[elky] Re: Race Car Sunday

Friday while I had the race car at the alignment shop it dropped a cylinder.  It was firing thru the carburetor and actually sounded like a rod knock or an exhaust leak...that's what I thought it was and I spent all day Saturday changing exhaust manifold gaskets.  Don't ask why it took all day.  Just imagine turning 7/16" head machine screws one flat at a time above your head and dropping the wrench every 3rd flat.

When I fired it up it did the same damned thing.  I drained and changed the oil and filter and there was no metal in it so I felt ok about that.  So I figgered it must have been a valve that has its static lash set too tight.  I found one roller rocker



(picture of motor when I built it in 05) that was loose.  I pulled the spark plug wire on that cylinder and the firing thru the carb went away.  So I knew it was number 5.  Then several of us: Jim Halladay, Thomas "Pork Pie" Graf (a German photographer who's staying with me until we head for the salt) and I started trying to figure it out. 



Eventually, Thomas, who was messing around with the pushrods said he thought he had it correctly installed.  I fired it up and it ran great.  I don't understand it a bit.  It ran fine when we first started it a coupla weeks ago and then it didn't.  How in the world a pushrod jumped out of its pocket in the roller lifter is beyond me.  But it's running and we're buttoning it up so we can load it on the trailer tomorrow morning and head for the salt.

I dunno, but I'm not gonna argue.  It sure sounds good.

r