Modified Ferrari 348
Discussion
Day 1
Started work on the project last saturady.
Technically it's day 2, but I don't really want to count the day we took it out of the box as day 1.
Spent the afternoon removing components from the engine.
We're going to have some items powder coated and others zinc coated. Going for the mettalic blue, silver, mettalic red & gold look.
The engine looks clean in the pictures due to the flash, but needs a good scrub.
Cam covers off.
Started work on the project last saturady.
Technically it's day 2, but I don't really want to count the day we took it out of the box as day 1.
Spent the afternoon removing components from the engine.
We're going to have some items powder coated and others zinc coated. Going for the mettalic blue, silver, mettalic red & gold look.
The engine looks clean in the pictures due to the flash, but needs a good scrub.
Cam covers off.
Here's something very interesting and something I've never come across.
This is the fuel injector that Raj is holding. We checked the part number and it's the same standard part on my existing 348 engine. I was expecting it to be a more "race specced" item.
The little red part is the filter which can often get blocked. We'll be sending the injectors off for testing and refurbishing, once we ascertain the cost of new ones as it may be cheaper just to buy new ones.
This is the fuel injector that Raj is holding. We checked the part number and it's the same standard part on my existing 348 engine. I was expecting it to be a more "race specced" item.
The little red part is the filter which can often get blocked. We'll be sending the injectors off for testing and refurbishing, once we ascertain the cost of new ones as it may be cheaper just to buy new ones.
As previously said, the engine was rebuilt 2 years ago and not driven since.
The valves are brand new without a single mark on them.
Once we get the engine timing figures, Raj will be taking the belt and other bits off and re-checking the timing. We'll be taking pictures of the process and may even do a video of it being done.
The valves are brand new without a single mark on them.
Once we get the engine timing figures, Raj will be taking the belt and other bits off and re-checking the timing. We'll be taking pictures of the process and may even do a video of it being done.
The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed something about the cambelt.
Well.. it's not a Ferari cambelt. Seemed that the 348 belt I sent to them didn't fit, so they used one for anm Alfa Romeo that does fit.
If you look at the lowere cambelt pulleys you'll understand why. They aren't custom made.
Pic of my existing engine that I took a few years ago
Here's the Le Mans engine
Well.. it's not a Ferari cambelt. Seemed that the 348 belt I sent to them didn't fit, so they used one for anm Alfa Romeo that does fit.
If you look at the lowere cambelt pulleys you'll understand why. They aren't custom made.
Pic of my existing engine that I took a few years ago
Here's the Le Mans engine
The engine did come with a set of cambelt covers. Unforunatly a pair of the back bits are missing so will have to use them from the old engine.
However, they will be a bloody hard thing to fit due to that cross bar on the two lower pulleys!!!
The waterpump is a new one from Eurospares. www.eurospares.co.uk
They now do copy 348 water pumps that are around a quarter of the price of new ones. Maranello was asking around £1,000 for 1 waterpump!!!
In case you are wondering what the crossbar is for...here's Raj with an explanation he posted up.
"The purpose for the cross bar is:
1: Strenthen and support the extra strain on the front of the pulley mounts
2: Stop/reduce flexing of the bolts under acceleration and deceleration
3: Take up some of the load from the engine front casing, as the pulleys are bolted directly into the front of the engine block
4: This has been added as a safety and strenghtening device for the race engine as it was under high stress, constantly used at high acceleration and high vibration
5: Reduces the stress on the top side of the roller bearing in the tensioner, making it wear evenly and not just on the top side, this wear can be caused by the bearing alone taking up the minute side to side movement cause by the bolts flexing"
However, they will be a bloody hard thing to fit due to that cross bar on the two lower pulleys!!!
The waterpump is a new one from Eurospares. www.eurospares.co.uk
They now do copy 348 water pumps that are around a quarter of the price of new ones. Maranello was asking around £1,000 for 1 waterpump!!!
In case you are wondering what the crossbar is for...here's Raj with an explanation he posted up.
"The purpose for the cross bar is:
1: Strenthen and support the extra strain on the front of the pulley mounts
2: Stop/reduce flexing of the bolts under acceleration and deceleration
3: Take up some of the load from the engine front casing, as the pulleys are bolted directly into the front of the engine block
4: This has been added as a safety and strenghtening device for the race engine as it was under high stress, constantly used at high acceleration and high vibration
5: Reduces the stress on the top side of the roller bearing in the tensioner, making it wear evenly and not just on the top side, this wear can be caused by the bearing alone taking up the minute side to side movement cause by the bolts flexing"
Edited by Angelis on Wednesday 3rd March 08:17
Here's something else I found quite interesting.
Raj does a lot of repairs on Lamborghini's, especially Murcielago's. He had a black one in last week that had already been to two other specialists in order to fix an engine problem. The owner had spent close to £8,000 getting it repaired, without success. As Raj is a diagnostic specialist, he found the problem fairly easily in this instance.
Turned out the problem had been the spark plugs.
The picture below shows what happens when you install a spark plug with the wrong heat setting. Instead of using a heat setting of 9, someone had put in plugs with a setting of only 7, which meant the tips melted.
