He also emphasized the fact that it should take a good amount of time to put a good racing engine together. The philosophy works!
Pete
Engines are funny, in that if you're moderately competent, you can usually screw one together and it will likely work.
But there is no "one thing" that makes for a good race engine.
I'm still an amateur at putting together an engine, which makes me inherently slow, but going slow
s l o w l y uncovers the problems. This often leads you to taking it apart, which gets you better at putting it back together again.
And then there are the questions that come up that you don't know are questions.
Measuring everything is important, but I've discovered, under Mark's tutelage, that things you wouldn't instinctively measure for a simple re-build of a stock engine are often the critical items that you
must measure for a race engine.
The work of others, regardless of their competence, expertise or experience, are often the things that need the closest scrutiny.
Yes, it's time consuming. To do it right, you may have to skip an event - which I learned is a better proposition than doing it wrong and gnashing your teeth all the way home. Seat time is fun, but only in a proper running ride.
Mark's made me a believer in dyno testing - for 2 reasons:
A. You can dial in a tune much easier on an exposed engine in an air conditioned shop than you can bent over under a tarp on the salt in 95 degree heat.
B. It's better to solve the problems at home, where you have all the resources and contacts at your disposal to deal with them, rather than 1600 miles away, where you're at the mercy of a late running UPS truck.