http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/breakingnews/crane022409.htm
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Feb. 24, 2009 7:54 p.m. DirtyBird222 HalfDork
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Feb. 24, 2009 8:02 p.m. sector7 New Reader
wow
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Feb. 24, 2009 8:28 p.m. Monkeywrench Reader
I heard rumors of this a few months ago on one of the industry websites. Obviously they were true.
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Feb. 24, 2009 8:34 p.m. ignorant PowerDork
wow
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Feb. 24, 2009 8:37 p.m. carguy123 Dork
I'm surprised and not surprised at the same time.
With the advent of electronics it ain't easy to cam a car.
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Feb. 24, 2009 8:43 p.m. David S. Wallens Editorial Director
It is sad. It's sad to see an industry icon leave. It's also sad to lose a local employer.
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Feb. 24, 2009 9:02 p.m. Stuc HalfDork
Aww I drive by there all the time... that's too bad
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Feb. 24, 2009 9:08 p.m. suprf1y New Reader
carguy123 wrote:
With the advent of electronics it ain't easy to cam a car.
Thats not true.
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Feb. 24, 2009 9:36 p.m. Moparman Reader
Crane was one of the few (maybe the last) to make a roller cam for my 1989 Shelby Dakota.
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Feb. 24, 2009 9:41 p.m. David S. Wallens Editorial Director
I believe, and someone should check this, but I believe they also did a lot of Harley cams.
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Feb. 24, 2009 9:46 p.m. belteshazzar Dork
I had heard that their ford mod motor offerings were short on quality lately.
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Feb. 24, 2009 11:31 p.m. carguy123 Dork
suprf1y wrote:
carguy123 wrote:
With the advent of electronics it ain't easy to cam a car.
Thats not true.
That IS true. While you can change the cams very few stock ecus can be modified easily enough by the shadetree tuner to make it worth the while to do it, hence fewer cam sales.
Most of the aftermarket systems I've seen take so much to set up that with the added unknown of a low volume cam that loss of power or blown engines seem to be the norm.
It CAN be done, but it ain't easy with electronics. Now with carbs.......but that's so twentieth century.
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Feb. 24, 2009 11:39 p.m. suprf1y Reader
Many MAP based systems work quite well with mild to midrange cam upgrades, something the MAF systems did not do. My business is custom cam grinding, and I'm not in the business selling stuff that doesn't work. My guess is Crane had other problems, as I don't see other cam manufacturers folding.
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Feb. 24, 2009 11:48 p.m. MrJoshua SuperDork
Internet killed em.
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Feb. 25, 2009 12:07 a.m. maroon92 SuperDork
sad to see them go...that being said, I always bought Comp Cams
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Feb. 25, 2009 12:36 a.m. DirtyBird222 HalfDork
For the longest time I thought Comp and Crane were the same company lol. Similar logos, C and C, etc. etc. etc. It wasn't until I took a tour of the facility in high school that I learned me something new. Still sad to see it happen.
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Feb. 25, 2009 1:25 a.m. SkinnyG New Reader
Dang it.
I was planning on some Stage II cams for the Duratec in the next Lethal Locost.
Dang it Dang it Dang it.
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Feb. 25, 2009 6:52 a.m. John Brown MegaDork
I will bet that someone gets their old stock and patents/designs much the same way that Sig Ersons stuff was bought up twice after two closings.
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Feb. 25, 2009 7:12 a.m. spitfirebill HalfDork
Didn't some other cam company close recently? Maybe Elgin?
I think Crane's problem was caused by other things in addition to the economy.
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Feb. 25, 2009 7:36 a.m. NYG95GA Dork
It's a real shame to see one of the most venerable aftermarket cam makers go down; they've been around forever. Heck, I run a set of Cranes in my DOHC Neon, and have nothing but good things to say about them.
It is true that later model cars are more geared towards electronic gizmo mods, but there will always be a certain demand for more lift and duration.
Brother down. Let us bow our heads for a moment of silence.
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Feb. 25, 2009 7:42 a.m. Kramer Reader
There's still a lot of value in the name Crane. I'm surprised someone doesn't buy the name.
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Feb. 25, 2009 8:32 a.m. Dr. Hess PowerDork
While Crane did (?) make cams for Harleys, I don't see them as particularly popular based on Internet Forum posts and people I've known. Andrews is probably the biggest name in HD cams and pretty much always has been. I have an Andrews EV1 in my bike, and had an A grind in my old shovelhead 25 years ago. Woods is making inroads in the HD market too lately. Crane made lifters for HD's also, but in the Evo motor, the OEM revised lifter is considered to be about the best out there. And I think it's for Twinkies, but one of them will use a standard off the shelf SBC roller lifter that you can get a set 16 for less than the 4 you'll need that are identical but with a different part number, then sell the rest to your buddies.
At least Isky is still around. And Isky will regrind whatever you have to whatever you want. I had them do a Lotus TC cam set years ago. They had 9 grinds available for that motor.
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Feb. 25, 2009 9:23 a.m. GameboyRMH SuperDork
Hmm I better buy those performance parts I've been holding off on...on one hand I could need the money later, but on the other hand I might not be able to get the parts, and what good is money with no parts to spend it on?
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Feb. 25, 2009 9:41 a.m. Dr. Hess PowerDork
OK, so let's look at the FINC behind this, from the posted article. It is an interesting microcosm of our economy:
1953, Old Man Crane starts the company in Florida. 1979, company becomes "Employee Owned." What exactly does this mean? Employees own stock? Publicly traded? 1985, Company moves to Daytona Beach. Probably where they got the idea to make HD cams. 2006, company is sold to Micronite, "an industrial technology firm." Sounds like a leveraged buy out thingie with lots of borrowed money, run by suits giving themselves big bonuses. 2006, Micronite tries to extort money from the People of Florida by waving potential jobs to be ripped from what's left of New Jersey's economy. 2007, Micronite sells the Florida property the building is on that it bought just a year prior to STAG Capital Partners of Boston, then turns around and leases the property back from them with a 10 year sweetheart deal. Who wants to bet there is some inbreeding on the BoD's of these two companies? 2008, Micronite "ends contract with the state" presumably of Florida, for "nonperformance." Who's nonperformance? I bet not Florida's. So, Micronite was ripping off your Floridians again on tax "rebates" from the state and county. 2009, Micronite offically kills a company that has been in business producing good products that people want for 56 years.
Now, take that wonderful management talent at Micronite, multiply it by 100K and blow it across our country, and there's the problem with our economy.
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Feb. 25, 2009 9:49 a.m. Snowdoggie Reader
Kramer wrote:
There's still a lot of value in the name Crane. I'm surprised someone doesn't buy the name.
...and stick it on cheap cams made in China??
Please just let it die.
