I broke a fan belt once. It was to skinny, sat low in the pulley, slipped a lot. An intake bolt that holds down the throttle linkage came loose, no throttle, fixed it with my shoe string to stagger back to the pitts (race day of all things). The MSD dist went south on me. Alternator quit. Went through a bunch of starters until I figured out I had the wrong flywheel ring gear tooth count. I've lost count on the number of clutches. Oh, almost forgot the big one, roller lifter broke, wiped out the cam, resulted in a major engine overhaul. Electric fuel pump quit, replaced it. I've been towed (flat bed) several times over the years. Replaced the top loader with a TKO600, I guess it's OK. But I kind of miss the top loader because the gear ratio's are superior to the TKO (which are to low for my taste). Replaced the leaking pinion seal (nut came loose). Had a bad vibration, rear flange drive shaft bolts were loose. Maybe related to the leaking pinion seal problem? I'm on my third set of carbs and still not happy, it's always SOMETHING with carbs (pffft, like EFI is better, NOT)! Lost count of the rear tires, they wear out much faster than the front ones. Blew a head gasket about 10,000 miles in on the new motor. Went through a LOT of exhaust manifold gaskets blowing out, tried everything, nothing would hold. THEN, found "Remflex", done! I don't even retorque the bolts, I'm talking DONE, no leaks, ever. Jag rear outter hub axles got loose, had to "shim" and freshen up the internals. I think I finally got the shocks dialed in, ride hieght and rebound adjustment and such. That took a couple of years and a lot of track work to figure out. Might be worth it to get something like that done by a professional, sure makes a big difference and you won't loose a couple of years like I did! Bushings here and there have been replaced. I prefer
synthetic brake fluid, even though I do track the car and would like something better. But
synthetic is safe for the paint and I'm kind of a slob who might spill some brake fluid on the paint! Broken wire on the fuel gauge, fixed that. Seems like there is no end to the maintenance that needs to be done. Tighten, adjust, replace. Oh, CORK valve cover gaskets for me. Some folks like the rubber, not me. I use new cork everytime I have the valve covers off, zero leaks. Solid flat tappet so I need to check adjustment from time to time. Heres a tip, if the valves actually NEED very much adjustment, beyond a few thousands, something is likely wrong. The valves should be, for the most part, "set it and forget it".
Infineon, SAAC 35. Ran the heck out of that motor, no mercy! Slamming the gears, shifting at 6400-6500, oh yeah, I was ON it hard. Motor never missed a beat, ran like a champ for three hard days. Old school Le Mans rods, 428 crank, side oiler block, iron heads (from 1964), built like it was "back in the day" with old school parts. They still rock, they still get the job done. Side oilers, built right, are dam solid and reliable motors.
...and it's pretty darn quick too!
