An Evolution: Part 2
The parts have been ordered, but, I’ve slowly gathered that something isn’t right. It seems as though nobody can do things as they did before, and the parts are lagging far behind the norm. I’m not sure what it is, but my owner hasn’t left the house for a couple of months.
The parts were in, and it was time to hit the road. I made the journey across the Conowingo, winding down to Maryland, where the experts at Agile Automotive awaited my arrival. With my keys dropped in the box, I was in good hands—or so I thought.
The first thing the techs did was a compression check, and that’s when the bad news hit. I felt fine, but apparently, my 4th cylinder was lagging way behind at 128 psi, while the others were cruising at around 160 psi. Not good. The only option was to dive in and take a closer look. When they pulled my head off, they found the culprit: bent exhaust valves—again. Seriously? More brain surgery?
A quick trip to the machine shop later, and my valves were sealing up nicely. I was back in business, or so I thought. The Full Race kit bolted on without too much fuss, and I figured it would be smooth sailing from here on out. But as soon as I hit the dyno, things started to unravel.
First, the knock sensor went haywire. Then the timing cover decided to play hardball with the timing belt. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, the water pump threw in the towel with only a few dyno runs left. Oh, and let’s not forget the starter motor—barely hanging in there but refusing to give up.
I didn’t mean to put the techs through all that extra work, but I sure did. The headaches, the frustration, the nearly doubled budget—I owe them an apology. But after all that, my engine’s now purring like a well-oiled beast, and my owner has a new description for me: “a little scary.”
With 500 horsepower at my disposal, I’m more than capable of startling a few passengers. Hold on tight—it’s going to be one wild ride.
