Just about that time (mid-June) the engine was nearing completion. The crank fire was ordered and I made a trip to the UD Mechanical Engineering machine shop where I fabricated a timing-wheel spacer and distributor plug. The motor was installed and immediately started up. Windows and seats went in next. Time for a test drive of the new  suspension and brakes, and the 3.4 ltr !

The car seemed FAST. Real fast. Even at low RPMs under breakin procedures, the car had serious scat. Harry remarked that he had added something like 8 horsepower...per cylinder!

Now back to the garage to add the crank fire and ascociated wiring. It's now July 4th, and I'm scheduled to leave on the 6th to instructor for Car Guys. No problem. Done thatnight, but it's too late to tune and drive. July 5th, in th evening, we get the first real drive of the car. It feels VERY strong. If you mash the pedal, it pulls like a bat out of hell from 4000-5000RPM, then QUITS. It will idle fine, but it shuts off like hitting a brick wall. Harry decides it's the jets.

We spend the evening screwing with jets, and it finally gets to be about 1AM so we call it quits. Harry says there's still a chance we can fix it. I need to put in some breakin miles (175 or so) before the next morinig and I'm to have the car back by 8:00 AM.

I get up about 5:30 and head for Lancaster PA. A few hours later I goll into Harry's after taking it fairly easy, venturing to 5000, then 6000 RPM, eventually 6500 as was reommended. The car rests until 3pm, when we do a valve adjust, oil change, and general checkout. Everything looks good. Now to find the source of the cut out at 5000 RPM. About 7PM we have tried enough jets to decide that's not it. By 9 PM we've changed fuel filters and looked at every other source in the fuel system...and decide it's the fuel pump. I call Greg Wilson who JUST so happens to have a used one. Back by 10:30 and by midnight it's installed. In the process we destroy the rusted old pump.

Test drive. SAME PROBLEM. It's now about 1AM and the chances of getting to the trackl look pretty grim. Finally we give up.

Since I drove over in the Van with trailer, and it's not worth loading the car, it's decided Lydia will drive my van and trailer the 15 miles to home. She's never done this before, but agrees.

On the way home I notice that the car pulls cleanly to 7000 RPM under full throttle, as long as you don't mash it down! Apply genlty and smoothly and it's fine. I try mashing it once and it shuts off. I decide to go to the track. When we get home (2AM) I decide I'm going to the track anyway. I'll just drive "gently". So the car is loaded on the trailer - in the dark - not much fin.

I leave for Summit Point at 5AM Saturday Morning. Make it there byu 7:30 and run the car through tech. Car runs fine all day...until about the third run session. I go to start it, and it turns over, then dies. Now it refuses to kick. How happy I was to push the car into the pits!

After some investigation with Dan Dazzo, we decide it's just a loose connection on the ignition switch. By now it's 6pm and we decide it's fixed and ready to run the next day.

The next morning it won't start...AT ALL. If I put a test proble on the crank fire relay (actually a fog light relay from Pep-Boys) it starts, then dies. I bypass the relay and all is joyful. Aparently whatever vibrations were created from stompuing on it at 4000RMP took until 5000 RMP to kill the contact, and when the car returned to idling RMPO the connection was reesetablished. We wired around the relay and all it right with the world...



ECI Motorsports 3.4 ltr

My 3.4 ltr is consrtuced by Harry Hall as follows:

Longblock:

Induction:

Exhaust:

Electonics:

Cooling: