by Donnie Hurt | Mar 4, 2025 | DISASSEMBLY & CLEANING
I have a never-ending pile of cores being moved around the shop from here to there. I use threaded stud casters to roll them out of the way. These have a 3/8-16 stud, but I also have them in M10 to fit LS blocks and can be used in the bell housing side as well. And...
by Donnie Hurt | Mar 4, 2025 | GASKETS & SEALING
When deciding how much to mill an intake manifold for “fit”, I use cardboard shims. Most gaskets are .060 compressed, and if the intake fits great with, say, a .020 shim, then a .040 removal is needed. At that point, I also check the ends for fit. Machine once, wash...
by Donnie Hurt | Feb 20, 2025 | TOOLING
Time is money and it helps to know where your tooling cuts, especially when it’s some that isn’t used every day. I use note cards, the back of my business cards, or tape to write myself notes for the next time I grab that tooling. Randy Torvinen Torvinen’s Machine...
by Donnie Hurt | Feb 20, 2025 | GASKETS & SEALING
This is so simple, but effective. It’s very easy to end up wasting a large portion of a caulking gun tube or even a small tube of gasket maker by losing the cap. I use electrical wire nuts as caps. They come in a variety of sizes, and they screw on very securely. Tom...
by Donnie Hurt | Feb 20, 2025 | LUBRICATION & COOLING
This tip may be helpful for the DIY guy at home to easily remove the plastic barbell plug from an LS engine. Unscrew the oil galley plug at the driver’s rear of engine block. Insert a 90-degree pick tool inside the oil passage and pry rearward on the backside of the...
