well, to get the thread up to date before I take off overseas for a week, here is the progress. It is sad, but all things needed to look worse before they got better. Time heals all wounds.
Nick/ Zimmerman took the engine apart. Many things were wrongly assembled, and machining was improper to say the least. But before I go through some of the details I want to emphasize a few things that I have learned through this entire experience:
* Don't short yourself on a quality rotating assembly. I spent $1500 (labor)on an assembly, but the savings all but nearly ended me into divorce court spending money to build the new one.
* Don't take it for granted that a "quality" machinist won't get through their thick head that this is not a small block chevy.
* Don't take it for granted that they are a speed shop that they are familiar with our cars.
1. From day 1 the mains were set wrong. They were too loose.
2. From day 1 the head gaskets were doomed, by my own doing that I took the advice from builder that I did not need to retorque MLS cometics. I did blow the first one, because it had 55 lbs on most of the studs
3. The Cylinders were out of specs ( bored too large) with less than 750 miles on the build
4. The old main caps which were from a different block were used in this last build. It was told to me that they would be ok if welded and machined to meet and greet the registers. The crank walked....no good.
5. It's my understanding the align hone/bore is suspect as well.
6. The stroker clearance was not done properly, they ground off the head of the #2 rod cap to clear the block
7. Wrong cam was chosen, I did choose the cam, but did not know (my fault) that a small lobe cam should have been chosen for the stroker assembly.
8. I did send debris through the engine but it was told that there was more trash than just debris from the carnage I did over the time I had all the issues with it. The block was not properly cleaned out from day 1
9. Piston skirts were washed of the coating from the initial head gasket blow.
Now what is being done to fix the issue(s) at engine builder
* Sending to a quality builder Zimmerman Racing. Lead by the awesome help and understanding and friendly advice, from what I call a dear friend Nick Micale.
* Proper cam, small lobe billet.
* Pistons sent off to be re-coated
* New spare block sent with my damaged block will be used and properly machined with the right sized "holes"
* New main caps aligned with the new block
* Danny Bee front cam thrust performed
* Crank fixed from the #3 wear, which nearly spun.
* Proper clearance of the stroker assembly
* Proper assembly and balancing of the rotating assy
* Fixing the #2 rod stud to where you have a head bolt
Things that I am taking on myself to learn and do better
* Cal Hartline will be visiting Lorenz Racing in West Salem Ohio quite a few times this year. I will be dyno tuning the new build before I put any serious power to the ground
* Fuel system got a complete overhaul. I went with Nick on his hanger, sending unit. I also had the wiring upgraded, larger injectors, pump, new lines, tank, etc.
* Everything is hot wired. Coil, FAST ECU, Injectors, Fuel Pump. If I could hot wire a cold air intake I would have. Better more voltage than less IMO. All the positive feeds go directly to an optima yellow.
* I will run Alky for the time being till I get more acclimated to the E85. So with this being said I will log alky pressure to insure proper pressure
* I will be running continuous logs and will need alot of help understanding them. If anyone can help me read them to understand what I am seeing it would be appreciated. Cal will be making all the decisions on what is found and how to correct them
* KR sensor circuit will be THOROUGHLY examined to insure it is reading correctly.
* Header studs will be used to torque down the headers, no more chances, or excuses for exhaust leaks, period.
* Head torque will be checked, and retorqued as many times as needed and recommended.
* I will be looking into replacing the fuel relay at the caspers harness to a continuous heavy duty one, like the one Nick has for his hot wire. Needed??? not sure but will investigate it.
If anyone sees anything I may be missing please chime in and give me a heads up. I think I have quite a bit of it covered.
A hell of a learning experience here folks. Learn from my mistakes!