Last month we spent some time in the shops of Hargett Racing as the team began outfitting a new Chevy 604 crate racing engine as it made the switch from Limited Dirt Late Model racing to the Crate class. The reasoning was simple--if not a bit depressing--the Limited class seems to be dying out with shrinking car counts and rulebooks that change from track to track. Meanwhile, the Crate Late Model class continues to grow with reduced operating costs, and the opportunity to travel to a greater variety of racetracks and even compete in a low-cost touring series.
But, as we've mentioned times before, having real success on the track with a crate involves more than simply dropping in a motor and hauling to the track. Smart crate racers, and even parts manufacturers, have been able to tune their cars and components around the quirks of this limited-horsepower engine. It all has become a game of making the most out of this powerplant's abilities.
Last month we documented the installation of Quarter Master's excellent bellhousing and flywheel kit. That kit includes a low-inertia aluminum flywheel and a high-torque starter. It can also be used to spin a power steering pump off the pulley that Super Late Model engines use to spin up the dry-sump oil pump. For more information on that installation, check out the Mar. '09 issue of Circle Track.
This time around we'll move to the front of the motor to install the water pump and an accessory drive system designed specifically for this motor by Jones Racing Products. This project will also include a fuel pump and regulator from CV Products which will help eliminate stumbles on the racetrack that plague so many race teams and a high-power ignition from MSD.
If nobody is perfect, then everybody is somebody, right? Well, here's proof that we're definitely somebody. Last month we showed you this photo with the included balance plate mounted behind the flywheel. Quarter Master includes the balance plate because the 602 and 604 crates are externally balanced.
We mounted up the assembly with the balance plate against the crank, then the flywheel and finally the hub. But when we first cranked the engine, the whine from the starter told us it hadn't disengaged and something was wrong. The fix was as simple as swapping the flywheel and balance plate so that the plate is sandwiched between the flywheel and the drive hub. Now we know, and you do to.
