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Racing Oil Systems • Pontiac Straight 8 Prospects • Cutting Tool Technology SERVING ENGINE BUILDERS & REBUILDERS SINCE 1964 2014 NOVEMBER
EngineBuilderMag.com
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Contents 11.14
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Features
ON THE COVER
ARCA Engine Technology
Pontiac Straight 8
The Pontiac L-head straight eight was used in production cars for 21 years between 1933 and 1954. This classic engine was advertised as a powerplant that could run 100,000 miles without a major overhaul. In this article we dive into ways builders are keeping them going strong.
The Automobile Racing Club of America uses older style NASCAR Cup cars. Specifically, they are the ones used just before the advent of NASCAR’s Car Of Tomorrow (COT) in 2007. The big picture is the engines used in the ARCA Racing Series fall into the same category as modern day NASCAR Sprint Cup engines. They are mostly the same 358 cubic inch limit engines used in Cup only with the older carb. We take a look at ARCA’s 2015 engine options.
16 Upgrading Cutting Equipment If high quality head work is a cornerstone of your business, a new state-of-the-art valve guide and seat machine, cylinder head machining center or even a multi-purpose CNC machining center could take your business to a higher level.
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38 Columns
Building History..................................30 By Bill Holder The story of Jack Hohl
Oiling Systems The basic purpose of an oiling system is to provide lubrication for the engine. It doesn't matter if the system is a wet sump or a dry sump system. We take a look into what makes for a well-performing oiling system.
Track Talk ..........................................80 Submitted by McCullough Public Relations The rebirth of the Green Monster
Talking Shop ......................................84 By John Gunnel Millers at Milwaukee Vintage Indy Car Event
Camshafts
64
Choosing a camshaft for an engine build is an important decision that has to be made before any other parts are ordered or machined. Choosing a cam requires answering basic questions, the most important of which is the engine application itself.
72 COVER DESIGN BY NICHOLE ANDERSON
Fast Lane............................................88 By Animal Jim Feurer Five points to ponder prior to PRI
DEPARTMENTS Industry News and Events ....................................6 Shop Solutions ....................................................12 2014 Supplier Spotlight ........................................94 Cores/Classifieds/Ad Index ..................................98 On The Road ........................................................100 ENGINE BUILDER founded Oct. 1964 Copyright 2014 Babcox Media Inc.
ENGINE BUILDER (ISSN 1535-041X) (November 2014, Volume 50, Number 11): Published monthly by Babcox Media Inc., 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333 U.S.A. Phone (330) 670-1234, FAX (330) 670-0874. Periodical 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 services representative 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 ENGINE BUILDER, 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 to his 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 its publisher. Diligent effort is made to ensure the integrity of every statement. Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by return postage.
2 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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Editor’s Page
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Help Wanted A
s we come to the close of another year in the rebuilding industry, we’re hoping your shop had a great business year. And, although the SEMA and PRI shows are upon us, we here at Engine Builder are already looking ahead into ways to improve our services for 2015 — be it the printed version of the magazine, our weekly email newsletters or the digital content of our magazine and website. Since coming on board as the editor of Engine Builder a little more than a year ago, I’ve had the pleasure to meet a number of builders and performance enthusiasts, as well as those in the parts and equipment side of this industry. And it seems to be good timing for me. Everywhere I go, I see that this is an exciting time to be in the engine and performance industry. In fact, sales of automotive specialty-equipment products continue to climb, reaching $33 billion in 2013. The number represents a 6.7% increase over the previous year and marks the fourth consecutive year of growth, according to the SEMA Annual Market Study. Recently, this magazine celebrated its 50th anniversary as a trade magazine, bringing to shops helpful and timely technical and business information. I want to continue this tradition of excellence. One way I have found to do this in my more than 20 years in the editorial business is by calling on the experts in the field – our readers. For 2015, I would like to have in place an Editorial Advisory Board for Engine Builder. The plan is to create a group of about 8-10 shop owners/engine builders who receive our monthly magazine to help with the direction of the magazine as we move into the future. The editorial board members and their shop names will be listed on the contents page of the
4 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
EDITOR ED SUNKIN ESUNKIN@BABCOX.COM
magazine each month. Serving as an editorial board member doesn’t take up a lot of your time, but it does help with strengthening the rebuilding community. The way I see it, when we improve the means of providing technical and business information to you, our readers, it helps improve the industry as a whole. I feel the staff at Engine Builder is here to help serve your shop by providing the best content out there. So what are the duties of an editorial advisory board member? We would contact you throughout the year to: • Provide ideas for potential articles in the publication; • Offer background sources for information; • Discusses industry issues; • Contribute an article or column for the magazine, or provide a guest editorial; • Act as a source for direct quotes or indirect quotes in tech and business articles; • Contribute photographs from your shop on subjects related to upcoming articles; • Promote the publication to other readers; • Help choose winners of awards contests; • Answers tech questions from readers; and • Address readership studies. If you would like to be considered to join our editorial board team and help strengthen the engine building community, email me at esunkin@babcox.com with your name, title, name of your shop and other contact information. If your shop has a website or Facebook page, email me that link as well. This is a great opportunity to improve the engine building and performance community. I look forward to working with you in the New Year! ■
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Industry News
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Andrew Sexton Speaks About Federal-Mogul Motorparts
Interviewed by Andrew Markel, editor, Babcox Tech Group Andrew Sexton is senior vice president, global sealing and engine, Federal-Mogul Motorparts. Sexton’s responsibilities include the company’s renowned Fel-Pro Gaskets business, based in Skokie, Ill. Fel-Pro, “The Gaskets Professionals Trust,” is North America’s preeminent brand of engine and related sealing components for automotive and high-performance applications. Federal-Mogul Motorparts is a division of Federal-Mogul Holdings Corporation, selling and distributing a broad portfolio of products through more than 20 of the world’s most recognized brands in the global vehicle aftermarket. The following is a portion of Andrew Markel’s interview with Andrew Sexton. MARKEL: It has been 15 years since Fel-Pro became part of FederalMogul Motorparts. How has Federal-Mogul been able to continue to increase the strength of this iconic brand? SEXTON: When you look at the strengths behind the Fel-Pro brand, the value of our people really stands out. You’ve had a chance to talk with our engineering and product management teams, so I’m sure you could see that there is a real passion here. When you look to the things that we really do well, engineering is front and center and works hand-inhand with the product team. I can tell you that every part that goes into a Fel-Pro box is validated and approved by a Fel-Pro engineer. I think we've done a good job in marrying the strengths of FederalMogul Motorparts and Fel-Pro. With F-M’s expertise in the total engine package, we have done a good job in integrating this comprehensive view in order to design the bestperforming gaskets for each application. MARKEL: What do you think is going to have to happen in future years to help keep engine builders 6 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
and other industry professionals ahead of the technology curve associated with each new generation of engines? Is it going to be more and more difficult for a repair professional to do an intake manifold sealing repair or a head gasket replacement, for example?
SEXTON: A key principle of the Fel-Pro brand is to design and manufacture products that are optimized for the repair environment and help make the professional technician or engine builder more proficient on the job. By the time an engine enters the aftermarket repair cycle, it doesn't have that perfect surface finish, and everything’s not flat as it was in the OE environment. We focus on understanding the repair environment from an engineering perspective and then developing a design that's more robust for that application. Take, for example, a multi-layer steel head gasket coating. What's possible on an OE manufacturing line -- where everything's pristine, flat and highly polished -- is much different than the environment we see in the aftermarket, where the technician might not have all the tools or simply can’t create that perfect surface finish due to the casting wear. That’s why Fel-Pro gasket engineers developed a proprietary coating for PermaTorque MLS gaskets that's much more robust for the aftermarket environment. You can see the same approach in
our PermaDryPlus molded rubber line. Look at our PDP intake manifold gaskets – our engineers developed a very robust molded rubber compound applied to a rigid carrier, which resists the chemical attack of the different types of fluids that flow through the manifold. That's a particular product line that’s been strong in the repair environment and with professional technicians due to the fact that it solves a known sealing issue. It’s a good example of an innovative technology that provides significant value to the repair professional and one that has earned Fel-Pro the technician’s trust. MARKEL: Do you see any need for additional gasket sets or any growth in the marketplace for different types of sealing repairs, such as front cover, etc.? SEXTON: I think it's going to be very application-specific. In certain engines, we have found a way to solve specific problems that have gone unaddressed by other suppliers. As a result, we see significant growth in these product categories for several years. Our PermaTorque MLS head gaskets are an example of a technology that addresses very real engine sealing needs and, as a result, they have seen robust growth year over year. A new opportunity perhaps will come through the OEs’ increased use of turbochargers; we might find that this trend will generate new gasket sales. In general, the engine environment is being stressed very heavily, with the engine manufacturers pushing the envelope in terms of combustion pressures and temperatures. At the same time, we are generally seeing decreased clamp loads and the use of different engine casting alloys. Each of these realities bodes well for the sealing category and for the service environment. MARKEL: How prevalent is MLS technology at the OE level versus aftermarket? SEXTON: On the light vehicle side it's the predominant head gasket technology. On the commercial vehicle side there's still a mix of multiple approaches. In MLS, some
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Industry News of the OEs are trying to cut some cost out of the gasket by going from a four-layer gasket to three layers, or from three to two. They're being very creative and, I think, innovative around the combustion seal itself, trying to come up with a way to fold or to use other materials to avoid an extra layer. So they always continue to push the technology and sealing requirements placed on the gaskets and are always mindful of the cost of the technology. On the aftermarket side, our major focus is to maximize the robustness of the seal. We know that typically if you're pulling apart an engine, the primary cost of the repair will not be the gasket. We put a great deal of R&D into the combustion seal, with a focus on the most effective way to provide that robust seal, regardless of the number of layers. Editor’s Note: Read the full interview at www.enginebuildermag.com in the Business and Management category on the homepage.
NHRA Supports Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), whose professional dragracing teams employ some of the nation’s top auto technicians, supported the next generation of auto experts through the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge. The NHRA donated its
Championship competition are East Ridge High School from East Ridge, Tennessee, and Thomas County Central High School from Thomasville, Georgia. Both of these teams completed engine rebuilds in 20 minutes or less. For more on the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge, visit hotroddersoftomorrow.com.
table at the 2014 SEMA Show Banquet to the top two teams competing in the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge at the Show. “So many of the participants in our engine challenges hope to one day be employed by teams competing in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, so this is a big deal to these kids,” said Rodney Bingham, president of Hot Rodders of Tomorrow. “It makes the whole experience of coming to Las Vegas even more fun.” Along with seats at the SEMA Show Banquet, the NHRA awarded the top two teams tickets to an NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series event that’s closest to their school. High-school teams compete throughout the year in hopes of qualifying for the Hot Rodders of Tomorrow Engine Challenge Dual Championship Finals. Thirty-two teams have qualified for the event, completing a crate-engine rebuild in less than 35 minutes. The top two teams going into the SEMA Show’s
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King Bearings Introduces New Master Catalog, Updated Branding and New Bearing Materials King Engine Bearings introduced its 2015/16 master catalog and new branding and marketing materials at the 2014 AAPEX show in Las Vegas. Its new catalog features more than 200 new applications for replacement and racing and expanded technical information on King’s advanced materials and geometric innovations. As part of its unified global marketing initiative, King has redeveloped its marketing materials
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Industry Events November 28-30 Los Angeles Auto Show Los Angeles www.laautoshow.com
December 8-10 AETC Conference Indianapolis www.aetconline.com
December 12-14 PRI Trade Show Indianapolis www.performanceracing.com
February 14-15, 2015 Race & Performance Expo St. Charles, IL www.raceperformanceexpo.com
March 6, 2015 HRIA Education Day and Training Detroit www.sema.org/hria-education-day
For more industry events, visit our website at
www.enginebuildermag.com or subscribe to
www.aftermarketnews.com.
to better explain how King bearings are more innovative, reliable and a better choice than any other bearings available today. In addition to the new catalog and supporting materials, King’s website provides a wide array of technical information including technical white papers, test results, videos and other materials. To download King 2015/16 Catalog: http://kingbearings.com/wpcontent/uploads/2014/09/King-Engi ne-Bearings-catalog-20151.pdf In addition to its new catalog and branding, King also announced new bearing materials during AAPEX this year.
8 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
The needs of modern engines combined with today’s environmental restrictions has led King to develop new advanced bearing materials which can withstand greater load than traditional materials while remaining environmentally friendly. King's R&D unit, the TechLab, has been developing a variety of leaded and lead free materials to provide high load capacity while meeting all environmental requirements. The first tri-metal lead free material, SV, is a silver-based overlay material containing solid lubricant additives. King also displayed its new XP Race Bearings that feature a proprietary pMax Black tri-metal composition, which combined with unique geometric features, results in a 24 percent load capacity increase over standard race bearings.
WIX Filters Celebrates 75th Anniversary WIX Filters, a global manufacturer of filtration products, is celebrating its 75th anniversary with a marketing program focused on customer engagement and backed by seven decades of industry leadership in aftermarket and original equipment design. “Our focus today is the same as it was when we were founded in 1939 – to provide our customers with premium quality filters designed to exceed their performance demands,” said Keith Wilson, president of WIX Filters, who has led the company
since 2000. “We are proud of our nearly eight decades of growth and innovation, and our focus on product development has made the name ‘WIX Filters’ synonymous with a rich tradition of excellence,” Wilson said. WIX Filters was founded in a cotton mill in Gastonia, NC, in 1939, when Jack Wicks and his business partner, Paul Crawshaw, needed an inexhaustible supply of pure white cotton thread waste for the filtering media of their new company. At the time, Gastonia and Gaston County produced more combed cotton yarn than anywhere else in the world. Wicks and Crawshaw soon saw a need for filter replacements that would simplify the filter changing process and, within 15 years, they turned the filter market upside down with the invention and patent of a spin-on oil filter design – known at the time as “twist of the wrist” – that quickly became the industry standard. WIX is marking its historic year with a specially designed 75th anniversary logo that was featured on many of WIX’s 2014 promotions and sales materials. The promotions will continue in 2015. “Our promotions emphasize customer engagement in 2015 and will be supported by point-of-sale materials and other marketing communications elements to drive sales and brand awareness for auto parts stores and distributors,” said Mike Harvey, brand manager for WIX Filters. Highlights of WIX’s 2015 promotion schedule include the WIX Sales Day promotion, specialized, hands-on training sessions through the WIX Institute of Filtration
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Technology and the popular WIX Hummer H2 mobile marketing unit, among other promotions.
For qualified account requests, contact your local QualCast sales representative or call 888-432-4552. The new online valve train catalog with Year, Make, Model, Engine data is available at http://ymme.biz.
QualCast Announces New Online Valve Train Catalog QualCast’s new online catalog features the ability to search over 560,000 new lines of data tying valve train and engine component applications to Year, Make, Model, Vehicle data from North America. In addition, the Search by Part Number feature returns dimensions, tolerances, photos, interchanges, and applications by part, with the unique advantage of one-click ordering from the Part Number page for logged-on customers, who also see inventory from 14 US distribution locations. The online catalog is mobile friendly, updated daily, includes light vehicle, industrial, heavy duty, agricultural, marine, and performance applications, and has a short forwarding online address of
Mopar Fans Select ‘Top Eliminator HEMI Heritage’ Winner
YMME.BIZ, which stands for Year, Make, Model, Engine. Anyone can use the new online catalog, but to use the order and inventory features, a logon is necessary. QualCast does not sell directly to the public, and restricts customer logons to machine shops, production engine rebuilders, and engine parts specialists.
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Mopar enthusiasts selected Roger Davis and his 1934 Plymouth PF 5Window Coupe as the fourth and final winner in the online portion of the 2014 Mopar “Top Eliminator HEMI Heritage” competition. This is the eighth year Mopar, the service, parts and customer-care brand, has held the “Top Eliminator” challenge to help shine a light on passionate and dedicated muscle car enthusiasts who exemplify unmatched skills in modifying or preserving a classic or modern-day company vehicle. This year’s edition was renamed to encompass the
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Industry News
brand’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the iconic 426 Race HEMI engine. The online winning selection, a 1934 Plymouth PF 5-window Coupe named “in-Flameous” is owned by Roger Davis, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army on active duty as a deputy brigade commander training troops in Birmingham, AL. He bought the hot rod in 2012 after previous incarnations had it as a yellow street rod in the ‘70s and then a drag racer from the late ‘90s to 2010 posting a best run of 9.160 seconds at 143.46 miles per hour (mph). He spent the last two years restoring and personalizing his hot rod and won “Best Mopar” honors at Detroit’s Autorama earlier this year.
