Inliners International Forums General Discussion Bench racing 12Bolt shop pic's and happenings

Not much has went on with the drag car. The shop is so busy, not much time to work on that. All my spare time is spent creating a more efficient shop.

Kinda figured that, Shops looking great!
Are you making torque plates?

Yes, I make TQ plates. Usually have 2 in stock. Shipping them out all the time.
Made in my shop.

Nice!
How much are the torque plates?

I rent them out for 75.00
Have a BHJ unit that could be sold.

BHJ unit?
What is that?

BHJ is a brand name. It is made from either steel or cast iron. Would take 400 for it. Delivered. Nice, but not as nice as my new units.

Are yours aluminum?
How much for one of yours?

Hank BHJ torque can be had in steal Or alum And a price tag of
956.25 and is a 4.060" Bore In Plate.
here is the link to theirs
https://honingplates.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=60

I seen those,
Was wondering if Tom wants to sell me one?

I have not listed my aluminum units for sale, but could. Send me a email and we can discuss it. tom@12bolt.com

Thanks Tom,

got your email.

I have missed updated for a while. A few things have happened and plenty going on.
Parts, heads and engines going out daily.
Got a New Hwacheon HL-460 lathe in April. It is 3 phase and runs perfectly on a VFD, even added a potentiometer to vary the speed. It is a Geared machine. Weight is 5200 lbs. For general use in the shop.
Also picked up a 1983 Chevy shortbox truck with a integral 250/ 4 speed. It runs bad now. Plan on documenting the problems it has, fix them and then start stepping into areas to improve the truck and engine.

Good stuff! Clean looking pickup!

A little past the beginning stages of making a new intake manifold. Made to fit the stock chassis of a ChevyII, Camaro, Chevelle and the other GM stock chassis. Maybe not a G series van. Don't have one to test fit.
The runners are longer, cross section of port is smaller to raise the velocity. Also is made to fit up with a flat edged lump like a PES lump.
Water heated. No adaptor needed as it will be a direct bolt on for the Holley carb.
The first one is a 3D printed part. And it weighs only 3 lbs. Going to coat the inside, machine it to fit the carb and bolt to head and it will get real world tested on the 65 Chevelle wagon.

Really interesting, especially the smaller runner/port size. I just happen to have a set of PES lumps.

ToM,
That intake looks nice.
Have you thought of making the ports divided?

This intake should really help boost TQ.

Beater, good for you to pack away those lumps. Who knows what else you may have stashed.

Hank, No plans on it right now. Going to be making a block into a flow test bench to test this and other intakes on a head and flow thru the cylinders. Second test will be on the engine. More people will want it as is and not a divided port. It is pretty hard to divide the ports in the head.

I'll be following this. As you know low end torque interest me for my 292 truck engine. I thought I had my intake.
Too much stuff stashed most of it legal.

Progression of forklifts at my shop. First one was over 20 years ago and was a 1990's unit ,pretty used up then. Was still a good workhorse. Second one was a rebuilt 2004 Daewoo, very dependable and did all I needed. Current one should last me a LONG time. Thanks to Curt Lowe (brother) at Onesource Handling for keeping me going.

Starting process of making new engines. These blocks will be baked in a oven 3 at a time to degrease/remove paint. Next step, head to shot blaster to shine them up. Then into the shop for crack detection before machining starts. Doing 10 blocks.

But I count 12 blocks!

Do you clean these in house Tom? If so, what is the temp you bake them at?

Yes Sir. cleaned in house. We use a Peterson bake oven, it is pretty big. It can hold 21 cylinder heads or 9 cranks or 3 blocks or any mix of the above. After that the parts go through a shotblaster to remove all dirt. The look like new. Will get another pic as that gets underway. Pics of the shop tools are on the website. https://www.12bolt.com/shop-tour.html

What temp does it take to burn off the grease & grime? Looking forward to more pictures.
When I was building my 270 many years ago there was no hot tank around and a shop's steam cleaner could not remove all of the old cooked on oil & grease. I brought it home and put the Rosebud on my torch and burned it off and wire brushed the rest. It took a long time. Now it's almost that dirty again.

Beater,
Most parts are cooked at 550 degrees for 4 hours. They look pretty dry when done. The oil and grease are just a powder at that point. It in no way harms the cast iron or steel.

Damn, A little too hot to throw the ribs in with them. Thanks Tom

Tom,
How about the rust?
Do you still have to blast or chemically treat the rusty areas?

All the parts get blasted after going thru the oven. After the blaster, they look like new castings.

Darn, I wish I was a little closer, lol. Just getting started with a 292 build and as usual, I am the last of the Mohicans around these parts with inline motors.

Before and after pics of a block after going thru the shot blaster. Also a row of blocks after crack checking and inspections. Next, pressure testing, boring and zero decking, both in the CNC , And diamond honing with a TQ plate.

Look at all those beautiful 292's!

Tom, why do you leave the main caps in when you bake?

There are a few reasons.
1. It leaves oil in the main bolt holes. Easier to clean later than baked out crusty holes.
2. We cant mix them up with other blocks

12 Block cleaned up. Machining next.

Cleaned up great! Wow!

Blocks are now going thru the CNC. Boring and decking. Crack checking is all done. Next will be honing, 2 kinds. Allign honing the mains and finishing the bores.

Great video! XLNT explanation!

Wow Tom! You have come a long way from the beginning. What a process you have developed. Keep them coming.

I can't wait to view this video. Hopefully this weekend. Anticipation...

Line honing a Chevy inline 6 block. It is a relatively easy process. With the right tools.

Really enjoyed the video. Thanks so much for posting it.

Some of today's work. Balancing of Dampers. When new parts are not good enough.