March and April clinics will be about what it takes and what is done to rebuild one of our engines. March will be about preparation, cleaning and decision making about what we want to do with an engine. Depending on what you desire your car to be makes a big difference about what is done while re- building an engine. “stock”, improved with some of today's knowledge, touring, fast road, autocross or even full race, each requires a different process.
The “bottom end”, the block, crankshaft, pistons and rods are the basics of the engine and will be looked at for how to build in reliably. Even here there are levels of build that may represent your wishes for what type of performance you are aiming for. Anoth- er key part of the bottom end is your choice of cam- shaft with many options.
The top of the engine is the head, a critical component that is the biggest part of the performance you wish to have. This is where improvements can vary greatly depending on how much time you invest.
The terms “porting', “milling”, valves and combustion chamber changes come into play.
April clinic we plan on finishing building an engine and having one on the dynometer or what is most commonly called the dyno. This is when we can run the engine and find out what we have accomplished. On the dyno we also work with the carburation, exhaust, ignition and valve clearances. When we are done with the April clinic we will be able to have horsepower and torque readings.
The objective of these two clinics is to let each person understand what it takes to build an engine. These clinics will give you the knowledge to understand what is necessary, to be able to understand what a shop is doing for you and help if you plan to build an engine yourself.