Crane Cams, OUT OF BUSINESS

[Vedubin01]

another American icon gone.....




Legendary camshaft company Crane Cams appears to have gone out of business this week.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal, is reporting the 56-year-old Daytona Beach, Fla., company has been shuttered and its workers laid off.

Crane's parts have become synonymous with performance and have been used by A.J. Foyt, the Wood Brothers, Bill Elliott, Richard Petty and many other well-known drivers.

The company first made a splash at the 1961 NHRA nationals, when a dragster using Crane roller cams was piloted by "Sneaky" Pete Robinson to the Top Eliminator award, breaking records and upsetting more established competitors in the process.

The visibility by Robinson's success and that of other racers using Crane parts helped the company grow in the 1960s as the Detroit automakers and racing thrived.

Crane Cams was founded in 1953 and had grown into a multi-million manufacturing operation, according to its Web site.

In late 2006, it was acquired by Mikronite Technologies Group Inc. of Eatontown, N.J.

No one answered a phone call from AutoWeek Wednesday afternoon to Crane Cam's Florida factory. The closure was apparently a surprise, as local officials were attempting to work a deal to keep the company open, according to the newspaper report.

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

blame chinese autoparts makers?

[JasonC]

That's a shame. I got a timing chain set off of them for a 350 i got awhile back. And the 383 i got for my S15 has a .600 solid lift Crane in it. Some of my past cars had Crane cams in them also. But there is still other cam makers out there still. Like Lunati, Competition Cams,and some others. Plus Mopar Performance, GM Performance, and Ford Racing make some also.

[AndrewBird]

Heard about it yesterday. They didn't just make American stuff. They sold MG cams and a lot of performance MG company's bought blanks from them as well. This isn't only going to affect muscle car guys.

[dashboardmonkey]

In late 2006, it was acquired by Mikronite Technologies Group Inc. of Eatontown, N.J.

Seems like the demise of a lot of companies. Getting taken over / bought out, ect.

[MoparJ]

I've always been partial to Comp cams, but this does suck to hear about. Crane made some really solid stuff. :(

[Jon325i]

Seems like the demise of a lot of companies. Getting taken over / bought out, ect.

Yep. Had it never changed hands, would this story even exist?

[retardotyler]

that sucks.. I just mailed my ignition to them yesterday. :-?

[mrsleeve]

Yep. Had it never changed hands, would this story even exist?

Yup X1000

got bought out by Mikronite Technologies Group, one of the the first things they do is sell the land and building, to extract the cash out of it, then lease it back. Sounds like bleeding a cash cow to me.

[brodee]

blame chinese autoparts makers?

Can't blame the competition for making cheaper parts, blame consumers willing to save $0.02 by buying the cheaper made crap.

[JasonC]

I also would like to say that my thoughts go out to the workers. It allmost brings tears to my eyes. I've been in their shoes once before. You go to work and find out that you don't have a job anymore along with your fellow coworkers. :(


Edit: Just found this. Holley files for bankruptcy...

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/12/aftermarket-parts-maker-holley-files-for-bankruptcy/

[eric (^__^)]

Pretty sad.

Isky is still around :/

[jr325es]

That's a shame. I got a timing chain set off of them for a 350 i got awhile back. And the 383 i got for my S15 has a .600 solid lift Crane in it. Some of my past cars had Crane cams in them also. But there is still other cam makers out there still. Like Lunati, Competition Cams,and some others. Plus Mopar Performance, GM Performance, and Ford Racing make some also.

uhh gm performance is closing too... ( my friend has a cobalt ss)

[JasonC]

uhh gm performance is closing too... ( my friend has a cobalt ss)

From what i've gathered, it's the High Performance Vehicle Operations that they are putting on hold, not closing. So does this mean that the parts division is too? Or just the line of cars that they are making like the V-Series Cadillacs, the Chevrolet Cobalt SS and the HHR SS?

[mrsleeve]

From what i've gathered, it's the High Performance Vehicle Operations that they are putting on hold, not closing. So does this mean that the parts division is too? Or just the line of cars that they are making like the V-Series Cadillacs, the Chevrolet Cobalt SS and the HHR SS?

This is truff, you will sill be able to buy parts through the performance catalog