SET IT AND FORGET IT Inexpensive set screw sets are very handy to have around the shop. They work great as oil restrictors. They can also be used as oil galley plugs in small import and late model cylinder heads if you need to remove steel oil galley balls for...
CAM BEARING INSTALLATION Nothing worse than having to fit a camshaft after installing new cam bearings, because they are too tight. I dial-bore gauge check all cam bores of the “known offenders”. I also use a Sunnen Jr. Hone to hone cam bores to the correct size...
CRANK STROKE CHECK I have a quick and easy way to check or measure the stroke of a crankshaft. I put the crank on some V-blocks on the vertical mill table. I chuck up a BB Chev fuel pump pushrod or any similar round stock in a drill chuck. Position the rod throw...
IT’S ALL BALL BEARINGS THESE DAYS When checking volume on large chambers or ports, I fill them with precision steel ball bearings. It requires less time to fill and less fluid. Simply calculate the volume of the ball you’re using and multiply by the number added. Add...
ROD AND CAP CUTTING DONE RIGHT When cutting the parting faces on rods and caps for resizing, make sure the bearing locating tang is facing the same way for both on the cap grinder. This way, if the parting surface is not perfectly 90° from the side, cutting the cap...
NUT CLAMP When you need to shorten or chamfer a bolt, it can be difficult to mount it in a lathe Chuck without boogering up the threads. An easy solution to this problem is to take a nut of the same size and pitch as your bolt and make a slot in it with a hacksaw or...