Part 1: I need a new motor (10/20/00):
MAJOR upgrades are afoot, and cash is being spent at a furious rate...
The sneak preview: after 150k miles, the rings have finally said, "Enough!" and I can't say I blame them -- the last 60k miles have been pretty grueling. So...it's time to do things right. I've contacted Tim @ D.O.A. Racing Engines, and he's helping me cook up a killer motor:
J&E forged 8.5:1 pistons
DOA severe duty rods
ARP rod bolts
O-ringed block
nitrided crank
balanced, phased, etc.
A SOLID motor, up to the task of handling 20+ psi of boost. Tim is building it for me -- no false pride here -- and I'm very, very happy about that. Should be "strong like ox."
To put this motor through its paces, I'm finally springing for a good, aftermarket, standalone, engine management system (EMS). As of today, the winds are blowing towards the SpeedPro wideband O2 system, but things could change again before I'm done. But one is going in. Finally.
Stay tuned -- should be some interesting news to report by the end of the year. :-)