12 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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Davis made changes to the car to make it street legal, including the addition of lights, wipers and a horn, and upgraded the alternator and ignition system. The pre-war hot rod also received a new paint scheme along with seven painted historical Chrysler logos, new wheels and tires, a re-work of front suspension, steering and brakes, as well as a cus-
tomized grille. Additional Mopar parts include a Siamese-bore HEMI 4-bolt block and Mopar crank. “The 1934 Plymouth PF 5-window Coupe is the ultimate ride for hot rodders,” said Davis. “It’s like what you see in the movie American Graffiti.” Davis uses his daily driver, a 2012 Ram 1500 Laramie, to tow his “Mopar HEMI Heritage Top Eliminator” winner in a trailer custom-painted to match his truck.
Get more industry news at www.EngineBuilderMag.com or sign up for our weekly newsletter on the site’s home page.
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Main Cap Tech One of the main problems with blocks that need to be align-bored is the lack of squish between the main cap and the block. What I am referring to is the interference fit between the cap and main register that holds the cap in alignment, and is the reason a light tap is needed to seat the cap. If the caps do not fit tight, the crank will not be held as solidly as it was intended, and also results in inconsistent bearing clearances.
before you cut the caps, to keep them flat. By using this method you can actually control the amount of squish the caps will have. Yes it will leave some marks on the cap, but they will clean up with the align bore. By using this method the caps fit tight in the registers, the stress has been removed from the caps and the original centerline of the engine can be maintained by align boring. Stacy Redmond Grawmondbecks Competition Engines Mason City, IA
Cleaning Precision Measuring Tools
This lack of squish is reason enough to align bore a block, even if the engine had no previous crankshaft problems, to avoid a future crank issue. (Four bolt small block Chevys are notorious for having loose caps.) The caps do not fit tight because they have shrunk due to stress. This stress causes them to pull away from the main registers. I have seen some attempted "fixes" where someone has center punched or used a chisel on the block to try to tighten the cap. This does not address the stress issue, and also moves the caps with regards to the centerline of the block. The proper way to restore squish is to remove the stress in the cap, which is where the problem lies. We do this by peening the cap using an air hammer with a rounded off broken valve guide driver (approx. 1/2"). Work the underside of the cap (where the bearing goes) in the center 1" to 1 1/2". The peening action of the air hammer will relieve the stress in the cap, and the sides will spread to their original position. Make sure you do this 14 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
We have experienced the same problems for years: how to clean honing oil from dial bore gauges and snap gauges before it can gum up and slow the dial readings. We used to immerse the measuring head up to near the dial in acetone, and gently run the gauge through its entire travel multiple times. This was our preferred method for years, but it is labor intensive. Acetone is flammable and you also don't want to get acetone on the dial face as it will frost over immediately. We now simply immerse the measuring head, not the entire unit or dial assembly, into our ultra sonic cleaner. After a minute or so, run it through its range several times while immersed. If you clean them this way, you can do it every several uses or even once a month (we prefer to clean them all on Monday mornings before we open the shop). We then rinse the ultrasonic juice from the tools in our "final clean" parts washer for a minute or so, then lightly WD-40 the working parts. You don't want to clean dial veneers, small machinist rulers, or anything else with painted markings in this manner. The paint markings, even if recessed, will disappear in mere seconds! Timm Jurincie Tuf-Enuf Auto & Marine Performance Avondale, AZ.
Editors Note: My apologies to Timm
Jurincie. In the September issue of EB Shop Solution “REMOVE THE WEB”, we inadvertently attached the wrong shop name, city and state.
Save Used Head Parts Our shop does a lot of cylinder head work. We keep several parts from old cylinder heads in marked boxes. Sometimes you lose an odd ball valve lock that no one keeps in stock. At this point, that box marked “Valve Locks” is worth it’s weight in gold. This saves time waiting on UPS or delivery. Sorting the parts by what engine they came from also saves time later on rummaging through your boxes. If you are servicing dealers or repair shops, you know they don't want their service bays tied up any longer then necessary. Especially not due to your error. Henry Satterfield Satterfield's Machine Shop Cayce, SC
Don't Underestimate Advertising And Attitude Every shop needs to advertise because your current customers will someday go away. Getting new customers should be the goal and advertising is one good way to get it. We have our logo and lettering on our delivery vehicles and from time to time send out a mass mailing of post cards to current and prospective customers. If a customer does not use you for a year or so, they may forget you. Many times, customers call and mention they saw our name on a truck or got a postcard in the mail. That’s money well spent. But don't forget that the attitude of your drivers and employees can also gain or possibly lose you a customer in a moment. Have you ever gone to a store or a shop and you either loved it or hated it based solely on the attitude of the people who worked there? If you took your computer to a repair shop and the person at the front counter was negative and had a bad attitude,
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you might think about going elsewhere. The work ethics and attitudes of the staff in general will have an impact on customers. Be positive and upbeat with your customers. Teach your drivers and employees to always act professionally and it goes a long way with customers, especially prospective customers. They are the face of your company and some of the best advertising you can have. Jeffrey Myers MAR Automotive, INC Philadelphia, PA
Shop Solutions – The Power of Knowledge Engine Builder and Engine Pro present Shop Solutions in each issue of Engine Builder Magazine and at enginebuildermag.com. The feature is intended to provide machine shop owners and engine technicians the opportunity to share their knowledge to benefit the entire industry and their own shops. Those who submit Shop Solutions that are published are awarded a prepaid $100 Visa gift card.
Engine Pro is a nationwide network of distributors that warehouse a full line of internal engine components for domestic and import passenger car, light truck, heavy duty, industrial, marine, agricultural and performance applications. They also produce engine parts under the Engine Pro name that offer premium features at an affordable price.
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Straight 8s
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Pontiac’s Straight 8s Rethinking Rebuilding Opportunities
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR John Gunnel jgunnell@enginebuildermag.com
T
he Pontiac L-head straight eight was used in production cars for 21 years between 1933 and 1954. This classic engine was advertised as a powerplant that could run 100,000 miles without a major overhaul. Pontiac was actually launched as “the Chief of the Sixes” in 1926. It was a lighter “companion car” for the Oakland. The Pontiac sold well, while the popularity of the Oakland declined. By 1932, the company dropped Oakland (which had a V8) and offered a Pontiac flathead V8. It used the basic engine as the Oakland, although it had some detail changes. A year later, the straight eight replaced the early V8. This type of engine then survived at Pontiac until 1954. A lot of people think that all Pontiac straight eights are the same. The original 1933 version was 223.4 cubic inches and produced 77 hp. Displacement was unchanged in 1934, but horsepower jumped up to 84. Those specs were retained for 1935. In 1936, the numbers were 232.3 cid and 87 hp. The 248.9-cid 100-hp version of 1937 was carried over through 1939. In 1940, the size stayed the same, but three extra ponies were advertised. Things remained like this right through 16 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
The underhood area of a 1950 Pontiac Eight owned by Chris Wynstra of Franksville, WI, looks pretty much the way other straight eight Pontiacs do, but sometime during its existence this car was converted to propane power.
1947. When Hydra-Matic Drive was introduced in 1948, the stickshift engine stayed at 103 hp, but the “high head” (short for highcompression and meaning 7.5:1 instead of 6.5:1 compression) engine used with the automatic
transmission had a 106-hp rating. This was carried over for the 1949 model year. Starting in 1950, the straight eight was bored out a quarter inch Over the years the straight eight was sold in different displacements and horsepower ratings. Details like the style of spark plug loom used are apparent at a close look. This engine has the 1952-1953 style spark plug arrangement.
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Straight 8s
IT’S A “GASSER”—PROPANE-FUELED PONTIAC STRAIGHT EIGHT Chris Wynstra of Franksville, Wis.—a town in the Milwaukee area—has a 1950 Pontiac with the 268.2-cid 108-hp straight eight. And synchromesh transmission that is not quite the way it came from the factory. Even though the car’s engine number and the tag on the door opening match, Wynstra’s car (seen to the left and on page 28) will never win awards for authenticity or originality because at some time in its life, someone converted the car to propane. The car also has a customized interior with neon lighting and—since Chris is proud of its heritage—an Indian logo in the rear window. The propane tank is carried in the trunk of the car. There are few hints under the car’s hood that it is not a regular Pontiac, but Chris enjoys the idea that the car features a very early propane conversion that has a history of its own. A good example of a detailed engine compartment in a 1954 Pontiac with a straight eight engine. Braided spark plug wires and old style hose clamps would add to the originality, but this is still a nicely done restoration.
bearings and solid valve lifters in the side of the block. A Carter one-barrel carburetor was used through 1939. A Carter two-barrel was used from then on. In 1947 the dual-throat carb was switched from a Carter WDO to a Carter WCD. The WCD was also used on Buick 8s and was then modified for early 1960s Ramblers, putting the linkage on the opposite side. to 268.4 cubes where it stayed from then on. That year, horsepower was 108 with standard shift and 113 with Hydra-Matic and in 1951 the respective ratings were 116 and 120. Two ponies were added to each in 1952-’53. In the last straight eight year, 1954, the synchromesh engine’s rating was 122 hp and the high-head version advertised 127 hp. That was the maximum output before the V8 arrived. One of the sexiest cars to use the Right from Pontiac straight eight was the 1954 Bonneville Special dream car. It had a the beginning, fiberglass two-seat body, a canopy the Pontiac top It had a 268-cid that was painted straight eight bright red with chrome accents. had five main EngineBuilderMag.com 17
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Straight 8s
This is a 251-cid 1930 Oakland V-8. It has two block castings 90 degrees apart and cast integrally with the crankcase. The horizontal valves are operated directly by rocker arms working from a centrally located, chain-driven camshaft.
Rebuild kits are the same, though. If your parts supplier can’t find a Pontiac carb kit listed, try looking for Buick or Rambler parts. Various other accessories on the Pontiac eights changed from time to time. For instance, the metal spark plug wire looms have the same look in 1952-1953, but were changed in 1954.
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This 1932 Pontiac V-8 is the Oakland engine with the synchronizer moved to the left side instead of the right. It also has a higher 5.2:1 compression ratio and more horsepower. You may see different details in the Pontiac version.
Here is a Chevy V-8 installed in a 1948 Pontiac Streamliner. Conversions such as this are not uncommon today and the car owners are likely to try to sell the original straight eight they remove from the car.
Circle 20 for more information 20 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
This Pontiac straight engine has the 1954 style spark plug arrangement. Air conditioning was introduced by Pontiac this year and the rare GM Harrison system had the condenser in the trunk, but some extra hardware under the hood.
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Straight 8s
Both the carburetors and generators on these Pontiacs have provisions for oiling. If you tell the young man at the Quik Lube to oil your generator, he’ll first have no idea what a generator is, and when you explain that it’s like an alternator, he’ll tell you that it doesn’t need oil. It does!
The Pontiac Eight was offered with Hydra-Matic Drive for the first time in 1948. Cars with this option used a unique linkage that operated off the foot-operated starter motor. The linkage chokes the carburetor, squirts a drop of fuel into it and moves the gear shifter from the reverse position (used for parking)
Circle 22 for more information 22 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
into neutral, while starting the engine. Most of the time, if you bypass the linkage and try to start the car in the conventional way, you will flood the engine. Pontiac straight eights seem to be catching on a little bit with hot rodders wanting to put something different under the hood of a car they’re building. There’s a lot of good information about these engines posted on the HAMB—a popular hot rod Internet bulletin board. People are also asking how much these engines are worth. The consensus among hot rodders seems to be that the Pontiac eight is a “boat anchor” that isn’t worth a lot, but a few feel differently. Apparently, the question of value was raised because many hot rodders who buy a pre-1955 Pontiac immediately yank out the stately Lhead engine and Army-tank-proved Hydra-Matic in favor of a hotter mill. They install modern V8s. In most cases, a Chevy 350-cid V-8 replaces the factory-installed straight eight with a Turbo HydraMatic transmission behind it. This leaves the hot rodders with a big hunk of iron they then want to sell. It then becomes “rare and valuable.” These fellows aren’t too interested in the Pontiac Eight’s reputation for being a 100,000-mile engine when many other motors tended to last 60 percent as long. A few rodders do get a little creative and ask about the availability of vintage speed equipment for the Pontiac Eight. They want to know if aftermarket suppliers back in the day offered fined aluminum heads or split manifolds for this motor. Some such hardware was produced in the early ‘50s, although the 1949 Bell Auto Parts Catalog only listed speed equipment for Ford flathead sixes, Studebaker Champion sixes and Chrysler and De Soto flatheads, in addition to the normal Ford and Mercury V-8 goodies. A few modern hot rodders fabricate their own Pontiac Eight performance parts and some look pretty cool. At least one Pontiac
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“flattie” was headed to Bonneville last year. An interesting article touching on straight eight performance was a road test of several cars in which a ‘54 Pontiac Eight pulling a trailer was compared to contemporary V8s similarly equipped. The cars were tested pulling a trailer and not pulling a trailer. The test results indicated that the Pontiac Eight performed the best of the pack when the trailer was attached since it “out-torqued” them. So what is a Pontiac straight eight engine worth to a collector? There have been ads in collector publications asking as much as $2,000 for a straight eight and someone on the HAMB said he’d sell his for $100. In the real world, people in the know about these engines will pay $400-$500 for a good used one. A Pontiac collector restoring a car with a bad engine will probably spend more. An unused new-old-stock straight eight long block or an entire engine that has been correctly rebuilt would be a steal at $2,000. A complete rebuild of such an engine with no cutting of corners can cost as much as $1,000 per hole or $8,000 according to professional rebuilders. Of course, if you remove that heavy engine and take it to a machine shop, then pick it up, put it together and re-install it yourself, you might beat this price if you don’t count your labor. So, it is easy to understand why a lot of pre-1954 Pontiacs are getting V8s today. If a car collector brings a Pontiac straight eight to your shop to have it rebuilt, where do you get parts for it? California Pontiac Restoration (www.pontiacparts.net) advertises Master Overhaul Kits in the PontiacOakland Club International (www.poci.org) magazine Smoke Signals. The CPR kits include pistons, piston rings, main bearings, rod bearings, cam bearings, an overhaul gasket set, a timing chain and gear set, valve springs, an oil pump kit, free valve locks, freeze plugs, a zinc additive and cam grease. The kit for Circle 24 for more information 24 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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Straight 8s Specs, copies of shop manuals and other materials providing instructions on rebuilding a Pontiac straight eight engine are housed in the PontiacOakland Automobile Museum (www.pontiacoaklandmuseum.org) in Pontiac, Ill.
1937-1949 engines is $1,596 and the kit for 1950-1954 engines is $1,271. If you have a Pontiac eight earlier than 1937 vintage or if you want to compare suppliers for other reasons such as parts brands and price, vintage engine parts suppliers such as Egge Machine (www.egge.com), California Obsolete Engine Parts (www.danamotorssac.com), Northwestern Auto Supply (www.northwesternautosupply.co m), Kanter Auto Products (www.kanter.com) and Terrill Machine (www.deleontexas.com/chamber/t
Circle 26 for more information 26 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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Straight 8s
Located in the trunk of Chris Wynstra’s numbers-matching Pontiac Eight is a propane system to fuel the old car. It is not known when the conversion was done or who did it.
Circle 28 for more information 28 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
machine.php ) would be good places to look for help with engine parts. (For additional suppliers not listed here, refer to the Engine Builder Buyer’s Guides) Finally, if you need specifications, copies of shop manual pages and other materials that provide instructions on rebuilding a Pontiac straight eight engine, the PontiacOakland Automobile Museum (www.pontiacoaklandmuseum.org) in Pontiac, Ill., houses a large archive of such materials and a research service is available. For more information on this contact Tim Dye at the PontiacOakland Museum and Resource Center, 205 N. Mill St., Pontiac, IL 61764. Call (815) 842-2345 or email info@pontiacoaklandmuseum.org. ■
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Building History
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Going Hohl School
BY BILL HOLDER PHOTOS BY PHIL KUNZ AND JACK HOHL
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uring the 1950s and ‘60s, building and tuning a performance race engine was a different world from today. It was definitely more of a hands-on situation where the feel, sound and smell of an engine were important tools of early engine builders.
