Posted By
Ashley
Smissen
,
January 9, 2012
Several industry manufacturers have announced the release of their new 2012 catalogs.
Eddie Motorsports has introduced a new full-color catalog of custom billet parts for street rods and muscle cars. The catalog includes parts such as hood and trunk hinges, serpentine pulley kits, valve covers and air cleaners, all of which are available in raw machined or highly polished finishes, in addition to a variety of Fusioncoated colors. To order a catalog, visit www.eddiemotorsports.com.
Design Engineering Inc. (DEI) has also released its new 2012 catalog, which contains product information for all six of the company’s brands: DEI, Radiator Relief, SPA Turbo USA, Boom Mat, Ny-Trex and CryO2. The 56-page catalog features many new products and provides complete ordering information including part numbers, product descriptions, sizes and color options.
Products featured in the DEI catalog include exhaust wrap, ignition wire protection products, line and hose protection products, heat and sound barriers, lighting, safety products, cryogenic intake systems, nitrous products and thermal acoustic control products. The products are arranged into color-coded categories for quick reference. To order a catalog, visit www.designengineering.com.
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Posted By
Ashley
Smissen
,
January 9, 2012
Accelerated Racing Products has announced the release of its new billet centrifugal supercharger. The supercharger is designed to boost performance while blending in with a vehicle’s custom look, said the company.
The supercharger’s housing and cover are machined from 6061 aluminum and are available in natural, micro-polished or black anodized finishes.
Internally, the new supercharger features a high-flow billet impeller that’s capable of supporting over 500 horsepower while still producing a low rpm boost for improved drivability, said the company.
A proprietary ceramic bearing system is used to increase the product’s durability and service life. All of the supercharger’s components are specially coated for temperature and wear control.
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Posted By
Ashley
Smissen
,
January 5, 2012
Livorsi Automotive has released a new billet hub adapter kit designed to allow the user to quickly and easily remove a wheel and hub assembly. The quick-release hub also doubles as a theft deterrent, as it allows the driver to take the car’s steering wheel off, rendering the vehicle inoperable, the company said.
The versatile hub will fit steering wheels with a three- or six-bolt pattern and will bolt to any Livorsi steering wheel offering, including the Isotta and Momo models, as well as steering wheels from many other brands.
The kit includes a billet aluminum hub, a 3/4-inch stainless steel shaft that will weld onto the steering column, 10-32 thread pitch hardware and an aluminum polished finish.
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Posted By
Mike
Mavrigian
,
January 4, 2012
1 comment
Converting a steering system from a recirculating gearbox and multi-link system to a rack-and-pinion system clearly offers distinct benefits
The rack system simplifies the setup in terms of undercarriage real estate, and offers much more precise steering input and control. In this article, I’ll go over the critical elements that you should consider when selecting a system so that you can avoid the potential pitfalls that can be faced when upgrading a vintage steering system or when starting from scratch during a ground-up street rod build. In other words, there’s much more to consider than merely grabbing a rack and attaching it to the chassis.
What is Bumpsteer?
Bumpsteer refers to unwanted changes in toe angles during suspension travel that can cause steering to be darty and indecisive. In a nutshell, this occurs when toe angles change during suspension compression and rebound. This causes the vehicle to “steer itself” due to road conditions.
Bear in mind that a certain amount of bumpsteer is often intentionally built into road race or circle track cars in order to tune the chassis for specific tracks. However, for a street application, we need to eliminate/neutralize the bumpsteer effect as much as possible.
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Posted By
Ashley
Smissen
,
January 4, 2012
Trick Tools has announced that metal shaping expert Ron Covell will host two metal shaping seminars at its Pella, Iowa, facility in late February. The two “Extreme Metal Shaping” seminars will be held on Saturday, February 25 and Sunday, February 26. Attendees have the option to attend both seminars, or only one.
For both workshops, Covell will be building a piece that is similar to a 1936 Ford rear fender, as well as a flush-fitting fender skirt.
During the Saturday class, Covell will demonstrate how to cut out and shape each piece and will start to weld the panels together. The Sunday class will cover the rest of the welding process, as well as how to smooth the fender. He will also demonstrate how to do edge work and build the flush-fit skirt for the fender.
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Posted By
Ashley
Smissen
,
January 4, 2012
The deadline to reserve your hotel room for the 2012 Hotrod & Restoration Trade Show at a discounted rate is quickly approaching. Several hotels that are close to the Lucas Oil Stadium will offer lower rates to show attendees until Feb. 22.
The hotels that are offering discounted rates are the Staybridge Suites, Omni Hotels Severin, Canterbury Hotel, Crowne Plaza and Homewood Suites. To see a map of the hotels in proximity to the Lucas Oil Stadium, click here.
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Posted By
Devlin
Smith
,
January 4, 2012
The SEMA Action Network (SAN) recently released its list of the best and worst automotive bills proposed by state legislatures in 2011. Not all of these laws were passed and those that weren’t could be reintroduced in future sessions, according to SAN.
The 10 best bills, according to SAN, were:
1. Washington S.B. 5586: Prohibits cities or towns from restricting inoperable vehicles, including parts cars, stored on private property if screened from public view. Bill wasn’t enacted into law.
2. New York A.B. 2080/S.B. 3213: Creates a $100 one-time fee that would replace the current annual fee of $28.75 for the registration of historical motor vehicles. Bill wasn’t enacted into law.
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Posted By
Devlin
Smith
,
January 4, 2012
If you go into business with someone, it’s important to have a partnership in place to address any potential issues or conflicts, according to Jeff Haden, who covered the topic in a recent CBS MoneyWatch article. He advised partnership agreements should cover five different scenarios in order to protect both partners.
One of you wants out. “Whether you agree to use liquidation value, book value, or the income, asset, or market approaches, stipulate in your partnership agreement how the business will be valued and whether a third party will conduct the valuation,” Haden wrote. “Then the breakup will be a lot cleaner and less emotional.”
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Posted By
Devlin
Smith
,
January 3, 2012
You’ve decided to start a blog to promote your shop, connect with customers and drive more traffic to your website. What are you going to write about? Finding the actual topics to cover can be the most-difficult aspect of running a blog, according to Lisa Barone, cofounder and chief branding officer at SEO consulting firm Outspoken Media Inc., who offered several suggestions on where you can get blog post ideas in a recent Small Business Trends article.
Overhear Your Customers’ Conversations. “For small business owners who find themselves face-to-face with their customers every day, congratulations! You have the opportunity to eavesdrop on your customers and hear first-hand their daily struggles, what they wish they knew, and what gets them really excited,” Barone wrote. “And when you do overhear these conversations, you can address them both in your business and on your blog. Because if there’s one person who’s vocal about his fear of installing your product, you can bet there are more who aren’t being vocal. So why not write a tutorial series walking people through the process? Or create a video that shows people how to do it?”
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Posted By
Ashley
Smissen
,
January 3, 2012
RetroRack is a new power rack-and-pinion assembly from AOI that’s designed for universal fitment in any application. It features a CNC-machined 6061 billet aluminum housing and provides 8 inches of rack travel.
The steering rack is fully adjustable for LHD, RHD, front-steer and rear-steer fitment. The valve housing, pinion tower, center drag link and mounting brackets all rotate 360 degrees to overcome interference or mounting issues, said the company.
RetroRack is finished in full polish, nickel plate or black anodize, and can be adapted to any type of custom car, off-road vehicle or racing application, according to AOI.
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