redtopz

My oiling system is different. The oil cooler is in the dry sump loop and has no filter. The stock oil pump runs the oil through a filter and pressurizes the oil through the engine. Theoretically, I could have a bunch of metal shavings through my whole dry sump loop, but actually I think the failure was so sudden and catastrophic that nothing actually made it to that pump at all. I will disassemble everything later this week or next weekend for inspection and cleaning.

RichieRichZ06

You would be very surprised how quick that debris will travel EVERYWHERE. We see engine failures that happened at low RPM and lock the engine up and they sometimes have an oil cooler full of debris and an tank full of debris. I would flush or replace everything.

redtopz

Yeah, I'm getting a solvent tank this week to add to my shop. I needed one anyway. I will dismantle the dry sump pump and clean it out. I had to do that before during an engine swap.

redtopz

Rick has been working hard on the rebuild and it's coming along nicely. Looks basically done already. Here are some nice pics of the build, which used my stock ls6 block and heads from last year as the starting point. This is still an ls6 with stock crank and heads which meets the SCCA specs for T1 and GT2. It will basically be the best ls6 you can get within these rules and will be competing against ls3's, ls7's, vipers, porsche cup cars, etc in the GT2 class. We're going to see if the old C5 still has enough juice to kick some *** against the big dogs.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

trackboss

Unless you have a rebuildable oil cooler (laminova is the only one I know of), a new one is money well spent. Sonic cleaning is the only method that can be considered for cleaning out a cooler after an engine failure. Don't forget to thoroughly clean, or even better, replace the cooler lines. Dry sump tank as well. All scavenge lines should have internal supports and those tend to trap garbage from engine failure.

jvtex

Great write up. I enjoy hearing about your journey.
I was trying to research your Front bumper and fenders, but could not find exact specifics. Closest thing i can put together is an ACP Front Bumper with Lip So, sorry for asking this... but what brand or company makes these?

Good luck at this year! I hope i can make it out to the Run-Offs to watch.

-Joel

redtopz

What's up V? Yes, I bought a new oil cooler and a larger one at that. I should have my $99 harbor freight solvent tank today so I can thoroughly clean all my parts and hoses over the weekend. Rick is basically done with the new engine and I'll pick it up next Weds so I can install it on Friday.

redtopz

Your dad is Jesus right? What a great guy, he helped me out in auto-x right before Castle closed the big airfield. I actually bought a vette for auto-xing there after getting a ride in TJ's, but it shut down literally a month after I bought my car and the rest is history. I didn't do much auto-xing but I had a great time and have huge respect for your car control skills!

I'm glad you asked about the bumper and fenders as I forgot to mention where I bought them. The bumper is from Blackdog Speed Shop and is a great unit, although pricey. It's all carbon fiber and is one piece instead of 2 piece so it's MUCH easier to remove or swap untertrays. I think ACP also makes a 1 piece bumper. Both units are molded from a stock front C5 bumper but add a front breathing radiator inlet and a lower fascia to connect an undertray. BlackDog has a weird website so I just contacted them directly. https://www.facebook.com/BlackdogSpeedShop

The flared fenders are from Lewis 5 Motorsports http://www.lewisfivemotorsports.com/ and are also very nice. They are pre-drilled and the fit was perfect. They are also about 3-4 lbs lighter than the stock fenders. They completely cover 315 front tires which is required with scca.

jvtex

Yeah, Jesus is my dad. All of us really miss Castle. But good news, we are slowly getting back into Crows Landing which is 4-5 times the size of Castle. SCCA solo committee has been going to meetings and talking with the locals for years. We are all excited to be back out there.

I've been messaging John Lawrence over the past few years about getting out to an road course event with you guys. I would like to come out and observe, see if me & my car are even capable running with all you fast racers. Maybe I'll drag TJ away from the dunes too.

Thanks for the Bumper Info.

-joel

redtopz

Please keep us informed about Crow's Landing, when do you think that might happen? I would love to do some auto-crossing, but I don't want to drive so far away to do it and I was spoiled on the big Castle runway which is only 10 minutes from my house. My kids are teenagers now and I'd like to get them out there also for car control.

Joel, you would be awesome on a road course. Auto-xers seem to make great racers as the skills are the same. You should really think about coming out with nasa and doing time trials. We need more fast guys out there racing too, especially in Norcal. John just needs to get his car running well again and he'll be back in TT. I'd like to see you, TJ, and Richie out there too.

JRL

Joel,
No doubt you would kick butt on the track, you were always much faster than me and I have done okay on track. I am excited to hear about Crows, those times we had at Castle were some of the best Gonna try and make it out to Crows.