It was a time when there weren't any dynos and drag strips were few and far between. It was a time that testing an engine was done on the street in wheel-to-wheel racing. Then, at the few real drag strips, it was necessary to trailer your car, sometimes hundreds of miles, to get
Late 1950s drag racing. That’s Jack in the lead in his ‘57 supercharged Ford.
there. And if that wasn’t enough, many didn’t provide ET data, which was really needed. Just ask veteran engine builder Jack Hohl of Riverside, OH, who was one of the best in western Ohio. Not only was Hohl an engine builder, but he spent much of his time behind the wheel in competition. Hohl, known for his Ford expertise, was interested in being an engine tech from his early teens and had a license when he was only 14. “My mom knew I was really interested in cars and she bought me a service manual during that time. I remember reading it cover-to-cover and sucking up all the information.” His first car was a ‘38 Chevy Coupe and he immediately knew what it took to make it run. “Put on a pair of carbs and headers on it and it ran like crazy on the street.” Next came a 239 Flathead powered ‘46 Ford Convertible. “It was my first serious engine build which I bored and stroked to about 286 cubic inches. I added three twoOne of many flathead-powered cars that Jack worked on, this being a stock car That’s Jack second from the right.
30 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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Building History
barrel Stromberg carbs, 9-1 Edelbrock aluminum heads, and headers. I tried four carbs, but determined that was just too much airflow. It had a top speed of about 80 mph. Back in those days I was tuning my engines for max rpm at about 5500 rpm.” “The next project was a ‘53 Ford with the same type engine, but it was a lot easier to work on. I bored it to a 3 3/8 bore and 4 1/8 stroke which equated to about 301 cubic inches. It was pushing 90 mph at drag strips in
Moline, IL and Akron, OH. But again, there was no ET data available.” A 1955 272 cid Y-block powered Ford came next. “I wasn’t very pleased with that engine, but it was better than the smaller Flathead. It wouldn’t perform without a supercharger. I installed a McCullough blower, but had a head gasket problem.” A huge step-up occurred in 1957 when Hohl acquired a 300hp supercharged 312 Ford. It was a rare engine and was used with NASCAR for a short time before being outlawed. “I loved the engine and immediately tried to increase its performance. I installed a Ford ‘C’ cam and with the help of (Indy 500 star) Troy Ruttman, doctored up the blower which kicked the horsepower up to about 325. It
These two photos show a ‘55 272 Y-block that received Hohls motor magic. He equipped it with a pair of fourbarrel carbs. He later installed a McCullough blower and it was a great racer. This was the ‘53 Flathead upon which Hohl installed three two-barrel carbs. It might look like there are four carbs, but the front carb is actually the oil-filler cap.
could really run!” Hohl ran and tuned the car for four years and won Super Stock titles at Indy Raceway Park, Kil-Kare Dragway (Ohio), Detroit Dragway, Thornhill Dragway in Kentucky, along with Edgewater and DAHIO both in Ohio. “I beat a bunch of ‘57 injected Chevys during the period and they sure didn’t like that! Most of the time I was right at 100 mph at the finish.” During this time he was also working on customer’s cars concurrent with his own activities. In the early 1960s, Hohl got into big block Ford performance with a 405 horse ‘62 406 Tri-Power Galaxie. Hohl massaged it to put out an additional 20 or 30 horses. The Galaxie won an NHRA Super Stock title in Detroit and was runner-up at Indy. That Galaxie was followed by another Galaxie. This
32 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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Building History
Another Hohl massaged Flathead.
Well, there it is, the 77 Sunset Strip Chrysler 300D with its pair of 6.71 blowers.
time a ‘63 model powered by an awesome 427 big block with a pair of four-barrel carbs. “I initially had trouble getting it to run, but when it was right it won a lot.” There was also an interesting time when Hohl was asked to work on a Chrysler 300D that was apart of the famous ‘77 Sunset Strip’ TV show starring Ed Burnes. Would you believe that it had a pair of 6.71 blowers, one on each side of the engine. “That was a lot of fun.” Veteran NHRA drag racer Ed Three two-barrel carbs sit atop this 406 Ford. With that Crowder fondly remembers Hohl’s engine under the hood, Hohl won the Detroit Dragway engine building skills. Super Stock title and was second at Indy. “I was preparing to run the 1959 Daytona Flying Mile on the beach,” he says. “I let him work on my ‘57 Chevy Fuelie. I was really amazed that it ran like heck and I finished second in class at 129.363 mph. One thing about Jack when he took on a job, he’d just lay back and think about exactly what he was going to do. Then he would do it.” Hohl ran his shop from 1957 to 1971 with many drag racers knowing the exact way to get there. But, during the period, there was also another Ford engine builder of some note, one ‘Ohio George’ Montgomery. The two FoMoCo experts worked with each other on occasion. Montgomery did machining for Hohl. Montgomery explained, “Jack was an Old School guy who worked hard at what he did. There were times when we shared ideas with each other.” The ‘62 Hohl didn’t just understand the innards Galaxie with of an engine, he knew the complete ‘Jack’s Speed workings of the powertrain. Several former Shop’ lettered on the rear customers noted that Hohl could really quarters. calibrate the rear end to maximize the 34 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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Building History That’s Jack holding a plaque he received for being inducted into the Kil Kare Dragway Hall of Fame.
performance in the quarter mile. One Chevy owner indicated that Hohl was able to cut a half-second off his ET. When asked whether he had ever thought about being a member of a factory drag team he said, “You know, there was a time that might have been. I once had an opportunity to meet a Ford rep with the Tasca Ford Pro Stock Team. While I was waiting to see him, I watched some of the Tasca mechanics working an engine and I helped them.” “Then I told the rep that his guys weren’t too sharp, “ Hohl continued. “It made him mad and he told me to take off. I have thought about that through the years and wondered what might have been. I should have kept my mouth shut!” ■
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ARCA Engines
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The Unique Engines off With Bold New Options for 2015 BY CONTRIBUTING EDITOR JOHN CAROLLO
T
hose oval track fans not familiar with the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) are really missing some great racing - and on a lot of different levels. From the on-track level, where else can you see full bodied, NASCAR-style, stock cars racing on everything from Daytona to local Bull Ring, short tracks with literally every kind of track in between. There are Intermediate NASCAR tracks, road courses and
one style of track not seen racing NASCAR stock cars; dirt! To be exact, these are former NASCAR Sprint Cup cars with virtually the exact same rules. And that brings another popular element of ARCA racing; it’s the stepping stone to NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series. But it’s not only drivers that are learning to move up to Cup level. ARCA is its own distinctive series that also offers a training ground for mechanics, crew chiefs and even owners and media
For more than 60 years, the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, has offered race fans a diverse brand of stock car racing on short tracks, dirt tracks, road courses and superspeedways.
people. And, they do it with NASCAR equipment and procedures so when moving up, there is no ‘unlearning’ to go through.
‘Yesterday’s’ Racer ARCA uses older style NASCAR Cup cars. Specifically, they are the ones used just before the advent of NASCAR’s Car Of Tomorrow (COT) in 2007. This means teams running ARCA can do so with a safe, wellbuilt race car without paying top dollar. When the COT changeover first occurred, the older cars in ‘roller’ stage (minus engine and trans) could be had for as little as $2,000. After all, the new COT cars pretty much ‘orphaned’ all the previous cars. The surprising fact is that once the cars from that era The engines used in the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards fall into the same category as modern day NASCAR Sprint Cup engines.
38 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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s of ARCA
ARCA Engines Ignition, a twin ignition/coil system, is used with units being assigned by ARCA for races and collected afterwards. They’ve been using this system since 2005, with close to two million miles of racing and no problems. One big function of this system is the rev limiter, which caps every engine at 8,800 RPM. This effectively excludes some of the more advanced Cup engines, which are known to run at 10,000 RPM and push HP ratings up towards 1,000. The thinking is clear as there is a big presence of Cup teams using ARCA as a farm league to develop drivers. With the other teams in ARCA not having that advantage, the ignition/rev limiter keeps things on a broader playing field.
Building Connections were accounted for, the demand continued and folks had to start building ‘new’ old cars. When they started doing that, they incorporated as many of the newer safety modifications as they could. But it’s specifically the engines we want to look at here. The big picture is the engines used in the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards fall into the same category as modern day NASCAR Sprint Cup engines. They are mostly the same 358 cubic inch limit engines used in Cup only with the older carb instead of the EFI used in Cup today. ARCA Supercars use the 830 CFM Holley carbs the Cup cars used to run before they went to EFI. We say mostly because the other big difference is these engines are not allowed to run the RPM seen in Cup action. ARCA
mandates the use of spec electronics ignition with built in rev limiter.
Ignition Systems To provide a level playing field for ARCA racers, the specially made ACCEL CD Pro, Endurance Racing
Another NASCAR connection is where many of these engines come from. A quick look reveals the logos on the valve covers of Roush Yates, Hendricks, RCR and even the one place most of the Toyota engines come from, TRD. Roush Yates, for one example, has
ARCA is its own distinctive series that also offers a training ground for mechanics, crew chiefs and even owners.
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ARCA Engines
The similarity between ARCA and the previous generation of NASCAR engines is easy to see. Even the old Dodge powerplants used NASCAR have found a new home in ARCA and are still racing.
builders dedicated to just these engines and sends tuners to the track with them. It’s good business as they already have the parts in house while ARCA and NASCAR teams provide the market. Sometimes, the teams are owned by the bigger Cup teams while many are ARCA owners that provide the programs for the Cup teams and get
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ARCA Engines To provide a level playing field for ARCA racers, the specially made ACCEL CD Pro, Endurance Racing Ignition, a twin ignition/coil system, is used with units being assigned by ARCA for races and collected afterwards.
access to cars, parts and technology to be competitive. Another major Cup team, Joe Gibbs Racing, uses engines built by TRD for its Cup teams, but builds its own engines for the ARCA teams they are affiliated with and lease to. And remember those Dodges used in NASCAR? Well, they found a new home in ARCA and are still racing.
New to the Race But ARCA’s unique engine rules will start to change in 2015. They recently announced an addition to its engine program where, along with the aforementioned engines, an entirely new engine will see duty on ARCA tracks. The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will
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ARCA Engines
use the new, ARCA Ilmor 396 engine, a purpose-built powerplant developed and assembled by legendary engine builder Ilmor Engineering. The major design targets are reduced RPM (read that speeds), reduced costs and has a number of major players already involved. Ron Drager is the president of ARCA and said it was a, “… conclusion to a long and extensive search to find the right strategic partner to help us address the challenges of rising costs in our series.” He went on to say, “It is my pleasure to announce that ARCA recently announced an addition to its engine program where, along with the current crop of engines, an entirely new engine will see duty on ARCA tracks.
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ARCA Engines
Start Your Engines… Daytona International Speedway has been part of the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for more than 50 years, and the 2015 season won’t be any different. ARCA Racing Series officials announced in October that the series will race at Daytona for the 52nd time on Saturday, February 14, 2015. It will be the ARCA Racing Series season opener. “As we discuss in the drivers meeting every year, it’s an honor and a privilege to race at Daytona International Speedway, and it carries with it great responsibility and even greater opportunity,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “Whether you’re an eight-time Daytona winner like Bobby Gerhart, a 10-time ARCA champion like Frank Kimmel or a driver racing at Daytona for the first time, that statement applies. “Daytona has meant so much to ARCA since 1964, when Bill France Sr. envisioned that ARCA could provide unique inventory to February Speedweeks and carry the Daytona brand into the Midwest region of the country,” Drager continued. “The impact of ARCA racing at Daytona is unequaled over 50-plus years, and it continues to be the longest-running annual race on the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The entire ARCA community is very proud and appreciative of the opportunity to race at Daytona.” The race will serve as the preamble to the same-night NASCAR Sprint Unlimited. NASCAR will have its Sprint Cup qualifying on Sunday, February 15 and the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 22. “There’s not a better race track in America for the ARCA Racing Series to kick off their season than at Daytona International Speedway,” President Joie Chitwood III said. “The ARCA Series has been competing at the ‘World Center of Racing’ for more than 50 years and we’re looking forward to having the series return in 2015 and kick off the first weekend of Budweiser Speedweeks alongside The Sprint Unlimited At Daytona.” A full season schedule will be announced later by ARCA officials.
Ilmor Engineering has partnered with us to develop the ARCA Ilmor 396 engine technology, which provides a long term, stable platform delivering an economical and competitive option to our existing engine configurations.” The new ARCA Ilmor 396 will deliver 700 horsepower and 500 ft. lbs. of torque, with targeted durability and performance standards. It will be fuel injected, with Holley EFI technology regulating the Electronic Control Unit and the fuel injection system. “We're proud to add ARCA and Ilmor to the growing list of sanctioning bodies, OEMs and professional-level engine builders using Holley EFI electronics and hardware on their race engines,” said Trevor Wiggins, Holley VP of Sales. “Our EFI engineering and tech groups are gearing up to assure this transition is seamless.” “Holley carburetors have powered ARCA racers over two million miles in Circle 46 for more information 46 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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ARCA Engines
the last two decades alone, so it is a natural transition for Holley fuel injection to deliver the fuel on the ARCA Ilmor 396,” added Drager. Paul Ray, President of Ilmor Engineering, said, “We’ve partnered ARCA teams continue to use the older style NASCAR Cup cars. Specifically, they are the ones used just before the advent of NASCAR’s Car Of Tomorrow (COT) in 2007.
with ARCA to construct a durable, reliable engine capable of running 1,500 miles between rebuilds. The teams will be able to use the same ARCA Ilmor 396 at short tracks or a superspeedway, a road course or the mile dirt tracks. We have begun to conduct extensive testing and our plan calls for the first engines to be available for purchase by the teams by early December,” Ray concluded. The similarity between ARCA and NASCAR is easy to see. In fact, not long after ARCA made its initial announcement about the ARCA Ilmor 396, NASCAR made its new
48 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
rules announcement for the engines used in Sprint Cup racing next year. They, too were concerned with reducing speeds at all the tracks. One example is where NASCAR teams recently crested 200 MPH at Michigan International Speedway with the top 20 drivers in qualifying for one race hitting 200 or better. Prior to this, an official 200 MPH lap speed had not been seen in NASCAR in over 25 years. And as many ARCA races take place in conjunction with NASCAR races and tracks, the moves are seen as another alignment of the
equipment between the two organizations. ARCA teams will have the option of utilizing the new ARCA Ilmor 396 beginning in 2015, or continuing to use the open motor rules package currently in place. “We have identified and are addressing the financial challenges of racing competitively faced by many ARCA teams,” said Drager. “Our responsibility as the sanctioning body is to manage the bigger picture business model for all our stakeholders. The ARCA Ilmor 396 is the best engine option we can
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ARCA Engines introduce for the long-term health of our series,� said Drager.
Economic Factors One of the challenges Drager spoke of is the cost of using a state of the art NASCAR Cup engine. Teams have already been noted as spending close to $400,000 to lease Cup motors for a season. ARCA has really done its homework on this engine program with many other benefits to new users. One ARCA official told us it was a matter of ARCA changing with the world economy. ARCA Supercars use the 830 CFM Holley carbs the Cup cars used to run before they went to EFI.
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The new Ilmor motors will be purchase-only and should have a price tag of about $35,000 plus tax and shipping. Another approximate $5,000 will be needed for incidentals such as headers, plumbing, wiring harness and the Holley Electronic Control Unit with builtin rev limiter. RPM will be reduced to 7,500. So, with this new engine, ARCA has evolved much like NASCAR with both EFI and reduced rear wheel horsepower for the future. The new Ilmor is based on LSX architecture and will be a sealed and tamper proof engine with suggested rebuilds at 1,500 miles. EngineBuilderMag.com 49
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Sooner Than You Think: The 2015 ARCA Racing Series season opener will be Saturday, February 14, 2015. Look for another exciting year of racing.
