After assembling everything back together, the car would not fire. Electrical connections and sensors were checked and double checked, but still no start. A call to the GM specialist revealed that the cam sensor can be installed on the cam incorrectly during head re-assembly - it doesn't make a difference mechanically how it is installed, but it does make a difference to the sensor that reads it! We set the engine to TDC on cyl 4, aligned the marks on the housing with the marking on the sensor's hex shaft and it was purring like a kitten on the first turn of the key. It seems like every engine has it's own 'secret trick' or two... I'm glad we found this before we took the motor apart to double-check the timing chain! This setup is like an old-school ignition distributor - I guess we've grown used to just plugging a magnetic or optical sensor in...
The Atom has about 15 miles of test driving on the newly rebuilt engine and supercharger - we'll have the customer put another couple hundred miles on it before we change the oil and get it to the dyno.
The car feels strong and tight, so we'll be sending it back to the customer to enjoy during these California spring days!
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