I gotta give the team kudos here, from the vision, design, workmanship, and implementation-all turned out great!
What an exciting trip! I was scheduled to leave Monday. Easter Sunday, after everyone had left, I was getting all the parts ready I needed for the trip. My wife suggested that I leave, so that I would not have to drive straight through. As I was asking her if she was sure, I was loading the truck as fast as I could!
After stopping to see Wayno (it was a blast), I arrived mid- afternoon on Monday, and John and I unloaded the engine. Later in the afternoon, John got it set on the dyno. I checked out Chico, then picked Dale up from the airport.
Tuesday morning Dale and I chatted over breakfast, then headed over to Vintage Hotrod, and spent most of the day hooking everything up. Late Tuesday afternoon, we fired the Flatcad for the first time! We were pumped, to say the least, and headed for steaks and drinks. The waiter put too much ice in our drinks, though, and hurt us a little!
Wednesday, after several aspirin for the ice overdose, Dale and I headed downstairs to have breakfast with Don, Carl, and Jim, who came over to watch the festivities .I left my paperwork on John's desk, so until he sends it to me, I'll go off of memory. First run we had it set real fat, and pulled around a 185 HP at 4500 rpm. . We leaned out the next run, set the timing, and got 351? off of just over 7 lbs boost. We kept at it, until we reached the 570 HP, 544 ft/lbs torque, at 5500 and 14.2 PSI boost. Sooo, back for steaks and drinks!
Thursday I settled the bill with John, and Dale and I got the engine ready to travel, loaded it up, and I took off for Don's shop=D&D Engineering in Turlock, CA.
Friday, Don had several guys jump in and help, and not only did we get the new oil pump idler pulley assembly made, but got the bellhousing lined up correctly
The trip home included 24" of snow on Donner Pass, rain into Utah, and being stuck on the interstate in a snowstorm, in western Wyoming, due to an accident-But I'm home!
The only issues we had were a poorly installed freeze plug, that popped out, and the Barnes/Esslinger oil/water pump. The water pump didn't work at all, so we went to an electric pump. The oil pump bolts to the water pump, and the whole setup was put together at Barnes, then installed by us. By the 6th pull, the bolts c]ames loose on the oil pump, some even fell out! I'm pretty sure we bent the shaft, and tore up the vanes. It will be interesting to see what they say Monday!- see pic
I have to give Don and John props here- if you need any machine work, or laser cutting, give Don at D&D engineering a call. He's a Flatcad sponsor, team member, Hotrodder, and a helluva talented guy!
I wouldn't even think of taking an engine somewhere besides John, after our experience! He's a proven engine builder, takes the time to explain everything, and is 1st class in his approach to getting things done!
We're going to 'ease' into this, slowly and as methodically possible, on the dirt and salt this year. After we're done running, we're going to tear down the engine, and look for the tweaks that might bring HP, without adding more boost-head flow, cam, ignition, etc.
1st pic is breakfast Wednesday morning- from the left, Don, Carl, Jim, and Dale.
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