of what we have to buildwith, to do a project like this.

The pistons would be the onlyfixed part of this build. A lessexpensive cast steel crank couldeasily be used along with stockconnecting rods. We were luckyenough to have SCAT Industriesdonate one of its forged 4340crankshafts and a set of I-beamconnecting rods. We are using a setof EngineQuest Magnum cylinderheads fitted with a set of Ferrea 6000

competition series valves for a GMLS-type motor.

In the next issue, you will see allthe great bolt-ons donated byEdelbrock, Milodon and ACCEL, toname but a few graciouscontributors. Again, generousdonations that will enhance thecapabilities and dependability of ourengine, but may exceed the budgetof your customer and chase off thejob. This would be the opposite ofour intent, so plan your projectrealistically and within the budgetconstraints of your customer.

Making AdjustmentsOur project is not so quickly comingtogether, but the end is in sight. Inthe August issue, we showed youhighlights of building our cylinderheads. Deadlines and conflictingschedules of the various volunteersmade it difficult to reporteverything, so I have a little to addon building a performance Magnumhead, before we move onto theshortblock.

We shared the specs of ourLunati cam kit and the increasedrocker arm ration of the Magnumstyle heads and valve train over theolder LA style 318. Our exhaustvalve lift, at the valve, calculates outto .569”. To get an installed heightthat would except the valve springwe needed took more work thaninitially reported.

Once I was able to track down theinfo I needed from EngineQuest onhow much we could remove fromour spring pads, we still came upshort. They suggested that the headscould be cut as much as .080”


“Parts Happen”

Prof

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Bearings and studs installed.Ready to check our clearances.

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Dave [email protected]

92-100 Prof Perf 10/16/14 1:38 PM Page 92

deeper. This still left us short from the.100” we needed. We were very close toan even 1.600” installed height with ourEQ heads, Ferrea stock length LS valvesand Comp Cams retainer combination. We needed to get to1.700” We choose to stay on the safe side and cut the springpads .050” and used a set of .050” offset valve locks to getus to a perfect 1.700” valve spring installed height.

This month, you can checkout the progress we've madeon the shortblock. Cam bearings are installed and the camfit perfect. No surprises as we mic’d the cam bores beforewe attempted to install the bearings. That would have beenthe time to correct a housing bore, not after destroying abearing or two.

We installed the new distributor tower bushing that wasincluded in the DuraBond finish kit. These kits are reallythe way to go. It's nice to have all the new hardware rightthere in one place as you do your assembly. You will notethat there are no freeze plugs installed. This parts guy raninto a parts problem. Somewhere along the line it seems awrong plug kit was ordered. Talk about your irony. Weneeded a couple 19/32” plugs for the front oil galleys andon this fine Saturday afternoon, there were none in thehouse. So a kit will be sent down and installed, but theymissed the photo session.

We also ran into a problem with the stud kit that wasordered along with the Milodon oil pan and windage tray.They are short and though the package is correctly marked

to fit a 318, we now understand there is another setavailable.

We are hoping these will give us some additional lengthso that the SCAT crank and rods will clear the windagetray.

Did I say something about this parts guy and irony? Ihave to thank my volunteer engine builder, Joe, for beingso understanding. Though I was quite miffed and a littleangry with myself for not catching things sooner, he tookthings in his stride. More than once he reminded me thatthis is Automotive 101, “Parts Happen.”


Profitable Performance

“Parts Happen”


All our bearings were treated toa coat of Driven assembly lube.

92-100 Prof Perf 10/16/14 1:38 PM Page 93

The “Balance” of theAssemblyFrom the pictures here, you'll see wedid not stop and whine or blameanyone else. Joe told me this wasstandard operating procedure for aperformance build of this magnitudeand he really expected worse.Nothing here stopped us fromcompleting the shortblock.

The crank is lying in the block on aset of extra clearance bearing fromClevite. The combination of the nowperfect align-bore and crank mainsthat are on the high side left us a littletoo tight. But, we came out a perfect.0025” clearance by using the “X” orextra clearance bearing set. Yes, theparts guy got it right this time bysecuring both std and X bearingsbefore the day of the build.

Our crank spends perfectly on acoat of Driven assembly grease. Themain and rod bolts were treated to acoating of ARP assembly lube on thethreads and a dab under the head ofeach bolt.

The same treatment was used onthe connecting rods and bearings. Acoat of clean motor was used in thebores and the sides of the ICONpistons and EPG rings. The fullfloating pins were treated to a coat ofDriven's HVL and the spiral locksinstalled to retain them. Clevite H-series rod bearings were used to giveus .002” clearance at the rods.

The Lunati cam spins freely in theblock and it too was coated with theDriven assembly lube. Engine PartsGroup donated the billet 9-keywaytiming set and it was installed with

94 October 2014 | EngineBuilderCircle 94 for more information

Pistons were hung on the SCATrods with a few drops of HVLand the spiral locks installed.

