For this post I was going to go over my experience comparing a CA to an SR but its getting a bit long just covering how I killed my CA so will split it out into two posts. Theres no useful info in here, just a story of stupidity, bodging and a healthy CA getting wrecked. The weird CA fanclub thats recently arisen on social media probably shouldn't read on...
When I did Lidlboss at Driftland I smashed my sump on the way back from the track, I got home and the sump was wet, but not fully burst. Drop the oil, everything is all good. Disaster avoided. ~ For reference I normally have my engine sky'd but I changed engine mounts which lowered them just enough to put my sump back in danger.
~Also don't watch how low the exhaust is here, the elbow had cracked after a couple off's.
I went to see a mate who had a spare CA sump, welded in a new baffle, went over the top with sealant, fitted it all up filled with oil.
Swapping a CA sump with the engine in the car is a pig of a job... Would be a shame to have to do it three times.....
So when I worked down in London my dad occasionally had to move the car about the driveway. Whilst I was away he moved it and left the car idling for a bit. When I came back the week before the first StreetTrackLife event I noticed when I started the car the head was ticking like mad. I thought it could just be oil needing to get circulating (like mx5's) but after a couple of minutes I thought something was up. Shut the car off. Checked oil and it was just off the dipstick.
Fired in a litre of oil. Started the car. Issue had gone. Went to do a couple of small jobs in the shed and came back to the car. Fired it up and the ticking started again. I then glanced at my gauges and see my oil pressure was 0.
Shut the car off. Jack up the front to see all of the oil soaking into the gravel. Turns out the replacement sump I fitted before was porous...
So I go get another CA sump locally. Weld in baffle, swap it out, fill with oil... again.
I then started working on other parts of the car until it got dark, then as I was tidying up with a headlamp I got a glint from the porous sump.
3 days before the event. Less than ideal. I call up Conceptua first thing the next day and explain I need CA bearings ASAP. Conceptua were ace and got them to me next day, even though I was in the Highlands of Scotland which is always slow with packages.
I basically wrote off the CA at this point because I didn't have the time to do the bottom end properly. I just chucked in the bearings without having the crank looked at, I only had one drift day it needed to last and when it died I'd scrap the engine.
So I had managed to pull off the jakiest bottom end bearing change just in time to leave for STL. Think this is the tightest deadline I've had to deal with working on the car before a drift event.
So I take the car out for a session so I can warm myself up taking it easy especially since its wet. Everything is feeling good and it was starting to dry up so I decide to head out with Danny with the DoriLabs S14. We go down past the bottom esses and I put my foot down to try and keep up with him and then theres a loud bang and the power drops instantly, burbling away, smoking like hell.
Turns out the T28r had blown. Literally couldn't believe my luck. Almost kill the CA, get it going enough for one last drift day and then the turbo shits out on me in the first proper session.
Dan Prior's CA also died immediately so we handled the situation similarly, crack open the bottles.
I ended up getting another T28 to drive home on. The CA's bottom end lasted the drive home and then I put in a call to one of the local lads with an S13 and picked up its replacement the next week.
Will get onto the swap and comparison next.
Cheers!