Torqstorm.. let's see how it does

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I took the car after the last tnt to drive around the neighborhood and get some heat in it.

Blow by was baaaaaad, it was running rough.
I guess it leaned out a bit too much on the last run I aborted.
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The new MLS gaskets that were available are going to pump the compression back to the 12.3 mark. But the quench will be closer.
New fuel pump is in with a -12 feed. So hopefully it keeps up. I think I'll start with a pretty conservative timing map.

I had Reused the cometic gaskets last time I had it apart since they were a solid 6months out and that still hasn't changed. Makes me wonder how long the head gaskets were damaged. I had noticed the blow by but the plugs were still clean and it seemed to run well. Maybe they were the cause the odd high rpm stutter/stumble? Not sure. All I can do is get it back together and ready for grudge night.

Gotta love hot rodding.
 
Getting head gaskets is a real B right now. I went with SCE Spartans. They are .009" thicker than I wanted but it's come down to either wait for gaskets or grab what's available and run.
 
Getting head gaskets is a real B right now. I went with SCE Spartans. They are .009" thicker than I wanted but it's come down to either wait for gaskets or grab what's available and run.
Yea. I found some Mr gasket MLS gaskets from holley. They had them in stock. But none of the cometics were available that I could find. I would rather keep running it and neuter the timing then be stuck without it for the whole season. Lol
 
It doesn’t matter how many head bolts you have if they detonate. If it rattles it will push out the gasket.
 
It doesn’t matter how many head bolts you have if they detonate. If it rattles it will push out the gasket.
Agreed.. I'm almost wondering if I hurt the gasket before I even made it to the track. Since the blow by was progressively getting worse. There was definitely some detonation.
Sometimes it's hard to hear because the car Is loud. But I'm learning I can't trust the afr gaugr as much as I am.
 
Toluene56 are you working with your carb builder or tuning on your own?
I have his sheet. But I won't bother him until I can test with the fixed head gaskets and the new pump.

Which I have just finished putting it back together and locking the total timing.
 
Just for update sake.

Went to the track with the new pump and fixed gaskets.
Run good for about 250ft then leaned out hard. Upped jets per the included chart. No change, ran worse, leaned out about the same.

Tried a couple of little things like float level, jet changes. But same issue. So I gave up for that night.

I decided to actually run proper sized fuel line all the way up.

-12 to prostar 500
-10 to magnafuel boost reference regulator with natural -10 inlet and -8 outlets
-8 from reg to each bowl of the carb
Changed needle and seats to alcohol 150s. Just in case.

Still leans out. Carb builder thinks it's fuel delivery (pump). But the fuel pressure gauge says otherwise. Pressure doesn't drop and follows boost.

I decided to take apart his proprietary boost referenced power valve. Very simple design with a spring. Opens by bowl pressure.

I tested the brpv with a regulator and air line. At about 5psi the brpv flutters..fully open by 10psi. Problem is I never see 10psi. I see about 7-7.75psi. I decided to goto the local big r and find some small springs that are different rates.
Started messing around and got it to partially open at about 5psi and not flutter. Although the rate is different it doesn't fully open till about 15psi. But it at least opens more at 5psi. If that makes sense.
Drove down the highway with this new spring in brpv.. no noticeable lean out. It was a tire roasting fest lambda about .78 at wot from what I could see. Steady fuel pressure.
Of course it will act differently at the track. So I'll have more concrete results the next track day.
 
Not sure what broke first... but I brokeded my toy.
Car started overheating. Badly and quick. Something was definity wrong. Then after the new heads gaskets started seeping water into the cylinders. One cylinder on each bank. I retorqued, no change. Checked timing after putting the top end back together... damn thing won't run below 60° advance, balancer spun.
Did compression test for giggles. 155-160psi cranking on all 8 cylinders. I changed the oil since the headgaskets had seeped water. I cut open the filter and found metal. So I decided to pull the engine and fix the bearings and whatever else before it got really bad... it got bad. Lol

5 out of 8 pistons melted? Check
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Broken water pump. Check
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Balancer spun 30° ish check.
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But... bearing looked pretty good... not sure where the metal came from. Maybe it was leftovers.
Since the pistons were screwed. Decided on a new rotating assembly with pistons that will put.me back down to about 10.5:1.
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And now I get to use the electric water pump I've had for a year In a box.
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And as I was going through my rocker shafts.. I found another surprise.
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Glad I saw the crack.
 
Can’t really tell by the pic but your ring gaps look tiny. Can you show more pics of the piston damage? Nice catch on that rocker shaft btw.
 
Can’t really tell by the pic but your ring gaps look tiny. Can you show more pics of the piston damage? Nice catch on that rocker shaft btw.
Ring gaps were .028 that ring is compressed and the top melted down and held it in place.
These are different pistons. All the same damage. Skme slightly worse than others.
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