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Old 09-22-2022, 02:30 PM
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Default KNOWLEDGE

This is some of the knowledge I picked up in 39 years in my job.


Secrets from 39 Years of Engine Experience

1. Study Sir Harry Ricardo's work, The High Speed Internal Combustion Engine (multiple editions) and you will find it's unlikely you will do anything that's new, and if you don't read it you will probably do everything wrong. It's that "OLD PHYSICS" deal

2. Study Charles Fayette Taylor's two volume The Internal Combustion Engine in Theory and Practice (M.I.T. Press) and realize then, for a second time, you don't know what you are doing.

3. Read anything that Smokey Yunick wrote...Then try to figure out what he DID NOT WRITE about engines in his book … Smokey Yunick died from complications related to Lukemia … He left a three volume set of books.. Read Them

4. When Honda spends $500,000,000.00 on a F1 racing engine try to pay attention to what they do. Don't ask them, they won't tell you anyway.

5. Most experts aren't, including me. I learn every day.

6. Research is the difference between speculation and investment.*Mr. Ford, Bunkie Knudson, and others in GM, Ford, and Chrysler didn't pay for Assumptions

7. Just because someone goes fast doesn't mean you should do whatever YOU "think" they did. There is a REASON why they are "fast" This path assumes you actually knew what they were doing, which isn't necessarily the case. Take this path and You will be guaranteed second place or worse.

8. Test, Test, Test.

9. A engine never makes too much power.*

10. Problem Solving, I really didn't care "Who Shot Peter". I only cared about what I had to do to fix the problem.

TV

(This applies to ALL forms of work.)

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Old 09-22-2022, 03:12 PM
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I HAVE read Smokey Yunicks books.

Once you start reading it, you can't put it down.

If you cut out the bad language and orgies, his life and accomplishments are incredible. AND his book doesn't tell one ALL the things he got patents on. He never tells us how he exactly spent the wad of cash he brought back from the war in the tea tin, or specifically who gave him that cash......

He sometimes comes off as an ass, but I believe EVERY word in his book. It's too incredible to make up!!! Having soon far made it a little over 63 years, I've had similar experiences. My only similarities have to do with similar experiences dealing with people. Not anything genius like his had.

I wish I could have been a teenager, sweeping the floor in his shop back then, learning all the GOOD things he and Ralph Johnson were doing back in the day.

Thanks Tom
Jeff.

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Old 09-22-2022, 04:02 PM
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Here's a couple of my own:

1. No pilot ever said "this plane has too much HP."

2. (1/4 mile) racing with engines designed for station wagons, or trucks at best, is a waste of money, so start with a proper engine like an Offenhauser or a cosworth.

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Old 09-22-2022, 05:54 PM
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Thank You Gentlemen.

Tom V.

In which book is the orgies in?

Should have bought the 3 volume set when they came out but....................

Tom V.

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Old 09-22-2022, 10:23 PM
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Tom,
I read the consolidated version. Not sure.

The book I read was my close friend Richard Allen's (no one here will know him, but the guy that was putting together the list of Legendary Pontiac racers, included him on that list because of my description of Richard).

Richard would get a kick out of that. I hope to talk to his widow soon. I'm still a little out of the groove from my nearly fatal July auto accident. (Again thanks for all your concerns and prayers for me!!!)

I believe his brother has that book. I am going to see if Richard's widow will allow me access to it again.

Is that book still available for sale? Last I heard his daughter was still selling them. His daughter had been working for the fastener folks. ARP.

If somehow, someone could find out, we might be able to generate some sales here on PY. I would buy at least one copy!!!
Jeff

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Old 09-22-2022, 10:59 PM
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I don't know about wisdom but looking from the retired side of the engineering divide, I agree the jobs were often humbling. The older I got, the more I was expected to know. In reality, I got a lot better at asking for help and leveraging the work of others.

Fortunately, I worked in many "data-driven" organizations that valued measurements and test results more than opinions and management edicts. This sounds a lot like your number 8.

And following your 10, a big lesson (I forgot and re-learned over and over) was to define the problem before you try to solve it.

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Old 09-23-2022, 08:53 AM
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When you read Smokey's work, decades after he was relevant, do you look at his actual theory or do you focus on his processes?

Ive seen more than one smart person in the modern industry that have said Smokey was 50% brilliance and 50% complete quackery. Which while maybe not strictly speaking false, is not really a fair assessment. Of course in 2022 with decades more research and access to more modern testing methods we know more than we did then. Which is course will lead to some older theories being proved false. But when you are on the ragged edge of technology at any time you are going to plant some flags in the ground that wont stand the test of time. Which is what I think the case was with Smokey. But still his process and priorities I think would still hold firm even today.

When I read the books I had two major takeaways. One, while the material was outstanding, the books themselves are flat out bad from a writing standpoint. There is a reason when most people release a book, they have a real author write it. Smokey didnt do that. IIRC he dictated while his wife wrote down what he said. It makes for a unique reading experience. He can be kinda jumpy and all over the place, sometimes has a hard time staying on topic. You are essentially reading a man ramble about his life. Which can be and is interesting in this case. The best sections of the books are his short blurbs about individuals. Where he just picks someone like Mickey Thompson and writes a couple pages about that specific person.

The second was his personality was not what I expected. I think many of us may conjure an image of a person who was big into NASCAR post war. He didnt really fit that mold. He was very critical about racing bodies for their lack of safety. He cared as much about the safety of the drivers as he did going fast. He was also a very soft hearted animal lover.


On a personal note with work experience, I would add "Learn how to handle management that doesnt really understand what you do." I work in military engineering so most of what you wrote I do on a daily basis. But our management does not always come from scientific circles. I think my current section lead came from the HR diversity team. Im sure her resume looks good, but she doesnt know the difference between a flathead and a phillips from a technical standpoint. But still, when we have something going on a boss often feels the need to give some sort of "guidance" on testing or repair that they know nothing about. Moral of the story is that there is a gentle art to leading a supervisor over to your way of thinking whilst letting them think that it was their idea.

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Last edited by RocktimusPryme; 09-23-2022 at 09:00 AM.
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Old 09-23-2022, 01:47 PM
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...buddy of mine spoke with Smokey, and might have visited his garage too, but not sure. Gotta re-ask what they talked about.

As for aerospace engineering, i too have worked under technically-stout MGMT, but that ended abruptly across 1995-1996.
Been working for "project managers" since (in IPTs ya know) and you know the results (cost, schedule, performance, reliability) may differ badly, and never better than when technically-stout MGMT was on watch.

Sucks to be the technically stubborn person in the room, so i have learned to provide the good guidance once or twice in a level tone, then if not followed I slide off the project/program to work a more successful pursuit. There have been UNNECESSARY collassal program failures due to Project MGRs not following engineer guidance.


Here's an example (((((( that does not involve me whatsoever but hey )))))) how did this design get through FORD MGMT ?!: the BIO "Belt-in-oil" Ecoboost 1.5l and 1.6l engines with wet timing belts.

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