Mass-produced vehicles, like most airplanes and cars, are engineered as a compromise between strength, weight, and ease of manufacturing. If strength were the only concern, airplanes would barely fly ...

The first Iron Age flickered out a millennium or two ago, but its automotive equivalent is still going strong. Well, if not strong, it's at least still going. Dodge, Ram, and other automakers still ...

Hot rodders played with blocks as kids, and still play with them as adults. This vast level of experience notwithstanding, enthusiasts often insist on monkeying around with production blocks. They ...

Auto engine designers are turning to a long neglected version of iron that can handle the much higher internal pressures of modern diesel engines. Compacted graphite iron has a molecular structure ...

Upgrading an existing cast-iron block-based engine to an aluminum engine block is a great way to reduce the weight on the front area of a vehicle. It makes it easier for the vehicle to accelerate, ...

The General Motors small-block Gen III LS1 V-8 has been around since 1997, but many enthusiasts are still learning about its great features. Because of that, whether you are working on a Gen III V-8 ...