Posted for "John Barrett" <2thman@cablespeed.com>:

 Carl,
 
 Have you had any of the high performance TSIO-550 builders look at or work
 on your engine?
 
 As has been published there was a group of builders who thought the
 Engineair V8 was the answer in the second half of the 1990's  - that group
 dwindled to about 10 of us who bought the company and watched it fail over
 the course of a year.  Then two of us in the Washington builders group tried
 to build our own V8's based on what we'd learned from our unsuccessful
 ventures with Rahm and then EPS.  We have worked on that for about three
 years and now know there are more questions than answers about this
 application.
 
For the above reasons we are now on the path of having experimental
 Continentals built up for our IVP projects by Performance Engines in
 California.  We know of   two or three other shops that have some repute for
 rebuilds to higher tolerances than  the original, but we felt this was the
 best one with the most positive track record.
 
 I have no idea whether working with these guys would improve your luck with
 your engine and we have only begun working with them so my reference is not
 backed by experience, but with so many high profile Reno racers giving
 testimonials, it's certainly worth a look.
 
 My understanding is that Continental builds their engines to fairly loose
 tolerances.  The valve guides may be one area that is particularly
 vulnerable.   That's one thing I've been told.   If so, then most likely
 LOP, GAMI or whatever isn't likely to prevent early failure of these parts.
 
 Best regards,
 John Barrett
 
  _____