bpracer said:

Just remember if you get crap in your oil from the blown motor, it will be hiding in your oil cooler for your next motor to ingest.

Blown motors are no fun. "What's that noise? Oh, hmmm... oh, I know what that noise is... "

Click to expand...

Tell me about it. Like Chris I’ve had two blown motors in less than three years. His cost a lot more than mine though.

Oh crap.

Doesn't the Aluminator come with a 2 year warranty?

It does not as I bought a shortblock and dressed it with boss heads and other new ford parts.

Not sure what I’m going to do but the crank sheared while at 114mph inducing a spin and fun ride into the desert. I’m sure it’s somehow something I screwed up.



Tearing down what’s left Saturday but so far I’ve confirmed the pistons, oil pump, cylinder heads, cams, and all valvetrain components are trash from a quick inspection under the cam covers. I wouldn’t be surprised to find splits in the block as well. Still owe about $4k on the existing one so I’m definitely tempering my desire to keep going with a little grip on financial reality.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Damn. One of the many reasons I got out of drag racing was to avoid crap like that and regular part carnage.

I hope you find a workable path forward.

Video of the failure:


I wont be able to rebuild the aluminator in any way nor be able to replace it fully on my own, but may try to limit weight on the car and try to run something a little less potent to keep collecting points while I financially recover.

I'm probably insane for continuing down this road. More to report tomorrow.

#21carpowerplant, #CompetitionProvenbyHolmanMoody, #hearttransplant

That’s the secret weapon. Implant good luck lump from #21, then rebuild this. Swap/refresh as needed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Credit card companies going to love me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

captdistraction said:

Credit card companies going to love me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Maybe you can take the wife on a nice trip with all the rewards points?

We broke down the motor, and I'm probably more frustrated and furious with this than I've ever been.

Had a great crew of friends come by to help me clean up the gallons of oil all over the car and the dirt that was tarred and feathered over every inch of the chassis. Then disassembled the motor.

That said, it would be shorter to list what survived versus what didn't:
-The CJ pump made it out alright
-The block survived, however needs serious deburring. Its crazy how bad it is in places where you can just fingernail chip off large bits of aluminum off the casting.
-The rods survived
-The mahle pistons could be usable, but I'll se if anyone else wants to mess with that. They have some indentations from the valves
-The RH intake cam and LH exhaust cam made it (their opposites are bent)
-the oil pan was ok, pickup tube to be discarded
-LH valvecover is mostly ok (needs new gaskets)

What's shocking is how much else of this thing is trashed. Every rocker, cylinder head, bolt, tensioner, guide, cover, pulley, etc is destroyed. I'll also need a new front bumper cover, lower fascia, support brackets, lower trays, fender liners, hard brake lines (for RH front) and Battery harness (this one was nearly new with the Magnum Swap). So to be blunt the car isn't going anywhere for a while even if I get a powerplant lined up. There was a flash fire when this happened and the harnesses in the area burnt. Starter probably toasted too, teeth are a bit chewed up.

My frustration comes in that it sounds more and more its an application issue with the ATI balancer and ARP bolt. I guess Ford only uses them for the Aluminators to meet NHRA applications and SFI requirements, but doesn't recommend them for road racing use. I'm pretty angry because I previously spent the money for that expensive thing as it was then-recommended for my needs and concerns (having previously broken an oil pump on another motor and wanting superior vibration control). I did my due diligence (or so I thought) in researching this part before purchase and it seemed universally agreed that it was the right part for the application.

Now to hear "BUY THIS PART ITS WHAT YOU NEED" turn to "WHY WOULD YOU BUY THAT; THATS WHY YOU BLEW UP" is pretty damn frustrating. I'll also be changing certain suppliers for the car because of that attitude and lack of customer support (I don't expect anything and wasn't asking, just don't treat your customers like a child/idiot). Its a bummer for all the "lol get screwed idiot, thanks for your cash" attitudes out there (looking at you, ARP).

Ultimately, that's racing I guess. I still owe a lot of money on this dead motor from the last build, and I still like racing but its becoming a lot harder to justify. The two motor plan still seems like my best bet, but just going to take my time and learn to stop listening to the experts on the internet.

Pictures to follow.

Chris:

Terrible situation. Been there with a C6 Z06 race car and lost the whole thing after a crank broke, fire, etc. Sorry for your troubles and hope that you can recover this.

