More power? Free?

Pinch yourself, you might be dreaming.

Thanks for continuing to over achieve Lance. You are a great inspiration to show you don't need a fat wallet to have a great performing car.

We fixed a couple little things and took it for another test drive this morning. Brought the GoPro along this time...

Glad to see you enjoying the EFI, Lance!

Andrew

Me too Andrew!!


You and several other pounded on me relentlessly to make sure I did the install part properly and this led to a pretty painless start up initial tune process. Since then I (we) have been able to concentrate on making the tune better rather than chasing gremlins like so many others have had to do.

So thanks for that as well... :)

I've started to work with Andrew and I've already seen a big step forward just in him asking question about set up and verifying a few things.

I don't have any video from the test and tune this weekend but, I was smiling the whole time! He hasn't even touched my tune yet, I can't wait for that!

You're welcome! Doing the installation properly is a huge step forward to eliminating gremlins at the start and having a reliable installation that is easier to troubleshoot later on.

Andrew

Wow, Barney really screams now!

good stuff!

Little update...

Filled the tank Saturday, got 11.3 mpg burning just over 12 gallons including one autocross event and the rest bombing around on side streets working on engine tune.

I now have 1100 miles on the car since August when I got it running on the EFI. Best part is, the tires still have a TON of life left in them. Last tires only lasted me 900 miles.

Raced it Sunday with local SCCA, had a blast on a super fun course. Ran the GoPro out on each rear fender to watch what the tires were doing since I knew the course would have a lot of slaloms.



Car did great, driver could have been better. Ended up 27th raw, 25th pax overall out of 131 drivers. I'm stoked though because I had so much fun on course and still made it back home in time to watch Chiefs make it to the Superbowl for the first time in 50 years!!!

Thanks! We miss you at the track. How are you doing?

Thanks!!

If I have been tracking your progression right, you were running a significantly stiffer than stock rear spring with a light rear bar. What did you change and why?

I ran 600# rear springs and no bar for several years. I went back to 250# rear springs and a fairly light rear bar over the summer on an effort to get more forward grip.

Especially at GGs style first gear courses, the car just spun the rear tires too much.

It now hooks up much better making for faster times and better tire life but I did have to adjust my driving to the loss of lateral grip.

Hmmmm. That's counter intuitive to me, softening the rear to get more front bite. Sounds like you lost overall bite and gained rear traction.

The front lateral grip is still very good, the rear lateral grip is where I gave a little bit on in certain situations. The forward bite increase more than makes up for it though.

Softening the rear will allow the weight to transfer to the front when lifting or when the brake is applied, putting more weight over the front tires. Can also have this same effect by decreasing the rebound on the rear shocks.

Had to add data to this run from Sunday at Marana just to see for myself.

I'm particularly pleased with the cars ability to transition back and forth 1G to 1G several times in a row in a 45-50 mph slalom without breaking a sweat or sliding a tire. We had two drivers running back to back in back to back run groups, so 16 runs total in a little about 2 and a half hours time. We sprayed the right rear and right front tire once to cool them down after the 12th run is all. Other than that just turn the key and go. Still haven't touched a screw or a knob since last October.

Pretty happy camper...



Here are some cool pics from the event as well.

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...PDtNnvT-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...TqQSf2K-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...FrFvjQq-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...9pV7BFW-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...gmVcxn2-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...6fptpVg-XL.jpg

Way more great pics from Amanda Hitt here... https://adventurewife.smugmug.com/20...SCCA/i-QF7TkGR

Finally got around to adding that safety item that I hope I never have to use. On board fire system...

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._150128-XL.jpg

Here you can see the manual pull T-handle and the driver nozzle.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._153308-XL.jpg

Here is the engine nozzle

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._141141-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._141131-XL.jpg

I didn't grab a pic of the third nozzle that sticks through the trunk floor and points at the fuel pump and fuel lines on top of the fuel tank.

I also finally put a pretty good bend up on the throttle pedal to make it easier to get 100% throttle, probably raised it an inch off the floor.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._153326-XL.jpg

Now I'm all ready for two days of on track action at Arizona Motorsports Park Feb 22-23. Skipping the SCCA Autocross this weekend to save my tires for the track weekend.

Lance, looks good! Did you get an automatic system or just a manual system?

Been looking at Safecraft systems also, and by the way ... please make sure ALL firewall pass-throughs are sealed. That pic w the wire loom looks suspiciously loose, FYI.

Michael

Thanks Michael. It's a 10# 3 nozzle manual system.

The event pics were great. That 70 Chevelle looks so good even with that pole accident in the drive's side.

Glad the car is working well for you, Lance!

Mike's car is awesome, all hand built in his home shop too. His wife Amanda always does a great job behind the viewfinder as well. When I get a chance later I'll show his in progress pics fixing the dent. It's in a real bad spot and a royal PITA to repair, but hes getting there.