Say Hi to your dad

John

redtopz

I picked up the newly built LS6 engine from Rick at Synergy this week. It's setup for scca rules and Rick designed it to handle the smaller restrictors necessary for T1 and GT2. It also will work well for nasa ST2.



I cleaned out my dry sump pump, tank, lines, and installed new filter and cooler. Worked on assembling everything yesterday and today and it's nearly ready to fire up. Need a couple more hours of work tomorrow to button everything up and get it running.



Assuming everything works well after the engine install then I'll head up to Synergy for a re-tune and engine break-in on the dyno using Amsoil break-in oil. Crossing my fingers that the ABS brake system won't need a tech 2 bleed. Then I'll get the car prepped for the SCCA Majors race at Thunderhill April 12/13 where I'll be running both T1 and GT2.

dbratten

Here are the dates this year --

June 7 SCCA Pro Solo Crow's Landing
June 8 SCCA Pro Solo Crow's Landing

June 14 SCCA Round 8 Crow's Landing National tour
June 15 SCCA Round 8 Crow's Landing National tour

July 19 AAS Crows Landing
July 20 AAS Crows Landing

August 2 Santa Clara Corvettes Crow's Landing

August 3 SCCA Round 11 Crow's Landing

Hope to see you guys out there.

--Dan

redtopz

Thanks Dan, are those the first events approved at Crow's Landing? I'd like to go check it out, but I don't have a car to auto-x unless I tow my race car.

Speaking of which, everything is installed and ready to go but the starter is not getting enough juice to crank the engine. I had this same problem at Sonoma before the engine blew but it's not related to the engine. The starter tested OK so I think there is a weak connection somewhere or my kill switch is on the way out. I have a new kill switch to install tomorrow and I'll check all connections and get it fired up. Can't wait to hear it run.

dbratten

The first event, after many years absence, was held as a demonstration last August 9/10 and put on by SFR. It was a resounding success with many entrants and even spectators and convinced the county to allow four full weekends this year. We all hope that everyone appreciates the need to run safe events and that we can expand use of the site in the future.

If you need a ride, I can let you run mine. Even if you don't ever return the favor. Instead, you can tell me all that's likely wrong with it.

--Dan

redtopz

Thanks for the offer Dan . It would be great to see this site work out long term.

Update on my car: After replacing the starter and installing a larger wire from the battery to the kill switch the engine fired up. It has never started so strongly over and over again which makes me think there has been a bad connection or bad starter for quite some time.

So the good news is the engine fired up and built oil pressure. I only have the headers on and no exhaust so it's loud, but sounds good. I had to get some new motor mounts and I went with MTI solid mounts. The engine seems to vibrate more than it did with the old mounts. The problem I have now is my dry sump pump is not recirculating oil from the pan through the cooler and back to the dry sump tank. Something is either wrong with the pump or for some reason the pump is not getting enough oil in the pan to stay primed even with a full tank of oil in the dry sump. I have checked all the lines, the tank, and the pump but I'm waiting to hear from Gary at ARE tomorrow morning. I hope it's something simple, I'm tired of working on the car. I just want to race!

trackboss

Unless you are running an air/oil separator putting an oil cooler on the return to the tank is not a good idea. Coolers normally go on the pressure line after the filter and before the motor.

RichieRichZ06

Which system is it? Is the factory oil pump in the engine removed and you're using the ARE pump for pressure or is the stock oil pump still in the engine?

redtopz

http://drysump.com/LS%20Plumbing%20Schematics.htm

Mine is the 3 stage scavenge only system as shown in the 2nd schematic on the above ARE link. The schematic also shows the cooler between the scavenge pumps and the tank like mine is set up. I don't think the cooler will aerate the oil as that is probably mostly done by the scavenge pumps or by the crank. However, what is weird with my setup right now is my pan is staying nearly empty and my tank full so my scavenge pumps are sucking the oil out of the pan faster than it is replaced in which case the cooler is not getting a steady stream of oil which seems odd. This never happened before as I used to be able to see the oil circulating into the dry sump tank. Hopefully everything is OK, my car is going into Synergy for a tune tomorrow and Rick will look it over. I bled the clutch, brakes, and power steering today and drove the car around the block and it seemed to run fine with no codes or problems so fingers crossed.

flink

I'd be worried - perhaps the oil is now being delivered to the engine at a lower rate?

The scavenge pumps *have* to scavenge faster than the oil is delivered - otherwise the engine would fill up! So I guess I don't understand what was happening before.