Donators for the Engine DonationSome of these parts will be necessary, and came from ven-

dors you trust to build your engines with everyday. Mellingoil pumps, Fel-Pro gaskets, Clevite bearings, DuraBond cambearings and finish kit, several parts from the Engine PartsGroup (EPG), the rocker arm and pushrod kit from CompCams will be necessary with our choice of the Magnum-stylecylinder heads and the camshaft kit from Lunati. The entirelist of vendors who are really responsible for making thisbuild a reality can be found at http://bit.ly/1vACAQO.

While you're there you can find all the previous parts ofour build, my original article with many unusual stroker ideasfrom March of 2010, and much more.

92-100 Prof Perf 10/16/14 1:38 PM Page 94


Product Sp

otlights

Circle 115

Motor State DistributingFilters/Airflow AIRAID Filter Company offers acomplete line of premiumperformance filters, cold air intakesystems, modular intake tubescomputer designed for maximum airflow producing additionalhorsepower, torque and improvedperformance. The complete AIRAIDproduct line is available at MotorState Distributing for immediateshipment. www.motorstate.com800-772-2678Circle Number 114Circle 113

Circle 111

High Volume Oil Pumps

Orbit performance oil pumps are designedwith high output and volume capabilitiesrequired for high RPM engines. The gero-tors are precision machined from steel-copper alloy (FCO205), an exceptionallydurable metal that assures dependabilityand durability. Tight housing and gerotortolerances provide optimum pressure andflow requirements. Housings are die castDC-12 aluminum and are anodized to pre-vent corrosion. All pumps are individuallyinspected and tested. Passenger carpumps are equivalent to OEM design, en-gineering and metallurgy to meet or ex-ceed original equipment specifications.Present applications include nine applica-tions (three performance and six passen-ger car); new applications will be added.

ACL DistributionPhone: 800-847-5521www.orbitoilpumps.comCircle 110 Circle 112

95-97 Spotlights 10/16/14 1:36 PM Page 95


Prod

uct

Spot

light

s

Circle 117

Circle 118

Engine Pro High PerformanceConnecting Rods

Engine Pro H-Beam Connecting Rods areforged from 4340 steel and produced onCNC machinery. They are finished in theU.S. to ensure precise big-end and pin-endbore sizes. Rods are magnafluxed, heattreated, stress relieved, shot peened andsonic tested to ensure they provide thestrength required for high horsepower ap-plications. Engine Pro connecting rodsequipped with standard 8740 bolts are ratedfor up to 700 horsepower in small blocks,and 850 horsepower in big block applica-tions. Visit, www.goenginepro.com.

Engine ProPhone: 800-ENGINE-1www.goenginepro.com

Circle 119Circle 120

Ergonomic Blast Cabinets

ZERO blast cabinets are now available in anergonomic body style, which allows the op-erator to sit while working. The cabinet con-figuration provides comfortable knee-roomfor the operator without interfering withthe free flow of media for reclamation andre-use. Standard cabinet features include:large, quick-change window, reverse-pulsecartridge-style dust collector, suction-blastor pressure-blast models. HEPA filtration asan option. Cabinets can work with glassbead, aluminum oxide and other recyclablemedia. Applications: cleaning, de-burring,peening, and finishing.

Clemco Industries Corp.Phone: 800-788-0599www.clemcoindustries.com

Circle 116

Circle 121


Product Sp

otlights

Circle 125

Circle 126

Web-Based Valvetrain Parts Catalog

SBI has released a Web-based version ofits acclaimed catalog in order to provideusers with real-time updates on additionsto the company’s line of replacement valvetrain parts for close to 3,000 applications divided among late-modeldomestic and import passenger car, lighttruck, performance, marine, agricultural,heavy-duty and forklift/industrial. Thecatalog also features listings of K-LineBronze Bullet-brand valve guide linersand miscellaneous K-Line tooling stockedby SBI, Exclusive Master Distributor forK-Line. Based on SBI’s CD-ROM catalog,the SBI Web-based catalog allows theuser to search the database by parttype/part number, vehicle type, enginemanufacturer, or specific engine andmake codes.

S.B. InternationalPhone:1-800-THE-SEATwww.sbintl.com

Circle 124

Circle 127

TurbochargersMAHLE Original supplies 14different turbochargers for theFord Power Stroke® family ofengines plus mounting kits,service kits, inlet gaskets and amounting pedestal where ap-plicable. Find specific infor-mation on your applicationusing our eCatalog atwww.mahle-aftermarket.com.

