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Ok, it's been a while since I updated here, so let's get with it.
When I last left, I had a great series of 3 races at NJMP, but ended up pushing the car into the trailer since it was not working at the end of the weekend. Pouring more water into the system just resulted into a large puddle of water under the car so obviously, some work was needed.
Further investigation revealed that the big polehole bang resulted in my radiator fans to flex at the same time my radiator did, resulting in the big pointy screws on the fan mounts putting a nice hole in the radiator: the source of my overheating woes.
A new turbo radiator and hoses from Lindsey Racing took care of that issue. But the car didn't start and didn't sound healthy. My guess is the head gasket went, and what the EMT crew thought was fire as I coasted into the hot pits was really steam escaping. Since I was watching the gauges and immediately killed the motor, there was no signature massive cloud of steam that usually occurs.
A few hours of work, and while the head gasket may be gone, the true reason was revealed. I had wildlife living in my motor. Not squirrels or snakes this time, but cranes.
Normally I'd have this fixed in no time, I can do the top end without looking at the shop manual anymore. But it became crunch time at work and the car sat idle for a couple of weeks. Just no time to work on it. I missed the PCA race at NJMP Thunderbolt,but with hurricane Irene blasting the track, I didn't feel too bad.
Last weekend I finally had some spare time and headed back into the garage.
The machine shop worked my head, new valve guides, and needed to slightly shave it to get it back into spec. It was just a tiny bit warped from the heat. They also dunked it into their parts washer for 24 hours to remove all the fine quality leaking street motor sludge.
Since the head gasket was most likely the original, I can't be too unhappy that it let go. The motor has over 120K miles and the odometer didn't work. So I guess we got our money out of it. Time for a new one.
A few more hours of work and it was time to fire it up, which it did immediately. Note the traditional smoke offering to the car gods from the spilled oil cooking off the headers.
When I last left, I had a great series of 3 races at NJMP, but ended up pushing the car into the trailer since it was not working at the end of the weekend. Pouring more water into the system just resulted into a large puddle of water under the car so obviously, some work was needed.
Further investigation revealed that the big polehole bang resulted in my radiator fans to flex at the same time my radiator did, resulting in the big pointy screws on the fan mounts putting a nice hole in the radiator: the source of my overheating woes.
A new turbo radiator and hoses from Lindsey Racing took care of that issue. But the car didn't start and didn't sound healthy. My guess is the head gasket went, and what the EMT crew thought was fire as I coasted into the hot pits was really steam escaping. Since I was watching the gauges and immediately killed the motor, there was no signature massive cloud of steam that usually occurs.
A few hours of work, and while the head gasket may be gone, the true reason was revealed. I had wildlife living in my motor. Not squirrels or snakes this time, but cranes.
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| I didn't think cranes were native to Pennsylvania |
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| Pretty fertile conditions for waterfowl |
Last weekend I finally had some spare time and headed back into the garage.
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| Pretty, shiny head back from the machine shop. |
Since the head gasket was most likely the original, I can't be too unhappy that it let go. The motor has over 120K miles and the odometer didn't work. So I guess we got our money out of it. Time for a new one.
A few more hours of work and it was time to fire it up, which it did immediately. Note the traditional smoke offering to the car gods from the spilled oil cooking off the headers.
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