[SSLance]

Well, it's not hot rodding if you don't have to love on some things...right?

Seems my continuing battle for space on this car while trying to cram 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag continues.

I pulled the headers off yet again yesterday to investigate for a possible gasket fix and found no sign of a leak whatsoever...they were sealed up tight. After some reassembly, some discussions with the engine builder, and more investigation...I discovered I could feel a rod cap contacting the windage tray inside the new Canton oil pan once the oil pan started to take heat.

It clears and is quiet when started cold, but the more heat the pan takes, the worse the feel and the noise gets. This was not present during the dyno runs, our thoughts are the pan shifted sideways just a touch when the engine was sat on it for the ride home. We knew it was close and we thought this might be a possibility when we first discussed the noise, but the header leak seemed more likely so I spent a week chasing that angle. Had I just put my fingers on the pan instead of everything else under there beside the pan, I could have saved myself a lot of time and anguish.

The builder wants me to bring the car to him because he says he has a trick way of moving the pan over a touch and cinching it back down. Sure hope it works as option #2 is lifting the engine to remove the pan and modify it or use a thicker pan gasket.

I'm frustrated yet happy at the same time that the issue is now properly diagnosed and we can continue on with a proper fix.

I've got about 200 miles on it now and I must say it is a radically different feel that what I had under there before. It looks sounds and feels almost the same until you open the secondaries up, then things change in a big way. Still getting used to it and still haven't really got on it hard as I'm trying to break the new clutch in the right way. Can't wait until I can finish the fine tuning on a quiet engine and turn the wick up to really see what she has now.