Author Topic: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!  (Read 129003 times)

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #180 on: January 20, 2017, 08:25:34 PM »
Surely that lad doesn't race that thing!? But it sure looks like "412" painted on the drivers door! ;)
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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Oh yeah! (Re: Now this is a proper V8 Edouard !)
« Reply #181 on: January 20, 2017, 11:50:05 PM »
Dear JC, X-Air, and WeatherCat believers in the automotive saying:

"There is no replacement for displacement!"

This car belongs to a young lad in our village, at the moment it has disappeared somewhere for a engine rebuild.

Thanks for sharing the photos!  :)  It is a nice looking car.  Too bad is appears to be suffering from a mineral deficiency.  It really should take a "chrome" supplement! . .  ;D

Now this is a proper V8 Edouard !

Oh yeah!  Perhaps I should remind you of the specifications of the engine in my trusty wagon:

        Displacement:
     
        445 cubic inches (7.3 litres)
     
        Bore:
     
        4.250 inches
     
        Cylinder heads:
     
        TA Performance Stage-2 Aluminum heads
     
        Camshaft:
     
        TA Performance Hydraulic roller camshaft (clone of Stage-1 cam:) 214/213.5@.50 on a 113 LC mid .500 lifts.
     
        Rockers:
     
        TA Performance roller rockers: 1.6 ratio
     
        Intake manifold:
     
        Edelbrock B4B
     
        Exhaust headers:
     
        TA Performance 2? competition headers (2014)
     
        Static compression ratio:
     
        9.65:1
     
        Ignition system:
     
        FAST E6 Ignition controller box (controlled by ECU)
     
        Fuel system:
     
        FAST Sportsman XFI Electronic Fuel Injection (including ignition control.)
     
        Peak horsepower:
     
        ~500 horsepower
     
        Peak torque:
     
        ~530 foot-pounds
     

 ;) . . . . .Is that assertive enough for ya' . . . . .

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #182 on: January 21, 2017, 12:08:00 AM »
Quote
Is that assertive enough for ya'
Yeah, but when is the next race?!
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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Not a racer - a puller! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #183 on: January 21, 2017, 12:11:52 AM »
Dear X-Air and WeatherCat seekers of the ultimate utility vehicle.

Quote
Is that assertive enough for ya'
Yeah, but when is the next race?!

But she isn't a racer!  She is a tow vehicle for a vintage Airstream travel trailer ("Caravan" to some.)

If I only had the time to even start to look into this!

Oh well,
. . . . Edouard

xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #184 on: January 21, 2017, 03:52:17 AM »
Quote
But she isn't a racer!  She is a tow vehicle
OK! You are talking about "pulls" like we have down south with our tractor pulls, right?!
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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Request DENIED!! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #185 on: January 21, 2017, 10:04:29 PM »
Dear X-Air and WeatherCat "coveting thou neighbors assertive wagon" types,. . . .  ;)

Quote
But she isn't a racer!  She is a tow vehicle
OK! You are talking about "pulls" like we have down south with our tractor pulls, right?!

Request DENIED!!!!

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

elagache

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Just another one of THOSE days . . . . (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #186 on: March 03, 2017, 12:17:27 AM »
Dear WeatherCat fans of one assertive Billy-goat wagon,

I received a not so subtle hint that perhaps I should update the story.  A few weeks back I brought my trusty wagon home from a shopping errand only to notice a ticking sound coming from the engine.  Given the location, it sure sounded to be something amiss with the valve train.  Concerned, I arranged to bring her over to Orinda Motors so that their classic car ace Greg could here the sound and assess how serious it was.  By the time I drove to Orinda Motors - the sound was gone!

You can't fix something that isn't visibly broken so I drove home disgruntled.  With all the rain, it has been hard to get her out, but I managed to get her out last Friday to take a few photos of her next to Spring flowering trees.  Here is one of the photos:



Alas the ticking sound was definitely back so on Monday I dropped her off at Orinda Motors for them to have a look.  This time the ticking sound did continue, but since this is a custom built engine, they asked me to get in touch with TA-Performance to get some advice.  It took a day and a half to get Mike Tomaszewski on the phone, but finally I did and he suspected the problem was that the car had sat too long because of all the bad weather.  He suspected that the long time idle had allowed all the oil to get out of the lifters and allowed air to become introduced.  Air in the lifters is a known cause of valve train noise.  He recommended that I simply get her on the freeway and really get the engine good and hot, so that the oil would work its way into every corner of the lifters.  He hoped that would make the problem go away.

So yesterday afternoon I took Mike's advice and picked up Biquette from Orinda Motors and gave her a brisk but short freeway run.  Biquette has had a problem with the engine stalling after getting too hot so I didn't want to take my chances.  Still, on my way home I took a few more pictures of Biquette with flowering trees.



