Some misc. pics at AMS, from last week:
Test driving a military H1. Our shop stays very busy, often booked weeks in advance. at the end of each day, we pre-stage the next day's jobs. 2 sets of Harley heads in process. And a couple of Honda blocks & a Nissan block, ready to be, decked, bored & honed. 🙂
Last week we lightened an outboard motorboat's flywheel...our bass fishin' customer wants to get across the lake faster :-)🏁
Another project from last week: Repairing a Harley Twin Cam engine case. The inner cam bearings failed, and severely wallowed out the bores in the case that support the bearings. Rather than scrap the expensive engine case we restored the bores to like new condition.
Couple pics of a Harley EVO engine we built last week. Click the pic for details. :-)
more pics of last week's shop projects: building a little 496 cubic inch big block Chevy. click pics for details.
a few pics of shop activity during the past week. Repaired broken drive hub bolts on a custom APC chopper wheel with 300-series rear tire & salvaged the pulley. Click on a pic for details :-)
Short video showing how we round over the ends of ejector plates for leather cutting dies. Kids: do not try this at home. It is as dangerous as it looks, and should only be done by and experience skilled machinist. :-)
another project from last week: making leather cutting die ejector plates for Louis Vuitton factory. The dies cut out little leather fobs for Zippers on ladies' purses. As the die withdraws, pins push these plates inward, to eject the little leather fobs from the die. The threaded posts are M3 diameter x 4mm length. We machined 6 of the plates from one piece of steel, then sawed them apart, and finished milling to size/shape.
one of last week's projects: Modifying a flywheel for an airboat. Click pics for details :-)
A few project from last week: Modifying Harley Valves; Pressure Testing a Cyl Head; Boring a BMW Block; Grinding Ford Valves, Balancing a BMW Crank; Replacing Valve Seats, and Rebuilding a Subaru ...click pics for more details. :-)
Good friend of ours send us this reminder:
"Won't be long before it's time to turn the battery around in your car or truck - so the air conditioner will turn off and the heater will come on." Thanks, Reed, don't know what we'd do with out ya. :-)
In addition to the billet twin carb '84 - '85 Honda Xl350 intakes, we recently made a prototype aluminum billet intake manifold for 1985 Honda XR350R with single carb. These are available by special order. Click pics for more detail.
A couple of weeks ago, we shared a few pics of a a Harley wheel we repaired - words gets around :-) Here's another custom Harley we we repaired last week. The 5 bolts holding the sprocket to the hub wallowed / stripped their threads. We drilled, re-threaded the holes, and installed stainless steel STI inserts.
Back on August 22, we posted a few pics of a highly modified GM LS3 engine, with functional exhaust header pipes made to resemble a V-12 P51 Mustang engine. This is a video of the engine, running, with a test prop. Note; the engine was modified for a dry-sump oiling system and will actually run inverted when installed in the craft. Video courtesy of AutoPSRU. Thanks for the feedback, Stuart!
Yes, we sometimes make "house-calls"...or in this case, a "barn yard" call. 🙂 Click the pic for more info on our extra customer service call.
One of our customers sent us this pic of an engine we recently reworked, after he installed it as part of his fantastic Land Cruiser restoration/upgrade project. Thanks, Jason - we love getting feedback from our customers.🙂
A few of last weeks projects: Prepping an early 70's Harley-Davidson Shovelhead cylinder head for rebuilding; Receiving a
couple of pallets of Diesel cyl heads for rebuilding; Pressure testing
Diesel heads; Removing worn valve seats from a cyl head; Clearancing a Chevy block for a 383 Stroker Motor; Testing a new Torque-to-Yield app. Click on the pics for more details. :-)
We machined four race car wheel spindles back in July, a few months ago, from billet 4140 steel alloy. (link to that post: https://www.facebook.com/AMS.machine/photos/pcb.3058398594245372/3058363697582195/?__cft__[0]=AZWIVChptJN6eGzQGqSV-36zK_29KNhT0xOoD4Xk6kptYYlDIYwJfAOcv3ql1Aon9lZM8bctoQCR33IFa1nHosMJPOwZHZwz7L-nGOX9wVjU6ITlsVUUb2JrU7xVWV7PaR3UoOE5WKN2ithypGjnk3Pr&__tn__=*bH-R )
Once back from being heat treated, we used our crankshaft grinder to precisely grind the critical bearing and radius areas to final size.
Our retired CEO called Family Toyota of Burleson and Fort Worth Toyota to ask for a ballpark estimate to replace a thermostat. Bottom line: Fort Worth Toyota did everything RIGHT. Family Toyota of Burleson did everything wrong.
For our Harley customers: S&S has their new improved timing chain tensioner available for the M8 engine. AMS / Automotive Machine is an S&S distributor.
https://fb.watch/1yXDGMa9Uk/
S&S Cycle, Inc. posted a video to playlist Product Spotlights.
November 2 at 11:01 AM ·
In this video we tell you about our now available cam chain tensioner for Milwaukee-Eight® models as well as how to install it.
