Boom #3, page 2, the details

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Boom #3, page 2  Boom #3, page 3

This page is a collection of shots showing the individual engine components, or what's left of them.  The first 2 pix show the inside of the oil pan.  Looks like it took a shotgun hit.

All this talk of rods disintegrating into gravel may be interesting, you say, but where's the evidence?  Assembled below left is most of the big end of rod number three.  Most of the shank and the small end didn't make it into the pic because most of the pieces weren't much larger than coarsely ground pepper.  The other two broken rods just snapped roughly in half, as shown in the pic on the right.  Since the car weighs about 3750 with me in it, the 128.5 trap speed implies more than 600 hp at the flywheel, so it isn't too surprising that the stock rods weren't up to the task.  I got about 20k miles on the engine, including a couple dozen 11 second runs at the strip and some hot lapping on road race courses, before it let go.  The new engine is 100% forged!

Finally, here's a look at the crossmember right under the oil pan.  Check the pic on the left at the bottom of Boom #3, the engine lets go, to get an idea of how these crossmember dents came to be.  If you haven't checked it out personally, I'm here to tell ya that's some sturdy, thick steel under there.