This is going to be a long work in progress because I'm not sure about how much time I'll have to be able to work on my Monte between work, my family and kids, and life in general. But as some of you may know, I ran the Monte at the dragstrip a little bit ago and had a good time. On my sixth time down the 1/4 mile though, something let out in the Monte and now it has a bad miss with the spark plug on cylinder number 2 being smushed.

So, I'm starting to tear down into the Monte. And here's how things are looking so far. I'll keep updating as I make more progress and identify the problem. I'm also doing this in order for me to remember all that I did.

Here I'm just getting started:



The Novi 2000 is gone now:



Making room in the engine bay and a little more progress:



Alternator's gone:



Found a broken mount bolt while I was taking it apart:



Half of the driver's side mount is gone now:



The supercharger setup is off now. The engine bay looks so empty without it.



And here's the supercharger setup sitting out:

 

Well that about blows for sure. Going to be interesting to see what the failed component / components turns it out to be. You just know big power breaks things and your unique Novi setup made the power to kill something. Time and time again I have had to get towed away from the track or limp it to the shop. Least you turn your own wrenches, so that is a somewhat huge victory in that your not paying some shop to repair the problem. Will be following your thread to see what the gremlin was... Best of luck to you,

 

Man, that never sounds good having a smushed plug!
BTW - Does the front header have a hole in it near the flange?

 

Thanks Zippy! It'll be a bit of work, but I was already planning on going into the engine this winter, so this just forces me to do it even if I don't want to, lol.

Maniac, I suspect that the #2 piston is probably chipped. The engine will still run and it runs a little better than when it first went out, but I have 0 vacuum and a really bad miss even after working on it, so I think it's time for another block.

And I double checked the headers just now. There's no hole, it's just funny lighting on a spot where the coating came off the header.

 

Sorry about the rotten luck brother. Hopefully she gets back up and running properly. Did you have any detonation on the runs?

 

Man that really sucks after you were having a good time. Hopefully you can get it fixed quick without a lot of stress but we all know how those things go. Good luck.

 

sorry to see your monte go down. take your time and build her up over winter and it will be even better in the long run! i also suspect a chipped piston but keep us posted! any kr on the passes before it let go? i wish you the best of luck on getting her back together, keep us all posted!!

 

nitehawk, the Monte had a slight miss randomly, but nothing else jumped out at me. How's your Monte been doing lately? I haven't heard much about it in awhile.

Crazy Zach and Turbo Monte, thanks for the kind words. I'm going to take my time getting it back together, and I'll also be focusing on other things right now, so it'll be a bit before the Monte is fixed.

No progress yet, but I'll keep this updated when progress is made.

 

I hear ya. Were you scanning during the runs?

My Monte's been down and out... MAF stopped picking up frequency and the car ran rough, I got it working again but I don't trust it. It presently sits in the garage, under a tarp. Took an exhaust video a week ago or so.. Trying to do a lot of work to it soon, gotta pull the motor to beat up the firewall for SSACs, then gotta weld up some exhaust, got a N* and LQ4 MAF, 60 lb injectors, and a lot of wiring to do...

It's difficult to get much done with a young one running around... And I have too many projects... Got a Prelude that needs a motor, and a totaled Cavalier that I'm fixing up as a dirt track car... Not enough time in the day brother.

 

I hear ya. Were you scanning during the runs?

My Monte's been down and out... MAF stopped picking up frequency and the car ran rough, I got it working again but I don't trust it. It presently sits in the garage, under a tarp. Took an exhaust video a week ago or so.. Trying to do a lot of work to it soon, gotta pull the motor to beat up the firewall for SSACs, then gotta weld up some exhaust, got a N* and LQ4 MAF, 60 lb injectors, tuning, finishing up my headlights, and a lot of wiring to do... I'd like to get AC hooked up in it... Then dent repair and paint eventually... I miss driving it sorely.

It's difficult to get much done with a young one running around... And I have too many projects... Got a Prelude that needs a motor, and a totaled Cavalier that I'm fixing up as a dirt track car... That added to the perks of being a homeowner... Not enough time in the day brother.