Went from old and busted to the new hotness, even test fit the new wheels

This is my new, legit Tial waste gate. It cost almost 5x as much as the knock off one I was running made by Summit. (Which I already replaced once) I pulled the Summit one out last night and found it was stuck open, as suspected. Which very likely cost me my hero pass on the dyno last week. Worse, if it can stick open, it can stick closed which very likely is what killed my old aluminum block on Memorial Day. Digging deeper it was very likely heat soak that killed my Summit WG. It’s mounted below the downpipe, under the turbo and behind the manifold. I’m betting the silicon are melted inside of it. Where I don’t doubt the Tial mv-R will work better it’s also destined for a short life in that crucible. So I’m going to add water cooler lines. To make that happen I ordered ICT Billets new (?) Steam port kit with the AN4 fittings and will make some PTFE lines to loop out from the steam port to the water gate and back to my water pump.

I will never NOT buy the Proform brushless fans after this test

The final two days felt like the entire rebuild compressed into one last roller coaster. The night before the dyno was the expected late-night thrash—finishing details, solving last-minute problems, and trying to turn a pile of newly assembled parts into a complete car. By dyno day, I was running on three or four hours of sleep and already exhausted. Then the tow truck arrived three hours late and knocked the exhaust off in transit. Precision re-tacked it, only for a fuel rail to break during prep. A used LS3 rail and another $135 later, the resulting leaks were repaired and the legend Julio Hormilla could finally start tuning. Once he got into it, the important parts went right. He worked through the new cam, fueling, startup, idle, and initial break-in. Foxy starts, idles, takes throttle, and moves under her own power. The forward gears in the TKX all worked, although reverse was extremely crunchy and still needs attention. Unfortunately, the wastegate became the final villain. The spring combination should have produced roughly 9.6 psi, but the most we saw was about 4 psi. The valve and seat did not appear to be sealing evenly. Eventually the springs were removed and the gate was held open so Julio could safely finish the tuning. That left the final pulls at only about 1–2 psi—effectively naturally aspirated. Even so, Foxy made 501 horsepower and roughly 500 lb-ft at the wheels. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. After everything it took to reach the dyno, I wanted to see what the turbo combination could actually do. Instead, I finished the day exhausted, with my back screaming, waiting another two hours for the tow home and without the max-effort number. But the number I cared about most was never the biggest one on the screen. I wanted a safe, healthy car. That is what I got. The rebuild that began with a catastrophically destroyed engine ended with Foxy fully assembled, running, driving, and making 501 horsepower with essentially no help from the turbo. The wastegate, clutch hydraulics, exhaust, and a couple of leaks are now punch-list items on a working car—not obstacles standing between me and a running car.

Finally going to get the engines! A lot of you have been asking about the fire trailer since April. Where is it, what's happening, when are we going to hear something. Alan and Taiton are on the road right now, headed out to bring the engines home. They're in the middle of Oklahoma at the moment & New Mexico is next! We'll keep you posted! Wish them luck.