In the market for a new race car

[rsportvolvo]

When I blew a head gasket last year, I decided to try that route. Found a local race engine builder that seemed to know what he was talking about. $2300 later, I had an engine that lasted three weekends (never got over 200 degrees, or over 6000 RPM) and did not seem to have any more power than the old engine. It sounded great, though. However, when I first tried to start it, we found that the timing gears were so far out of alignment that the only way it would run was to rotate the plug wires one position on the distributor.

I have enough skill to change the head gasket, but other than that, no experience bulding/rebuilding engines. I chased a leaking thermostat housing for two days before the nut behind the wrench figured out that a stud that located the oil dip stick tube was put in backwards and was bottoming out in the head, preventing the housing from getting drawn up tight and sealing.

The two items you mentioned above in bold are GREAT reasons to stop everything and take the engine back to the builder. In hindsight don't assume the shop did the right thing and band-aid the setup to make it work. In the end you'll lose, case and point.

[RacerBill]

The two items you mentioned above in bold are GREAT reasons to stop everything and take the engine back to the builder. In hindsight don't assume the shop did the right thing and band-aid the setup to make it work. In the end you'll lose, case and point.

The first issue I had with the engine was the timing. The builder did not have the shop to fix the issue inhouse, and I did not want to have to pull the engine out of the car. So, he arranged with another auto repair shop to re-time the crank, cam and intermediate (distributor) shafts. And you're right, with that kind of mistake, there are a lot of other things that could have been done wrong. That is why, at a minimum, I am going to insist that he disassemble the engine, in my presence, to find out what happened.

I can only guess what the issue is, but there was still three qts of oil in the pan, and no external holes anywhere. Also, once a long time ago, I had a piston disentegrate, so I know what that sounds like, and there were no real loud sharp sounds - the engine just kind of went flat and then there was smoke. I suspect rings, but I guess I could have dropped a valve. Anyway, I hope it's in the bottom end as I have a good block that I can put the new head on, and be back in action reasonably soon.

The issue with the thermostat housing was my error, not the engine builder. I only mentioned it to point out how new to this aspect of the game I am. Hey, this thing is only 1.5in long, has a bolt head in the middle instead of on the end and the threads on both ends are the same. Who would have thought that one threaded end was longer than the other! But I will never make that mistake again!

[RedMisted]

I've been following along here, and I just wanted to ask, what might be the usual percentage gain in horsepower for an IT-built engine?
I'm running around with a "junkyard" motor in my car, and it seems to be doing really well. The previous motor lasted for 7 seasons before the bottom end went, and it was a stocker as well...

[gran racing]

Depends on the car but the classification process assumes around 25% gain.

[JLawton]

I'm going to play the devil's advocate here..........

Bill's got a car that needs a lot of development. It needs a new engine, it needs a suspension and it sounds like it needs some frame work. Add up those costs. All that money in a car that may not ever be competative.

Sometimes you need to cut bait.

We always say, "Buy, buy, buy, don't build!!". Even though Bill is not a newbie and knows what he's getting into, he is almost starting from scratch.

Chris's car seems like a deal. I don't think you can buy a faster car for the money. Everyone knows that Chris doesn't do things half assed. (Chris, you can send me 10% of the sale price once it's sold! ) AND, you've got a car that's ready to race tomorrow. No assembly needed.

This is a tough decision Bill. I think we've all been there at one time or another so we feel for ya! Hang in there and good luck!!

[joeg]

Bill--Did you ever put that car on a Chassis Dyno to tune it??

[RacerBill]

Bill--Did you ever put that car on a Chassis Dyno to tune it??

I had all the best intentions of doing that, but time got away from me (I swear that I had more time to do things before I retired!). But I will put away the time and money to do that as soon as I get running again.

[924Guy]

My take on that bit of debris on the plug, I still stand by it being RTV. Doesn't belong in there though...

Seems like the engine repair should pretty much be free at this point...

Which means time to focus on getting that suspension replaced. You're not going to learn anything or get any faster till you can keep all 4 close to the ground; time for springs and shocks. Regardless of what engine goes in that car; I'd probably have a tough time breaking a 1:58 down there in that car...

So if you're going to expend any time/effort on doing anything more than just getting it to run again (to sell), you really need to have a serious plan to completely overhaul the suspension. Not by halves.

[RacerBill]

I'm with you, Vaughn.

[RedMisted]

Depends on the car but the classification process assumes around 25% gain.

Wow. I thought the expected bump might be around 15%. Better get that race motor built!

[CRallo]

Wow. I thought the expected bump might be around 15%. Better get that race motor built!

25% is the total gain that IS expected from a TYPICAL full IT engine build, but this includes all the external bolt-ons including exhaust, intake, computer/tuning, etc. A portion of this I assume you already have done...

[RedMisted]

25% is the total gain that IS expected from a TYPICAL full IT engine build, but this includes all the external bolt-ons including exhaust, intake, computer/tuning, etc. A portion of this I assume you already have done...

Well, I've done all the peripherals and given theoretical 15% driveline losses, I should top out at 203hp at the wheels. I'm already at 195 or so horsepower... Does this mean that if I have the motor itself optimized for performance I'll only gain 8 more hp?