Fast Lane
54-57 Fast Lane 9/16/13 4:00 PM Page 54
Racing’s REAL Unsung Heros Recognizing the little things that help you win
R
acers all talk about their big cam, carburetors, engine size and even lubricants. But many of us never give credit to things such as stop leak, duck tape, silicone, cleaners, absorbents, sealers and epoxies. There are times when one or all of these items might make the difference between parking early or winning.
Stop Leak
turn on my electric water pump. Of course, it will leak faster at first. But soon, the stream will slow to a dribble, then drips, and then if you’re lucky, nothing. This has worked for me many times. There have been times when the leaks were too bad or there was not enough time for the stop leak to circulate. Twice in my career I went to finals with all the water drained. (When you’re in this predicament, you and your crew should keep quiet about your problem!) We drained the all the hot water from radiator and engine. Put cool fresh stuff in, iced the intake, ran the pump to cool the engine and then drained it all again. No water, no leak (no long burnouts either). Luckily, both times this happened to me there was no apparent damage to the engine – and I won
I have had people say, “I am not putting stop leak in my engine!” I say, if you’re a serious racer obsessed with winning – and during eliminations, suddenly you discover coolant seepage – the value of your engine build will be diminished if you don’t do something. Enter stop leak. You finally realize perhaps it can help you/your customer to finish the race – and perhaps win. If you are a racer you There are a number of prodwill use it and beg ucts – normally geared toward for more! the Do-It-Yourselfer – that you In the days of will find in a racer’s pit to give yore, with ported iron heads and even them a winning edge. some aftermarket aluminum heads, the rambunctious head porters would get perilously close to the water jacket. Eventually, a small crack or porosity in a port would cause water seepage. With the engine off, sitting in my shop or pits, I have had headers drip or even leak a stream of water. A cure I found, if the leak is not too bad and there is time, is the following procedure: With the engine shut off, I would put a dose of my trusty stop leak in the radiator, put a pressure tester on the filler flange at about 12 lbs. and 54 September 2013 | EngineBuilder
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR “Animal Jim” Feurer ajfeurer@enginebuildermag.com
the race! (Note: when using a stop leak product, be sure to check your coolant overflow lines and fittings. Also, inspect your catch can drain lines for clogging – and keep them cleared!)
Do Whatever it Takes! There is a famous story about the Ganatellis racing team years ago adding water to the crankcase of their oil leaking Indy car engine to finish the Indy 500. Sure it was illegal to add oil, but not water. True story. You can read it in Andy Granatelli’s book, “They Call Me Mr. 500.”
Epoxies and Sealers Most fully developed drag race engines have heads and intakes that have been modified inside and out with an epoxy product. Blocks have