Modified Ferrari 348

[Angelis]

snotrag said:

Was the payment made on a Credit Card to a 'company' or a bank transfer? If Credit card the bank should be able to get your money back I would have though.

Bank transfer.

Too late to get it back.

I can only wait and hope now.

[Angelis]

In case you are wondering where the stalker story posts have gone, I decided to delete them as it doesn't really fit in with the thread.

Edited by Angelis on Saturday 13th February 10:37

[Angelis]

All about the car from now on.

[Angelis]

Libertine said:

Now back to the car...what's next?

I have to decide by monday the colour of the dampers.

Main bodies are black... but I can choose the other ones.

Not sure which colour to go for. Tempted by the purple.



I also have to source a water pump which can be a problem. New one costs £905 plus vat and my costs are escalating. I can have one rebuilt for around £195 though, but i'm not too sure about that.

Whilst 348 water pumps have been reliable, if they have a catostraphic failure, it can destroy the engine. This is because the cambelt powers it. I've marked it on the pic below.




I also nearly got this rear spoiler on ebay. Turns out it's not carnon fibre, but fibreglass.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FERRARI-355-CHALLENGE-REAR-S...

It would look something like this on the car. Although the car pictured is a 355.

[Angelis]

Changing the water pump to an electric one would just be more work for us.

Most specilaists have never even changed the original water pump on the 348, so I'm sticking to that.

But keep the suggestions coming.

[Angelis]

Lord Flathead said:

The bit which holds my interest is how a guy that is not a seasoned spanner thrower is able to get hands on, is not barrying it up even thought its being modified, and then he stumbles across an LM race engine.. and in it goes

Probably because I'm stark raving mad.

But there's someone even crazier than I am.

Check out this modified 348 that a friend of mine created. It keeps up/beats 360 Challenge Stradales. And that's without the Nitrous!!!

It's not an LM engine, but something he did himself. He also has a 355 gearbox attached to it as well.

[Angelis]

Jessop said:

Any video's of said engine grafting?

I bet it does sound absolutley biblical.

You can see his 348 here at 5:42 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHY5rlwKnNo

There's also a clip of it with flames coming out the exhaust as well in the same video.

[Angelis]

UPDATE on what's happened so far.

Received the engine last week. It had a few bits done to it by the supplying company who also originally raced it at Le Mans.

We're starting to get all the bits together now. New digital sensors and the M800 Motec ECU. Should have that all next week. We are getting higher grade race parts where we can and the plan is to turn it into a 1993 built engine with 2009 electrical/digital technology.

The suspension system is due end of this month.

I'm also looking for a 360 glass engine cover as well so the engine will be viewable at all times.Can't ehlp it... I'm a poseur!!

Pics of the engine as received last week. Will post up more pics of the engine when we've taken it out the crate.

Edited by Angelis on Saturday 19th December 18:29

[Angelis]

Thanks all

Marlow11 said:

the Ferrari garages must hate you for bringing to light that you dont have to spend a fortune to keep these cars on the road!

Actually, the Ferrari specilaists and main dealers I know have been very supportive.

stuartph said:

Angelis

What a lovely car you have

Where did you get the quantum shocks from


Stu

Thanks. Got them from here: http://www.quantumracing.co.uk

[Angelis]

STEV8E said:

Hi Sy, long time no chat, I see you are busy doing lots to the car, looking good mate.

Keep up the good work!

Steve

Hey Stranger, long time no see.

We need to do a Beckton meet when the weather gets better!!


Quick update on what's happened so far:

errrr..... nothing much really.

We're a little behind schedule at the moment, but the engine transplant should be commpleted by the end of next month.

One of the things I will also be doing now is having the manifolds and probably the exhaust/cats covered with zircotec heat coating. I also ghet to choose which colour I want the coating to be. This should reduce the engine by temprature quite a bit which means teh engine sucks in cooler air.

Colours are:




I'm also having thoughts about putting this rear spoiler on as well in conjunction with a carbon splitter at the front. To be honest, not really concerned about downforce... more because it looks cool...well to me anyway

What do you all think?

I'd have to get it custome made though as you can't buy them.




Last month was also insurance renewal time. I'd been with AON since 2005 but they messed me around so I decided to get quotes elsewhere. Unfortunatly, mention the word "modified Ferrari" to insurance companies and they don't want to know. Seems my existing/future mods were too much for them and the only quote I got was for £1,400 per year. Fortunatly, via Ferrari Owners Club I got a quote from lockton Insurance for £490 limited to £5,000 miles per year and FOC track days only. That included cover for the Le Mans engine as well. RESULT!!!!

Edited by Angelis on Monday 18th January 21:10

[Angelis]

Libertine said:

I'm in the "no" to the spoiler brigade..the clues in the name
Are there any other spoilers available, besides the one in that photo? I had a Google, but couldn't find any..

Not many spoilers around for the 348.

Here's a 355 Challenge spoiler that I photoshopped on the 348 a few years ago.




This is the the one that was on the 348 from which the engine came from:




The Michelotto 348 that raced at Le Mans




One from a model. Quite like this one.




