Jasper Engines & Transmissions has named Matt Weinzapfel Vice President of Engine Manufacturing.

Matt’s duties will be to oversee the remanufacturing processes of the Gas Engine and Diesel Engine Divisions, as well as the Jasper Authentic Custom Drivetrains Division. “Matt was selected based on his recent experience as Diesel Division Manager, and his prior work as manager of JASPER’s Crawford County operations,” says Mike Schwenk, Executive Vice President of Production.

“I appreciate the opportunity to serve the JASPER family in this new role,” says Weinzapfel. “It’s an exciting time at JASPER, due to solid sales growth and our recent move to 100% Associate ownership. I look forward to working with all JASPER Associates on our journey of continuous improvement.”

Matt began his career at JASPER in May of 1994 working in Branch Auditing and Accounting for four years. After that, Weinzapfel spent five years as General Manager of JASPER’s Crawford County operations. Matt later spent three years as General Manager of Gas and Diesel Engine operations for the Jasper and Crawford facilities, two years as a member of the JASPER Production System and, most recently, has been Diesel Division Manager for the past three years.

JASPER also announced that Ryan Dooley has been named Diesel Division Manager. Ryan will oversee the day-to-day duties within the Diesel Division.

Dooley began his JASPER career in July 1997, when he was assigned to the Gas Engine Failure Analysis Department. After that, Ryan spent 11 years in Customer Service, including two years as Department Manager. Since August of 2008, Ryan’s recent position has been Manager of the Diesel Fuel Room, where he established JASPER’s Fuel Components Program in February of 2010.

Friddle: In 2005, which U.S. automaker reinstated the Power Wagon nameplate?

Check our blog next Friday for the answer and another Friddle.

Last Week’s Friddle: What British automaker moved its production facility and test track to a former (RAF) Royal Air Force base in Norfolk, England?

Last Week’s Friddle: Lotus

Friddle: What British automaker moved its production facility and test track to a former (RAF) Royal Air Force base in Norfolk, England?

Check our blog next Friday for the answer and another Friddle.

Last Week’s Friddle: What do the letters (KR) stand for in Mustang’s GT500KR model?

Last Week’s Friddle: King of the Road

The 2011 racing season is almost here. The NASCAR Driveline Division of Jasper Engines & Transmissions looks to build upon the success of the 2010 season by building transmissions and rear end differentials for some of the top teams in NASCAR.

Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano drove in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2010 with cars equipped with a JASPER 4-Speed Transmission, as did Michael Waltrip Racing drivers David Reutimann, Martin Truex, Jr. and Marcos Ambrose. Penske Racing drivers Kurt Busch, Brad Kesolowski and Sam Hornish, Jr. raced cars equipped with a JASPER Rear End Differential.

“We came up just short of winning the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Title with Denny Hamlin,” says Terry DeKemper, JASPER NASCAR Driveline Manager. “Denny finished second in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points, Kyle Busch was eighth.”

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams using JASPER NASCAR Driveline products accounted for 15 wins in 2010 with nine pole starts, 60 top five and 108 top ten finishes.

JASPER could be found in other NASCAR racing disciplines. Brad Kesolowski won the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series using a JASPER Differential. Ryan Truex won back-to-back NASCAR K & N East Division titles using a JASPER 4-Speed Transmission.

“We are leasing more transmissions this year, and have some quotes out to some other teams,” says DeKemper. “It looks like our division will be as busy, or busier, than last year.”

In 2010, JASPER incorporated a single-rail version of its 4-Speed Race Transmission. This style of gearbox allows a single external rail to rotate and move two internal forks to engage the four forward gears. This makes the transmission lighter in weight and allows for fewer external parts. “There is less chance of debris getting caught in external components,” added DeKemper. “The bottom end of the transmission is the same as in previous years, so we know that’s bulletproof.”

Over the holidays I stopped at a local jewelry store to have my wife’s wedding ring cleaned. I purchased her ring from this particular business, which happens to offer free cleaning for life. While I was there, only ten minutes, they also polished my wedding band and removed two links from a watch that I received as a gift. I asked the owner what I owned them for the additional services. He replied, “Nothing, have a Merry Christmas.” Wow, I wasn’t expecting that! Guess where I’m making my next jewelry purchase? So often we forget that return business doesn’t always stem from the initial purchase, but from the continued customer service or product support that a business offers. It also made me think about JASPER’s commitment in providing our customers with the best drivetrain products, backed by a great warranty with Associate/Owners who really care about our customer’s satisfaction in their purchase.

Friddle: What do the letters (KR) stand for in Mustang’s GT500KR model?

Check our blog next Friday for the answer and another Friddle.

Last Week’s Friddle: What was the name of the pick-up truck that started the Monster Truck phenomenon?

Last Week’s Friddle: Big Foot

Friddle: What was the name of the pick-up truck that started the Monster Truck phenomenon?

Check our blog next Friday for the answer and another Friddle.

Last Week’s Friddle: Powered by a front-mounted Countach V-12 engine, what was Lamborghini’s answer to off-road indulgence?

Last Week’s Friddle: LM002

Jasper Engines & Transmissions has implemented an operation to remanufacture Ford Modular cylinder heads with overhead cams.

An overhead cam bore alignment station has been put in place in the Gas Engine Division of the Jasper, Indiana, facility. At the heart of this station is a Milltronics 7200 CNC machine that properly centers the head for the align boring tool to machine each journal. The CNC machine takes less time to do the procedure, with improved accuracy, when compared to a manually-operated drawbar boring setup.

Currently, the station’s main focus is the Ford 4.6, 5.4 and 6.8L modular engines with aluminum overhead cam cylinder heads. The station gives JASPER the ability to remanufacture these heads that in the past would not be salvageable.

“The camshaft rides on the aluminum journal of the head, and not on an actual bearing,” says Lukas Hetterscheidt, JASPER Gas Engine Quality Control Captain. “Any dirt or debris that gets in-between the cam and the head tends to tear up the journals and the camshaft itself.”

JASPER’s Indiana Tool & Die Division has the capability to weld up the steel camshaft journals to .030 over size. Meanwhile, heads are taken to the cam bore alignment station where the journals are align bored to accept the remanufactured camshaft. “It doesn’t have to be the same cam that originally came with the head, but the journals have to match in size,” says Hetterscheidt. “So if you have a .030 cam, the journals on the head must be cut .030. In some instances the head journals are align bored .080 over, and a bearing is inserted so a stock camshaft can be used.”

“Anything that was in poor condition would, in the past, be discarded, and we would run out of core heads or core cams,” added Hetterscheidt. “Now we can save both the cam and the heads. We are always keeping our eyes open for ways to reclaim components, maintaining the highest quality standards and producing the greatest value for our customer.”

In the future, JASPER plans to utilize the cam bore alignment station on 3.7 and 4.7L Chrysler cylinder heads. Hetterscheidt added similar stations could be implemented in other JASPER facilities where overhead cam engines are remanufactured.

For more information on the remanufactured gas engines of Jasper Engines & Transmissions, please call 1-800-827-7455.