In case you were wondering about the CCC track day last June

Doug Smith

Contributing Member
I went. It was not crowded. It was great being able to park in the paddock with lots of room around. Most people wore masks when they were supposed to but not all. Some people didn't grasp that it needs to cover the nose too...

Weather was pretty good but hot. The Mustang was running a bit hot. I took it pretty easy in the first session since it was my first track day in many years. Second session I started getting after it a bit. About 3/4 of the way through the second session the car started running really rough. I was able to diagnose that two cylinders weren't firing, so that ended my day. Finally tore apart the top end of the engine with my son the other weekend. Here's the results. Blown head gasket with a channel burned in the head between two cylinders. So my track day got a lot more expensive. But it was still a lot of fun. Really nice event.

Inkedhead_gasket_fail_LI.jpg

Inkedbad_head_LI.jpg
 
Damn. That should be repairable. Was that a crate engine or one you and Herb built?
Coincidentally, the last CCC I attended, my '89 dropped a cylinder in the middle of a session.
 
That was an engine that we built. Aluminum AFR heads. I have no idea who around here could do that kind of work. Might just have to order new heads. What ended up being the cause of the problem you had?
 
That was an engine that we built. Aluminum AFR heads. I have no idea who around here could do that kind of work. Might just have to order new heads. What ended up being the cause of the problem you had?

Check with Simon at Tyson's Machine to see who can weld aluminum. (703) 471-1802

I really never definitively found out what caused the miss in the '89 Mustang. After I replaced the spark plugs and injectors and cleaned out the fuel rail, the problem disappeared. We ruled out anything mechanical with leak down and compression tests.
 
Doug ,
try Classic Motors and Machine, formerly M&D, Herb used them when they were in Purcellville.
They moved and are practically your neighbor! I believe they sucessfully welded a crack in Bruce's Corvette ally block.

18896 Woodburn Road
Leesburg, VA 20175
 
Doug: At Herb's recommendation, I had them restore and completely rebuild the engine for the Triumph TR4A when they were still in Leesburg. They did a great job and were really good to work with. And Scott is correct - they are about a mile from me just after you turn onto Woodburn Road from Harmony Church Rd.
 
I used Evan at Classic to figure out why my starter chewed up the ring gear on my fly wheel. It turned out the tolerances of aftermarket parts did me in. When it happened again, I will admit I thought Evan had screwed something up the first time and took it back to him to fix it. Turns out I had composite needle valves in the carbs which had worn in ethanol and allowed the engine to hydrolock. Good thing I took it to him, because I don't think I would have figured that one out. I would definitely recommend. O0
 
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