[boostedrex05]

Originally Posted by evilSTi7

unfortunately i couldn't snap any pictures of bruce on the track (i was on track at the same time). Here are some of the ones i did take though.

I like the wheels any rubbing? and what are those mud flaps for?

[STi_1212]

Happy Birthday!

Its great to see everything has been going smoothly and the water temp problem was solved so easily. On a different note, wow i never realized that the kaps shifter was so tall. Also those prodrives and the black stoptechs should blend right in with the neanderthal black out you got planned, speaking of which whens that happening? Actually forget i mentioned that just enjoy the car for a bit before you send her back into a shop.

Oh BTW Good luck with the upcoming tuning session.

[spazegun2213]

Bruce,
It was a pleasure to finally meet and instruct you. You are a quick learner and just need to be pointed in the right direction. With more seat time, I know you'll be ripping around the track in no time!! As for the car, its a marvel really, but its up and running and you were able to enjoy almost an entire day before a problem arose. Just wait until the car is sorted out!!! It will take time, but let me know the next time you are come out to the track. I'll bring out the vette and give you a real ride

[T3h_Clap]

those wheels look awesome!

[spazegun2213]

Originally Posted by T3h_Clap

those wheels look awesome!

the wheels are really nice... but the fenders need a little clap loving for the tires to fit

[mofoSTI]

Looks like fun

[flatthump]

It's almost surreal that this thread is where it is. I'm stoked for you Bruce. This thread was going the day I joined the forum, and was one of the first build threads I ever looked at for a suby.

Congrats!

[BoostJunkie]

It was great to finally see the car out on the track Bruce It sucks that your weekend was cut short but at least you got to stretch the car's legs a bit. Unfortunately my day was no better than yours, but I went back with the Porsche yesterday and had a great day. Now I'm waiting for those tune numbers from today

[Neanderthal Racing]

Originally Posted by BoostJunkie

It was great to finally see the car out on the track Bruce It sucks that your weekend was cut short but at least you got to stretch the car's legs a bit. Unfortunately my day was no better than yours, but I went back with the Porsche yesterday and had a great day. Now I'm waiting for those tune numbers from today

yeah, man, it sucked seeing you out on saturday for something so goofy. i'm glad you got back in the game on sunday. for all you guys who were cheering us on last week and for all these years, i have some heartbreaking news.

update: bottom line - the motor needs a teardown

background: before our "big bore" pro stage1 motor was built by jeremy at cobb, there had been some big engine failures attributed to inadequate oiling. most of the manufacturers including cobb started cross drilling their cranks to correct it. the problem no one anticipated is the impact crossdrilling would have on oil pressure. with a rash of failures recently on crossdrilled cranks, now we know and one again, cutn edg is going to become the poster child for another issue. how appropriate.

so here is where we stand: the motor is very healthy now but it won't stay healthy for long with the current oil pressure at high rpm, where the 08 pump is fairing no better than the 04 pump. we are seeing 60 psi at 7k rpm, which is exactly what phil was seeing before we installed it. the problem is not the pump. the problem is the crossdrilled crank. as a side note, when i originally reported that cobb was sponsoring the project, i mentioned we were building the motor around a new stock crank and not one of the 2-3k billet cranks cobb was using those days in their pro series. i didn't have that much money laying around after the original failure that gained so much notoriety for the project and i couldn't ask cobb to shell out for one. just so you know, i have the money for one now but we are going to use the stock crank. it is not the problem; it's the crossdrilling.

so, the motor is coming out again. phil's wrench, steve, is going to tear it down and replace the crank and do everything else normally dictated here, i.e., new rings, brush hone, redeck the heads, replace (and re-machine) the head gaskets and check the tolerances everywhere, etc. we're also going to replace the prototype gt65 kit (one of only 3) with a production kit while we are at it. i will probably send the charge pipes out to crucial for heat dispersal coating. i also had a discussion with phil about headers and i decided to stay with the stock crucial-treated manifold.

given the fact this engine started off an a one-off "big bore" prototype, we are going to need some technical assistance from cobb to ascertain the parts lists they used in the original build.

meanwhile, the turbo is going to be sent to roushe for a freshening and phil is going to make sure all of the details, wiring and other loose ends in the engine bay that have resulted from so many engine swaps and year long diversions this project has taken are cleaned up. i've been describing it as the scarecrow in the wizard of oz. no fewer than 6 different entities have had their hands on this thing over the last 2 years and it looks it. we're going to take this as an opportunity to clean up the details that could not be adequately addressed previously because of its vagabond history and long periods of time out of my supervision.

the only good news is, we were watching this issue closely enough to address it before a catastrophic failure. if you have a motor with a cross drilled crank AND you are beating on it under track or street conditions, watch your pressure at high rpms. this is a relatively hot topic with the engine gurus over on nasioc and here on iwsti. i'm looking forward to hearing from fly and some of the other folks in here about this latest turn of events.

[BoostJunkie]

Wow, that definitely is bad news. But at least you can take the opportunity to tie up all the loose ends. You planning on doing more track events later this summer?

[Neanderthal Racing]

my special thanks to howard and his team at ar fab:

yesterday, howard opened his shop an hour early to help the project at another one its darkest hours and i wanted to separate my thanks to him from the unpleasant news i just posted.

howard not only did everything he could to diagnose the cooling problem, he threw the car on his dyno to duplicate the track conditions we saw on saturday. he used evey bit of his considerable knowledge to help sort out the various issues and he tied up his shop, his personnel and his dyno to help phil and i reach the decision to rebuild the motor. i am eternally grateful to howard and his wife for being such great friends to the project in a real moment of need. if it wasn't for the fact that phil has so much time and committment to the project and the fact that we had a tentative plan in place already in the event the new oil pump didn't do the job, i would have left the car right there for howard and his team to handle it.

as some of you know, howard took a hit on the boards from a disatisfied customer. i was more involved in helping to reach a behind-the-scenes settlement than many people know. howards willingness to make concessions to straighten out the situation was never adequately reported. he ate the bill to make it right for his customer. my personal opinion is, if you are going to ravage someone on the boards, you are morally and ethically obligated to give equal attention to the remedy. everyone makes errors. everyone deserves redemption. that is why quirt and i are squared away now after so much drama. he deserves it. i asked kevin to take the old bobblehead thread down. it would be an appropriate gesture for the cusotmer in question to do the same, imo.

i walked away from ar fab with a real respect for howards facility, his incredible range of ar fab's fabrication and machining capabilities and the talents of howard and his staff.

thank you howard!

[Neanderthal Racing]

Originally Posted by BoostJunkie

Wow, that definitely is bad news. But at least you can take the opportunity to tie up all the loose ends. You planning on doing more track events later this summer?

absolutely. as i said to ross, i won't be happy until i "own" summit point and the other tracks in striking range. it's up to phil now as to how quickly we get going again.

[RFFG]

Sorry to hear, but we all know this next build absolutely awesome,

best of luck,

RFFG

[Kylipso]

Oh man I was so excited to see the car out and about, but at least its always moving forward, becoming better, and helping other members along the way. Good luck with the tear down!

[AR Fab]

It was nice to meet you in the flesh yesterday...Its always nice to put a name and voice with a face.

We greatly appreciate all the help you provided us in past and hope we can help you further in the future!

If you need any help making decisions for your project do not ever hesitate to call my cell number. Our facility's doors are always open 24/7 for customers of your level and we value your praise for our facility and its capabilities!


Howard