TACHOMETER PUBLISHING LLC
ENGLWEOOD, FLORIDA

Twenty-three days before Ken's second birthday Chevrolet finished building the first experimental Project Opel Sports Car EX-52 and it was test driven by Maurice Olley who released it to Harley J. Earl for GM Styling's transformation into the 1953 GM Motorama Corvette. Harley Earl purchased the first 1953 Production Corvette E53F 001003 just after Ken's third birthday in December 1953. The Chevrolet Engineering Product Engineering Test Laboratory was at least a once a week favorite “Hot Spot” for Ken where dynamometer operator Reed Johnson always had the as was the Company Car Garage stop for a coffee. In 1969 three additional ZL-1 engine “Hot Spots” came on line; the Aluminum Cylinder & Case machining area where the Sundstrand 5-AxisN/C Omni-mil Machining Center was located and the adjacent “cryogenic” iron bore liner insertion area. The third new “Hot Spot” was the temperature and humidity controlled “ZL-1 White Room” were just a few senior engine builders each hand assembled one ZL-1 engine at a time in personalized work stations.          General Motors CPC Engineering re-designed the Mark IV as the new Mark “V” engine for 1990. The redesign brought the Mark “V” up to date with new casting and machining technologies and new product features to improve; quality, reliability, durability and U.S. government mandated fuel economy and emissions regulations.  The Mark “V” engine launch set new quality standards at Tonawanda, CPC and GM and it was well received by the automotive press, Chevrolet and GMC vehicle purchasers and the aftermarket marine and industrial customers. In 1991 Kayser was named Tonawanda’s Mark “V” Business Unit Manager overseeing the entire product and process from material acquisition through manufacturing to the customer base. Chip Miller, the co-owner of Carlisle Productions called Kayser and invited Tonawanda’s Mark “V” engine debut to Corvettes at Carlisle in 1991. Kayser and two very senior Mark “V” Engine Assembly line utility technician’s set-up the CPC Tonawanda display in Carlisle’s T-Building. Kayser launched the immensely popular Mark “V” 502 CID engine line-up in 1992. Cadillac Motor Division’s Special Product Engineering called Kayser in late 1992 after they designed and built the first U.S. Presidential Limousine Fleet since the Eisenhower administration. Cadillac’s Presidential Limousines could not pass the U.S. Secret Service’s (US-SS) acceptance requirements with the standard 454 CID Tonawanda engine as purchased from the GM Parts Division. In 1994 Kayser transferred to the newly formed GM Powertrain Headquarters in Pontiac, MI where he was a seasoned engine manufacturing and engineering veteran; responsible for the Cadillac Northstar V-8 engine and transmission and a consultant for all other GM engines. In May 1995 just three months before 1996 V-8 engine SORP, Ken was reassigned by GM Powertrain Director Gary Norton to Flint V-8 Engine Plant. As Flint V-8’s Plant Manager I understood why Ken was reluctant to join a facility scheduled for closure with no chance of redemption but I needed his talent and expertise! I told Ken the Master Mechanic job was his if he would accept it. The Flint V-8 plant had produced 45 million V-8 engines over the first 45 years of life well past the equipment’s expected life cycle. Fortunately for me Ken said he’d rather be where he could contribute the most good for GM and got right down to the business of helping resurrect the Flint V-8 Engine plants manufacturing and engineering viability through the end of 1999. Ken immediately engaged Mark Damico at CPC’s Small Block Engineering Group at Pontiac headquarters to process and expedite paperwork necessary to document Kayser’s re-engineering of the 1996 Flint V-8 engine to meet the U.S. government’s new 1996 stringent fuel economy and emissions regulations. It was no small task for an engine designed in 1952 with equipment purchased in 1953 and placed in production in July 1954 to meet the new On-board Diagnostics a.k.a. as OBD-II. tolerance and the new 1996 pistons “low tension” ring package required the net cylindrical geometry specification be cut in-half to meet the emissions certification.  I asked Ken one question; Ken’s design was considered impossible by all worldwide engine manufacturers and equipment suppliers at the time but Ken’s reputation was good enough for me.  When the new tooling arrived, myself and Ken met with all three shifts of our Flint V-8 skilled tradesmen that would have to make it work on the plant machine floor and to a person they all understood the dire consequences if it did not work. GM would be short about 3,000-4,000 1996 V-8 engines per day with no other options available  Our skilled tradesmen all vowed to work together and rally behind the change-over to Kayser’s cylinder bore honing tools and they nailed it on their first attempt! We ran one-hundred V-8 Cylinder Cases and when measured with brand new electronic state of the art gauging; ninety-eight were perfect and the two that were not had only one bore slightly out of spec. That’s 99.8% success when measured by 800 individual bores. WE were now in business! Kayser then took on the elimination of  the forever nagging Crankshaft #5 Main Bearing “cold-start Knock” noise issue that no one could solve ever since lighter engine oils were required to reduce exhaust emissions in the mid 1980’s. Kayser adopted a known technique used since the 1960’s at race engine shops and we put it in operation at Flint V-8 too. I can tell you we met strong opposition from the bean counters ay Headquarters because of the significant extra manpower required but the problem instantly disappeared too.