The rules include limiting rebuilding the engines to not before 80% of that 1,500 miles or 1,200 miles. The cost for rebuilding is estimated at $10,000 - $15,000. The new engines will also be used for ARCA’s two restrictor plate races at Daytona and Talladega. Right out of the box, they were deemed fast enough to require the plates. Ilmor’s facility in Michigan is close to the home base of ARCA just outside of Toledo, OH. As the transition into these engines progresses, it’s clear they are two different motors. Keeping them competitive, yet not allowing one to have any advantage is ARCA’s tough job and they are focusing there as we write this. They are currently working on a few methods for averaging speeds and motor characteristics in the name of competition and to make this transition as smooth as possible. The use of tapered spacers is already in play at Intermediate tracks and is one such solution. Others include controlled RPM
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and different restrictor plates for the Daytona and Talladega races. All are being considered. One area where they really have to get it right from the beginning are the short tracks ARCA is known for. Those smaller, local bull rings are a big place for any ARCA team looking to assert themselves into a championship bid. And even with a bigger, heavier car than is normally seen on a typical half mile paved track, the classic RPM/Horsepower matrix still rules. With the proliferation of information on race engine performance and how it plays out with any chassis available today, it shouldn’t take them too long. The initial response from ARCA teams on the new motor is very favorable with many wanting in on the program. Racing is a constant hotbed of technology. ARCA’s use of this new engine should keep the ‘new’ part of racing from trading fenders with the ‘cost’ part of racing.■
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Tooling Around
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Upgrading Valve & Seat Equipment BY LARRY CARLEY, TECHNICAL EDITOR
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etting ahead in the engine building business today requires working on a wide variety of different types of cylinder heads, everything from small air-cooled engines and pushrod V8s to multi-valve heads and diesels. Most shops don't have the luxury of specializing in only one type of engine. Most shops have to work on almost any kind of engine that comes through the door. Late model passenger car engines with multi-valve cylinder heads and overhead cams can be time-consuming and challenging to work on because of the smaller valves and guides and the complexities of the head itself. There's almost no margin for error when machining valve seats and replacing guides. It's the same situation with performance work. The valve work you do has to be perfect for the head to hold up in a high heat, high RPM racing application. Every valve seat has to be concentric, hold compression and make good contact with the valve to provide proper cooling. Valve stemto-guide clearances must be within specifications for proper lubrication and oil control. Mismatched seat angles or widths, misaligned guides, improper installed valve heights, chatter marks or undulations on the valve seats or seats that are too tight or too loose can all cause problems that will hurt your reputation and bottom line. 52 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
Seat concentricity is important whether your cutting a traditional SB Chevy head like this or a OHC multi-valve head. Photo courtesy of Rottler Manufacturing.
If you can't blame it on "operator error" (everybody makes mistakes, right?), it could be your equipment isn't up to the task. Old worn out cylinder head equipment just won't cut it (literally) with today's high precision engines. If high quality head work is a cornerstone of your business, you should review your current situation to see if an equipment upgrade could improve not only the quality but also the quantity of your work. A new state-of-the-art valve guide and seat machine, cylinder head machining center or even a multi-
purpose CNC machining center could take your business to a higher level and open up new business opportunities at the same time. You may not need all the bells and whistles that a high end CNC machining center offers, but making the switch to digital controls and/or automated procedures can certainly step up the accuracy and consistency of the work you do. The programmability of a digital computer allows routine operations to be automated. This provides repeatability that can't be matched by a manual machine even with a
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Tooling Around Productivity requires equipment that is quick and easy to use. A floating powerhead allows the spindle to be easily aligned with the guides without moving the head. Photo courtesy of Serdi Machines.
highly skilled human operator. CNC allows the operator to program the rate at which the machine feeds the tooling down onto the seat, the depth of the cut, and the speed, dwell and time of the cut for a perfect seat every time. Some machines also allow multiple seat angles to be programmed and cut with a single point bit. Others use a multi-angle cutter to machine a traditional 3angle valve job in one step. Not only does this improve consistency, it also helps eliminate chatter that can leave marks or undulations on valve seat surfaces that cause compression leaks. Hard seats such as Stellite,
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Tooling Around
chromium, cobalt, tungsten or nickel alloys that are commonly used in many diesel engines can be difficult to machine consistently without automated controls. The profile of the valve seats will depend on what you are trying to achieve. A single cut, 45-degree seat may be all that's needed for a low output stock engine.
But on a high performance engine, a multi-angle valve job is an absolute must to optimize the breathing potential of the cylinder head. The commonly used 30-45-60 degree three angle performance cut certainly flows better than a seat with a single 45-degree cut. But more angles generally flow
better. Adding additional cuts under the seat, and using steeper angles for the lower cuts generally helps the airflow numbers even more. Seat cutters with various 3-, 4- or multiangle or radius profiles are available so you can cut almost any valve seat angle in a single pass. Depending on the level of
CHOOSING EQUIPMENT If you are considering a particular machine, but are not sure if it’s the right machine for your shop, talk to other engine builders who have had experience with similar equipment. Ask them: Do they like the controls? Is the machine easy to set up and use? Is it quick? Is there anything they don't like about the machine, the tooling or the fixturing? Have they had any maintenance or repair issues? Has the equipment vendor provided good customer service?
Listening to what others have to say about a particular machine can help you make up your mind as to whether or not you should buy the machine. If you like what you head, chances are the machine would be a good addition to your shop. But if you don't like what you hear, you should keep looking until you find a machine that's a better choice. Circle 56 for more information 56 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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Tooling Around automation, many CNC machines will retract the tooling after a seat has been cut, reposition the powerhead or cylinder head to align the tooling with the next valve seat, and repeat the process until all the seats in a cylinder head are finished – all without operator supervision or control. The machine does the work while the operator uses his time for other tasks in the shop. This allows the operator to generate more billable work in an 8-hour shift, and for your shop to process more jobs more profitably than ever before. Most CNC machines come with factory training and setup assistance so you can be up and running fairly quickly. If you are not doing complicated 5-axis head porting or CAD/CAM design Big heads like these require a big machine that can handle oversized heads. The same equipment can also be used on ordinary heads, too.
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Tooling Around
work with a full-blown CNC machining center, valve work should be a piece of cake. All you are programming the machine to do is come down, cut the seat and move on to the next seat. In addition to cutting valve seats, CNC – as well as manual cylinder head machines – can be used for a
variety of other head repairs too. This includes machining heads to accept oversized seats or seat inserts, reaming or replacing valve guides, resurfacing spring seats, machining the recessed bores for overhead cam buckets, or drilling out and replacing broken bolts and studs. With respect to accuracy, you can
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never be too accurate when it comes to valve seat concentricity with respect to the center line of each valve guide. When a valve seat is not concentric with the valve guide, misalignment may prevent the valve from sealing tightly causing a compression leak. Lack of concentricity can also cause the valve stem to flex slightly every time the valve opens and closes. Over thousands of miles, this may lead to fatigue failure of the valve stem. A nonconcentric seat can also cause one side of the valve to run hotter than the other, increasing the risk of valve burning and seat erosion. Many factors can affect valve seat concentricity. Many people prefer to use a dead (fixed) pilot rather than a live pilot when machining seats to minimize movement between the pilot and guide. A live pilot turns with the tooling so there must be a little clearance between the pilot and guide to the pilot can spin freely. Even if there is only 0.0001 inch of clearance between the pilot and guide, it may allow the tooling to wobble slightly as it cuts the seat resulting in an outof-round (nonconcentric) seat. Some cylinder head machines use a spindle design that allows a live pilot to act like a fixed pilot. The tooling that is attached to the spindle has a straight pilot with a springloaded tapered upper section. The pilot fits into the guide to center the tooling, but doesn't rotate like a live pilot when the seat is cut. Some machines do not use springloaded pilots while others use a ball-mount mechanism for quick centering of the pilot. Regardless of what type of pilot system is used, valve concentricity should be checked with a gauge. A simple vacuum check can also be used with a valve installed to see if the seat holds a tight seal. Many cylinder head machines have a floating powerhead that makes head repositioning fast and easy. Air pressure lifts the head and allows it to be easily tilted and slid into position. The powerhead floats on flat
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Tooling Around
TOOLING TIPS A list of other things you should consider when looking at valve guide and seat machines includes the following:
• Tooling storage; • Tooling capabilities of the machine; • Ease of changing tooling; • Ease of setting up and cutting a seat; • Tool sharpener for tooling; • Vacuum for keeping working area clean; • Front-to-back and side-to-side travel of the work head; • Work lighting (This one can’t be stressed enough!); • Air float of machine work head (Ease of floating and locking); • Make sure head can tilt +/- 15 Deg for canted valve guide work; • Ease and accuracy of leveling; • Built in vacuum tester (To test your work before you take it off the machine); • Motor RPM variation; and • Motor power, motor type, motor location.
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Tooling Around
ways, which adjust front to back and side to side. A tilting powerhead allows the spindle to be quickly aligned to the guides in the cylinder head, which is really handy when working on heads with canted valves. Machines with a fixed-position powerhead use a floating air table that allows you to slide the head under the spindle so the guides can be aligned with the tooling. Fixturing should allow you to easily rotate the head 360 degrees for machining any surface or guide angle. A cylinder head machine that has a floating air powerhead will be faster and easier to setup and use than a basic "drill press" type of machine that has an air table to reposition the head. The type of pilots you are using A cylinder head machine needs enough power to also be able to cut inserts for valve seats and to drill out guides and broken fasteners. Photo courtesy of Newen.
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Tooling Around
and how long it takes to change or reposition pilots will also be a factor that affects productivity and work flow. The faster and easier the equipment is to use, the more work you can get done with the limited number of man hours that are available in any given work shift. Versatility is also important when you are upgrading equipment. Ideally, you want a cylinder head machine that can handle a wide variety of shapes and sizes, everything from small one-cylinder heads to large diesel heads. You don't need a machine that can handle an oversized Cummins or Caterpillar head if you only work on passenger cars and light trucks. On the other hand, if there's a need for heavy-duty diesel work in your area that is not being met by other shops, buying a machine that can handle oversized heads may allow you to expand your customer base.
Fleet customers pay big bucks for diesel head work and won't haggle prices as much as your typical automotive customer. There's less competition for diesel repair dollars so there's more room for profitability. Versatility may also include the ability to do other kinds of work, like surfacing heads and blocks and/or line boring. A multi-purpose machining center is a major investment, but it allows a single machine to do the work of several dedicated machines. If limited floor space is an issue, it might allow you to replace several older machines with one new machine. This approach also works well with a small volume custom shop if you don't have to be do milling or boring work simultaneously. You can do one process at a time and simply change the tooling head and control inputs to proceed on to
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the next process. Cost is always a factor when a new equipment purchase is involved. Whether you are buying a basic valve guide and seat machine, a more expensive unit with a floating powerhead and digital controls or a full-blown CNC machining center, the equipment has to pay for itself one of several ways: by improving quality (fewer problems and comebacks), by improving productivity (more jobs completed in less time) and/or by generating new business. Improving your reputation for doing quality work can itself bring in more business. Likewise, having the ability to turn jobs around more quickly may bring you customers who can't wait days or weeks for another shop to do their heads. â–
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Oiling Systems
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Racing with the Flow Performance Oiling Systems BY LARRY CARLEY, TECHNICAL EDITOR
T
he basic purpose of an oiling system is to provide lubrication for the engine. It doesn't matter if the system is a wet sump with an internal oil pump mounted in the crankcase or front cover, or a dry sump system with an external multi-stage pump. The engine doesn't know the difference as far as where the oil comes from – as long as the flow keeps coming at all RPMs and under all operating conditions. Conventional wet sump oil systems are usually adequate for normal driving, and even many forms of racing as long as the ambient temperature, G-forces and engine RPMs are not too high. One of the weaknesses of wet sump systems is that they pull oil from the bottom of the oil pan. Keeping the oil where it belongs can be a major challenge in many types of racing. When a drag car launches off
64 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
the line, positive G-forces push the oil backwards. The oil wants to climb up the back of the engine and away from the oil pump pickup in the bottom of the pan. Then, when the car shuts down and decelerates at the top end of the strip, negative G-forces push the oil towards the front of the pan. Most stock oil pans can't control these kinds of forces, increasing the risk of oil starvation under hard acceleration or deceleration. That's why many performance engine builds need an aftermarket oil pan with additional oil capacity, internal baffles and/or trap doors to control oil sloshing inside the pan. The oiling system should be a high priority rather than an afterthought to protect the engine. With circle track applications, sideways G-forces are constantly pulling the oil towards the right side of the pan because the car is always turning left. The oil pan for
a circle track car also needs additional oil control baffles, an extended side cavity or kickout on the right side and a relocated pickup so it can pull in oil from the right rear corner of the pan. Road racecars face an even tougher challenge. In addition to extreme fore and aft G-forces generated by accelerating and braking, the oil in the crankcase experiences sideways G-forces in both directions. This calls for even better baffling, trap doors and kickouts to keep the pump pickup submerged in oil. A well designed oil pan should allow oil to return to the pan as quickly as possible, direct oil that is flinging off the crankshaft back into the pan (directional scraper), minimize windage (drag and aeration) by shielding the oil in the pan from turbulence generated by the spinning crankshaft (which is worse with longer stroke cranks),
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Oiling Systems and have the right kind of baffling and/or trap doors to keep as much oil as possible around the oil pump pickup inlet. A “budget� pan that fails to meet these criteria may end up costing you an engine. With off-road vehicles and marine engines, a wet sump oiling system may have serious problems with oil control. There can be negative vertical Gforces when the vehicle or boat goes airborne. These kinds of racing conditions can make it nearly impossible to keep oil in the sump. For these kinds of applications as well as many road race engines, a dry sump oiling system is often a better choice. The last thing any racer wants to see when an engine is revving hard is a fluctuating or dropping oil pressure reading – or no oil pressure at all. Bearings won't survive very long once the oil film is lost. Coated bearings can provide some momentary protection if the oil film between the crank journals and bearings goes away, but not for long. So it's important to have an oiling system that minimizes the risk of oil starvation.
Reserve Pressure One solution to reducing the risk of oil starvation in wet sump systems is to install an oil pressure accumulator in the system. The accumulator functions as a pressurized oil reservoir. The accumulator builds up pressure when the engine is running, creating reserve emergency pressure for when it may be needed. If the oil pump sucks air because extreme G-forces in any direction are pulling oil away from the pickup in the bottom of the pan, the accumulator reacts to the drop in pressure and provides the muchneeded push to keep oil flowing to the motor. Depending on the capacity of the accumulator, the reserve pressure might last for up to a minute or more. This can make the difference between winning a race and blowing a motor. An accumulator can also provide additional oil flow and cooling for turbo motors after the engine has been shut down. This can prevent oil 66 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
Circle track oil pans include baffles to keep the oil around the pickup inlet, and a kickout on the right side to hold additional oil.
oxidation and coking on the turbo shaft bearings. An accumulator can also be used to prelube the engine prior to starting it up. Various types of manual and electric solenoid valves are available for accumulators. The manual variety has to be opened prior to starting the engine, and closed before shutting it off. Solenoid valves can be switched on and off remotely, or controlled by an oil pressure sensor at opens at a preset pressure. Either way, having a shot of reserve oil pressure ready to pressurize the engine can minimize the risks of dry starts and oil starvation. An accumulator can also compensate for any loss of oil pressure that results from oil pump cavitation. When many spur gear oil pumps reach 5500 to 6000 RPM, the gears may be spinning faster than oil can flow into the pump. This creates tiny bubbles in the wake of each gear tooth that aerates the oil and causes a drop in pressure. The exact RPM at which cavitation occurs and how much pressure drop it causes depends on the design of the pump, the size, position and contours of the inlet port, the size of the pickup tube (larger is always better), the flow characteristics of the pickup inlet (less restrictive is always better) and oil viscosity. A wet sump system with a relatively small pickup tube, restrictive drilled or screen mesh pickup inlet, a stock oil pump and a
heavy viscosity motor oil (like straight SAE 50 or 20W-50 multiviscosity racing oil) will cavitate and lose oil pressure at a much lower RPM than a system with a welldesigned high flow oil pump, large pickup tube, minimally restrictive inlet and a lower viscosity oil (like 0W-30, 0W-40, 5W-20, 5W-30 or 10W30 synthetic racing oil).
Which Oil Pump Is Best? Many replacement oil pumps designed for performance use have thicker, stronger castings, or CNC machined billet housings to reduce the risk of breakage. Close internal tolerances are essential to minimize internal pressure losses and to maximize the pump's output. Many performance oil pumps also offer increased flow and/or pressure. Taller gears and larger ports increase flow while a stiffer or adjustable bypass spring increases pressure. A high volume pump is recommended for engines with looser bearing clearances. A high volume pump can also be used to maintain "normal" oil pressure readings with lower viscosity synthetic motor oils. But a high volume oil pump should not be used as a bandaid to make up for sloppy bearing clearances inside an engine. For an engine that will seldom rev beyond 6000 RPM, a stock flow pump may be all that's needed to keep the engine lubed. For higher RPMs, a high volume pump can increase flow 15 to 20 percent or more over a stock pump. But to get maximum flow out of a
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Oiling Systems
An accumulator can provide backup oil pressure for a wet sump system if the oil pump sucks air or cavitates. It can also be used to prime the engine for starting and to help cool a turbo after engine shutdown.
high volume oil pump, you should also install the largest possible pickup tube that will fit the application – and make sure the inlet is as nonrestrictive as possible. The inlet also must be positioned at the right height so it doesn't restrict flow or suck air. Most pickup tube inlets should be positioned about 1/4 to 3/8 inch above the bottom of the pan. If the position of the inlet is too high, it increases the risk of oil starvation when high G-forces are present. If the inlet is mounted too close to the bottom of the pan, there may not be enough clearance for good oil flow at higher RPMs.
