Overnight success for electrical wizard

by | Feb 5, 2015 | News | 0 comments

By Titus Bloom, January 27, 2015 Overnight success for electrical wizard – after 40 years of toil At last year’s SEMA exhibition, in early November, the Chester, Pennsylvania electrical firm Ron Francis Wiring suddenly became the authority when it won the New Street Rod Product of the Year award for the striking innovation displayed in their new Blackbox relay system. Says company head Scott Bowers, “It greatly simplifies complex wiring, particularly in systems with numerous relays.” In fact, the Black box is not just limited to Street Rods, but serves equally well all hot rods, Muscle cars, race cars and others. Used for controlling power windows, door locks, fuel and water pumps and fans, this fully programmable apparatus controls 10 individual relayed circuits and costs $299.95. Four quick tips from Ron Francis Wiring 1) Mini fuses are better than ATO-ATC blade fuses because they have silver contacts that prevent them from adhering to the similar metal used in the fuse box. Introduced in 1992, they are widely available, including your local grocery store. 2) Do not solder unless you are experienced. If the solder wicks up the wire strands further than the connector itself, the strand wire becomes solid and can break under vibration. This is why solid core wire in not used on cars. 3) Always use a crash relay. It will immobilize the electric fuel pump in a collision. Fuel injection systems, carburetors, and broken fuel lines can discharge volatile gasoline in seconds, either onto the ground or in the car. 4) Remember, the nomenclature for wire gauges runs in reverse to common logic: the bigger the...
The curse of the round wire lock

The curse of the round wire lock

by | Feb 5, 2015 | News, Pistons/Piston Pins | 4 comments

By Bertie Scott Brown, January 28, 2015   When a round wire lock, the spring-loaded device that retains the piston pin within the pin towers, comes out while the engine is racing, it releases a fanatical frenzy, a chain of events that most engine builders describe as catastrophic. It is an insecurity within the racing engine most dare not think of. Recently, however, a Californian engineer shook the establishment, when he not only cured the curse but also devised an ingeniously simple method of installing and removing them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kgdosv29Frk Karl Ramm, who has been engineering racing pistons for almost twenty years, has devised a new style of wire lock: the Kramm-Lox®. Characterized by its 90 degree tang, which resides within the existing pick lock notch, the Kramm-Lox importantly will not spin. Equally appealing, this non-rotating lock requires no modifications to the traditional piston. Furthermore, Ramm was also the inspiration behind a tool (Patent Pending) that makes them easy to install and remove. Also worth noting, the tool negates the danger of scratching the pin bore; it also removes the threat of eye injury, a comforting distinction from the notorious, flying spring-loaded locks! In addition, by keeping the wire lock stationary in the pin bore groove, Kramm-Lox avoid other self-destructive traits. If the traditional round wire lock rotates placing its gap at the top of the pin bore, particularly in high-revving long-stroke engines, the lock can distort and can pop out. The extreme jolt that occurs as the piston changes direction at the top of its stroke can momentarily change the shape of the lock. “I just started using Kramm-Lox,”...