Zotman72 dodged the bullit.

[Grady Clay]

Zotman72 dodged the bullet.

He had an engine malfunction at the Club Race in Texas and stopped.

Yesterday I helped Bill take the top end off his 2.7 H-Stock engine.
Wow, another few rotations and it could have been all junk.
As it is it seems all that is needed is one matching P&C and some cleaning.
A close call and something we should all remember – when
there is a perceived problem; STOP.

There is still much investigation to go to insure everything else is OK.
It appears that a ring broke and progressively damaged the piston
and other rings in the #1 cylinder. The good news is it must
have happened pretty rapidly because none of the pieces
are “chewed up.” He stopped in time.

The next steps are to take the sump tank out and inspect for anything.
He is going to cut the oil filter and see if anything got there.
He will measure all the other P&Cs, particularly ring clearance in the pistons.
There has to be a reason for this. \
I encouraged him to pull a rod bearing (or all) through the case and inspect.
If everything turns up clean, I suspect he can clean the
debris and replace the single cylinder. Of course he will do
some other maintenance and performance enhancement.











I brought my watch repair tools to help.













Sorry these last two aren't good. I'll take some clearer inages.
You can see just how much of the piston is missing and all three rings.

A CLOSE call.

Best,
Grady

[jpnovak]

Was this the race at TWS? I was working turn 5 on Sunday. When did it happen? What car was he in?

[MichiganMat]

i dig that exhaust setup.
Looking forward to hangin with you in a few weeks.

[jpnovak]

btw, are those bits of a broken ring in the last two pics? I think I see a spring from the oil control ring.

[Tim Walsh]

Looks like bits of a disintegrated ring to me.

How bad is the head beat up?

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Was he the #179 car?

[Grady Clay]

Tim,

The head wasn’t damaged at all. All the pieces went into the crankcase.

Bill is considering splitting the case. I want him to reserve that decision
until he has done more investigation. The engine has only three hours on
it and unless there is a compelling reason, bearings through the case may
be a suitable option with a free turning 2.7.



Best,
Grady

[zotman72]

Well I have to chime in here and provide a couple of clearer pictures of the carnage. Yesterday I was fortunate to have such excellent company during the teardown. And oh the stories this fellow Grady has...
As for the engine, I was indeed lucky and hopefully it can be back running in time for the upcoming RMR track season opener. At the TWS club race, the engine croaked by the second practice session on Friday. That 2000 mile roundtrip (Denver-College Station and back) was a nothing short of outright disaster, fodder for another post. I completely agree with Grady, if something is not right, by golly guys do not run it anymore.

[JeremyD]

Wow - lucky

[zuffen]

Bill,

I hope all turns out OK and more luck next time, if you get the chance I for one would love to hear about the (mis) adventure to texas.

James

[pookie]

Can you tell us more about the exhaust? It almost looks like the two mufflers were cut in half, shortened and then welded back together. Is that correct? It looks like a very interesting exhaust.

Thanks in advance

[Grady Clay]

Report from Friday 4/1/05
– unfortunately not an April Fools joke.

Bill disassembled the 4-5-6 side.

All six Nikasil cylinders are loosing the plating at the top.
#5 piston is also toast.

After consultation with some local experts,

Diagnosis; DETONATION!

The fuel was medium grade octane – not the just purchased race fuel.
The CIS mixture was still set for Denver altitude and to pass emissions – the
consensus is that it needed to be set rich 6 clicks or so.
The ignition advance was set at idle and not checked at 6000 RPM.

With an 8.5:1 CR, it probably was an unfavorable combination of all three.

Today Bill is pulling the rods for inspection and replacement of the bearings,
rod nuts and bolts. He is inclined to split the case and upgrade the oil pump.

Mike from Storz Garage and Bill


John Eisenbud was my first employee 35 years ago.


Bill and Greg Johnson, Eurosport

Greg worked for Rennenhaus for many years in the late '70s and early '80s.

Best,
Grady

[Bill Verburg]

Bummer!, nice to put some faces w/ the characters involved, though I am still not sure who is who

hope it works out ok

[Grady Clay]

Bill,

Sorry, I went back and edited to add names.

Over the years I had an absolutely wonderful crew of people at Rennenhaus, usually 9-15. When I retired 20 years ago, that spawned many of these shops.

Best,
Grady

[Bill Verburg]

Grady, thanks, and where is yours?