The crankshaft is the heart of the engine. Therefore, it must be durable enough to withstand the engine’s dynamic demands, and that means it must handle the specific horsepower and torque loads. It must also cope with the crank speed and the deflection forces imposed by cylinder firing. The main and rod bearing clearances must […]
How to Blueprint Engines: Engine Math Guide
This chapter provides information that will aid in understanding essential dimensions and volumes that are considered when planning and executing an engine build. This tech tip is from the full book, MODERN ENGINE BLUEPRINTING TECHNIQUES: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO PRECISION ENGINE BUILDING. For a comprehensive guide on this entire subject you can visit this […]
How to Blueprint Engines: Oiling System Guide
Your engine must provide a strong and steady supply of oil to all critical components. In essence the engine must deliver the correct volume of oil under a certain pressure to reach all the critical components during operation. If this does not happen, the engine experiences oil starvation and this obviously degrades performance. The engine’s […]
How to Blueprint Engines: Block Machining Guide
The engine block is the foundation of any build, and several critical machining processes are often required to bring the bores, deck, and dimensions of the block into precise and correct specification. When someone refers to an engine as balanced and blueprinted, this all too often means that the crankshaft has been balanced but the […]
How to Blueprint Engine Blocks
To blueprint an engine block, you must accurize it. You must achieve the proper bore dimensions, but also must consider the total geometric state of the block and correct any deviations from ideal geometry. This means that you inspect and machine in order to optimize the block geometry. This primarily focuses on the main bore, […]
Automotive Engines: Flaw Detection
To achieve the highest level of precision engine building, you must perform diligent detective work and pay close attention to detail. When using flaw detection equipment, you are searching for damage that’s more and less apparent. And many kinds of damage are not easily recognizable to the naked eye. Flaw detection equipment and technology help […]
Automotive Horsepower Guide: Mufflers to Tail Pipes
In 1980, I built a 400-ft-lb, 404-hp 350 replacement for the anemic 158- hp 305 in my California Pontiac Trans Am. Back then, it took real effort to exceed 400 ft-lbs and similar horsepower. Imagine my disappointment when, no matter what I used for mufflers, the output dropped by some 20 ft-lbs and 25 hp. […]
Automotive Horsepower Guide: Exhaust Headers
British engineer and author Philip H. Smith wrote a 250-page book entirely on intake and exhaust systems because the subject warranted it. We don’t have space here to do that, so you are going to get the hands-on basics of an important and complex subject. This tech tip is from the full book, DAVID […]
The Short-Block Engine Horsepower Secrets
The block is, in effect, the case that has to contain all the loads brought on by the development of the power we are seeking to build. If you are building an engine for any serious competition, the first move should be to sonic-check a selection of blocks. This allows you to throw out any […]
Building Valve Trains to Increase Horsepower
By now, I am sure you have a good idea of both the complexity and importance of the valvetrain, as this is the third consecutive chapter dealing with it. What I intend to focus on here is the practical application of what I have so far explained. This tech tip is from the full […]