The one on the right has the melted tip.
This leads me into the spark plugs for the Le Mans engine.
A Murcielago requires a heat setting of 9 (higher it is the more heat it can handle), whilst the Champion race plugs one the LM engine are 11. Plus they don't make the Challenge plugs anymore.
However, we won't be using race plugs as they will cause fouling on road driving so we may end up using a set of special Lambo plugs instead.
That's all for now. We start work again on it this weekend.
Raj does a lot of repairs on Lamborghini's, especially Murcielago's. He had a black one in last week that had already been to two other specialists in order to fix an engine problem. The owner had spent close to £8,000 getting it repaired, without success. As Raj is a diagnostic specialist, he found the problem fairly easily in this instance.
Turned out the problem had been the spark plugs.
The picture below shows what happens when you install a spark plug with the wrong heat setting. Instead of using a heat setting of 9, someone had put in plugs with a setting of only 7, which meant the tips melted.
The one on the right has the melted tip.
This leads me into the spark plugs for the Le Mans engine.
A Murcielago requires a heat setting of 9 (higher it is the more heat it can handle), whilst the Champion race plugs one the LM engine are 11. Plus they don't make the Challenge plugs anymore.
However, we won't be using race plugs as they will cause fouling on road driving so we may end up using a set of special Lambo plugs instead.
That's all for now. We start work again on it this weekend.
Cartard said:
What does the LCD display do?
That's my iTouch. I just placed it on there for showing scale.
Hope Raj don't read your comment as it'll give him ideas. Already had to stop him from installing a Head up Display in my car!!!
Looks like things will be speeding up now. He'll be stripping the entire engine down over the next few days. Then the following weekend, we'll take the engine out of my car.
Sorry for the delay in posting up. Here's the progress so far....
We took off the cam covers and checked the timing:
Whilst checking the cams, Raj noticed that there was very little space between the cam and the engine head.
He measured the gap and it was .25mm. That's a quarter of a millimetre.
That could be a potential problem,l so he'll be grinding the heads down a little to increase the gap.
Pic of him checking the gap.
We took off the cam covers and checked the timing:
Whilst checking the cams, Raj noticed that there was very little space between the cam and the engine head.
He measured the gap and it was .25mm. That's a quarter of a millimetre.
That could be a potential problem,l so he'll be grinding the heads down a little to increase the gap.
Pic of him checking the gap.
Camshafts removed
Sent the injectors to HGL Motors to have them checked and cleaned.
As you can see from the results sheet below, one of the injectors was clogged up.
When we remove the existing engine, I'm going to send the injectors from that as well to see how they are.
Total cost was around £127 for eight injectors
QED87 said:
I'd be amazed if you need to buy new injectors. We run 8 on our hillclimb engine and have them regulary serviced, this means new o rings, new last minute filters (the red ones on yours) and an ultrasonic clean followed by a spray pattern and volume test to make sure everythings' in order. Our injectors cost £80 each and I'd guess yours are probably going to be similar or maybe more, we spend £10 per injector cleaning them. If you're in the northampton area I could PM you the guy who does ours. Cheers.
Thanks for the offer. Sent the injectors to HGL Motors to have them checked and cleaned.
As you can see from the results sheet below, one of the injectors was clogged up.
When we remove the existing engine, I'm going to send the injectors from that as well to see how they are.
Total cost was around £127 for eight injectors
Edited by Angelis on Monday 10th May 09:11
Yesterday removed the heads.
These are heads from a 348, whilst the engine block is from a 355.
Bolts removed and the head about to be lifted. Note, no head gaskets.
Heads removed..........
Notice the indentation for the valve heads. Never seen anything like that before.
Valves look new and unused.
After removing the heads, we flipped the engine over so that we could check the crank.
Bottom cover removed
These are heads from a 348, whilst the engine block is from a 355.
Bolts removed and the head about to be lifted. Note, no head gaskets.
Heads removed..........
Notice the indentation for the valve heads. Never seen anything like that before.
Valves look new and unused.
After removing the heads, we flipped the engine over so that we could check the crank.
Bottom cover removed
Big thanks to fellow 348 owner Chris Gilmartin. He PM'd me about an anti-roll bar that was used on the 348 Le Mans car that John Pogson at Italia Autosport had.
Turns out it's a copy of the one that was actually on the 348LM race car that my engine comes from and made by the same company that made the original. It's an adjustable rotating blade type anti-roll bar for the front.
Had a very nice chat with John Pogson and I mentioned the Le Mans engine we are working on. Turns out John had driven the Simpson 348 LM and he says it will be great in a road car. The idle was steady but the power band was quite high and narrow. From 7,000 rpm onwards. You also have to keep an eye on the rev counter as it revved very very fast. If I recall correctly, he used the word "lethal" (in a good way) to describe the car/engine. And with all the modern tech we are using, it may end up being more powerful than the original Le Mans race car.
Very excited. Can't wait to get behind the wheel and take it for a spin!!!
Received the anti-roll back a few minutes ago.
