Engine Talk
Last night was a big night in the shop for No. 16. After taking the car on tour to schools, now we're working hard to get fully ready for racing. This includes installing and testing a new engine. Last summer we raced with just one engine--no back up--and this worried me. Over the winter Team Weaver purchased a pro-built engine from another racer. We were all excited to hear it run for the first time. And a little nervous, too. So much can go wrong inside an engine. One tiny mistake by the engine builder, and the whole engine can go up in smoke and noise. Actually, when an engine fails it usually less dramatic than that. It just goes "uhnnnh!" and stops. Then it has to be totally taken apart and rebuilt.... Take a look at the recent photos and engine schematics in the Album for more info on engines.
But last night the new motor was in place and ready to go. Getting the oil pressure to come up on the gauge (meaning inside the engine) was key. After Skyler put in 7 quarts of oil (large capacity oil pan), he sat in the car. Bill made final adjustment. After getting the nod from Bill, and watching the gauge, Skyler cranked over the engine with the starter. The motor coughed, then came alive. At its sweet, purring sound we all smiled. So far so good.
The oil pressure came up quickly, and we let the engine idle several minutes. Then Bill slowly brought up the rpm. The engine sounded better and better. Then Skyler cracked the throttle a couple of times, and the engine barked quick and sharp. In the cockpit, Skyler was grinning widely. Afterward we shut it down, we all stood there in silence with huge smiles on our face. "That's one nasty engine!" Bill said. There's nothing like the sound of sweet-running racing engine, and we all agreed we'd had enough excitement for one night.
I can't wait to see Skyler pulling hard down the straightaway with that engine at full 7800 rpm....
Comments