Not a fan of this one

[Angelis]

If I found the right spoiler, I'd be very tempted. Although the cost will be easily over £1,000 so I probably won't be in a rush.

Latest purchase (last night)... managed to buy a carbon fibre front bumper from a friend of mine. That will reduce some weight from the front end. It's got a slight crack at the front but easily fixable. Cost £250.

[Angelis]

ApexJimi said:

I realise this might be a fairly big undertaking, but since you don't appear to be doing anything by halves anyway, what about focussing on underbody aero, rather than ruining the lines with a rear wing?

There's probably lessons to be learnt from the Enzo / Scuderia etc? Might be worth researching?

It was one of the first things I looked into.

The 355 has a very flat underside and I considered using those panels. Had a chat with the owner of Eurospares and he told me it wasn't possible so I forgot about it. Plus i don't know any experts in aerodynamics.

Bosshogg76 said:

Just to echo ApexJimi, I had a quick look online for diffusers, Veilside used to do one. These guys although stateside, might be helpful

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www....


and these chaps:

http://www.ferraricarbon.com/index.php?main_page=p...

Though it is your car at the end of the day, and I am just a jealous viewer of a great looking project.

Called Veilside up a few years ago and they no longer have the mould for the spoiler so can't make any.

Also contacted Stealth Composites a while ago and they wanted $4,500 for the 355 Challenge rear wing.

Thanks for the ideas though....keep them coming.

[Angelis]

Thanks for the links guys, but I've decided to hold off on any body mods until we finish the engine

Picked up the following engine bits today from DC Electronics.

1 x M800 ECU
1 x Ignition Expander
1 x ECU connector kit
1 x Expander connector kit
8 x Coil connector kits
2 x Lambda sensors
2 x Lambda sensor connector kits
12 x 2 way junior timer connector kits (injectors and temp sensors)
4 x 3 way junior timer connector kits (TPS, MAP etc)
1 x Comms connector (to fit MoTeC download cable)

The above items are race developed/race proven and used in FIA GT, Le Mans 24 Hour, Daytona 24 etc and I've been told are as good as they get.

We've also decided to not use the Race Logic traction constrol system and instead use the Motec one. So the Racelogic system will be up for sale soon.

Here are the bits I picked up.



Originally, we were going to use the existing connectors/components/engine loom that came with the engine, but we decided to upgrade everything. A new engine loom will now be made up and we will be using a direct ignition system.

Pic of the engine loom that came with the Le Mans engine:



Friday I'll pick up the new dampers/springs and then we are all set to start.

Edited by Angelis on Wednesday 10th February 20:03

[Angelis]

carsounds_dan said:

out of interest what finish are you going for the loom? heat shrinked or nylon/fibreglass braided?
whos making the loom up for you?

The wiring loom is being made by Raj at Adesso performance who's doing all the engine work. I think it's all heat shrinked.

Raj often goes to PH meets in his Lime Green Murcielago.

Transmitter Man said:

Angelis,

Great thread you started.

You may get an idea or two for future mod's from Goran's website:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/profile.asp?h=0...

One hell of a read but worth it.

Phil

Thanks for the link Phil. Very interesting and informative.

Edited by Angelis on Saturday 13th February 10:45

[Angelis]

Yesterday, we visited Patrick at Quantum Racing and picked up the suspension kit.

www.quantumracing.co.uk

The dampers are beautifully constructed and we spent a couple of hours looking around and being shown how they are made. Very impressive and Patrick was a great host.

The dampers are two way adjustable and can be adjusted for stiffness using a dial at the top. I stuck with the trademark Quantum Racing colours of purple and black. Springs are of a medium stiffness.





We're hoping to start work (or should that be Raj does the work and I take photo's ) on the Le Mans engine this coming week and do the engine swap the week after. We'll make sure we take lots of pictures and post them up.

Edited by Angelis on Saturday 13th February 10:48

[Angelis]

Finally got round to unpacking the engine from the crate.

It looks cleaner in the pictures than it actually is.

We'll be cleaning the engine up and replacing, refurbishing and upgrading a few bits on it.

So here it is. A 480bhp race engine.












We are replacing this old ignition system...




With a direct ignition system





Pics of the engine with teh carbon plenums removed

he

[Angelis]

joe_90 said:

Very nice, but does it need a frequent rebuild if its a race engine?

It's normally "refreshed" (whatever that means) every 2 years.

We'll be lowering the rev limiter from 9,400 to something like 8,500. That should hopefully give a bigger gap between refresh's.

[Angelis]

About an hour ago, I purchased this from Canada.




It's an airbox from Micheal Schumachers 1997 F310B F1 Car.

He drove it early in the season and the engine itself was sold for £50,000 around 10 years ago. A fellow 348 owner (Kenyon) told me about it and as we were going to build a carbon airbox, what better than to base it around a genuine F1 part from Schumachers car.




Few more pics of the airbox. If I ever bump in to Micheal, I'll ask him to sign it as well.

[Angelis]

warmfuzzies said:

IS that an Oil filter I see, designed to dump the excess oil all over the engine when removed?? quirky if it is to say the least.

kevin

Changed the oil filter myself last year and don't recall any of it leaking out. One of the easiest thinsg I've ever done on the car.