SCCA EMod MGB GT V12 Build

In reply to Jerry From LA: was going to reply....but

Loose, damn son......run a finger nail over the crank journals (1&4) if it doesn't hang dress the crank with emery cloth just the same. Check the clearance on those two with plastigauge running standard bearings.... if out at all, run the next size fat (0.010's) on those two journals....sorry for your crap ...good luck bro

Jerry From LA wrote: The ebay motor was out of a flood car.

I agree about the rust on the bottom, but why is the chain falling apart around the cam gear?

Crackers wrote:

Jerry From LA wrote: The ebay motor was out of a flood car.

I agree about the rust on the bottom, but why is the chain falling apart around the cam gear?

The engine had been dropped on it's top somewhere along the line. The EBay seller is replacing it. After looking my engine over and seeing that everything is in such good shape, except for the rod bearings, I decided to do a quickie rebuild. The crosshatch pattern is still visible in the cylinders and the main bearings are nearly perfect. Even the scuffed up rod journals look amazing after I went over them with an emory cloth. The problem is that none of the local auto parts places (NAPA, GM dealership, etc) have the parts I need. I remembered a couple of people raving about Rock Auto so I went online and yadda, yadda, yadda the parts will be here tomorrow. It's going to take a lot of hours and some luck to get this thing to SpringNats but I'm going to try. Attached are pics of cylinder wall and before and after of the worst rod journal

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/MGB-GT/IMG_9228_zpsrwd9bylk.jpg.html][/URL]

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/MGB-GT/IMG_9229_zpsvtjzb0wz.jpg.html][/URL]

Journal looks pretty. Clean the oil pump and any passages in the pan very well and then run it for a couple minutes then change. Then little longer and change again. Then you should be okay.

In reply to loosecannon:

Damn, what did the cam cover look like?

Even with that, with the rust on the lower chain it's doubtful it had a compression test done recently. Unless it sat outside and got filled with rain after being tested.

In reply to Crackers:

[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loosecannon/media/MGB-GT/IMG_9214_zpshxwxh6sy.jpg.html][/URL]

I am impressed that the ebay seller is doing the right thing. Who knows when it got dropped...

'spose you can't get yur $$$$ back eh?

Ever wish that you left the roof in place and kept the 5.0 where it was?

Could have just enjoyed the driving part and left the seemingly endless mechanical problems in another life . . .

759NRNG wrote: 'spose you can't get yur $$$$ back eh?

Having a spare isn't a horrible thing.

In reply to alfadriver: True if it were in somewhat decent shape

In reply to 759NRNG:

Didn't I read the seller is sending another?

Why yes we both did , but I wouldn't hold my breath...

Crackers wrote:

Jerry From LA wrote: The ebay motor was out of a flood car.

I agree about the rust on the bottom, but why is the chain falling apart around the cam gear?

Was the motor seized up at all? My other theory is someone tried to change the chain at some point but failed. Turn your hymnal back to page 59 and look at the top chain around the bottom sprocket. Compare the lack of rust to the other chain.

Seller replacing it is pretty cool. I mean they shouldn't have sold a crap engine to begin with but, normally when it's listed, it's listed as for parts/ not working. Which means they wouldn't be "required" to replace it. So, seller gets a +1 for that portion. Do you have to return the old one?

In reply to Cleverfrog:

I think it was pretty cool of the seller to not fuss at all and immediately send another engine. I'll reserve judgement until I see the replacement. I don't get to keep the damaged one, they expect it back. I don't mind having a spare.

fingers crossed

looseC has the replacement arrived? and in what shape ?

In reply to 759NRNG:

I drove down to the USA to pick up the engine and crossed my fingers as I pulled off the wraps. It was a little dirty and had a mouse nest on the intake but there was no visible damage to the sensors or anything else and also had a complete wiring harness attached. The oil looked normal so I loaded it up, took it to a car wash and gave it a splash. I brought it back to my shop and removed the oil pan and everything else I didn't need. I shone a light up into each of the cylinders from the bottom and everything looked just fine. The oil pan had just the thinnest layer of dark deposits on some parts but there were no metal bits visible. I bolted on all the parts I need, including the new oil pan and tomorrow I will drop it in the car. The plan is to hook everything up, bring it up to temperature and run for a while with a high detergent oil to flush everything, then change the oil and filter. I will do a compression test as well. If everything checks out, then I'll bolt on the transmission and do a few laps of the track.

Is the accusump still in the werks?

I had no idea where to hook up Accusump on this particular engine and the internet wasn't much help, but I found a guy who did hook one up successfully to an LNF. I need a special adapter for a remote oil filter, a remote oil filter, a one way valve, T fitting and hoses to make it work. I bolted the replacement engine into the car today and it wouldn't start. It cranked and cranked and cranked but no fire. I checked the plugs and they were wet so I spun it over and there was spark, so there must be lack of compression. I checked compression and the highest cylinder was only 40 psi. I figured it was just from sitting for a while and it should get better with use. I dried out the plugs and cylinders and turned it over and eventually it popped a few times then started. I only ran it a few minutes then shut it off, rechecked compression and it was 150 psi on all cylinders. Then I cycled it by filling radiator, bringing up to temperature and shutting off to cool, then repeating until coolant no longer goes down. It has almost no blowby now but the oil is already black, black, black so I'll change oil and filter again and run it for a while again. I run some synthetic ATF with the oil to flush everything out. Hopefully the turbo is good and makes some boost. There is no wiggle in the turbo shaft and the blades look perfect so I'm optimistic.

I changed oil and took the car for a drive around the kart track. It laid patches of rubber everywhere so I think it has the same power as the previous engine. The ceramic clutch engaged only at the last little bit of clutch travel so I had to pull the transmission back off to adjust it. While I was rooting around in there I checked driveline angle but couldn't make the Tremec driveline angle checker happy. I double checked the wheelbase and noticed something funny and discovered that both lower control arm adjusters were bent. Looking at both sides, I figure they bent under heavy braking. I straightened them out then welded in mounts to triangulate 5/8 rod so hopefully that will hold me until I can redesign the lower control arms. Then I loaded the car into the trailer and tomorrow I leave for Lincoln to hopefully get through an event without breaking anything.

Fingers crossed !!! Tearem' UP !!!!

We got to Lincoln and went out on the test track. The experience was underwhelming. I can't describe the car as slow but it clearly had lost some of the snap it had before. It also understeered way too much but anything I did to correct that resulted in tire spin from the inside rear tire. I tried different rear roll center and front sway bar settings but didn't correct the problem. This was upsetting because the car didn't seem to have the ability to get a podium finish, let alone win anything. I sent the data log off to Jerry from Bad News Racing and he suggested that sometimes the wastegates are a little soft and I could tune that through settings in the computer. I made the tune changes and magically found the missing boost pressure. Since I was already on the test course, I decided to try some different shock settings and tire pressures. These worked surprisingly well and the car feels pretty good for power and handling now. It still understeers slightly under some circumstances and still spins the inside rear tire a little but both seem manageable. I don't have the handling to win EMod (yet) but have some ideas on how to correct the problem. I added titanium end plates to the from splitter and they sparked like a mofo when they contacted the pavement. Sparks would fly up along the side of the car, it was cool but they didn't hold up to hitting a cone so I removed them. Competition starts Sunday. Briget on one of her test runs