If you don't know how much clearance is actually between the pickup tube inlet and bottom of the pan, put a small ball of modeling clay in the bottom of the pan, install the pan temporarily, then remove the pan and measure the thickness of the clay once it has been deformed by the inlet. And make sure you don't leave any clay in the pan or pickup tube inlet! The least restrictive type of oil pickup inlet is one that is covered by a large open honeycomb mesh or coarse screen. Inlets that have a welded metal box on the end with drilled holes can be restrictive if the holes are too small or there are not enough holes to allow good oil flow at higher RPMs. The only thing the inlet screen or mesh does is prevent big chunks of debris from being pulled into the pump if the engine blows a bearing, piston or a rod. It provides no real filtration or wear protection for the oil pump. A restrictive pickup tube inlet can also make it harder for an oil pump to self-prime when a cold engine is first started. Cold oil, especially a heavy viscosity oil like straight 40 or 50 weight racing oil, flows like molasses until it gets hot. This can delay the time it takes for oil pressure to build inside the engine and for the oil to reach the upper valve train components. Multi-viscosity racing oils, by comparison, are much thinner when cold, which makes it easier for the oil pump to pull oil up through the pickup tube. A thinner viscosity oil will build pressure faster and lubricate upper valve train components much quicker. Some racers are leery of multi-viscosity oils, thinking they are too thin to provide adequate lubrication protection. However, once the oil gets hot, it acts the same as heavier viscosity oil. A 20W-50 racing oil, for example, will flow like a 20 weight oil when cold, but cling to the bearings like a 50 weight oil when its hot.
How Much Oil Pressure Do You Really Need?
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For many years, engine builders and racers liked to see at least 10 PSI of oil pressure for every 1000 RPM of engine speed. Some guys are not happy unless their oil pressure gauge is reading 60 PSI at idle! Truth is, most engines don't need that much oil pressure. Oil pressure is resistance to flow, and it robs horsepower. Consequently, if you provide enough oil flow to keep a steady oil film in the bearings but no more, you can save some horsepower that would otherwise be wasted spinning the oil pump. Many performance engines can get along just fine with only 4 to 5 PSI of oil pressure for every 1000 RPM – provided the crankcase is filled with a high quality oil that can maintain good film strength and contains enough anti-wear additive. Oil pressure is also a direct function of bearing clearances. If you build an engine with standard bearing clearances and then fill the crankcase with a low viscosity synthetic oil (like 0W-30 or 5W-20), you will see a corresponding drop in oil pressure. Why? Because the oil is thinner and flows through the bearings quicker than a heavier oil such as a 20W-50 or straight 30, 40 or 50 weight oil. Consequently, you can
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Oiling Systems tighten up the bearing clearances a bit and take advantage of the thinner viscosity oil to gain some horsepower. Or, you can stick with the way you've always built engines, leave the bearings with standard or slightly loose clearances and go with a traditional 20W-50 racing oil or a heavy straight weight oil.
Dry Sump Oil Systems For racers who have experienced oil starvation problems or engine failures from loss of oil pressure, a dry sump oiling system is usually the recommended cure. Yes, dry sump oil systems are expensive, costing up to several thousand dollars for a basic 3-stage setup (and even more for multistage systems), but you get what you pay for. A dry sump oil system uses a series of suction pumps to pull oil vapor out of the crankcase.
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Additional hoses and scavenge pumps can also be used in a multistage setup to pull air and oil out of the lifter valley and valve covers. Pulling air and oil vapor out of the engine reduces windage inside the crankcase and saves horsepower. It also allows the use of a very shallow oil pan because the pan doesn't have to hold any liquid oil or function as a sump. A shallow oil pan provides more ground clearance under the engine and/or allows the engine to be mounted lower in the chassis to lower the center of gravity. The oil vapor siphoned out of the crankcase by the suction pumps is routed to an externally mounted separator/reservoir tank. The tank separates the air from the oil and collects the liquid oil so it can be fed to an externally-mounted gear or belt driven oil pump. The tank provides a constant supply of oil so the pump never runs dry. The
additional oil capacity provided by the tank also helps keep oil temperatures lower. The amount of oil held by the tank may range from as little as 6 to 8 quarts for a turbocharged fourcylinder engine to 8 to 12 quarts for a typical V8. For a marine application, tanks that hold 5 to 6 gallons of oil are commonly used to compensate for all the pounding and sloshing that occurs in this type of racing. Some off-road racers and rock climbers have even mounted oil tanks with a gimbal arrangement to keep the tanks vertical as the vehicle tilts fore and aft or side-to-side. With long stroke crankshafts, there can be a lot of windage and drag inside the engine. By using a multi-stage dry sump system with additional suction pumps, it's possible to create and maintain vacuum inside the crankcase to reduce windage drag on the crank –
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Oiling Systems of cylinders on a V8, plus two more pumps to suck vapors out of both ends of the lifter valley under the intake manifold. Engines equipped with a dry sump oiling system have to be sealed so they don't pull in outside air. That means no open valve cover, lifter valley or crankcase vents. Depending on the level of vacuum you want to achieve, you may have to install crankcase end seals with reversed lips to prevent air from being pulled past the seals. As with wet sump oiling systems, you only need to feed the engine with as much oil flow as it actually needs. Flooding it with oil pressure only wastes horsepower. You want to maintain minimum oil pressure and flow without over-oiling the engine. â–
Drag racing creates extreme Gforces when accelerating and decelerating, which can starve the engine for oil if the oil pan can't control sloshing.
especially at higher RPMs. The higher the vacuum, the less drag. Vacuum in the crankcase also helps ring sealing. A two-stage or three-stage dry sump oil system with two or three scavenge pumps stacked together will usually not pull enough suction to create high vacuum inside the crankcase.
But a four-stage, five-stage or sixstage dry sump oil system that is sucking air and oil out of the crankcase and lifter valley can generate high levels of vacuum, even at high engine speeds and loads when blowby increases. The hot setup these days is a six-stage system that uses one suction pump to pull air and oil out from under each pair
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Choosing Camshafts
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BY ENGINE BUILDER STAFF
Natural Selection
Choosing the Perfect Camshaft for the Build
C
hoosing a particular type of camshaft for an engine build is an important decision that has to be made before any other parts are ordered or machined. Choosing a cam requires answering some basic questions, the most important of which is the engine application itself. Are you building an engine for everyday driving? For towing? For street performance? For street/strip? For drag racing or a circle track car? Are there class rules that limit the type of camshaft and valvetrain components that are allowed? What kind of vehicle is the engine going into (light car, heavy car, truck, race car)? What kind of transmission and gearing will the vehicle have (stick, automatic, wide ratio or close ratio transmission gearing, final drive ratio)? How much money is your customer willing to spend on the
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cam and valvetrain? Is it a budget build that will require a flat tappet cam with solid or hydraulic lifters, or is the sky the limit? The camshaft determines the engine’s horsepower and torque curves, so the cam has to match not only the application but all of the other components that go into the valvetrain, the cylinder heads,
compression ratio and induction system. It is important for engine builders to seek out as much information from the customer on the build as they can. Sometimes, these details can come from familiarity of performing engine builds at different levels. “There is no substitute for
Don’t Be Afraid To Ask There may be times when selecting a specific camshaft may just have you stumped. According to camshaft manufacturers we spoke to, consulting the cam manufacturer’s tech personnel will get you on the right track. These tech line specialists are in constant contact with engine builders of all types and should have a well rounded frame of reference.
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Choosing Camshafts experience when it comes to matching the cam to the application. An engine builder who is very familiar with the type of engine and application will have valuable insights into camshaft selection which really cannot be acquired any other way,” said one camshaft manufacturer. “One specification may appear to be optimal, but often there are other considerations which will effect the on-track performance of the engine in important ways.” Another manufacturer/supplier explained when it comes to performance street cars, nearly everyone with a small block Chevy wants it to be capable of at least 6,000 rpm. “That doesn’t sound too radical but in a car with 3.08 gears, 26-inch tall tires and a 400R4 auto trans, that results in an overdrive ratio of 2.16. That will equal 1650 rpm @ 60 mph. That MAY be acceptable on really flat land. In hilly country with some
long grades, it may not have enough torque to stay in overdrive on the grades. Even a 3.90 ratio = 2.73 final gearing which 60 mph = about 2300 rpm. If significant grades are involved 6000 rpm should not even be considered. Incidentally 6000 rpm in 3rd gear, Direct drive, = 120 mph with the 3.90 gear and 150 mph with the 3.08 gear. Most cams larger than stock are capable of 6,000 rpm, even if peak power is much lower. Rarely is anyone going to spend much if any time over 100 mph.” A lot of development work has gone into revamping lobe profiles in recent years to optimize performance, and many cam suppliers have introduced new product lines that reflect these improvements.
Over Cam Issues When it comes to picking the camshaft, one of most commonly made mistake is over-camming the engine with too much lift and/or duration. Big numbers look impressive, and you may have a customer who insists having the wildest cam he can find for his engine. But is it the best cam for how he will actually use his vehicle? Probably not. Most street driven vehicles seldom see the high side of 5,500 rpm, and most cruise at 1,800 to 2,500 rpm on the highway depending on how they are geared. The best all-around cam for a street performance vehicle, therefore, would be one that has its peak power and torque curve in the 1,500 to 3,000 rpm range. On the other hand, if you are building an all-out race motor for a customer’s race car, you’d want a Circle 74 for more information 74 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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cam that produces peak power and torque in the rpm range where the car will be running most of the time. “When in doubt, it is almost always better to go with what you might think is slightly less cam than you need as opposed to slightly more. Too much cam will usually hurt drivability far more than too little will,” said one manufacturer of camshafts. As for lift, most stock and lightly modified heads won’t flow any more air once valve lift reaches about 0.550˝. Pushing the valves open any further will not increase airflow or power, and may actually hurt power because of reversionary air flow. On the other hand, if you’re building a Pro Stock race motor with highly modified heads and CNC huge ports that can handle gobs of air, increasing valve lift to the physical limits of the engine is often necessary to maximize power. Another decision that has to be made is how much lift do you want from the cam and rockers? For any given lift, you can use various combinations of cam lift and rocker arm ratio to achieve the same numbers. According to one cam supplier we interviewed, the best approach is to get more lift with the rocker arms and less with the cam. Why? Because higher lift cams are more highly loaded cams that experienced more wear. Consequently, you are more apt to round off a lobe on a high lift cam that has big lobes than one which uses smaller lobes with higher ratio rocker arms. The valvetrain also tends to be more stable when a higher percentage of the valve lift is generated by the rocker arms rather than the cam lobes, lifters and pushrods.
Picking Performance One camshaft manufacturer provided these tips for selecting a performance camshaft for stock cars, dragsters and road racers. • Stock Car Racing: It is imperative to know at what rpm the car exits the corner. It is difficult for the driver to watch the tach in the corner with 5 or 10 cars close by. They frequently don’t pay much attention on restarts either. At 1 track in Maryland, drivers in almost all classes said 4500 to 5000 was the typical minimum rpm on restarts or during the races. We went there with a competitive Late Model and a data acquisition system and found the minimum rpm with no other cars on the track was 3500 rpm. This situation is pretty common. Most stock car racers power off the corners at a lower rpm than they think. Another tendency of racers that can’t keep up off the corner is to add more gear. Very often a change in suspension geometry or driving style will yield better results. On dirt tracks the problem is frequently wheel spin. Paint a section of the tire with shoe polish. If that section becomes a blur then you have wheel spin. Remember dirt tires may still have significant forward bite with some wheel spin. • Drag Racing: Drag Racers should gear for peak rpm at the end to be several hundred above peak power. 1/8 mile racers frequently run similar gears to ¼ mile cars. They don’t need as big a cam due to the shorter distance even with slightly lower gears. 1/8 mile street Circle 75 for more information EngineBuilderMag.com 75
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Choosing Camshafts
Because diesels require a lot of compression, camshaft duration tends to be short with minimal overlap.
cars with street gears should have lots of low end and mid range power. • Road Racing: Road racers frequently have more than the typical 4 speed transmissions and the ratios are frequently closer. This means the lobe separation may frequently be closer than normal because the driver can maintain the rpm to narrower range than normal. Sometimes the rpm drop between shifts is 3-600 rpm. Tight lobe separations usually make a bit more peak horsepower but over a shorter rpm range. This is usually not true with stock transmissions so if the transmission is stock you need a wider lobe separation for a longer power band.
Contemplate on Your Calculations
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Comparing one cam grind to another can be tricky because camshaft suppliers often measure their cam specifications differently. If duration is measured at .004˝ of lift rather than .050˝ of lift, it inflates the numbers and makes the cam appear bigger. Consequently, it’s important to
Photo courtesy of Camcraft Cams.
note at what point lift is actually measured when comparing advertised camshaft duration specs. Generally speaking, the longer the duration the higher the rpm range where the cam makes power. Short duration cams are good for low speed torque and throttle response while long duration cams are best or high revving engines that need to make lots of top end power. Cams with durations in the 195 to 210 degree range (measured at .050˝ cam lift) are usually considered best for stock unmodified engines and those with computerized engine controls. Once you go beyond 210 to 220 degrees of duration, intake vacuum starts to drop. This upsets idle quality and affects the operation of computerized engine control systems. Performance cams typically have durations ranging from 220 up to 280 degrees or more. The longer the duration, the rougher the idle and the higher the cam’s power range on the rpm scale. A cam with a duration of 240 degrees of higher will
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Choosing Camshafts
typically produce the most power from 3,500 to 7,000 rpm. But there’s more to camshaft selection than lift and duration. Cams from two different manufacturers may have identical lift and duration specs, but have considerably different performance characteristics because of the shape of the lobes. A lot of development work has gone into revamping lobe profiles in recent years to optimize performance, and many cam suppliers have introduced new product lines that reflect these improvements. Some cam lobes may have steeper or shallower ramps to change the velocity at which the valves open and close. A fast opening rate is great as long as the valve springs and valvetrain are stiff enough to handle it. Closing the valves quickly
is also good, but not good if the valves close so abruptly that they bounce when they hit their seats or the lifters can follow the down ramp of the cam lobe. Many cams today also have “asymmetrical” grinds that use different profiles for the upside and downside ramps on the cam lobes, as well as different lobes for the intake and exhaust valves. Some cams even feature slightly different grinds for each of the engine’s cylinders, depending on where the cylinder is positioned in the engine block. The end cylinders on a V8 with a single carburetor manifold typically benefit with a little more valve duration for the end cylinders to equalize airflow through the intake manifold. It’s a trick that NASCAR has used for years and is now available in some off-the-shelf
product lines.
Down the Road What type of changes or technology improvements will engine builders see in their cam selection coming down the road? “One of the newer developments has been the use of tool steel for roller camshaft cores,” explained one manufacturer. “These high-strength cores allow a larger gun drill through the camshaft, which reduces the rotating mass, decreasing parasitic losses in power output.” Also, the trend to increasingly larger cam bearing diameters and the resulting increase in base circle diameter is allowing for larger lobes and greater lobe lift which reduce the rocker arm ratios and valve spring pressures required for controlling the valve train. ■
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Choosing Camshafts
Reasons For Cam Failure The camshaft itself is rarely to blame for cam failure. When the cam core is made at the casting foundry, all the lobes are flame hardened to a depth below the barrel of the core, allowing the cam grinder to finish grind the lobes to an acceptable shape while maintaining the correct hardness. Here's a list of common mistakes we have determined to cause camshaft failure:
1. Lobe Wear Use only the manufacturer recommended lubricant, which is generally included with the cam. This lubricant must be applied to every cam lobe surface, and to the bottom of every lifter face of all flat tappet cams. Roller tappet cams only require engine oil to be applied to the lifters and cam. Also, apply the lubricant to the distributor drive gears on the cam and distributor.
2. Incorrect Break-In Procedure After the correct break-in lubricant is applied to the cam and lifters, fill the crankcase with fresh, non-synthetic oil. Prime the oil system with a priming tool and an electric drill so that all oil passages and the oil filter are full. Preset the ignition timing and prime the fuel system. Fill the cooling system. Start the engine. The engine should start quickly and run between 1,500 and 3,000 rpm. If the engine will not start, don't continue to crank for long periods as this can shorten the life of the cam. Check for the cause of the problem
and correct it. The engine should start quickly and be run between 1,500 to 3,000 rpm. Vary the rpm up and down in this rpm range for 20 minutes. During break-in, verify that the pushrods are rotating, as this will show that the lifters are also rotating. If the lifters don't rotate, the cam lobe and lifter will fail. Sometimes you may need to help spin the pushrod to start the rotation process.
