Well, it's a wrap on Street Weekend. Mixed results if I'm honest.
It was touch and go right at the start. Went off to Stockton with the wife to get cars washed. Came back on my own and punched it a bit on the way back. Is that? Yes it is. Not nearly as bad as before but clearly smoke. Well, I was home first so I figured I had a little time. Out with the plugs and the good news was that only #2 and #7 showed oil. The oiling problem on #6 seemed fixed. So, with departure the next day I figured just hit all I can with those two. Out with the rocker studs for #2 and #7 for a good clean and re-application of thread locking sealant. Out with the head bolts for the #2 and #7 end and cleaned the bolt heads and washers and inside the holes. Then Right Stuff RTV to try to seal those holes. Let it all set overnight.
Left in the morning for Santa Pod. It's a bit over 200 miles away and a full professional 1/4 mile drag strip and represents the location for day 1 of the event. Got within about 20 miles of the place when I slowed for a roundabout. As I pulled away I could clearly hear I was on 7 cylinders. Drove to Santa Pod, got signed in, pulled the plugs. Seven of them looked fine but #7 was fouled shut. It was gross. Managed to find another plug from a fellow racer and set three times. First time I didn't know how to start on the new track. Second time I was still learning and went slower than my first. Third run I had a good start but the car was breaking up badly in the top end and I lost power. It was still my fastest run thanks to the good start. A 13.02! It was really hard to leave nearly 12s on the table but I didn't want to hurt the car especially with such a long event still to do. Found a place near the Pod that could get me 8 more plugs and I set off the next day to Melbourne up north (my home track, an unprepped 1/8 mile).
#7
Santa Pod
Almost 12s
I was really stressed the whole drive up. I'd also lost a nut on the exhaust and I nearly didn't notice to add oil (from the burning I'd lost some -- went through 4.5 litres of oil in the 600 miles). The route up north was intentionally over a twisty remote mountain road called Snake Pass. And then a stop at a great engine building shop called Engine Data Analysis where the owner and I got a chance to open up side by side on the M62 motorway on the way to his house to get a nut for my exhaust. He's got a wicked little street racing Mustang II with a big block in it. Anyway, got to Melbourne and set a really bad time. Then a worse time. Then had a run that felt a lot better but was the same as my first. That's where I stopped again.
Now both of these were really hot days. Santa Pod is a fully prepped track that I'd never run on. But Melbourne is my home track and I was really expecting the car to at least match previous times I'd set. Of course, it's probably on both days the hottest weather I've run it in. Anyway, with the car still in one piece and going through spark plugs like sweeties I decided to bug out on day 2 and not drive back to Santa Pod for the last day. Made it home in one piece but after pulling all the plugs I can see that #2 is still getting a bit of oil. Just not nearly as much as before and nothing like what is happening to #7. I think I changed out #7 five or maybe six times on the way back.
Just before leaving Melbourne
I'm convinced now that I need to just get a new set of gaskets and bolts and pull these heads. I'm not going to be able to seal them properly with them on the car.
But performance wise I'm really scratching my head. 13.02 at 106 (and other two runs at 107 but much worse starts) seems pretty flipping good to me. With them went good 1/8 mile times including an 8.36 beating anything I'd run before at Melbourne (although, again, Melbourne is no-prep). But at Melbourne I couldn't even get the sorts of times I was used to getting. No idea how much of that is the weather and how much is whatever power I was bound to be down on #7 and #2. But seat-of-pants the car definitely felt good and strong.
I'm not driving it again until I can get the heads off and seal the hell out of them. This has honestly been so frustrating. But I'm glad I was able to do at least part of Street Weekend and that the car made it home.
Sam