Hi Lance,
The car is looking good and seems to be performing well. The sec gen camaro on the side of you looks interesting.Is the owner a member on lateral-g?


Mike,

So that is Dennis Riehle, do not believe he is member here. He's raced that car forever in ESP, so its "stockish" compared to our CAM builds but runs 12" wide slicks on all 4 and is very fast.

Mopar
 

That Dart looks pretty cool too!

Had a blast at a track day last Saturday, but my day ended early with some strange engine related symptoms.

Here was my first dry session of the day...and the session when the symptoms started.




Here is video from my friend Sean's car who was behind me when it happened.





And this is from Valerie's car starting right when Sean passed me.

https://www.facebook.com/DragonladyG...3272482/?t=507


Symptoms are excessive blowby out valve cover at idle, a bit extra oil pressure at idle (30 vs normal 20 psi) coolant level has risen in recovery tank but appears pretty clean still, smoke out both exhausts (with X pipe) under acceleration after hard deceleration, no strange noises and still runs smooth and powerful at normal operating temp. I parked it on the trailer right after, unloaded and drove into garage and it hasn't started since.

A friend me called last night and brow beat me into finally doing some diagnosis. First pic is oil that came from the bottom of the pan after car has sat since Saturday evening.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._085626-XL.jpg

Oil level was still just touching the end of dipstick like it should have been and it doesn't appear to me that there is any foreign substance in the oil at the bottom of the pan.

Next up is pics of all 8 plugs. Only thing I really noticed is #4 and #5 looking a little bit oily. #2 and #3 may be a bit cleaner than the rest but not that unusual to my eye. Maybe someone here will see something I'm missing though. If you want better pics of a certain plug, just ask.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._085427-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._085509-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._085453-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._085531-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._085551-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._085445-XL.jpg

Last is coolant recovery tank. Probably a quart high and it had blown some out already as well. Pretty clean looking, no real sign of oil in it but does have a brownish tint.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._090957-XL.jpg

Best case scenario I see is head gasket? Worst case scenario could be hole burnt in piston or broken ring or ring gland.

Anyone see anything I may be missing?

Love the videos, also its very clear that Barney corners much flatter than I would anticipate for how much travel it has nice work man. Looks like a blast and glad that you are out there using it as it should be =)....We need more people from here out beating on their cars like we do :secret:

I am by no stretch of the imagination an engine expert but cylinder number 4 spark plug has more than a little bit of oil on it. If I were a betting man, I would guess broken Ring or Ringland on cylinder 4 and possibly 5.

Coolant level up is a bit of a question though without it being much different in color.

Whats next? Change oil, fresh plugs and run it? Compression test would probably give you a good indicator if you broke a ring, compression on that hole would be down.

Bummer about the engine, but glad you are having fun with it.

Sean

Also 3 looks like its pretty lean with a totally white ceramic I wonder if 4 was lean?. Are you logging air fuels? Have a guage to monitor?

Its saved my ass a time or two when I had a fueling issue.

Sean

Thanks, I REALLY enjoyed watching the videos from Sean and Val when they were behind my car. First time I've had that view and it looked good. Had a blast behind the wheel also, I'll post the previous wet session video up below...it was a hoot as well. Just wish I could have enjoyed the drier sessions more.

What is strange about the coolant gain is it has been pushing antifreeze out the recovery tank for a couple of events now. At first I thought the cap on my tank failed after 35 years, so I put a new tank and cap on it...still leaked out. Then I just chalked it up to possibly being overfilled when it puked coolant out at next event. It also puked a bunch out after my 2nd wet session on track...again, first time it's been run hard in long time.

When it didn't go back down after the blowby stuff started, that's when things got strange. Oil level is about where it should be so maybe it's just got a dang air pocket in the cooling system now? I have a 1/8" hole in my thermostat and have NEVER had a hard time getting air out of system. Fill rad up, start engine, when t-stat opens a bit radiator level drops, top off, put cap on and fill recovery tank up boom...done...

The smoke started the first time when it blew the breather off the driver side valve cover. I thought it just fell off and oil drained down on right turns and hit headers. I cleaned it all back up and went out for next session. End of first long straight, big backfire on decel, big puff of smoke out tailpipes, then it went away, next turn...again big puff of smoke in mirrors. I pulled off track and it was huffing smoke out my catch can filter.

BTW, this was all that was in my catch can. Hadn't been emptied in 1500 hard miles.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._095358-XL.jpg

Leakdown test tonight... We'll see. Not really mad or anything, thing has been beat on like a rented mule...just want to know so I can formulate a plan. All I really don't want hurt is the heads. The rest is easily replaceable.

I wasn't logging at the track but have lots of times before while tuning. I need to see if I can zoom in on my GoPro video to the Holley LCD. The lower right corner of the screen is my AFR and I think I see it going yellow at high RPMS on the long straight. Need to see if I can actually read it if zoomed in.