3. Always Use New Lifters With A Flat Tappet Cam If you are removing a good used flat tappet cam and lifters and are planning to use them again in the same (or another) engine, you must keep the lifters in the order they were removed from the cam they were on. Lifters "mate" to their specific lobes and can't be changed. If the used lifters get
mixed up, discard them, install a new set of lifters, and break in the cam in again. You can use new lifters on a good used cam, but never use used lifters on a new cam.
4. Incorrect Valve Spring Pressure Recommended valve spring seat pressure for most street-type flat tappet cams is between 85-105 lbs. More radical street and race applications may use valve spring seat pressure between 105-130 lbs. For street hydraulic roller cams, seat pressure should range from 105-140 lbs. Mechanical street roller cams should not exceed 150 lbs. Race roller cams with high valve lift and spring pressure are not recommended for street use, because of a lack of oil splash onto the cam at low speed running. Springs must be assembled to the manufacturer’s recommended height. Never install springs without verifying the correct assembled height and pressures. NOTE: Increased spring pressure from a spring change and/or increased valve lift can hinder lifter rotation during cam break-in. Decreasing spring pressure during break-in can be accomplished by using a shorter ratio rocker arm to lower the valve lift and/or removing the inner spring if dual springs are being used.
5. Mechanical Interference Circle 78 for more information 78 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
A. Spring coil bind. This is when all of the coils of the spring contact each other before the valve fully lifts. Valve
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Choosing Camshafts springs should be capable of traveling at least .060" more than the valve lift of the cam from its assembled height. B. Retainer to seal/valve guide boss interference. At least .060" clearance is required between the bottom of the retainer and the seal or the top of the valve guide when the valve is at full lift. C. Valve to piston interference. This occurs when a change in cam specs (lift, duration, or centerline) is enough to cause the valve and piston to contact. Also, increased valve size or surfacing the block and/or cylinder head may cause this problem. Minimum recommended clearances are .080" intake and .100" exhaust. D. Rocker arm slot to stud interference. As you increase valve lift, the rocker arm swings farther on its axis. Therefore, the slot in the bottom of the rocker arm may run out of travel and the end of the slot will contact the stud and stop movement. The slot in the rocker arm must be able to travel at least .060" more than the full lift of the valve.
pin or key failing are: Bolts not being torqued to correct specs, incorrect bolts of a lower grade stretching and losing torque, not using the correct hardened washer which may distort and cause torque of the bolt to change, LocTite not being used, or some interference with the cam, lifters, or connecting rods causing the cam to stop rotation.
9. Broken Cam A broken camshaft is usually caused by a connecting rod or other rotating part coming loose and striking it. Sometimes the cam will break after a short time of use because of a crack or fracture in the cam due to rough handling during shipping or improper handling prior to installation.
6. Distributor Gear Wear The main cause for distributor gear wear is the use of high volume or high pressure oil pumps. If these types of oil pumps are used, reduced cam and distributor gear life will result. However, you can increase the gear life by adding more oil flow over the gear area to help cool off the point of contact.
7. Camshaft End Play Some engines use a thrust plate to control the forward and backward movement of the camshaft in the block. The recommended amount of end play on these types of engines is between .003" to .008". Many factors can cause end play to change. When installing a new cam, timing gears, or thrust plates, be sure to verify end play after the cam bolts are torqued to factory specs. If the end play is excessive, it will cause the cam to move back in the block, causing the side of the lobe to contact an adjacent lifter.
8. Broken Dowel Pins Or Keys The dowel pin or Woodruff key does not drive the cam; the torque of the timing gear bolts against the front of the cam does. Reasons for the dowel
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Track Talk
80-83 Green Monster 11/6/14 9:59 AM Page 80
SUBMITTED BY MCCULLOUGH PUBLIC RELATIONS
The Rebirth of the
GREEN MONSTER T
here’s a saying that a leaf never (IHRA) and American Hot Rod falls far from the tree. And in Association (AHRA). We knew that the case of the Arfons family, a the NHRA (National Hot Rod father’s creativity and love of speed Association) would never allow has taken seed in a successful jet turbines to race, but the IHRA and turbine business for the son. AHRA both gave us a waiver that Recently, Tim Arfons brought the would permit us to run a turbinesights and sounds of turbine powered car.” dragsters to an entirely new Turbine-powered race cars had generation of racers and fans thanks just set the racing world on its ear to the life-lessons and hands-on with impressive showings at the expertise he learned from his father, Indianapolis 500. “Andy Granatelli the legendary Art Arfons. had just run the STP turbine car in Arfons has painstakingly remade the ‘67 and ‘68 races at Indy,” the famous Green Monster frontexplains Tim. “Dad saw the engine dragster to better-than-new performance potential of turbines in condition and is using it as a highrace cars and decided to build a top speed history lesson for today’s drag fuel-type car in 1971 and as a 15 year racing fans. The reconstructed car old kid, I was right there with him.” made its initial test pass at Quaker The origin of the front-engined City Motorsports Park in Salem, OH, style chassis that would serve as the in October 2012, and over the past few years, the Today’s Green Monster is as racer went through a much of a show piece as it is a number of exhibition and race car. grudge match racing at tracks throughout the Midwest. “Between bad weather, we were rained out twice and my NASCAR work schedule, we were only able to make five passes this year,” said Arfons.
The Legend of the Green Monster Dragster Like so many trend-setting race cars, the Arfons’ Green Monster #19 has a colorful story about its build and race history. Tim recalls, “Dad always wanted to have a competition car to drag race in both the International Hot Rod Association 80 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
foundation for the Arfons’ revolutionary drag racer. “We bought the front engine chassis from a racer in Cleveland because at that time, everyone was going to rear engine dragster chassis. No one wanted a front engine dragster anymore, so dad was able to buy the chassis at a good price.” As it turned out, this was to be the only frontengine drag car the senior Arfons would every build.
Powering Up To power the car, Arfons went with a compact General Electric T58 gas turbine. First run in 1955, the GE T58 turbo shaft engine was designed for use in helicopters and became the first turbine engine to receive FAA certification for civilian helicopter
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Track Talk and 17. Dad really didn’t want me running the car by myself, so I had to give it up.” “We ended up doing some match racing with other turbine and jet cars,” recalls Tim. “Then in 1973 at the Union Grove Jet, Rocket and Wheelstand Nationals, our front-engined dragster won top honors and went undefeated on Saturday night.” Never one to rest on his “mad scientist racer laurels”, the senior Arfons decided to “push the envelope” even more by building drag racing’s first J-85 powered dragster. “With Ted getting the J85-powered jet dragster, that meant that I got to drive the front engine car,” explains Tim. In 1975, Tim qualified the Green Monster for the IHRA Nationals at Dragway 42 in West Salem, Ohio. “It was so much fun to race against the ‘big guys’ like Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, Don Prudohmme, TV Tommy Ivo all of them were there,” recalls Tim. “Here I was, just a kid... about 19 at the time. My pit crew was dad and Mike Weicht, a high school buddy who In 2012, Tim Arfons decided to was my best friend at the time.”
use in 1959. But like so many things coming out of the Arfons shop, the engine also had a story behind it. “Dad bought the engine from Craig Breedlove,” says Tim. “We actually bought three GE-T58 turbines from Craig,” says Tim. “So that was the engine dad decided to use in the dragster.” Always the wheeler-dealer, the senior Arfons knew how to score a good deal. “Breedlove had lost a lot of money on something and he needed cash,” remembers Tim. “So we were able to get a very good deal on the engines.” Being an eager 15-year old that enjoyed spending time with his father, Tim learned to use many of the shop’s tools by building components for the car. “I was 15 in 1971. I did my best to do whatever dad told me to do. He built his own gearbox so I learned how to run the mill and of course, helped him test run the turbine engines on the test stand.” The Arfons’ newly completed turbine dragster made its debut in the summer of 1971 at Rockingham, North Carolina. “I remember that trip like it was yesterday,” says Tim. “It was me, dad and Ted Austin, our driver. At the track, dad held the turbine’s nose starter, I ran the generator in the truck and Ted drove the car.” At Rockingham, the Arfons’ revolutionary frontengined turbine dragster ran a little faster than 180 mph in the 1/4-mile. Later that year, the Arfons’ car qualified for a couple of IHRA events and an AHRA event at the bottom of the field and was never very competitive. “The first time I got to drive the front engine T58 dragster was at Thompson Raceway on my 16th birthday,” recalls Tim. “I believe I went 170 or 180 mph. I only got to race it a couple of times a year while I was 16
The Last of its Kind “We raced it off and on for a couple of years. Then, much to my disappointment, dad decided to pull
SEE US AT PRI BOOTH #335
resurrect the Green Monster front-engined turbine dragster originally driven by his father Art in the early 1970s.
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Track Talk
Check out a video of the dragster at:
http://youtu.be/7fiOTkAwXcY. the engine and the gearbox out of the front engine dragster to build a pulling tractor instead. I really didn’t want him to do it – I really wanted to keep running the dragster, but dad wanted me to go tractor pulling. Being the good son, I did as I was told.” Eventually, the Green Monster’s front-engine chassis was sold to a tractor puller who then converted it into a mini tractor puller. “Today, that chassis would be worth a lot of money,” notes Tim. Looking back, Tim is happy with the direction that his father took the family business with the switch to tractor pulling in the mid-1970s. “I honestly believe that I wouldn’t be
Circle 82 for more information 82 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
where I am today if it wasn’t for switching to building and campaigning turbine-powered pulling tractors.” As it turns out, the front-engined Green Monster #19 was the last of the Green Monster dragsters to make a pass on the drag strip – making its last pass in 1975.
The Green Monster Returns Fast forward to 2012. “I’ve always wanted to get back into drag racing,” says Tim. “So we set out to resurrect the Green Monster front-engined turbine dragster.” “A few years ago, I built a J85 dragster that I sold to Darren Bay. That brought back so many memories and especially, how much I enjoyed racing that first frontengine turbine car from back in the day.” Tim then made the conscious decision to pick up where he left off with the front-engine car. “I’ve always had a feeling that the T58 dragster car was way capable of more performance and I took it as a personal and professional challenge to see if I could build one and go even faster than the original car.” “When we started building it, I made everything in it absolutely perfect. In fact, I went overboard,”he said. “It’s as much of a show piece as it is a race car. Every piece on the engine is polished. It has a beautiful SCS gearbox, a Dustman Brothers chassis, with a body from Rooman from Indianapolis – the same guy who does the metal work on all of the top nostalgia drag cars you see today. Everything we could chrome, we chromed, and then of course, it had to be finished off with a legendary Arfons green paint job.” As a final tribute to the car that he and his father built and campaigned in the early 1970’s, Tim named the new car Green Monster #19.
The new Green Monster #19 made several test passes in the fall of 2012 at Quaker City Motorsports Park in Salem, OH. Due to Arfons’ job responsibilities, the dragster saw limited track appearances in 2013, as well as this year.
The Same, Only Better People who saw the original Green Monster #19 race back in the day want to know what’s different about this recreated car. “The original car was always slow to come off the line,” explains Tim. “I always thought it needed a drive-line brake to get a better launch off the line. So, to get a better ET, that feature was incorporated in to the SCS gearbox. Also, the original front engine T58 car never had a reverser, so we added that as well. Now we can do some awesome burnouts and get the car back to the line under its own power.” “The turbines themselves have come a long way since the late 1960s,” notes Tim. “We’ve selected a much better engine – essentially a newer style General Electric T58 that has 300 more hp. Now we’re looking at 1,325 total horsepower. But, that also means that we had to have a much better rear end. When you get down to it, it’s really the same car, only better and truly built for heavy duty fun.” The new Green Monster #19 made several test passes in the fall of 2012 at Quaker City Motorsports
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Track Talk Tim Arfons, (RIGHT), son of the racing legend Art Arfons, said he plans to run the second-generation Green Monster again next year, with a goal of passing the 200 mph mark.
Park. “The car worked perfect,” says Tim. “On its second run, it had a better E.T. than the original car... and I even shut off at 700 feet.” The car then went 170 mph at Quaker City in Oct. 2012, with Tim shutting it down just past half track. “It’s been more than 40 years since I last drove a dragster,” says Tim. “I was a bit apprehensive about getting back onto the track…it was a little more than what I expected. The ride was more intense than what I expected. But, when I got to the other end of the track, I felt great. We accomplished what I set out to do – come back to the drag strip 40 years later with basically the same type of car that I made my first ever turbinepowered pass in.”
a little slice of racing history recreated with some new technology and a driver that’s still as passionate as ever about using turbine power for as many cool, go-fast vehicles as possible.” What should spectators expect at a Green Monster appearance? Surprisingly, the crowd can expect near silence. “Just like the turbine cars that ran at Indy back in the day, it’s really pretty quiet,” explains Tim. “People in the stands say they can
actually hear the tires chewing at the pavement, trying to find traction and they can hear the parachute pop open at the end of the track. People look at it in wonderment, it’s definitely one of a kind,” he said. “People also tend to wonder why I sit behind a jet engine. Well, this is exactly how dad and I had the car configured back in the day – and this is my way of sharing a little bit of my father and my history with today’s drag racing fan.”■
Green Monster Sightings Due to Tim’s track drying commitments, the Green Monster #19 had a limited number of appearances in 2014. And since getting the dragster back on the track, he’s added a “fire show” so now it has 30’ of flames at the starting line before he takes off. Arfons said he plans to run the vehicle next year, hoping to pass that 200 mph mark. “Main changes to the car were an improved electronic governor, a new intake screen, improved fuel delivery and of course the fire show,” Arfons said. “The last race (in October this year) was only a thousand feet, but we have picked up five mph at that point so we will definitely be over 200 mph next year,” he said.
Nostalgia With Technology “People who do come out to see the new Green Monster can expect to see
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Talking Shop
84-86 Millers Crossing 11/6/14 9:57 AM Page 84
Magnificent Millers in ‘Milwaukee Mile’ CONTRIBUTING EDITOR John Gunnel jgunnel@enginebuildermag.com
The Miller/Offy four-cylinder engine under the hood of William Miller’s 1938 Indy “Big Car” seen at the 2013 Millers at Milwaukee Meet now has this beautiful motor in place of the Miller 8 it started out with.
A
uto racing enthusiasts Bob Sutherland, David Uihlein and Chuck Davis started the Millers at Milwaukee Vintage Indy Car Event at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in 1995. At that time, the three never dreamed that it would become an annual event drawing cars from across the country and showcasing in retrospect the ideas that sprung from auto racing to advance auto engine technology. It is one step short of amazing to visit Milwaukee for the meet and peek under the hoods of racing cars that competed from about 1912 into the middle 1960s. The F. Davis The pits at the State Fair’s Engineering-Hillegass famous Milwaukee Mile are Studebaker is a prewar full midget dirt track filled with the hottest cars of racer with a 169-cid their eras with their hoods open and men gawking at early Champion flathead inline six of 1940 vintage. race engine configurations It features a highranging from a tiny Studebaker compression Champ six to a Duesenberg Studebaker aluminum eight. cylinder head and is Double overhead cam good for about 140 hp. engines made in the Teens genFuel-injection has been adapted to the engine. erate surprise, as do the beautiful Miller eights that displaced only 91 cu. in. and put out 250 hp! A Miller-powered racer could do over 170 mph. After his death, David Uihlein’s Miller 110 engine sold at auction for $72,500 and his 1931 Miller Bowes Seal Fast Indy 500 winner brought $2 million at auction in Monterey, CA. He had a passionate love of This Offy racing engine was the early history of stuffed into the engine American motor compartment of a “ttraditional” hot rod seen in the vending sports and area at the Miller Meet. You collected and never know what you are going restored many to find at the Milwaukee racing important racing car event. cars.
84 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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Talking Shop In the early ‘30s, Augie Duesenberg had already started building this car for the 91-cid class when new racing engine formulas upped maximum engine displacement to 366 cu. in. or six liters and outlawed superchargers. So the car was built with the engine shown here.
ticked under the hoods of each entry. For most of the afternoon, if a car was in the pits, it had its bonnet open either for a little wrench turning or to show off the powerplant that made it tick. The vintage engines were treasures. There were Offys, Millers, flathead Fords from Indy’s “junk formula” days, Duesenberg eights, Chrysler eights, Miller 91s, Fords with Frontenac conversions, Ford “flatties” with Zora Arkus-Duntov’s famed Ardun cylinder heads, Hudson eights, Board track racing Miller V-16s, a Chevy big car, a impresario Harry blown Bentley and a 1926 Bugattii Hartz bought the Type 37 with its piece-of-art four Duesenberg next. banger. He had it fitted with Equally fascinating was the array a 142-cid engine. of speed equipment from a span of Then, Hartz hired over half a century. There were driver Fred Frame to carburetors crafted by hot rod pilot the car in the pioneer Ed Winfield, finned and 1931 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race where polished Studebaker Six cylinder it placed second. heads, all manners of superchargers, ancient free-flowing exhaust systems, a 1913 Peugeot with a 3liter double overhead cam four with four valves per cylinder, finned side covers, ancient magnetos, dual single carb intakes and high-performance hardware that most people only get to see in boneyards or dusty museums. “This is a milestone event for our group and it brings out the best racing cars from all over the country,” said Dana Mecum, the Wisconsin-based classic car auctioneer who now serves as president of the Harry A. Miller Club that Uihlein started. “There are only 60
This four-cylinder Bentley engine must have had a chance of fouling the spark plugs, since provisions were made to carry an extra set under the hood.
