Somehow the thermostat got bent (??) and was leaking pretty badly. I was able to remedy this before cranking it over, but it cost me a new thermostat and a refreshing propylene glycol shower. Next, once the motor built oil pressure, I had a massive oil leak from the turbo oil supply line. My first thought was a lousy crush washer. No luck. Then I suspected the threaded fitting on the braided SS line I got from Pegasus Racing. No, that was sealing nice and tight. After reinstalling the line about four times (which is fun, laying on the intercooler is the best way to get the fitting into the head) I discovered that the threaded fitting on the new banjo couldn't sit flush against the head. It would always leak.
I had no choice but to use the old hard line, which looks like it will break at any moment. It sealed though, and allowed me to actually run the motor. It ran. But it smoked like hell, and there is another, smaller oil leak on the oil drain from the turbo.
Turns out I botched the lines for the crankcase/head breather system and was building well above 110psi of oil pressure. This lead to awesome smoke and oil spatter all over my bumper. The muffler was literally coated in oil. Gross.
That's oil and soot. All over the place. I dropped the exhaust and cleaned it very well. After addressing the breather system and reinstalling the exhaust I have eliminated the smoke and the oil blow-by.
However, I may still have the breather system wrong as the computer is detecting a load at idle. Mike at Benchmark has been very helpful in getting this thing working right. Hopefully this weekend I can get it running smoothly. A buddy asked me what my dollars per mile are on the car right now. I have put 20 miles on it. That's a scary calculation.
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