So this is my normal screen layout

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._151316-XL.jpg

This is the scaling settings on the AFR in lower right.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._151137-XL.jpg

And here is the video zoomed in showing the AFR going yellow at times.



It very well could have been going lean on the straights for some reason.

This is a longer video that shows my whole 2nd session. First time at this track, first two sessions total washouts, with no instructor. Just me trying to find my way around and dodge P-cars...



Total blast...

Lance,

I'm not sure about the system you are using, but the HP and Dominator systems are generally always logging when the vehicle is running. At least I have mine set up to do that, I think that was the default (been a long time since I had to make that choice).

Might be worth a look in the Holley program (you can use their tuning software and not just the handheld, correct?) to see if any logs are available.

Good luck!

Thanks. I have it set to only log when manually started and stopped.

I watched the other video in the wet again and the screen was easier to see then. It is probably spiking rich when it flashed yellow, not lean...that has kinda been its MO since we started tuning it.

We'll figure it out, fix it and move on. Part of the deal...

More progress made today.

Figured out a way to pull the engine with car on the lift.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._112131-XL.jpg

All kinds of room

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._112223-XL.jpg

Here is passenger side head. All looks good, just a bit more oil on #4 exhaust valve.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._130758-XL.jpg

Tops of all of the pistons look normalish as do the cylinder walls.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._130738-XL.jpg

This is #4, the one in question.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._130001-XL.jpg

Popped #4 out and found this.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._141127-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._141136-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._135047-XL.jpg

Multiple rings are broken in multiple spots and the top edge of the piston has started melting away. Hard to tell what happened first, oil ring could have failed, let oil in chamber which may have raised compression just enough to cause detonation raising temps above what piston could handle. One or multiple rings could have been just a bit tight, got a bit too hot and broke causing loss of compression. Or something with cooling system could have caused an air pocket, causing that cylinder to get just a bit hot and start the meltdown. It'll be interesting to see if any rings are broken in any other cylinders, haven't pulled any other pistons out yet.

Everything else looks excellent though. Bottom of pan was clean, cylinder walls are unscathed, head gasket looked good, basically you wouldn't know there was problem if not for that one piston. So glad I stopped when I did, that piston was one straight away from exploding.

Bearings look pretty good still.

https://photos.smugmug.com/1985-Mont..._135237-XL.jpg

I won't, but I literally could put a new piston with new rings on that rod and bolt it all back together again and I'm sure it would be fine.

More than likely unless it's stupid expensive it'll get new forged rods and pistons and a refresh on the bearings and rings and a good clean up. I may even consider a cam change to bring things more in line with the rest of the build. We'll see.

No hurry to put it back together though, it needs a new clutch disc and I may put a new accessory drive setup on the front as well as the engine refresh so this will be a bit of an extended project. Pretty dang happy I still have so many good parts left though, could have been much worse.

Sorry to see this happen, Lance. LS swap time or sticking with the stroker?

Why would I LS swap at this point? :D

That would just be silly...

True, but more power at this point will require an LS swap or a silly expensive SBC build requiring boost or high compression and race gas.

I'm considering it if I keep the car. I'm kind of addicted to boost after having the BMW. Not that I'm wanting more power. I'm wanting a smoother idle and easier to drive car. The sound our motors make can't be beat though. That, I would miss.

Good luck what ever you decide, Lance.

I really don't want or need more power than we were making with this combo. It was pretty perfect for what I do, pulled out of the slower corners awesome while would still run with 500 hp to the rear tires LS stroker cars on the straights all while idling smooth at 680 RPM with 18" of vacuum for the brakes. These heads made the VE tables look similar to LS top ends, no need to upset that apple cart at this point.

Any changes I make will strictly be toward making it safer to live longer first and maybe a cam to flatten out the curves a bit.

I suppose Optimists would say #4 didn't grenade & impact everything else so it's 'all-good' :D.
Disclaimer: I'm a Realist... I guess it is part of the deal but still sucks it happened.

What changes are you considering for the cam? I really liked the combo & still have the info/specs jotted down in a note-book for reference. One thing I never asked though, was it ground on a reduced base circle? A buddy who I was bench racing & talking SBC/FI retrofits with asked when I spoke about your set-up.

Spent a week or so investigating, diagnosing and soul searching. One thing I found changed the direction I thought i was heading more than anything else.

When I pulled the rest of the pistons out yesterday, I found this broken ring land in #8.

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...Tb3d6ZG-XL.jpg

Everything else about that cylinder was normal as could be.

This tells me that the top end we put together simply outpowered the bottom end and the weakest link (cast pistons) is what gave up first.

Since the block is a 4.005" bore, there is no forged off the shelf piston that will work with it, so machine work it is. This actually helps though because now I can do the machine work to match the parts I pick out...instead of the other way around.

I'm still very happy with the power this combo made so I'll not be making any drastic changes to the recipe, just fortifying some of the weaker parts inside and putting it all back together once again. It'll just take a bit longer and cost a bit more is all.