Dave Collins
Supporter
After completion of my car in June 2012 this winter has seen the first major overhaul take place and I thought it would be worth sharing some pictures whilst everything is apart.
The key driver for the work was worsening high crankcase pressure in the engine throughout 2015 and the fact that oil was starting to force itself out of inlet manifold and sump gaskets. I want the car to be super reliable for 2016 as I have two trips with it to Le Mans this year. One for the main 24 Hours in June and the other for the Classic in July.
The engine was taken out in late October and has since been rebuilt by ICE Automotive at Silverstone. They found the reason for the high crankcase pressure was due to the fact that every #2 compression ring on every piston was broken. Engine has been treated to a new set of rings/pistons, bearings, oil pump and timing chain. I hope to get it back in the next week or so and refitted to the car. It is not clear what caused this issue however the engine was still running well, just leaking oil!
Also thanks to Powermaster in the US who have built me a modified version of their 9504 starter to fit on the offside of the engine in to the standard ZF bell housing. This will replace the previous one which had started causing problems after the engine bay got very hot on last trip to Le Mans.
The other main modification being undertaken is to fit two large Kenlowe dual speed fans to provide more effective air flow when in slow traffic with high ambient temps. I am waiting to fit this setup to the car so I can work out how much if anything will need to be shaved off of the nostril to provide clearance. From measurements it looks like it may need to be 2 or 3mm.
The Hi Speed fan will be switched from the Omex 710 ECU based on engine water temperature. Once I get on the road I will play around to see if the blanking plate from the fans should be removed under normal/track use or just modified with rubber flaps to give more airflow.
Following posts have a selection of images showing the above.
All should be back together for trip to rolling road for ECU re-mapping in early March and then test trackday at Castle Combe.
Dave
The key driver for the work was worsening high crankcase pressure in the engine throughout 2015 and the fact that oil was starting to force itself out of inlet manifold and sump gaskets. I want the car to be super reliable for 2016 as I have two trips with it to Le Mans this year. One for the main 24 Hours in June and the other for the Classic in July.
The engine was taken out in late October and has since been rebuilt by ICE Automotive at Silverstone. They found the reason for the high crankcase pressure was due to the fact that every #2 compression ring on every piston was broken. Engine has been treated to a new set of rings/pistons, bearings, oil pump and timing chain. I hope to get it back in the next week or so and refitted to the car. It is not clear what caused this issue however the engine was still running well, just leaking oil!
Also thanks to Powermaster in the US who have built me a modified version of their 9504 starter to fit on the offside of the engine in to the standard ZF bell housing. This will replace the previous one which had started causing problems after the engine bay got very hot on last trip to Le Mans.
The other main modification being undertaken is to fit two large Kenlowe dual speed fans to provide more effective air flow when in slow traffic with high ambient temps. I am waiting to fit this setup to the car so I can work out how much if anything will need to be shaved off of the nostril to provide clearance. From measurements it looks like it may need to be 2 or 3mm.
The Hi Speed fan will be switched from the Omex 710 ECU based on engine water temperature. Once I get on the road I will play around to see if the blanking plate from the fans should be removed under normal/track use or just modified with rubber flaps to give more airflow.
Following posts have a selection of images showing the above.
All should be back together for trip to rolling road for ECU re-mapping in early March and then test trackday at Castle Combe.
Dave