They ranged from his Indy 500 winner to a sports car special bearing his name. He was the founder of the Harry A. Miller Club (www.harrymillerclub.com) that honors the famous engines and racing cars made by Miller in Indianapolis. The 2014 gathering on July 11-12 was the 20th edition Millers at Milwaukee meet. It brought 53 historic racing cars to the Midwest and in the paddock area, the focus was definitely on what
Vintage speed equipment is common to see on the racing cars at the Miller’s in Milwaukee meet. This beautiful overhead cam eight has finned side covers and lots of high-polished parts.
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Talking Shop
This is an original old photo of the a 1913 Peugeot with a 3-liter double overhead cam four with four valves per cylinder owned by Miles Collier and his REVS Institute for automotive research.
Circle 86 for more information 86 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
entry spots,” Mecum pointed out. “So it is important to get applications in early.” He said that Miller Meet participants get more track time than drivers get at similar events. In addition to track time, the meet featured a vending area. The vendors included Brian Johnson and Ken Walton, who both sell racing car parts. Racing car historian Gordon White was also set up selling copies of his books. Some historic racing cars at the meet included Mick Anderson’s 1960 Dowgard Special from Wisconsin, Mike Bauman’s 1952 John Zink Special from Illinois. Miles Collier’s 1913 Peugeot, Dennis Holoway’s 1926 Koukol Special from Iowa, Tony Parella’s 1934 Chevy Big Car from Texas, Larry Pfitzenmaler’s 1959 Watson roadster from Arizona, Phil Reilly’s 1960 Bowes Seal Fast Special from California and Steve Truchan’s Speedway Motors Champ car from Indiana. ■
87 Oil systems products 11/6/14 9:56 AM Page 87
Schumann "ER-VAC" Oiling System Schumann Sales & Service has developed a new "hybrid" oiling system that combines its "Energy Recovery" internal oil pump with a vacuum pump and oil separator for both street and performance applications. Like a dry sump system, the ER-VAC system pulls oil vapor and air from the crankcase. This allows the use of a sealed crankcase to reduce emissions. The oil vapor is then routed through a separator to remove air so the liquid oil can be fed back to the engine's internal oil pump. Schumann says the new ER-VAC oiling system can be adapted for use on any car or truck engine to meet future EPA requirements for reduced pollution and extended converter life. The reduced windage inside the engine combined with improved pumping efficiency improves horsepower, fuel economy and emissions. According to Schumann, the new system is still under development and we will provide photos on these components when they are available. 563-381-2416 Circle Number 134
Melling "Shark" Oil Pump for SB Chevy Melling is introducing a brand new oil pump with asymmetrical helical cut gears for small block Chevys at the Performance Racing Industry Show in Indianapolis this December. The “Shark” pump offers smoother output than a traditional spur gear oil pump, along with reduced power requirements and higher volume output. The pump has a cast iron housing with steel helical cut gears. Product photos of this pump are not yet available, but we will run them online at www.enginebuildermag.com following the PRI show. www.melling.com Circle Number 135
Aluminum Oil Pumps for 429-460 Big-Block Fords One of the main problems that beset tuners of big-block Ford engines is oil pump failure. The casting develops a fracture at the section change around its mountings, which rapidly propagates like a sound wave and the oil pump falls into the oil pan without warning. It is a sobering, unwelcome drama that’s best avoided. Though the stock oil pump behaves reliably within its stock environment, for engines that are tuned or modified, oil pump failure is almost inevitable. To survive this hazard Jon Kaase Racing Engines introduced cast iron oil pump in April 2009. Recently, the performance parts supplier released a vastly lighter aluminum version to supersede their earlier iron units. Available for front sump or rear sump applications, these Kaase pumps retain their sturdy, long section mountings and use the same impeller mechanism employed on their championship-winning Kaase 820 CID Pro Stock engines. Equipped with dual oil feeds to the rotor to improve idle and high-rpm oil pressure, they are supplied with the necessary gaskets and the highest grade ARP mounting studs and 12-point nuts. Sharing the same main body, the front-sump pump suits earlier muscle cars and can be recognized by the angled flange at its inlet port. The rear sump pump, the more common of the two, accepts the long pick-up tube that takes its oil feed from the back of the engine. These new pumps accommodate stock and aftermarket oil pickup assemblies and are bench-tested before shipping. JonKaaseracingengines.com Circle Number 136
For more on Performance Oil Systems, see the tech feature beginning on page 64 of this issue. EngineBuilderMag.com 87
Oil Systems
New Products
Fast Lane
88-91 Fast Lane 11/6/14 9:55 AM Page 88
Five Points to Ponder Prior to PRI 1. More FE Stuff.
And, here I go again. I am freshening my 427 FE Tunnel Port engine right now. That sewer port engine powered my first serious drag race effort, the Big Animal ‘57 Mercury, till October of ‘79. Big A is a gasser type drag car. It made its debut powered by a 406 FE Tri Power on July 20, 1969. The very day Neal Armstrong stepped on the moon, I won a trophy in 1D Hot Rod class. By ’72, I ran several 427 FE 8V Low Risers. Then in ‘75, I went to a 8V Tunnel Port 427. That switch shaved half a second off my ET and gained 10 mph. Trans is a top Loader 4 speed and Hurst Competition plus shifter. Yes, it is true. I am getting my Big Animal ready for a few “Fun
CONTRIBUTING WRITER Animal Jim Feurer jim@enginebuildermag.com
Runs” in 2014. This will be the first time it will be run since 1979.
Being an FE Ford fan, and having raced them, and still owning 2. Big A several, I enjoyed Bob My intention is to have fun McDonald's article about FE driving that car again, and Fords. “Out With The Old and In augment some wonderful With the New/Or Keep the Old” memories. in the April Issue of Engine Big A was one of the last cars Builder. I have been in love with down the famed Oswego, IL drag FE's since my brand new 63 R strip. In October of ‘79, my friend code I special ordered when I Bubba Thurlby, the Oswego was 22. track manager, requested me to Along with all the other bring the Big Animal that last day American brands of engines I for a couple “Goodbye Runs.” build, I still do some FE's. There were tears. I never ran the There has been a big car again. resurgence of the 427s, especially I had been Oswego RTE (Run with aftermarket aluminum Tough Eliminator) track blocks, heads, even tunnel rams, champion in ‘73 and ‘74 with that and stroker kits out the whazoo. car. And won RTE countless Warren Shafer, owner times. That big orange ‘57 of Shafer's Classic Reproduction Parts in Tampa, FL Animal Jim's Big Animal ‘57 Mercury in 1975, Oswego, IL. just left my shop with a 406 Tri Power The Big Animal, which Jim still has, is powered by a FE 427 Ford Tunnel Port. Left lane is Frank Marshall in his Daddy's FE I built for him. Thing ‘58 Chevy, 427 powered. From the book “Lost Drag Warren is finishing Strips/Ghosts Of Quarter-Miles Past.” a rotisserie 63 Box Photo by Brent Fregin. Top Galaxie G code of his own. (The 5th character in ‘60s Ford’s VIN numbers is a letter. It describes the engine. G is 406 tripower 405HP. B is a 406 4V, 385 HP. R is 427 8V 425 HP and Q is a 427 410 HP). Older motor manuals and Google are good decoding sources. My 64 Galaxie show car is an R code. It is the epitome of the big Ford era. I raced a 406 and several 427s from 1963 to 1979. 88 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
Feurer
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Mercury is synonymous with Oswego history and lore. There is a great book called “Lost Drag Strips/Ghosts Of QuarterMiles Past.” I'm one of the ghosts. That 2013 book includes the Oswego Drag Strip. On page 92, it features a picture by Brent Fregin of my Big Animal and Frank Marshall's Daddy's Thing ‘58 Chevy, side-byside, wheels up with the Oswego Sign in the foreground. The book is a masterpiece by Tommy Lee Byrd. The foreword is written by Don Garlits. My FE experience started in March of 1963, when I took delivery of a special order, brand new, all black R code Mercury two-door sedan. It was ordered radio delete, black walls and rims, with dog dish hubcaps, bench seat, no creature conveniences, and no badging. It was rumored it had no heater. Not true. I live in the Midwest. It was a real sleeper. Who would expect a ‘63 Mercury Breezeway entry level plain Jane would harbor well over 425 horses under the hood? That rare car is on a HP FE Mercury registry. The marketing people at Ford then were such comedians. LOL!! You could not believe anything they said. First, a 427 is only a 425.9 ci. Do the math! 4.2328 bore with a 3.784 stroke. Ford also under rated its FE horsepower. An 8V 427 Low Riser and an 8V 427 High Riser and an 8V427 Medium Riser were all rated at 425HP? Duh?! The Tunnel Port and High Riser with Two four barrels, were both
pretty close to 600 HP.
3. The Tunnel Port I was involved with area stock car racers who inspired me to try both High Riser and Tunnel Port. After using a Tunnel Port in my own drag car, I favor the Tunnel Port. The Thunderbolts had high risers. But, if Tunnel Ports had surfaced in ’64 and not ‘66, they might have been used in the T-Bolts. NASCAR let the High Risers run in ’64 and then outlawed them because of a flat hood rule. The high riser needed a hood bubble. NASCAR also outlawed the 427 Overhead Cammer. But, NASCAR did let the Ford racers use the Medium Riser with two Four barrels and a flat
This is a picture of the early 1958-1962 flange, spring retained type cam. Also, the special steel spring pocketed front cover and spring. Above the flanged cam is a ‘63 and later type plate retained cam. The two types of timing gears, one on left is a later gear with cam spacer molded in the rear. The gear on right is early type, flat on back, and uses that remote spacer. Never mix the remote spacer with the late molded spaced gear. It will create an additional very destructive .222 end play. If the early flat backed gear is tried with out the remote spacer, the engine will not turn after cam bolt is tightened.
A closer view of the early 58 to 62, spring held, flanged cam on the right. The new plate retained the type on the left. Circle 89 for more information EngineBuilderMag.com 89
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1958-1962 FE engines had cams, like the one pictured, just above the front cover. That big flange rode on front of the block. The cam was retained with spring in special steel front cover as pictured here. In 1963, Ford switched to a nonflanged cam and retaining plate with a more modern timing gear. An important note. The cam spacer is molded in the gear on the left. The right gear is flat and used a remote spacer. Never ever use the remote spacer with the later already space formed gear.
Another important note — The rear cam plug on FE Fords is faced with cup inward to give it cam butt clearance.
hood. They ran fair. In ’66, the Tunnel Port came on the scene, which was a Cammer type port compromise. NASCAR allowed the two fours. The Tunnel Port is what Fred Lorenzen, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson used to terrorize NASCAR. It was also used to win at LeMans 1,2,3, in 1966. Number 1 was driven by co-drivers, Bruce McLaren and Mark Donahue. Crew chief Max Kelly, in the later years, Circle 90 for more information 90 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
became one of my treasured friends. Max's winning car is in the Indy Speedway Museum. With the new interest in the FE engine, I am compelled to offer some FE tips to share, especially if getting involved with real old vintage FE stuff. The FE engine was a unique design with some oddities, and several need to know changes from 1958 to 1976. One is that the 1958 332 and 352 only had solid lifters. In ‘59, came the hydraulics. Pre-1963, half the FEs used a flanged camshaft with a special steel front cover with a cavity harboring a retaining spring, similar to the MEL 383 and 430. In ‘63, half the FEs were changed to what I call a normal cam and retaining plate held with two short 7/16 button head Philips fasteners with lock washers. (I swap those for Allen button heads and Loctite). The early retainers used a slotted .222 thick spacer that nestled in the center cavity of the retainer with the slot astraddle the upper timing gear pin. The timing gears used with that spacer were flat on back. Soon, Ford decided to mold the spacer into the back of the upper timing gear.
4. Spaced Out I had customers bring me destroyed engines, because they used a newer integral space stepped gear and the .222 spacer gave the cam an extra .222 end play. The cam lobes, lifters and their bores did not dig that. The cam bearings were not fond of it either. If an old style flat upper timing gear was tried without the spacer, it would be found, because the cam would lock up when the top timing
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Fast Lane gear bolt was tightened. Those earlier pre ‘63 blocks could easily be modified to use the newer retainers and cam. Remove the two soft oil galley plugs and tap to 7/16 course. And, make sure you acquire needed hardware. And use a timing set with the integral cam gear spacer. Another common mistake was the retainer was not symmetrical and would get put on cockeyed. And here is a biggie!!! The most common error – the rear cam plug has to go in with the cavity facing IN to make room for the butt of the cam. With the plug put in like a conventional Welch plug, it will cause lack of cam end play, or even bind, and usually will break the retainer plate, even if the retainer plate is installed correctly. I had a customer with a ‘66 GT 390 in the early ‘70s, that had all the above wrong. Somewhere in its life, an early timing set and spacer was used. Then my customer put in a new timing set that had the .222 step built in, and installed the damn spacer too. Plus they had the retainer cockeyed, and cam plug with the cavity facing out, pounded in deep. Number 4 cylinder had water in it. As a bonus, the wrist pin keeper got loose and the pin had sliced into the cylinder wall. What a mess. But I was young and up to challenges. Miraculously, I saved that block, which was not usually the case. I sleeved number 4 cylinder, and
difference when I put the later cam in.
5. Rotating Electric Flywheels and starter combos changed in 1965. 1958 through ‘64 had the long bendix on the rear and a 163 tooth Flywheel. The Bell housing pocket was deeper than the ‘65 and later, to accommodate that long early type starter drive. The ‘65 and later starter was shorter and had a lump type cover over the starter drive lever assembly. The later flywheel has 184 teeth. Do not mix them. FE’s alternator and generator brackets mount to the water pump differently. Sixty-three and ‘64 used both. My 390 Y code ‘63 Mercury has an alternator, my ‘64 Ford R code 427 has a generator. Who knows? In ‘64, Top Loader 4 speeds were used instead of the Borg Warner's that ate its own second gear and cluster frequently. There is much more to know about FEs, but we are out of time again. Contact me if desired. This writing I tribute to an FE fanatic and collaborator friend. The recently late Joe Kozol from Joliet, IL. The flanged cam and cover pictured were Joe’s. I will miss him. The FE – True Love. You never need to say your sorry! ■
Good view of the early flat rear, upper timing gear on the right, with the needed remote .222 thick steel spacer. The later upper timing on left has the spacer molded on the back. Do not mix these up. Never use the remote spacer with the late spacer step molded gear. The steel retainer was used on both types from 1963 on.
sleeved and dressed a couple of chewed lifter bores and bosses. I used a post ‘63 1/2 stock Ford .500 lift, 324 duration, 427 solid lifter cam, with Crane shell lifters and push rods. The early ‘63 Cams in the 427s, like my ‘63 Mercury, came with only 306 duration. There was a notable
Circle 91 for more information EngineBuilderMag.com 91
Tech Tips
92-93 Liner Tips 11/6/14 9:48 AM Page 92
‘Lining’ Up Sleeve & Liner Work
BY ENGINE BUILDER STAFF
W
hether their purpose is going to be repairing an OE application or to go all out in the restructuring of the engine block, liners and sleeves have to be able to perform a number of tasks. Here are some tips to help you with their installation:
Cast Out: Most cast iron automotive engine blocks do not require sleeves because the iron is hard enough to resist piston ring wear. This is important because the purpose of the cylinder is to seal the piston rings. Over time, as the engine components become worn, a rebuild will be inevitable. But cast iron engine blocks allow the cylinders to be bored and oversized pistons installed. Need a Sleeve: A sleeve is required is when the cylinder is cracked or there is not enough material in the engine’s casting for the cylinder to be bored. In either situation, the cylinder that is in need of repair can be machined for a sleeve that will be interference fit, which means that it 92 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
will need to be pressed into the cylinder block.