One “bright” spot FWIW... I was about to order an ATi balancer on more than one recommendation from experienced road racing engine builders. Your experience (and photos) will be relayed to them and I will be ruthless with their explanations.

You might have saved more than one other similar engine failure...

Hang in there,

Rob

Wow, you have the worst luck with engines but fortunately you didn't have a major accident when the engine went at such a high speed. Hopefully @steveespo can help you out with a motor. Good luck with the repairs.

Here's where I need to ask for help:

I've built a list (pretty similar to the one from a little over a year ago) of my options to move forward.

Can view it here: https://1drv.ms/x/s!AlYNJ_4Or1Yc3404Le9gqvqkoS-HOQ
(I'll make an image or PDF if that's easier)

If anyone has the time to review it, look at the options/parts and make recommendations I'm all ears. I don't want to run through this again, and while I run a used motor in the car this is the plan for the primary motor going forward. I've gotten pretty sick of the internet's opinions on what I should do, but here's a case I'm asking for it within the confines of this plan.

Finally, if anyone has better leads on these parts or options than I have, or has this stuff laying around and would like to sell it, let me know.

How about a screen shot?

For option #1, don't you also need to add a crankshaft to the parts list? A new Manley forged crank is about $1k. Also why the anger at ARP? What did they do? (maybe I missed something)

Long term, I would suggest racing a tube frame purpose built car like GT1 or GT2 or GT3 in SCCA. I don't know if there is a NASA equivalent. The initial cost of the car will be more. But the upkeep will be less and you will not be replacing broke production car parts with just another prone to fail production car part.

Plus the car's value does not drop as quickly, if at all. I had 3 of them and sold each one for more than I paid for it. Of course we spent time and money making the car better. But by comparison, friends of mine that were racing showroom stock spent a lot more money than I did replacing broken parts. The cost of their parts were often higher. And after a few years the cars value was 1/3 or 1/2 what they paid for it because there was a newer, supposedly better street car that everyone wanted.

You may not want to hear this, no offense is intended. And I do feel your engine pains plus I can see how much time and money you have in your car. But consider the alternatives. A quick look at racingunk.....

Here's a Riley Scott Mustang for $85k
https://www.racingjunk.com/GT/18296...=11&categoryId=83&offset=105&from=category#10

If you are not Ford only, I've raced against this car, its everything the ad says for $68k
https://www.racingjunk.com/GT/182982667/GT1-Camaro.html?page=9&categoryId=83&offset=81&from=category

Obviously neither are cheap but they will hold their value. Plus they are awesome to drive. They are real race cars and wickedly fast.

I, uh, don’t have that sort of money unless it’s spread over a very large value of time. Thus a lot of these pains. I have a spare crank in hand already

Yeah, i get the money thing. When I bought my first one, I sold most everything I had of value (that wasn't race related), opened 3 credit cards then maxed them out all on the same day with cash advances. But it worked out in the end. Unless you put up your house, the bank won't loan you race car money. But keep in mind, lower cost of entry does not necessarily equal lower cost overall. Production car pains never end. Its one thing after the next.

Plus, there are lower cost alternatives than GT1. GTA and GT2 are much cheaper. Here's a Howe chassis Chevy GTA for $17k
https://www.racingjunk.com/Road-Clu...t2+ford&quickSearch=1&np_offset=2&from=search

There are less Fords around in general but they show up if you keep looking. For anyone looking to get into road racing, I would highly recommend looking into SCCA GTA. The rule set is very good. You can be competitive without spending a fortune.

Good luck with the rebuild.

Still curious about ARP too.

Racer 47 we thought the ARP bolt holding the damper on was somehow related to Chris’ crank failure. Bottoming out before clamping the damper in place. That turned out to not be the case (we believe). Now the focus is on the ATi dampers suitability for road racing use. I still don’t understand why it wouldn’t be as good or better than the OEM damper (especially for the cost and advertising) but it is enough to scare me and @ArizonaBOSS into removing and going back to stock.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the explanation. I can't add any useful info on the ATI. It sucks. The only thing I noticed in the video is that the engine hangs at 7500 rpm for a while at the end of the main straight, every lap. Some may think 7500 is trivial but it really isn't. A good forged crank should handle it. Personally, I'd find a new/better/different crank first and get a good engine machine shop to balance the rotating assembly then debate ATI vs IW vs OEM second.