You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. We work with the Summit Racing tech department to help you tackle your auto-related conundrums. In this week’s Mailbag, we’re calculating compression ratios and cylinder head volume on a modified 318 Chrysler small block. Q: I am planning to rebuild a Chrysler 318 engine. I want to keep the compression to around
Piston rings have a dictionary all to themselves, and it’s important to be familiar with the terms before you begin an engine build. The piston pros at Wiseco put together this short glossary of important piston ring terminology so you’re in the loop…err…ring, when it’s time to install your pistons. Piston Ring Glossary of Terms Axial
The 2018 Summit Racing Equipment Atlanta Motorama, April 28- 29, will feature plenty of top-tier show cars, restomods, hot rods, race vehicles, motorcycles, and cruisers. …along with the rusting hulk of a 1972 Ford Condor II RV—Cousin Eddie’s “tenement on wheels” movie car from the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation movie. This is the actual RV
While it may be easy to see why a manual-transmission vehicle needs a clutch, understanding exactly how it works is something else entirely. But the gang at Learn Engineering is wicked-smart, and they put together a cool video that will help take the mystery out of how a clutch’s various components work in harmony to
The Ford engine family tree has a lot of branches. You’ve got the venerable Windsor small block, plus the 385-series and FE-series big block branches, along with a trio of 351 engines—the 351 Windsor, Cleveland, and Modified. We’re now into the overhead-cam Modular motors, which advanced the Ford V8 into the 21st century. So, we thought
By now you’ve probably seen the awesome ’57 Chevy custom that took home this year’s Ridler award, as well as the rest of the 2018 Great 8 Ridler finalists, but as is always the case at the Detroit Autorama, there were gobs of amazing hot rods and customs that just missed the cut. Here’s a
You hop in, turn the key, and your starter just cranks and cranks. Your engine won’t start. While the cause could be a range of issues related to fuel, compression, or spark, the fuel pump is often a likely culprit. But, before you go spending your hard-earned money on a new fuel pump, the pros
You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers. We work with the Summit Racing tech department to tackle your automotive-related conundrums. This week, we’re exploring why a 427 c.i.d. big block Chevy street rod engine would stop increasing power once it hits 4,000 rpm. Q: I recently built a 427-cubic-inch big block Chevy for my 1937 street rod
The 2018 Ridler Award contenders are down to eight—the Great 8, as they’re called. The Ridler Award is given to annually to a vehicle deemed to be the best overall custom build that is making its show-car debut at the Detroit Autorama, which kicks off today at the Cobo Center in Detroit, MI. The following
Mechanically similar, General Motors’ LS and LS-based Vortec engines wound up on almost every branch of the GM family tree: Chevy, Pontiac, GMC, Cadillac, Buick—heck, even Saab, Hummer, and Isuzu got some LS love. Since LS and Vortec engines are so common, they’ve become the go-to performance and swap engines of the modern era. These motors are
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