jt1

Lash pads are normally used to 1) protect the tips on titanium valves 2) provide more rocker to retainer clearance, or 3) correct the rocker arm geometry. If you replace it, be aware they come in different thicknesses. The missing one may be laying on the head somewhere, in the lifter valley, or the oil pan. jt

Great, great story!!!! I'm glad it turned out OK- I would have hated to shot the cat too. I guess I need to revise my probability of negotiating a deal...... jt

This is getting good. Large mountain lion at 60 yds (with cubs)(very dangerous and probably hungry). Time required for experienced rifleman to fire an aimed shot: 3-4 seconds. Time required for hungry mountain lion to cover 60 yds: 2-3 seconds. Probability of said experienced rifleman (in extremely stressful situation) placing an incapacitating hit on running mountain lion: <50% Single shot rifle with no backup sidearm, spare round clenched in teeth. Spare round probably will not chamber due to teeth marks deforming the brass. Additional spare rounds in pocket beneath car keys, pocket knife, loose change, and condoms. Time required to dig second spare round out of pocket, without dropping condom, open breech, chamber round, and begin considering firing second (aimed) shot: 10-12 seconds (probably optimistic). Probability of negotiating deal with (hungry) mountain lion to call the whole deal off and you both go back to hunting deer: <0% Outcome TBD..........not looking good..... jt

Yeah, that's why I haven't been. Big motor + bad driver + no cage + no fuel cell could add up to a very bad day. Thanks for the measurements, you're car's a little lower than mine. jt

John, how high is your car to the flats on the bottom of the rockers? When I was running the 225/50/15's, I was at about 5 1/2"; just trying to get a comparison, I think your car is a little lower than mine. Are you running any LCA spacers? Mike (2003Z), is that the world famous snot rocket in your sig? If so, you got a nice car at a good price. I couldn't figure out why Marty wanted to sell it.....especially for a meotter. jt

The asphalt at rockingham is pretty rough and it chews up tires quickly. I don't buy the 700 shaved, I get full depth, which is only about 3/16 in. Then I heat cycle them and let them set 24 hrs before running them. Usually at CMP I will get 4 days out of a set. Get used to it. Once you put stickies on street tires are never the same! jt

How did those V700's do at the rock, John? Did you like all that new stick???? jt

Nice looking setup. Beehives are a good idea. How much seat/nose pressure are you running? How much side to side play do the comp rockers have between the body and the snap rings on the shaft? John

Nice rifle, that's a good looking stock. A 375H&H Encore??????? I bet shooting that will get your attention!!!!! Good luck on the hunt. John

Looks like a good start, and at a reasonable price. What's the plan? John

hehehehehe..... But seriously...the efficency of the LS1's heads and cams amaze me. When I had a 224@50, 570 lift cam in my car it was making ~325 at the wheels, and would return 21-22 mpg on the road. You're making about 50 more hp, and getting 50% more mileage with a similar cam, which just shows how much better the engine is working as a whole. Pretty cool. John

So, what's the problem????? Let's get a 0.800 lift 270@050 cam on the way, and get on with it. :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: John

I haven't tried it, it might work; the studs in the rear cover of a R200 are larger that the 180, so you would have to enlarge the holes in the mustache bar. John

Once you get past block huggers the selection is pretty thin. I've used the hooker bh's, which have 1 5/8 tubes, and I think the sandersons mentioned above may have 1 3/4. But so far as longer tubes, about the only choice is the S&S 5205's. They have 1 3/4 primaries something like 28" long. They get real close to the footwells and ground clearance is bad if you using the jtr mounts. The MSA mounts give a little more ground clearance. You can check them out at http://www.ssheaders.com/. John

Ahhh....the reason your search results suck is because your spelling also sucks. Try a search for block huggers. Concentrate on using the same letters in the same order when typing it into the search box. John

Usually a balancing job runs $250 -$300, so it's not a huge expense, but a significant one. There's no way you can balance the crank, since that takes a specific and expensive machine. But, you can save some money by doing the rods and pistons yourself, then let a machine shop do the crank. Weigh all the pistons, pick the lightest weight, then reduce the weight of the others to the weight of the lightest. Take metal off the underside of the piston, and don't do it all in one place, try to be pretty equal with the amount removed. When you get them all within 0.5 gram you're done. To balance the rods, you need a fixture to hold the rod horizontal so you can weigh one end at a time. The fixture supports one end, the other end rests on the scales. the reason for this is that all the small end weights must be equal, and all the big end weights must be equal. The fixture lets you weigh one end at a time. For your results to be worth anything, the fixture must hold the rod horizontal, and it must be consistent. One you get the fixture worked out, weigh all the small ends, remove metal from around the pin boss to get them equal, then repeat with the big end. If you're going to polish beams, resize, change bolts etc, do that before you start balancing the rods. After all this, take everything to a shop and get them to balance the crank. You will have learned a lot and saved some money. John

You have got to be f'ing joking. A search on "headers" returned 500 hits. Perhaps you missed all 500????? John

The eddy's secondaries are vacumn operated, while the holley's secondaries are mechanical and operated by the throttle linkage. The holley might make a little more power, at the expense of worse gas mileage. The eddy's are an excellent street/occasional plaything carb. More important than which carb, is getting the carb tuned properly. A lot of people think the eddy's are easier to tune. It boils down to which one you like, blondes or brunettes. I would guess it's worth $50-100, maybe a little more if it's fairly new. Ask him if you can take it and try it out- sometimes there's a reason a used carb is for sale. John

The dyno has busted my bubble several times. But you know where you're at, and that the tune is right, so you've got a good baseline for the future. The torque curve looks good- I'd take a big flat torque curve over peak hp #'s anytime. AND BTW: You came to Lake Lure? That's rock throwing distance from my place! We shoulda got together and had a cold'un! jt

Will? jt

Minor hijack- Has anybody heard any feedback on the World Products blocks, especially the aluminum one? John

Maybe try the coilover FAQ? http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=103861 jt

Pete, first of all sorry about the troubles. It reminds me of some of my posts. Out of curosity, was that block bored and honed with a torque plate? Usually the stress from the bolt creates a high spot, and the close proximity of the low spot and the bolt hole made me wonder? John

I run a 245/45/16, 24.4" high with no problems. The 225/45/17 is 24.7", so I think it would work fine. John

Mike, is he a sandy blonde/redhead guy? I bumped into a guy at a track event who said he knew you, but when I said I knew you also he changed directions pretty quick. I thought it odd, but didn't give it a lot of consideration. John