[Marv D]

Feb ADRA race the starter solenoid gives up the ghost in the 3rd round of eliminations in Tucson. Cant get out of the staging lanes and on to the track. Just a whirring of the starter motor and no engagment to the ring gear.

So a fresh starter and I go to Race #4 yesterday at Firebird / Wild Horse/ Wildbird / wildTURD whatever they are going to call it. First time I've been on the track after fixing the damage left in the wake of Charlie Allen and I must say the TRACK was nice. As for the clean-up and improvements they were going to make to everthing..... Hey NICE scoreBoards. Everything else liooks exactly the same as it did 5 years ago. LIKE IT NEEDED FIXING FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS

But.. on with the saga of the devils motor

First time trial -0.008 r/t it must be just that I havn't had enough seat time this year but it sounded like it was revving HARD,, I grab the shifter and pull second... JUST as the dam SCS activates I pulled second,, the Cheeta finishes the stroke and pushes it into 3rd instead. Still ran 10.7 @ 119

Just between the 1000' cone and finish line I feel it lay over. Kinda remined me of my old nitrous days when it would go lean and burn the electrode out of a couple of plugs. Motor was 'quiet' otherwise,, no hammering no clacking no anything sounding ugly. SO. Get my time slip and idle back to the pit and then I can hear a slight valve noise and even through the mufflers I can hear at least one hole is cold. I just ran the valves before this race.. It's a rock solid Crower shaft rocker system,,, What The.....

Pull drivers side valve cover and #1 intake pushrod has escaped. GONE, vanished, disappeared!!!

Going to take my Borescope and see if I can recover the pieces. AFR heads give lots of room to fish stuff out of the valley 'through the head' (and the valley is screened so pieces are captured)

But it's like this posessed bit*ch just doesn't want to cut me a break!!!