Everything went well with the turbo kit installation. The Edelbrock kit is without a doubt the most comprehensive and complete kit available. It costs a bit more, but the quality of the components makes it well worth it.

 

Anyway, the car was completed late one night, with the last step being the installation of the boost gauge. Since I was only driving a short distance home and wasn't going to be getting on it, I decided that the boost gauge wasn't necessary (fatal error). Besides the kit has nothing to adjust or tweek and needs no further tuning, so the boost gauge was really just a cool thing to watch while driving. I drove it for a few days like this, never really getting too deep into the gas pedal, but the extra power was obvious, and the Tial BOV sounded like a whip crack at every shift. Then on Saturday, I decided that today was the day to see what she could do. I got a clear bit of road in front of me and nailed it in first gear. Holy Cow, this thing just turned the front tires into smoke machines and off we went. This is cool. I never dreamed that 6 psi of boost could do so much. Hint: it can't. I got one or two more good pulls in and then it happened. I was at a stop sign and was going to to do a "spirited" 4000 rpm launch, not a smoky burnout, but a brisk getaway. I got about halfway across the intersection and the engine made a really bad series of metallic noises. I immediately pushed the clutch in and the idle was very rough. I shut the engine off and got out. I had a trail of Mobil 1 and coolant behind the car. I was on a bit of a hill so I got back in and coasted onto a side street. Of course, I left the house without my phone or wallet and with just some Nike sandals on, so I had to hoof it 3 miles home to call for a tow. When the tow truck arrived, I had already picked up various bits of aluminum block and steel connecting rod off of the street, so I had an idea of what was wrong, but I had no idea of why. With the car up on the hook, I got a good look underneath, and it was not good (see block pic below).

 

An inspection of all parts revealed a freak diaphragm failure of the wastegate actuator on the turbo, so I had no boost control at all and way more than 6 psi of boost. No wonder that it felt so strong, and no wonder that the spindly D16 rods gave up. The finally tally of damage was the broken rod, one bent rod, one piston with broken ring lands and one piston/rod combo with no damage at all.

 

So what's next? A built engine, of course. A new (used) block has been aquired and prepped for 0.010" over SRP pistons with Scat forged H-beam rods. The crank survived so it has been balanced with all of the other rotating bits and has had the journals micro-polished. The head was not damaged, so it will be used with no modification other than ARP studs holding it down. A Cometic head gasket will complete the package. Drivetrain duties will be handled by a Clutch Specialties 230ft-lb setup with a lightened flywheel, and a Phantom Grip LSD with the upgrade springs in the diff. I know that the Phantom Grip is a bit controversial, but these transmissions are fairly cheap to buy used, so if this thing comes apart, I will just get a new one.