Well... after a 900 mile round trip (350+ miles on the way home in a blizzard!!) I'm back at it again. I've probably wasted about 4 hours thus far trying to polish the intake manifold... DON'T TRY IT!! Regardless, I've reassembled the entire exhaust side of the engine and began on the intake side. I've attached a couple of pictures:


And the diagnosis is complete as to the cause of the problem. I forgot to take pictures so I'll add them later but it seems that cyl # 4 (front most) leaned out and detonated. This seemed to chip away pieces of the piston which managed to get themselves past the rings. This in turn scored the heck of the walls and the piston itself. Oh well... Onward and upward. And for those of you going to the Curry's Challenge... you're in luck. I won't have my engine management in place in time for it. So I'll probably only be able to put down about 300rwhp...

 

I ordered 2 sets of each just to be sure, hell, I'll probably drop and lose one on the way!!! I didn't see anything mentioned about dumping the nylon(?) washers that come with the H/Data gasket. Thanks Phil

 

I thought the #4 cylinder was at the REAR of the engine.

Does this new engine have the new oil bolts?

 

PS....beautiful turbo set up, I love the "natural look" of the valve cover. I bet when the snow dries up you are going to have a lot of fun with that set-up! Phil

 

What went wrong with polishing the valve cover? What were you using to polish it? Die grinder w/polishing wheel, hopefully? So is the "natural" finish just another powdercoat?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DJ Qube
[B]What went wrong with polishing the valve cover?

 

It was the intake manifold I was polishing to try and make it match the new color scheme but it's practically impossible. I'm going to put that project on hold for the time being. I need to get everything up and working so I can get mad horsepower!!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Yellow Streak
[B]

He was polishing the intake manifold, not the valve cover.

 

*crank* *crank* vrooooooommm! WOOHOO! Well last night started off a little rough... I had my game plan set and I was on a roll however... due to domestic issues (a pissed off wife) I had to pull the plug early to make peace. That being done, I managed to get back into the garage by 8 and had the engine up and running by 11:15. I was initially concerned about the oil light since I don't have an oil pressure gauge. But as it turns out, I let the car settle overnight and when I started her up this morning, the oil had settled nicely and she was purring like a kitten. I'll post more pics when I get home tonight, but I'll be taking her out for the first time this evening. More to come...

 

Wow that's awesome, are you ready to install the EMS yet?? I'm really excited for you, I am very glad that you didn't have any troubles!

What happened with the oil light???

Chris