Here is one of that all important tailgate:



Photos taken, I went home and stopped on the driveway with the engine idling.  I wasn't sure, but I thought I could still here the ticking sound.  So I took out my iPhone to take a quick video.  This is the video I took:

https://youtu.be/EQZx-LznrT4

Instead of catching the ticking sound, I captured the engine stalling from this strange component overheating problem.  It is mostly likely something to do with either the electronic fuel injection system of the ignition system that is controlled by the EFI's ECU (Engine Control Unit.)

Okay it was cool to capture the engine stalling, but there was a significant problem.  Biquette wasn't able to start.  My Dad and I could push her into the garage, but she is heavier with the bigger engine and all by myself - this is more than I can cope with.  I tried at 1/2 hour, the engine did start but only ran a few seconds before stalling once more.  Only after using a fan to further cool the engine bay and waiting another 45 minutes was I able to get her to run long enough to put her back into the garage.

I sent the video to Orinda Motors and plans are hatching to troubleshoot this problem sometime next week.  In the meantime I spent most of the afternoon continuing to remove branches from the broken Acacia tree branch.  In the meantime I'm still not sure if the ticking sound was solved or not.

Goes to show you that inside every problem is another problem struggling to get out.  Worse still, you can never be sure which problem is the bigger one!!

Oh well, . . . . . Edouard

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #187 on: March 03, 2017, 03:01:59 PM »
Thanks for the photos and the update. Let us know how it turns out.
Blick


elagache

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Back to the first problem . . . (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #188 on: March 07, 2017, 11:42:34 PM »
Dear WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts,

This morning I decided to finally catch the electronic fuel injection system goofing off in my trusty wagon.  I had my MacBook ready to log the failure and my iPhone was recording the grand event.  What happened? - nothing[banghead] 

Alas, the ticking sound in the valve-train has returned.  Worse still, instead of starting immediately when the engine was cold, it only started after I got out on the freeway.  The previous assumption was this was an oiling problem, but in that case it should make the sound when the engine is cold.  I was able to take this video of the sound:

https://youtu.be/UD_v0duJuOQ?t=10s

You can hear it most clearly after the radiator fans turn off.  I called the engine builder and he couldn't make any sense of the sound, so the time has come to pull the valve cover off and see what lies beneath.

As you can see - there is always something!! . . . . 

Oh well, . . . . . Edouard

elagache

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Dear WeatherCat fans of an "assertive" billy-goat wagon,

I haven't updated this thread because the situation has been extremely murky.  Greg at Orinda Motors found evidence of damage to the valve-train and some surprising scoring on the camshaft and lifters.  These are made of hardened steel, so some abrasives has been flowing in the oil that shouldn't be there.  I thought this engine was dead.  However, upon closer inspection, it definitely has issuez but probably can be saved.  I'm waiting on one more check, but it seems likely that this engine will have to go back to the engine builder TA-Performance and my poor wagon will have to be brought back to garage to wait for another spell.

Such are da' conditions that prevail
, . . . . . .

Oh well, . . . . Edouard

P.S. Not surprisingly, I'm extra short of time as a result, so my presence on this forum has correspondingly suffered.

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #190 on: April 04, 2017, 12:23:16 AM »
I am sure you are frustrated by this latest turn of the camshaft. Sorry for your aggravation. Thanks for  keeping us in the loop.
Blick


xairbusdriver

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #191 on: April 04, 2017, 12:27:08 AM »
Quote
Sorry for your aggravation.
And, I hope, for the pun?! [rolleyes2] [lol]
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COUNTRIES
Those that use metric = #1 Measurement system
And the United States = The Banana system


elagache

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Thanks guys for the sympathies! (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #192 on: April 04, 2017, 11:37:59 PM »
Dear Blick, X-Air, and WeatherCat automobile enthusiasts,

Thanks for your sympathy.  Sadly the engine damage does look very severe.  However, yesterday afternoon I found the engine builder Mike Tomaszewski talking me into saving this engine!  With passions like this, I've just got to soldier on.

Cheers, Edouard

Blicj11

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Re: FYI: I'm getting one assertive billy-goat station wagon!!
« Reply #193 on: April 05, 2017, 02:28:42 AM »
Is any of the recent damage covered under the rebuilder's warranty?
Blick


elagache

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Mom and Pop operation. (Re: Billy-goat station wagon!!)
« Reply #194 on: April 05, 2017, 11:21:54 PM »
Dear Blick and WeatherCat automotive enthusiasts,

Is any of the recent damage covered under the rebuilder's warranty?

TA-Performance is a very small outfit, literally started by a husband and wife team.  I'm sure the guy will do the best he can to keep the costs down, but there is nothing like a formal warranty.  Normally these engines work and the rate of failures is very low.  My poor wagon is just extremely unlucky.

Edouard