Mahle ClevitePhone: 1-284-305-8200www.mahle-aftermarket.com

Circle 123Circle 122

95-97 Spotlights 10/16/14 1:36 PM Page 97


Cla

ssifi

ed/C

ores

PublisherDoug Kaufman, ext. [email protected]

EditorEd Sunkin, ext. [email protected]

Managing EditorGreg Jones ext. [email protected]

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Tech EditorLarry [email protected]

Advertising ServicesTina Purnell, ext. 243 [email protected]

Director of DistributionRich Zisk, ext. 287 [email protected]

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Sales RepresentativesBobbie [email protected], ext. 238

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John Zick [email protected] 949-756-8835

enginebuildermag.com3550 Embassy ParkwayAkron, OH 44333-8318

FAX 330-670-0874

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Babcox Media Inc.Bill Babcox, President

Greg Cira, Vice President, CFOJohn DiPaola, Vice President

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In Memorium:Edward S. Babcox (1885-1970)

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USED AND REBUILT EQUIPMENTCBN TOOLING:WE RESHARPEN

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Classified

/Cores

Call now to order or to receive a free 2014 catalog 1-800-434-5141www.autobodysupplies.com

COMPANY NAME PAGE #ACL Distribution 19

Amsoil Inc Cover 2

Area Diesel Service, Inc. 67

Atech Motorsports 26

Avon Automotive Products 36

BlueDevil Products 30

Brock Supply 20

Centroid Corp. 68

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Clemco Industries 66

Cloyes Gear & Products Inc. 82

Cometic Gaskets 75

Comp Performance Group 84

Dakota Parts Warehouse 6

Darton International 8

Diamond Racing Products

/Trend Performance 85

DNJ Engine Components 1

Driven Racing Oil, LLC 31

DTech Products 72

Dura-Bond Bearing Co 46-47

Egge Machine Company 21, 49

Elgin Industries 33, 58-59

Engine & Performance Warehouse 11, 63

Engine Parts Group 15

EngineQuest Cover 3

ERNST Manufacturing 56

ESCO Industries 60

Federal Mogul/Fel Pro 7

Federal Mogul/Sealed Power 22-23, 24

Federal-Mogul Motorparts 79

Go Power Dynamometer Systems 8

GRP Connecting Rods 93

Hastings Mfg. Co. 57

Henkel Corp 25

Hypermax Engineering Inc 90

Injector Experts 100

Liberty Engine Parts 5

Lunati LLC 34

MAHLE Clevite 13

Manton Pushrods & Rockers 90

Melling Engine Parts 50-51

Mobil 1 Racing 32

Modern Silicone Technologies, Inc. 10, 77

Motor State Distributing 27

Motovicity Distribution 35

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Performance Trends 10

PRI Show 12

Pro-Filer Performance Products 83

Quality Power Products 69

RMC 61

Rottler Manufacturing Cover 4

Royal Purple Ltd 29

Safety Auto Parts Corp 87

SB International 38

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parts from the DuraBond finish kit. Our cam was degreedand number one intake was found to be in at 107 degrees.The cam card says this cam lobe center was 106 degrees.We advanced the cam 2-degrees at the crank gear. After alittle running time and chain stretch, we should fall right inat 106.

The balance of the assembly should be pretty straight-forward once the correct parts get there. We’ll report in thenext article on anything that comes up in our valve trainassembly, but we expect the Comp Cams adjustable rockerkit will workout perfectly and things will look much

different with our fully dressed out engine. We’ll alsoreport on our dyno session and just see what kind of poweran old overlooked dog can make with a few new tricks.And some very tricky parts.

Please checkout the Independence Fund. Please plan onseeing us at the PRI show. Please participate in the raffle.(Note: More info on that proceeder will be coming in ournext installment of this build.)

The funds we raise could not go to a better cause. Pleasecontinue to follow along and see if “The parts guy” missedanything else. Please dare to think outside the box. If we alljust follow the rules, build “belly-button” engines, we'llloose this race for engine individuality and creativity.

Lately, we’re seeing more crate motors and dealershipcrate motor programs cut heavily into the performancemarket from all reports. This is absolutely a trend and itsmy belief that we, collectively – machinists, distributorsand manufactures – must curtail this trend if we want amore profitable future.

Performance has always been the excitement in theindustry. Sure, there are more lucrative portions of theindustry, and you should profit from these as well.

Still, performance engine building and racing havebrought many durability and power upgrades, not only toengine rebuilding, but also to the OEM and the stockengines that perform like no one ever dreamed, and outlast the vehicles they’re installed in. ■


Profitable Performance

Circle 100 for more information Circle 101 for more information

Joe made a priming tool andtower bushing install tool froman old big block oil pump driveshaft by turning off the teeth ofthe drive gear.

92-100 Prof Perf 10/16/14 1:38 PM Page 100


102 EngineQuest_Layout 1 10/16/14 1:56 PM Page 102


104 Rottler_Layout 1 10/16/14 1:56 PM

engine builder, october 2014

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