Discussion
To add insult to injury I ordered all the bits from W&N in Germany last night, just under £300. I woke up this morning to find the W&N easter deal offer of 15 euros off if you spend over 200.
Time to push the f
king thing into a lake.
ETA: my naming & shaming has been spotted and removed. If anyone wants to know just give me a shout. They're a Cambridgeshire based head specialist (apparently.)
Time to push the f
king thing into a lake.ETA: my naming & shaming has been spotted and removed. If anyone wants to know just give me a shout. They're a Cambridgeshire based head specialist (apparently.)
Edited by benjj on Wednesday 16th April 08:14
benjj said:
To add insult to injury I ordered all the bits from W&N in Germany last night, just under £300. I woke up this morning to find the W&N easter deal offer of 15 euros off if you spend over 200.
Just a note to say how awesome W&N are. I sent a pathetic cry baby email to them about receiving the discount email just 12 hours after placing my order. Alex Nesch emailed straight back saying he'd refunded me the discount directly to my credit card. Germans are awesome.
benjj said:
Just a note to say how awesome W&N are. I sent a pathetic cry baby email to them about receiving the discount email just 12 hours after placing my order. Alex Nesch emailed straight back saying he'd refunded me the discount directly to my credit card. Germans are awesome.
Quick! Drag it out of the lake.e21Mark said:
I'd still be inclined to let it breathe a bit deeper and slot a cam in there, whilst the head is off anyway. 
Once the cam and followers have all been broken down by Michael we'll have a look at it. If it needs replacing then chances are I'll consider a Schrick or similar. If not, not.Michael also happily owns a media blasting firm so the manifolds, head, cam cover etc will all get the treatment. As will the engine bay which is a big gnarly.
benjj said:
Think we've nailed down the problem today.
Head off:
So, €300 spent on replacement parts plus labour, this is going to be a biiiiiig job.
bds.
I see the problem...the cylinders are full of liquid. That's no good - it'll run sHead off:
So, €300 spent on replacement parts plus labour, this is going to be a biiiiiig job.
b
ds.t like that.Re:£300 - you spend more than that on lunch every Sunday...
So a bit of work has gone into the E12 over the last couple of weeks. Lots by Michael, some by me.
Se we think we've at least pinned down the problem(s) and have got the kit we need apart from the cam (more on that below, take note E21Mark!)
So the head, manifold and plenum got a bit of soda love and have come up quite nicely. Compared to the castings on my Porsche this BMW metal quality is remarkably poor. The casting itself isn't bad at all but the quality of the raw materials is a massive step backwards from the stuff Porsche were using at the very same time.
The bottom face was a bit gnarly so that got some love. It's better than this now but this is the last photo I remembered to take of it.
Before:
After:
While all of this is out I've decided to tackle the horrendous state of the engine bay. E12 purists will be gnashing their teeth because I'm going for flat black rather than body colour. We'll be stripping off all the horrible bitumen heat stuff and replacing with proper decent modern stuff. Silver. Yum. I'll be getting busy with the heat gun this weekend and getting it all ready for paint.
The cam cover and engine top bits have also been given the treatment. The cam cover will not be finished as original but I'll keep precisely what under my hat for now.
Lastly the exhaust manifold was visibly horrible, looked like it had been used to stir a bucket of acid. Fortunately it was structurally very good though so it got blasted and finished in black crackle paint. Looking much better.
CAM
Right, this is where I need some advice. The cam needs to be replaced. I'm tempted to go with something a bit more fast road focused but not a lairy lumpy bd. I will not be replacing the springs etc so it can't be too far from the stock profile. I had a good chat with Michael about cams in general and we kind of know what we want. So, who are the suppliers and where is the best place to start looking? Obviously Schrick seem to be the go to guys but interested in any others. People have mentioned Cat, Kent, Piper etc. Whatever happens I'll want the fker ordered up and delivered pronto once a decision is reached.
Message ends.
Se we think we've at least pinned down the problem(s) and have got the kit we need apart from the cam (more on that below, take note E21Mark!)
So the head, manifold and plenum got a bit of soda love and have come up quite nicely. Compared to the castings on my Porsche this BMW metal quality is remarkably poor. The casting itself isn't bad at all but the quality of the raw materials is a massive step backwards from the stuff Porsche were using at the very same time.
The bottom face was a bit gnarly so that got some love. It's better than this now but this is the last photo I remembered to take of it.
Before:
After:
While all of this is out I've decided to tackle the horrendous state of the engine bay. E12 purists will be gnashing their teeth because I'm going for flat black rather than body colour. We'll be stripping off all the horrible bitumen heat stuff and replacing with proper decent modern stuff. Silver. Yum. I'll be getting busy with the heat gun this weekend and getting it all ready for paint.
The cam cover and engine top bits have also been given the treatment. The cam cover will not be finished as original but I'll keep precisely what under my hat for now.
Lastly the exhaust manifold was visibly horrible, looked like it had been used to stir a bucket of acid. Fortunately it was structurally very good though so it got blasted and finished in black crackle paint. Looking much better.
CAM
Right, this is where I need some advice. The cam needs to be replaced. I'm tempted to go with something a bit more fast road focused but not a lairy lumpy b
d. I will not be replacing the springs etc so it can't be too far from the stock profile. I had a good chat with Michael about cams in general and we kind of know what we want. So, who are the suppliers and where is the best place to start looking? Obviously Schrick seem to be the go to guys but interested in any others. People have mentioned Cat, Kent, Piper etc. Whatever happens I'll want the fker ordered up and delivered pronto once a decision is reached.Message ends.
Good updates Benjj, look forward to seeing some shots of her mobile again! Commendable work for keeping another E12 goingNice progress.
Schrick are obviously the best choice, but they're bloody expensive. Were it my money, I would go with either Cat or Newman. Both of these have a pretty good reputation for quality. Newman are based in Kent, so you can call and chat to them for advice. Cat manufacture their cams in France I believe, but Matt is a very helpful chap and they do a 'fast road' profile, which would be ideal. (0845 519 5720)
Schrick are obviously the best choice, but they're bloody expensive. Were it my money, I would go with either Cat or Newman. Both of these have a pretty good reputation for quality. Newman are based in Kent, so you can call and chat to them for advice. Cat manufacture their cams in France I believe, but Matt is a very helpful chap and they do a 'fast road' profile, which would be ideal. (0845 519 5720)
Thanks Mark, appreciate that.
Can you put a ballpark on 'expensive' for a Schrick cam? I've had a bit of a poke around today. Piper offer an off the shelf cam at around 400 delivered. Schneidemann have an OEM clone at about 450 delivered inc a kit.
I've emailed Newman and will hope to chat to them on Monday.
Can you put a ballpark on 'expensive' for a Schrick cam? I've had a bit of a poke around today. Piper offer an off the shelf cam at around 400 delivered. Schneidemann have an OEM clone at about 450 delivered inc a kit.
I've emailed Newman and will hope to chat to them on Monday.
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