Customer Feedback: Pics of Honda XR350 intake manifold installed on motorcycle.
we recently made a billet intake manifold for a customer's 350cc Honda motorcycle. The original intakes are bonded rubber, which crack & split; replacements are no longer available from Honda. Our aluminum manifolds come in single and dual carb versions.
a couple of last weeks projects: made 2 stepped spacers for a large concrete drilling machine. And working on some transmission parts for Toyota Race Car ... click the pics for more details.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Eric is gapping new piston rings... one of many necessary "details" of engine building, that if not done correctly can damage a newly built engine PDQ.
one of last week's shop projects:
Finished making transmission synchro hubs for Toyota race car.
Click on the pics for more detail.
We wish all of our customers, friends, employees and families a very Merry Christmas, and all the best in the New Year!
Beni, assembling a Chevy Cruze cylinder head after he did the valve job and surfaced the deck.
Steven and Eric managed to wrap up the machine work and assembly of another Cummins Diesel engine
We recently did some restoration machine work on the engine of this 1947 Buick. Our customer drove it by the shop. One of the interesting bits we did was restoring the front crank balancing pully. Click the pic for details. :-)
Just like a keeping a car in tip-top condition, routine maintenance on machinery is a must if accurate work is to be performed. All of our equipment routinely receives hourly-based minor and major maintenance. In this video, we are checking the Total Indicated Run-out (TIR) for the spindle and a specific collet on one of our older Bench mills. The dial indicated 0.0009" - just under 0.001, which is less than 1/2 the thickness of a human hair. However, that's still too much. So we replaced the worn collet, and re-adjusted the spindle bearings to get the TIR back in within spec (0.0002"). Consider it a typical "tune-up" on well-made machine.
What else would y'all expect in 2020???
....with yours & our tax money too!
Seth Cline
December 16, 2020 at 6:26 PM ·
Eric took his Harley side-car rig out for a Sunday ride...after he mowed his lawn. 😎
We still stock & wholesale quite a lot of air-cooled VW parts. This order, consisting of several camshafts, new cylinder heads, a couple of crankshafts, and bearing sets, is ready for a local auto parts store to pick up.
One of last week's jobs: Machining and assembling a 402 Big Block Chevy engine.
Saturday is usually spent accepting & logging in new jobs. This Sat was a busy one - we filled the entire center aisle with jobs that will keep us busy for a good while :-) During the 58 years we've been in business, we've never had a "slow" time. Thanks to all the folks who give us the opportunity to serve, we've always had plenty of work in the shop.
Eric's bought us a new air hammer😜
One of this weeks jobs: Restoring a 1948 GMC 6-cylinder. We bored the block and pressed in new sleeves. In the following picas, we're preparing to surface the top of the block's deck, so the new sleeves and gasket deck will be flat / smooth, parallel with the crank main bearing bores, and have the correct surface finish so the head gasket will seal perfectly. Click the pics for more details.
Beni, using a light to check initial valve to seat accuracy. Looking down the "dark" port, while shining a bright light around the edge of the valve, will quickly detect even the smallest eccentricity between the valve and seat. On small engine's cylinder heads, which use tiny valve stem diameters, such as this Yamaha YZ250, it is very important to have the valve and seat concentric. For a final QC check, we also pull a vacuum on the port, to make sure the valve and seat seal perfectly.
A little weekend humor:
What do Germans call a dead car battery?
A “Nein” volt.
A customer's Harley engine over-rev'd, causing an intake valve to "kiss" the exhaust valve, bend, and break off in one of the custom ported cylinder heads. The broken valve caused quite a bit of damage. However, because the cost to replace the customized head was quite high, he asked us to "save" the head. We TIG welded the head, replaced the valve seat, guides and valves, and then re-machined and CC'd the chamber to match the undamaged head. Click on the pics for more details.
Another little project at the R&D shop: converting Chevy camshaft/distributor gear for use in hydraulic pump's gear drive.
Yesterday's project at our 2nd, R&D machine location: Manufacturing tooling for the Louis Vuitton factory. This tooling is used to make LV handbags and leather products. https://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/women/handbags/iconic-monogram-bags/_/N-1b916w8
Mitsch, loading a CAT 3116 block into our surfacing machine. Back in the "old days" surfacing machines either a tool steel or carbide cutting inserts. As head gasket technology improved, it became necessary to have a finer surface on blocks and cylinder heads; so we use a cubic-boron-nitrite cutting insert for a superior finish on cast iron blocks / heads; and a poly-crystalline-diamond insert for aluminum heads / blocks.
When Mitsch was a young boy, he liked to play with blocks .... he still does. 🙂
Meanwhile, back at the shop, Beni has been busier than a blind dog in a meat market ... doing valve valve jobs on diesel & motorcycles cycle cylinder heads .. good thing he's ambidextrous 🤓
What to do with old tires?
