$2015 Team Alavanche Racing entry 280Z

http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/MysteriousSmallBlockChevyOilLeak.htm

pretty sure that's my oil leak issue, there is no bolt there, and i've heard of that before. i exclusively build the 88-95 roller cam blocks when i do a 350, and they don't have a fuel pump pushrod hole so it's a non issue. this block is older and has a blockoff and no pushrod because electric pump, and the concentration of the oil is on the rack directly below this bolt hole. need more brake cleaner to hose everything down, put a bolt in the hole, and try it all again. definitely not tomorrow, have a super long work day.

if all goes well with the diff bushings and bolt with thread sealer fixing my oil leak, then tomorrow is a slightly longer test run as long as work cooperates.

i have a new little helper, she has way less attention span than her brother but she likes to hold the wheel and make racecar sounds.

patgizz wrote: i have a new little helper, she has way less attention span than her brother but she likes to hold the wheel and make racecar sounds.

good to know I'm not the only one

patgizz wrote: if all goes well with the diff bushings and bolt with thread sealer fixing my oil leak, then tomorrow is a slightly longer test run as long as work cooperates. i have a new little helper, she has way less attention span than her brother but she likes to hold the wheel and make racecar sounds.

Damn, she's already getting big! I'm so glad both your kids took after their mom in the looks department.

patgizz wrote: if all goes well with the diff bushings and bolt with thread sealer fixing my oil leak, then tomorrow is a slightly longer test run as long as work cooperates. i have a new little helper, she has way less attention span than her brother but she likes to hold the wheel and make racecar sounds.

That is a cute kid. You will make a nice ring around her little finger.

Gimp wrote: Damn, she's already getting big! I'm so glad both your kids took after their mom in the looks department.

yeah she has quit screaming like mad, so you guys can visit without recurrence of the great ohio city burrito fiasco of 2014. i'm quite sure, however, that kate will probably never agree to ride in a vehicle with abby ever again.

I didnt know you could even get a burrito in ohio city

patgizz wrote:

Gimp wrote: Damn, she's already getting big! I'm so glad both your kids took after their mom in the looks department.

yeah she has quit screaming like mad, so you guys can visit without recurrence of the great ohio city burrito fiasco of 2014. i'm quite sure, however, that kate will probably never agree to ride in a vehicle with abby ever again.

LOL... I promise it wasn't that bad, plus, we got ice cream.

Work not cooperating. At job still with broken insulation foam gun, waiting for a can of great stuff window foam so i can wrap up this job. Will be lucky to get home by 7. Early part of day was spent cleaning out a hoarders garage who was an HVAC tech, so i have a bunch of tools i don't know how to use and a couple grand in full r22 and r410a canisters.

I have one of those 2014 models as well. Mine with a production date of Sept 11th.

Also a photo taken in Challenge car.

so the car has been running like butt when warmed up, and i've only had it warmed up twice. i was tweaking carb, pulling hair out trying to figure why as soon as i got up to temp my idle would drop 300rpm and feel like i was down a cylinder and dying in gear. i fired it up in the dark tonight and found a cracked spark plug. as soon as it warmed up the porcelain was expanding or something and it went from shooting spark into the cylinder to shooting spark at the header. so when i get that changed i need to dial my carb back to where i was before. still aim to auto-x with john sunday morning, have to dump what's left of the 50 chrysler off my trailer. bailing on a concert tomorrow night i think to prep car.

oil leak done. changed plugs, still ran like butt. played with carb adjustments, no change. something in carb boogered up. took it off and tossed on the one that originally came with the engine. baseline tuned my mixture screws and it fired right up, set idle, and runs wonderfully. no more butt. took it around block the long way this time and decided it was time to take it out in public to see what the reaction was.

heads turned, jaws dropped, and a steady stream of guys was walking around, peeking in, pointing, commenting, smiling. if only they knew how cheap it was $ wise. definitely not time wise though. lots of hours and long nights have gotten me to this point.

today's excitement - dragged home the enclosed trailer to fix it up. needs: one fender, some rust repair of back under door, take brakes apart and clean and make sure they function, new tires, weight distribution hitch.

testing my new router, internets blew up saturday.

made scuff plates for my homemade/used hood pins our of cutoff from the door panel material. traced one of the plates from the new pins i bought for the chevelle.

continuing of the theme the nelsons started with this car and drilling hundreds of lightening holes, i added 10 more.

Team Alavanche is officially official. in gainesville, looking forward to tomorrow. slight transit damage to the roof of the car seems to be limited to boning up the paint.

11th overall. have an oil issue(pan gasket split during lone drag run, making for a slippery ride and had to back out of it) that needs fixed, but plan to spend next year refining the car, learning how to autocross, and tuning the carb/timing at test nights at the dragstrip and plan to return to gainesville looking for a higher finish.

have not processed any video yet, once we got home had to dive right back into work.

I like this thread.

11th overall is great!

tuna55 wrote: 11th overall is great!

that's what i've been told. a certain man who won this year came in 11th his first 2 years.

patgizz wrote: oil leak done. changed plugs, still ran like butt. played with carb adjustments, no change. something in carb boogered up. took it off and tossed on the one that originally came with the engine. baseline tuned my mixture screws and it fired right up, set idle, and runs wonderfully. no more butt. took it around block the long way this time and decided it was time to take it out in public to see what the reaction was. heads turned, jaws dropped, and a steady stream of guys was walking around, peeking in, pointing, commenting, smiling. if only they knew how cheap it was $ wise. definitely not time wise though. lots of hours and long nights have gotten me to this point.

Hey, you parked next to a Mark VII.

reviving the car for $2016.

went to one autocross on memorial day. engine got really hot(for me running an iron head sbc anyway, 240) and was making brown bubbles out the overflow. i figured head gasket. pulled valve covers and found crack prone smogger heads. pulled heads and the gaskets looked good, heads did not. appears this engine is a late 70's 155hp LM1 with a slightly larger than stock cam. the bores looked funky, and upon further inspection someone went to town with a ridge reamer. too low in the bore. down where the rings ride the bore is .013 over(worn) with lots of grooves. with original cast pistons. so the "rebuild" as it was called was a hack job.

so i've got that going for me. less than 2 months to figure out the engine situation.

engine situation being figured out, not telling. show up in gainesville to see if i can get the car done in time. i've set myself back months.

Vortec heads?

If all else fails I've got a stock 78 4 bolt 350 sitting on a stand here in Jacksonville. I'm sure we can put it in Thursday night style. You're welcome to it as long as I can have it back for my K30.