Diesel Dilemma: Diesel blocks are usually thick enough to be machined, so the only time a sleeve should be needed is when the cylinder is cracked. But, diesel engines are also more expensive to repair. Most of the time, when a diesel is in need of repairs, it is because there is a problem with one or more of the cylinder bores. Why Wet: Wet sleeves, or liners as they are often called in heavyduty engines, are different than dry sleeves. A wet sleeve is essentially a stand alone cylinder, supported at the top and bottom by the block, and surrounded by the water jacket. The coolant is in direct contact with the outside of the sleeve. There is no supporting bore structure around the sleeve, so the sleeve has to be thick enough and strong enough to withstand the forces of combustion all by itself. Wet Sleeve Advantages: The main advantage of a wet sleeve is that it allows any or all of the
cylinders to be easily replaced if one or more cylinders are worn out or damaged, which greatly extends the potential service life of the engine.
Coming Back for More: In large (and expensive) heavy-duty diesel engines, wet sleeves make sense because they allow a block to be rebuilt over and over again.
Round and Round: Whether a sleeve is being installed in an aluminum or iron block, dimensional accuracy is an absolute must. The cylinders in the block should be machined as round and straight as possible for a good fit. Size Matters: Sleeve manufacturers offer a wide range of bore diameters ranging from 2” to 8.5” that can range up to 24” in length. Sleeve thicknesses are available from 3/32” and 1/8” for bores up to 5-1/8”. For some special applications, sleeve wall thicknesses of 1/16” and 2mm can be achieved.
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Tech Tips
Fortified with Iron: Special iron alloys are used for each manufacturer’s castings. Each has been formulated to provide the supplier’s ideal blend for ease of installation with trouble-free boring. The sleeves contain alloys found in today’s plated cylinders that will not peel or flake. These alloys offer superior tensile strength with efficient and quick heat transfer. Tight Fit: Pay attention to thermal efficiency of a sleeve and the type of block into which it is installed. It all comes down to interference fit. Because sleeves are flangeless, a tight fit keeps the sleeve from moving up and down in the bore when the engine reaches operating temperature. Cast Iron Blocks: When pressing a sleeve into an iron block, there needs to be an interference fit between .0015” to .002”. As the engine operates under normal conditions, the cast iron sleeve can transfer heat from the cylinder into the cast iron of the engine’s block. Coolant is circulated through the engine block and surrounds the cylinders to effectively remove heat from the installed sleeve.
specified rpm range. Cavitation damage can also be mitigated by using supplementary coolant additives, as specified by the engine manufacturer. Following the OEM coolant recommendations is important for long liner life.
Performance Conversions: Converting a GM LS engine to a wet sleeve configuration takes about six hours of machine work, and should be done with CNC equipment. But the results are well worth the effort. The wet sleeve configuration can handle significantly more power while improving reliability in high output engines. End Gap Check: Keep in mind the end gap on the piston rings when liners are replaced. The ring end gap is specified by the engine manufacturer and depends on the bore diameter. Ring end gaps can be checked by placing the rings in the liner and measuring the end gap with a feeler gauge. On a 5.400˝ bore liner, the end gap on the piston rings will change approximately .003˝ (0.08 mm) for every .001˝ (0.03 mm) change in bore diameter. ■
Aluminum Blocks: Aluminum and cast iron dissipate heat differently, due to a different rate of expansion. For an aluminum block, there needs to be an interference fit of .003” to .004”. Concentricity Concerns: It’s very important to understand when installing a sleeve, that the engine block must be machined as round and straight as possible. Concentricity is very important to eliminate bore distortion. Most sleeves are very accurate in outside bore dimensions. If the block is not truly accurate by being bored round and straight and the sleeve is pressed in, piston clearance and ring seal will become a problem.
Watching for Liner Material Breakdowns: Liner fractures can be caused by one of two things. Vertical fractures are usually due to impact damage, while horizontal fractures are due to fitment issues – or weakness or defects in the liner metal.
Erosion on Wet Liners: One of the problems with wet liners in diesel engines is cavitation erosion on the outside of the liners. Harmonic vibrations produced by combustion inside the cylinders cause tiny air bubbles to form in the coolant on the outer surface of the liners. When the bubbles collapse, the implosions create shock waves that chip away at the metal. Over time, this can lead to severe erosion and surface pitting that may eventually cause the liner to leak or fail.
No Cavities: In diesel engines, cavitation damage of wet liners can be reduced or avoided by eliminating operating conditions that cause unwanted engine harmonics. This includes making sure fuel injection timing is correct, and that engine speed is kept within the Circle 93 for more information EngineBuilderMag.com 93
Product Spotlights
94-97 Spotlights 11/6/14 10:33 AM Page 94
Engine Pro High Performance Connecting Rods Engine Pro H-Beam Connecting Rods are forged from 4340 steel and produced on CNC machinery. They are finished in the U.S. to ensure precise big-end and pin-end bore sizes. Rods are magnafluxed, heat treated, stress relieved, shot peened and sonic tested to ensure they provide the strength required for high horsepower applications. Engine Pro connecting rods equipped with standard 8740 bolts are rated for up to 700 horsepower in small blocks, and 850 horsepower in big block applications. Visit, www.goenginepro.com.
Engine Pro Phone: 800-ENGINE-1
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www.goenginepro.com
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Motor State Distributing
Filters/Airflow
AIRAID Filter Company offers a complete line of premium performance filters, cold air intake systems, modular intake tubes computer designed for maximum air flow producing additional horsepower, torque and improved performance. The complete AIRAID product line is available at Motor State Distributing for immediate shipment.
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www.motorstate.com 800-772-2678 Circle Number 114
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Product Spotlights
High Volume Oil Pumps Orbit performance oil pumps are designed with high output and volume capabilities required for high RPM engines. The gerotors are precision machined from steelcopper alloy (FCO205), an exceptionally durable metal that assures dependability and durability. Tight housing and gerotor tolerances provide optimum pressure and flow requirements. Housings are die cast DC-12 aluminum and are anodized to prevent corrosion. All pumps are individually inspected and tested. Passenger car pumps are equivalent to OEM design, engineering and metallurgy to meet or exceed original equipment specifications. Present applications include nine applications (three performance and six passenger car); new applications will be added.
ACL Distribution Phone: 800-847-5521
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www.orbitoilpumps.com Circle 116
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SV-20 Cylinder Hone The Sunnen SV-20 cylinder hone incorporates the high-end features that satisfy both production engine builders and performance shops, but at a cost that won’t break the bank. SV-20 features include: •True linear stroking system for consistent diameter from top to bottom of the bore, cylinder after cylinder •Powerful 5.5 Hp spindle motor drives Sunnen’s two-stage diamond hone heads for shorter cycle times and super accuracy •Rotary servo tool feed system allows automatic 2-stage honing with both rough and finish stones •Advance PLC control with color touch screen for easy operation and optimum control of honing parameters •Full bore profile display to quickly see and correct tight spots
Sunnen Products Company Phone 1-800-325-3670
www.sunnen.com Circle 119
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Product Spotlights
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Ergonomic Blast Cabinets ZERO blast cabinets are now available in an ergonomic body style, which allows the operator to sit while working. The cabinet configuration provides comfortable knee-room for the operator without interfering with the free flow of media for reclamation and re-use. Standard cabinet features include: large, quick-change window, reverse-pulse cartridge-style dust collector, suction-blast or pressure-blast models. HEPA filtration as an option. Cabinets can work with glass bead, aluminum oxide and other recyclable media. Applications: cleaning, de-burring, peening, and finishing.
Clemco Industries Corp. Phone: 800-788-0599
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www.clemcoindustries.com Circle 122
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Ford 5.0L & 5.8L Hydraulic Roller Camshafts
Elgin Industries has introduced three new Elgin PRO-STOCK速 hydraulic roller performance camshafts for Ford 5.0L and 5.8L engines. Each cam is manufactured from premium billet steel. Now available through Elgin PRO-STOCK distributors are: p/n: E-1835-P Adv. Dur.: 285/292 Dur. @ .050: 220/226 Valve Lift: 499/.510 Lobe Sep.: 112 p/n: E-1836-P Adv. Dur.: 286/289 Dur. @ .050: 224/232 Valve Lift: 542/.563 Lobe Sep.: 112 p/n: E-1837-P Adv. Dur.: 299/327 Dur. @ .050: 236/248 Valve Lift: 574/.595 Lobe Sep.: 110
Elgin Industries
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Phone: 800-323-6764
www.elginind.com Circle 125 96 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
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SBI has released a Web-based version of its acclaimed catalog in order to provide users with real-time updates on additions to the company’s line of replacement valvetrain parts for close to 3,000 applications divided among late-model domestic and import passenger car, light truck, performance, marine, agricultural, heavy-duty and forklift/industrial. The catalog also features listings of K-Line Bronze Bullet-brand valve guide liners and miscellaneous K-Line tooling stocked by SBI, Exclusive Master Distributor for K-Line. Based on SBI’s CD-ROM catalog, the SBI Web-based catalog allows the user to search the database by part type/part number, vehicle type, engine manufacturer, or specific engine and make codes.
S.B. International Phone:1-800-THE-SEAT
www.sbintl.com Circle 129
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Product Spotlights
Web-Based Valvetrain Parts Catalog
Classified/Cores
98-99 Class-Cores 11/6/14 9:35 AM Page 98
Advertiser Index
Call now to order or to receive a free 2014 catalog 1-800-434-5141 www.autobodysupplies.com
enginebuildermag.com
enginebuildermag.com 3550 Embassy Parkway Akron, OH 44333-8318 FAX 330-670-0874
330-670-1234
Publisher Doug Kaufman, ext. 262 dkaufman@babcox.com
Tech Editor Larry Carley lcarley@babcox.com
Editor Ed Sunkin, ext. 258 esunkin@babcox.com
Advertising Services Tina Purnell, ext. 243 tpurnell@babcox.com
Managing Editor Greg Jones ext. 272 gjones@babcox.com Graphic Designer Nichole Anderson, ext. 232 nanderson@babcox.com
98 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
Director of Distribution Rich Zisk, ext. 287 rzisk@babcox.co Circulation Manager Pat Robinson, ext. 276 probinson@babcox.com Sr. Circulation Specialist Ellen Mays, ext. 275 emays@babcox.com
Sales Representatives Bobbie Adams badams@babcox.com 330-670-1234, ext. 238 Roberto Almenar ralmenar@babcox.com 330-670-1234, ext. 233 David Benson dbenson@babcox.com 330-670-1234 ext. 210 Jennifer Hazen jhazen@babcox.com 330-670-1234 ext. 224 Don Hemming dhemming@babcox.com 330-670-1234, ext. 286
COMPANY NAME Access Industries ACL Distribution Area Diesel Service, Inc. ARP/Automotive Racing Products Inc Atech Motorsports AVI Avon Automotive Products BlueDevil Products Brad Penn Lubricants Brock Supply Camcraft Cams LLC Canton Racing Products Centroid Corp. Clemco Industries Cloyes Gear & Products Inc. Comp Performance Group Crane Cams Dakota Parts Warehouse Darton International Diamond Racing Products/Trend Performance DNJ Engine Components Driven Racing Oil, LLC Eagle Specialty Products Edelbrock Corp Egge Machine Company Elgin Industries Engine & Performance Warehouse Engine Parts Group Engine Parts Warehouse EngineQuest ESCO Industries Federal Mogul Motorparts Federal Mogul/Fel Pro Federal Mogul/Fel Pro GRP Connecting Rods Henkel Corp Howards Cams Hypermax Engineering Inc Injector Experts IPD Liberty Engine Parts Los Angeles Sleeve Lunati LLC Mahle Motorsports Manton Pushrods & Rockers Mobil 1 Racing Modern Silicone Technologies, Inc. Moduline Cabinets Motor State Distributing Motovicity Distribution NPR of America, Inc. Packard Industries Performance Trends PRI Show Pro Cam/Baker Engineering Pro-Filer Performance Products QualCast Quality Cutter Grinding Quality Power Products Rottler Manufacturing Royal Purple Ltd Safety Auto Parts Corp SB International Scorpion Racing Products Spectro Oils Of America Sunnen Products Co T & D Machine Products TI Automotive Topline Trac-Pro
PAGE # Cover 3 41 69 89 83 63 59 58 44 20 79 82 53 62 18 29 77 7 22 35 1 65 45 42 24 Cover 2 11 15 73 23 86 33, 50 48 49 26 19 75 46 7 93 5 76 28 10 91 40 37 55 27 31 61 36 78 12 71 81 13 60 43 Cover 4 67 47 25 90 68 3 54 9 44,56,57 74
Jamie Lewis jlewis@babcox.com 330-670-1234, ext. 266 Dean Martin dmartin@babcox.com 330-670-1234, ext. 225 Jim Merle jmerle@babcox.com 330-670-1234, ext. 280 Glenn Warner gwarner@babcox.com 330-670-1234, ext. 212 John Zick jzick@babcox.com 949-756-8835
Babcox Media Inc. Bill Babcox, President Greg Cira, Vice President, CFO John DiPaola, Vice President Beth Scheetz, Controller In Memorium: Edward S. Babcox (1885-1970) Founder of Babcox Publications Inc. Tom B. Babcox (1919-1995) Chairman
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USED AND REBUILT EQUIPMENT FLOW BENCHES
Classified/Cores
MACHINE REBUILDING
CBN TOOLING: WE RESHARPEN CBN’S!
JAMISON EQUIPMENT 1908 11th St., Emmetsburg IA 50536 800-841-5405 Check out our used equip. list at www.jamisonequipment.com
Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation (Act of August 12, 1970; Section 3685. Title 39. United States Code.) Publication Title: Engine Builder Publication Number: 1535-041X Filing Date: September 19, 2014 Issue Frequency: Monthly Number of Issues Published Annually: 12 Annual Subscription Price: $69 Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 443338318, Summit County. Contact Person: Pat Robinson Phone: 330-670-1234. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters of Publisher: Same as above. Publisher: Doug Kaufman (address same as above). Editor: Ed Sunkin (address same as above). Managing Editor: Greg Jones (address same as above) Owner: Babcox Media, Inc., 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333-8318; William E. Babcox (owner), 3550 Embassy Parkway, Akron, OH 44333. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages or Other Securities: None. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: August 2014.
Extent and Nature of Circulation:
Average no. copies each issue Actual no. copies of single during preceding 12 months issue nearest to filing date
A. Total Number of Copies (Net Press Run) 16,330 B. Legitimate Paid and/or Requested Circulation — Individual Paid/Requested Mail Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 14,753 C. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation 14,753 D. Non-Requested Distribution — Non-Requested Copies Stated on PS Form 3541 1,029 — Non-Requested Copies Distributed Outside the Mail 276 E. Total Non-Requested Distribution 1,305 F. Total Distribution 16,058 G. Copies not Distributed 272 H. Total 16,330 I. Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation 91.9%
16,035
14,763 14,763 665 152 817 15,580 455 16,035 95.1%
Publication of Statement of Ownership will be printed in the November 2014 issue of this publication. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. Pat Robinson, Circulation Manager September 19, 2014
EngineBuilderMag.com 99
On The Road
100 On The Road 11/6/14 9:34 AM Page 100
R&R Celebrates 48 Years BY GREG JONES, MANAGING EDITOR
E
ngine Builder publisher Doug Kaufman and managing editor Greg Jones headed to Akron, OH, to visit R&R Engine and Machine for its 48th anniversary celebration. R&R Engine and Machine was started in 1967 with three employees and a 2000 sq. ft. building. The
original name was R&R Tool and Machine, which manufactured and machined specialized tooling for the automotive industry. In 1978 the fuel shop and a four bay garage was added making a parts department, truck shop, machine shop, and fuel shop all under one roof. With a recent expansion of
7800 sq. ft., the shop now has 16 drive-in service bays and an engine dyno, bringing the total sq. ft. to 30,000. The company is an authorized OEM engine dealer for 19 different manufacturers and currently has 31 employees. We got the shop tour from Al Roth, a 35-year R&R employee. n R&R Engine and Machine celebrates 48 years of business with its employees and a few vendors.
This is a Cat 3508 diesel engine typically used in earthmovers. It produces 950 hp and 3300 lb. ft. of torque. On the dyno, the engine is checked for water, fuel and oil leaks.
This is the crankshaft used in the Cat 3508 seen on the dyno.
R&R Engine and Machine keeps many parts around the shop. Here is a rack of crankshafts for existing and future projects.
100 November 2014 | EngineBuilder
This is the engine block used in the Cat 3508 engine.
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Circle 102 on Reader Service Card for more information
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Circle 104 on Reader Service Card for more information