Check this out:
https://twitter.com/gangwolf360/status/1277664778337517572
TWITTER.COM
Olaloye Bunmi on Twitter
Not much happened here at the shop last week - with the deep freeze, over-stressed local electric power grid, and resulting water shortages, we volunteered to shut-down several days. An engine rebuilding machine shop consumes a lot of power and water... we felt it better to leave our share of those resources available for our neighbors and community. Monday, we should be back and ready to rock again :-)
Making chips and holes in 17-4 H1025 heat treated / hardened stainless steel gear box output shafts.
In 1964-65, the Meyers Manx created a huge market for us at AMS ...their popularity helped us sell a gazillion VW engines and parts for dune buggies. In the mid to late 60's we set up welding jig tables to cut, shorten and reweld the floor pans on a mini-production line. We also had a production line set up to cut and widened the front axle beams ~2" for better stability. RIP Bruce Meyers. https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1131358_bruce-meyers-creator-of-the-original-dune-buggy-dies-at-94
MOTORAUTHORITY.COM
Bruce Meyers, creator of the original dune buggy, dies at 94
A couple of last week's projects: we manufactured more tooling for Louis Vuitton. The tooling is used to produce LV luxury designer leather handbags, purses, luggage, etc. Click the pics for more details :-)
In 1964-65, the Meyers Manx created a huge market for us at AMS ...their popularity helped us sell a gazillion VW engines and parts for dune buggies. In the mid to late 60's we set up welding jig tables to cut, shorten and reweld the floor pans on a mini-production line. We also had a production line set up to cut and widened the front axle beams ~2" for better stability. RIP Bruce Meyers. https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1131358_bruce-meyers-creator-of-the-original-dune-buggy-dies-at-94
MOTORAUTHORITY.COM
Bruce Meyers, creator of the original dune buggy, dies at 94
A couple of last week's projects: we manufactured more tooling for Louis Vuitton. The tooling is used to produce LV luxury designer leather handbags, purses, luggage, etc. Click the pics for more details :-)
In 1964-65, the Meyers Manx created a huge market for us at AMS ...their popularity helped us sell a gazillion VW engines and parts for dune buggies. In the mid to late 60's we set up welding jig tables to cut, shorten and reweld the floor pans on a mini-production line. We also had a production line set up to cut and widened the front axle beams ~2" for better stability. RIP Bruce Meyers. https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1131358_bruce-meyers-creator-of-the-original-dune-buggy-dies-at-94
MOTORAUTHORITY.COM
Bruce Meyers, creator of the original dune buggy, dies at 94
Happy St Patrick's day! 🍀 :-)
Jeff GrinnellGreater Humor Club
March 15 at 4:58 PM ·
A few more machine shop projects from last week: VW Bug case, BMW block, a variety of incoming jobs, more, engine disassembly, motorcycle valve job, grinding a dual mass flywheel, TIG welding & porting Harley heads, boring Harley jugs, new shop dogs, cleaning Porsche 911 heads, a little after work fun ...click the pics for more details :-)
Machining Delrin steering rack bushings for Porsche cars.
A couple of last week's projects: we manufactured more tooling for Louis Vuitton. The tooling is used to produce LV luxury designer leather handbags, purses, luggage, etc. Click the pics for more details :-)
In 1964-65, the Meyers Manx created a huge market for us at AMS ...their popularity helped us sell a gazillion VW engines and parts for dune buggies. In the mid to late 60's we set up welding jig tables to cut, shorten and reweld the floor pans on a mini-production line. We also had a production line set up to cut and widened the front axle beams ~2" for better stability. RIP Bruce Meyers. https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1131358_bruce-meyers-creator-of-the-original-dune-buggy-dies-at-94
MOTORAUTHORITY.COM
Bruce Meyers, creator of the original dune buggy, dies at 94
Happy St Patrick's day! 🍀 :-)
Jeff GrinnellGreater Humor Club
March 15 at 4:58 PM ·
A few more machine shop projects from last week: VW Bug case, BMW block, a variety of incoming jobs, more, engine disassembly, motorcycle valve job, grinding a dual mass flywheel, TIG welding & porting Harley heads, boring Harley jugs, new shop dogs, cleaning Porsche 911 heads, a little after work fun ...click the pics for more details :-)
Machining Delrin steering rack bushings for Porsche cars.
A couple of last week's projects: we manufactured more tooling for Louis Vuitton. The tooling is used to produce LV luxury designer leather handbags, purses, luggage, etc. Click the pics for more details :-)
In 1964-65, the Meyers Manx created a huge market for us at AMS ...their popularity helped us sell a gazillion VW engines and parts for dune buggies. In the mid to late 60's we set up welding jig tables to cut, shorten and reweld the floor pans on a mini-production line. We also had a production line set up to cut and widened the front axle beams ~2" for better stability. RIP Bruce Meyers. https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1131358_bruce-meyers-creator-of-the-original-dune-buggy-dies-at-94
MOTORAUTHORITY.COM
Bruce Meyers, creator of the original dune buggy, dies at 94
