DrFishbone Engine Build Thread 2017

I don't have stock replacement lifters and even Dave was kinda confused whats going on. Thought is the crimp bent exhaust I have is causing restriction as some of the bends are fairly crunched, so full mandrel exhaust will be installed in the spring to see if this is the issue.
 
I don't have stock replacement lifters and even Dave was kinda confused whats going on. Thought is the crimp bent exhaust I have is causing restriction as some of the bends are fairly crunched, so full mandrel exhaust will be installed in the spring to see if this is the issue.

Maybe but don’t chase your tail too much. I do have crimped exhaust aswel, But is it peeing in the ocean would be my next question? IDK sometimes
We just need to settle and enjoy.
 
Matt,

Do you have MLS head gaskets ? Sounds like you may be adding combustion pressure into coolant causing the freeze plug failures. Asking because I once had one that would only leak under high boost and high rpm then reseal itself the rest of the time. Mine didn't pop any freeze plugs, but it would blow coolant out of the reservoir/overflow tank.

David

Yes, MLS gaskets. I worried about that, but thinking back, the first two freeze plugs blew at moderate RPM and less than 5psi boost. The first blew with no boost applied at all.

I'm pretty confident that's not the issue....or at least pretty hopeful! :eek:
 
Do you have a dyno sheet with boost logged to see what the blower output is capable of? When I dyno'd last month the boost curve and the HP curve had a funny coincidence at 6200 rpm way below the 6800 rpm that I'm limited by to give me an idea what was going on. ie hp curved down as the boost went up 3 psi at the exact same point pointing at a restriction in the system.

I do have the dyno sheet (in front of me) and the log of the dyno pull (at home). From memory, the boost held constant throughout the pull. On the dyno sheet, the pull ended at 6k rpm....power peaked at 387 @ 5400rpm and dropped to about 330 @ 6000rpm.

I don't think this dyno sheet and log are representative of a well-tuned car yet. It runs well, but the MAF curve needs work up high, plus it was pegged at 5500rpm anyway. Common sense says any air through the intake beyond the max a MAF sensor can output is going to have mixed and unreliable results. The way I see it, I had an "OK" dyno pull to 5500rpm...what happened beyond that can't be evaluated accurately until the hardware and subsequently, the tune, is fixed.
 
I think I've said it already, but compared to previous Shootouts, that car felt slapped together....I didn't get to spend the time I wanted/needed getting it ready. I hope to get caught up and get it sorted out for next spring though.

I do suspect that the limit of the MPx and inlet tract will show up somewhere up in the 6000's....if that means that power starts starts nosediving, that's okay. I'm hoping the solid rollers extend that range a little bit.

Jacob asked me if I wanted to buy his Whipple this morning.....lol.
 
Getting back on this now....

So, I'm working on getting the engine and transmission pulled back out to fix a few things and install Brian's old long tube headers. A test fit with the engine still in didn't look too good. :( I think once I scoot the motor/tranmission forward 1/2" or so, it will look a lot better. Right now, it's sitting as far back as possible in the transmission crossmember. :rolleyes: The drivers header rest against the steering shaft (not the joint...the actual shaft!) and the passenger side touches the frame rail.

I think I'm going to go ahead and delete the oil cooler and re-route the heater hose on the driver's side to the passenger using some of the SS flex tubing (like I used for the radiator hoses). This would make checking the hot-lash alot easier on the drivers side, clean things up a good bit, reduce leak points and also lose a little more weight. I have an extra quart oil capacity anyway...I'm thinking there won't be an issue, but I can always do a remote-mount oil filter/cooler if needed. The only thing I'm not sure of is where to put the factory sending unit (which is currently relocated to the passenger's heater tube from a climate control car)....I'm thinking I'll be redoing the factory gauges with all aftermarket before too long, since I need more range on my tach anyway. I just don't like having non-functioning gauges!

Also need to figure out what was up with the power steering. I'm thinking the remanufactured pump was bad out of the box....the fluid looks gray after the little bit of use and repeated attempts to purge the system of air.

I'm undecided on the crankcase vent system....I'm leaning towards just building a larger PVC system with a separator, like previously discussed.
 
It took some digging, but I finally found some corrugated stainless tubing that should work for the heater hoses. Had to buy it from an alternative energy supply store...lol. I'll use 5/8" silicon heater hose to clamp it to the inlet/outlet on the water pump. The corrugated tube doesn't quite have an interference fit like I would like. As long as it doesn't leak, all will be well. If it does, I'll just look for some 5/8" corrugated tubing.

Progress: got the engine and transmission out early last week, separated them this weekend, took off the clutch, flywheel and removed all remaining block freeze plugs. There were no signs of them leaking or working their way out, but they'll all be replaced and loctited-in.

Need to order the new freeze plugs (or core plugs), power steering pump and rack/pinion. I found alot of fine metal flakes in the fluid when I drained the system. :( I COULD flush the rack I suppose, but it will be alot easier to replace while the engine is out. :/
 
Been making some progress, just slowly.
I had an “oh crap” moment while I was power steering rack shopping....I filled it up with “power steering fluid” rather than ATF back in 2017!!!!!! That make be the whole stupid issue with the power steering!!!

Already ordered a new rebuilt pump and I may go ahead and get a rebuild rack anyway. I won’t throw out the “old” pump and rack though. Can’t believe that might be the only issue.... :eek:

Got the new expansion plugs driven in with red loctite. One didn’t go in straight enough to suit my liking, so I removed it and tried again. A couple of them are in just a tad further than “bottom of the taper”...1/16th or less I’d say. I comfortable with them now. They probably get a week or so to set-up.image.jpg
 
I'd just buy a rack and do it now matt. I've ran mixture of atf power steering fluid basically anything laying around in then for years no issues

Been making some progress, just slowly.
I had an “oh crap” moment while I was power steering rack shopping....I filled it up with “power steering fluid” rather than ATF back in 2017!!!!!! That make be the whole stupid issue with the power steering!!!

Already ordered a new rebuilt pump and I may go ahead and get a rebuild rack anyway. I won’t throw out the “old” pump and rack though. Can’t believe that might be the only issue.... :eek:

Got the new expansion plugs driven in with red loctite. One didn’t go in straight enough to suit my liking, so I removed it and tried again. A couple of them are in just a tad further than “bottom of the taper”...1/16th or less I’d say. I comfortable with them now. They probably get a week or so to set-up.View attachment 70015
 
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