Turns out it's a copy of the one that was actually on the 348LM race car that my engine comes from and made by the same company that made the original. It's an adjustable rotating blade type anti-roll bar for the front.
Had a very nice chat with John Pogson and I mentioned the Le Mans engine we are working on. Turns out John had driven the Simpson 348 LM and he says it will be great in a road car. The idle was steady but the power band was quite high and narrow. From 7,000 rpm onwards. You also have to keep an eye on the rev counter as it revved very very fast. If I recall correctly, he used the word "lethal" (in a good way) to describe the car/engine. And with all the modern tech we are using, it may end up being more powerful than the original Le Mans race car.
Very excited. Can't wait to get behind the wheel and take it for a spin!!!
Received the anti-roll back a few minutes ago.
Sorry guys, been really busy with setting up a new business and didn't have time to work on the engine.
We've moved the engine to bigger premises and we now have our own vehicle lift, so we're hoping to re-start work on the project week after next. We have to change the Clutch in the Murcielago first which means we have to take the engine out and that takes days to do. Never done it before so looking forward to seeing how it's done.
I have however been researching the engine. Through a friend, I managed to find the chap who actually rebuilt the engines for the Le Mans race team. They had six engines in total which they raced at Le Mans and Daytona. Two of the engines self destructed due to oil starvation, so leaves only 4 engines left in the world. One is in the original Le Mans race car in the US and the other two I think are being used in IMSA racing.
Also contacted Ferrari and unfortunatly, they can't find any record of the engines. Seems it was a covert operation. I'll still keep digging. Someone somewhere is sure to know about the engine.
Will post up again shortly. Thanks for your patience and interest in this project.
We've moved the engine to bigger premises and we now have our own vehicle lift, so we're hoping to re-start work on the project week after next. We have to change the Clutch in the Murcielago first which means we have to take the engine out and that takes days to do. Never done it before so looking forward to seeing how it's done.
I have however been researching the engine. Through a friend, I managed to find the chap who actually rebuilt the engines for the Le Mans race team. They had six engines in total which they raced at Le Mans and Daytona. Two of the engines self destructed due to oil starvation, so leaves only 4 engines left in the world. One is in the original Le Mans race car in the US and the other two I think are being used in IMSA racing.
Also contacted Ferrari and unfortunatly, they can't find any record of the engines. Seems it was a covert operation. I'll still keep digging. Someone somewhere is sure to know about the engine.
Will post up again shortly. Thanks for your patience and interest in this project.
Edited by Angelis on Friday 6th August 21:50
Sorry for the delay in the updates.
It's strange how things turn out. What I started out thinking would be a simple (comparatively ) engine swap has morphed into something more.
Having worked well with Raj on the project and become good friends, we've now set up our own Supercar service centre in East London. The Le Mans project will be one of many projects that we'll be doing in the future.
Due to the new business being set up and also running my other business, we haven't had the chance to do anything with the engine, but we are now slowly getting back into the flow.
Last week, I sorted out the the engine bits.
The engine tucked away safely.
It's strange how things turn out. What I started out thinking would be a simple (comparatively ) engine swap has morphed into something more.
Having worked well with Raj on the project and become good friends, we've now set up our own Supercar service centre in East London. The Le Mans project will be one of many projects that we'll be doing in the future.
Due to the new business being set up and also running my other business, we haven't had the chance to do anything with the engine, but we are now slowly getting back into the flow.
Last week, I sorted out the the engine bits.
The engine tucked away safely.
Edited by Angelis on Thursday 7th October 13:29
Today, I picked up a 355 gearbox/clutch/flywheel that I purchased on ebay for £999. Yes... that's £999. I couldn't belive it either, especially as it came with a clutch, flywheel and housing. It looks to be in reasonably good condition, but we will be stripping it down and making sure everything is working 100%.
The 355 gearbox is stronger than the 348 gearbox and is also a 6 speed compared to the 5 speed dogleg the 348 has.
I have a sneaky suspicion that this gearbox may bolt directly onto the LM engine, as it is a 355 block. We'll find out next week when we attempt to mate them together.
The Clutch and flywheel.
The flywheel will be skimmed and the Clutch plate given a Kevlar treatment. This reduces the temprature and will make it last longer (hopefully).
Here's a Murcielago clutch with the Kevlar treatment. Next to it on the left for comparison is (I think) an M3 clutch.
Hoping now to have the engine in the car and ready for mapping just after Christmas.
The 355 gearbox is stronger than the 348 gearbox and is also a 6 speed compared to the 5 speed dogleg the 348 has.
I have a sneaky suspicion that this gearbox may bolt directly onto the LM engine, as it is a 355 block. We'll find out next week when we attempt to mate them together.
The Clutch and flywheel.
The flywheel will be skimmed and the Clutch plate given a Kevlar treatment. This reduces the temprature and will make it last longer (hopefully).
Here's a Murcielago clutch with the Kevlar treatment. Next to it on the left for comparison is (I think) an M3 clutch.
Hoping now to have the engine in the car and ready for mapping just after Christmas.
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