EFI straight eight Buick

[gearheadeh]

We tore the Buick down yesterday, here is some photos of the damage.

Don't you mean CARNAGE !

[SPARKY]

  uuuuuughlllllyyyy  bad Buford---shame on you 

[Peter Jack]

Looks like you might be able to save the bottom end of the rod! The piston will take a little re machining.

Pete

[Milwaukee Midget]

Gary, I've watched this build closely, and was gratified to see you were able to make some passes with the combination.   

Have you been able to pinpoint the cause?  Coincidence that it was the 2 slug both times?  Oiling issue?  Block flex?  Bad rod?  None of the above?  I'm just guessing - I'm curious as to what you think.

Chris

[panic]

Be careful not to open up the port into your valve train

I agree that a leak here is a bad idea, but IMHO safer than other locations, meaning if you have to guess wrong about the new port CL moving it up is safer than elsewhere.
There's almost no external pressure (inside the valve cover), so any transfer will be limited to the intake press/vac at WOT, as opposed to a leak to the chamber or even the water jacket.
Yes, it will lean out and pull oil, but if it's almost invisible the damage may be slight.
Some "oops" errors into the cover interior only require a primitive roof made of thin tube as a mask, sometimes epoxy is enough of a seal. Add a permanent riser to the valve cover rail for more room.
The repair is easily tested with air: pressurize the port to 60 psi, slosh 6 oz. of colored alcohol (low surface tension + low viscosity + visibility + no rust) around the seal, watch for bubbles. If it passes, re-fill and leave it overnight - look for stains in the port.

[Buickguy3]

   GH,
   The damage looks similar to ours at World Finals. Two windows, and a piston and a pulverized rod small end. Lots of schrapnel in the pan, but the crank and bearings look good.

[jl222]

   GH,
   The damage looks similar to ours at World Finals. Two windows, and a piston and a pulverized rod small end. Lots of schrapnel in the pan, but the crank and bearings look good.

  How long are those rods and do you think the rpm weight and length of piston rod assembly has any thing to do with failures?
  I know the aero engines limited there rpm to 2800---3200 but they had 6'' strokes and 6'' pistons, some more some less.


                   JL222

[Buickguy3]

   In our case, we just got greedy and bored the block out .290 and sleeved it down to a .200 overbore using spun silicon steel sleeves. They won't handle the pressures without more wall behind them to support them. The top of #7 cly. let go and caught the piston edge on the way up and jammed the piston sidways and proceeded to remove all of the cyl. wall and turn the piston into a ball and beat the small end of the rod to death. In the process it punched two holes in the block. Surprisingly the rod bearing still looks good and the crack spins free. As they say, "Run what 'ya bring, Break what 'ya brought". We'll run a small motor next year.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Great photo, Doug.  How'd you get it so clear?  And as for the ex-piston -- well, if you decide to save it for your shelf of race-broken parts -- make sure you tag it so that all will be able to figure out what it used to be.

[Buickguy3]

 
   Slim,
 When you see the piston piece up close, you can see the rings still embedded in the side. We're now trying to decide how to make a useful coffee table or rolling workbench out of the block with the windows.
 There are way too many hours of work in it to make a yard ornament out of it. I'll see if I can get a picture of the altar to the Gods Of Speed that we have in the shop. Lots of sacrificial offerings there already. I'm sure my daughter doesn't understand when I tell her that's going to be her inheritance. It's a snapshot of the micro-second we're here.

[Unkl Ian]

How about converting the exhaust ports into intake ports ?

Worked pretty good for Bobby Green in his Lakester.

Of course you would need a different cam,
but it gets away from the Siamese intake ports.

[chenchen21621]

What is the port configuration on the straight 8?  It's been years since I've seen one.


Dam spam!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GH]

Here is the port configuration     EIEEIEEIEEIE   

[Stan Back]

Didn't they put that to song -- "Old Mac Donald . . .

[Milwaukee Midget]

Didn't they put that to song -- "Old Mac Donald . . .

That would be for the 5 port Sprite/Mini head - E I E I O shit, I just ground through into the water jacket.