Slow Progress

Im way too slow at updating this damn thing, sorry about that.

Last meeting out was a disaster .. i had previously split a hose, overheated my nice new engine, and blown a head gasket, so being a largely over-bored engine, i have to get head gaskets made.
I only run around 0.036" piston to head clearance on a 0.060" crushed head gasket.

I sent the head gasket out to my gasket maker, and he unfortunately destroyed it in the proccess of enlarging the fire rings, so he used his own material and made me a new gasket.
I measured the gasket, sure enough it was the same uncrushed thickness, but this came back to bite me.

I ran the car for 3 laps out at pukekohe, and as i came past the start/finish line i heard the engine pitch change and quickly killed it .. however, it was too late. I pulled number 4 sparkplug, and the damage was already obvious ..

We pulled the head off once i got home, and sure enough, all the exhaust valves had touched the pistons, the pistons had touched the head, and it had smashed an exhaust valve off and punched it right through the top of a piston.

It turns out that the new head gasket had crushed 0.020" MORE than the gasket i had supplied.
Absolutely gutting !!

I have since pulled the engine out and stripped it .. its hammered the big ends a little because of the pistons touching the head. I should get away with a light hone on number 4, a new piston, checking the conrod for straight, a light crank polish, welding the cylinder head and reshaping, and a new set of valves once again.

Its all a bit disheartening, but i guess thats motorsport. I guess the moral of the story is, if there is something you aren't going to do yourself, check it, double check it, triple check it, then STILL don't trust that the person has done there bit correctly.

Hopefully ill have the old girl running for the end of Feb.