Little update...
Took the buggy to Harlan on Memorial Day weekend. Got to ride for about two hours before I had steering issues again. We did Your Turn, Crawfords Cry, Lower Damnation, The Waterfall, Rail Trail, Killin Time, Intimidator, and a few others I can't remember. Blew the front seal out of my new KRC pump below Grape Vine. Up until that point I was having a great time. We drug the buggy all the way back to camp. I ended up riding around for a few hours doing some engine tuning in Stumps turbo Huyabusa buggy. That thing is ridiculous. 300 hp and about 2500 lbs. Spent eh next two days bumming rides with a group of Jeepers that were camped next to us.
Once back home I completely disassembled the steering system. Gonna change a few things. While I had that apart I figured I'd fix some engine oil leaks and figure out why I kept getting moisture coming out of my crank case breather (never a good thing). Pulled the intake off and found out that epoxy in the lifter valley was covering up a 4" long crack that was now leaking water.:( I decided I didn't want to put any more money in this 406. Just so happens my neighbor was in the market to move from his 383 to a stroked 6.0 liter LS based engine in his Camaro drag car. The 383 is a nice little piece. 4340 crank and I-beam rods topped with Bischoff ported Canfield heads and Bischoff speced solid roller make for over 500 hp on pump gas (9.8:1 compression ratio)
.I picked up the engine today. I'm going to keep the Holley fuel injection and build a new exhaust system to get the heat out from under my feet. Can't wait to get it running again. Look forward to getting back on the dyno and seeing how this engine compares to the 406.