308 V12 conversion begins

Reusable is nice but so is compressible because it gives me a bit more tolerance on the heights.

 

It’s not as bad as it seems. Most of what I'm doing is really just fab work that relies on ferrari’s engineering. Also, most things interact in only 1 way with other parts, for example as long as
I get the timing chain straight it will work with the sprockets. There are a lot of parts, but it can be tackled one part at a time and it will get done and it will work.

I’m pretty confident it will work when I’m done and won’t need to come back out and back apart….we’ll see…..

 

I'll take another look....I remember copper rings, but they may be early engines only as was posted a bit ago.

 

They look way cool...any idea on price?

 

I hit the timing cover quickly with the die grinder so I could put it on and have a look at thinks. I’m thinking the TR cam cover would look better if I cut the side off that was the oil return on the TR…it looks like an appendage to me. I have to work on the cover any way since it needs a flange to seal to the timing cover and it need a “ferrari” script put on since it’s on top of the engine now. I’m also thinking I’m going to narrow up the timing cover a bit. The 2 changes together should make the finished engine look smaller and also help further confuse anyone who thinks they know what they’re looking at when they see it

These cams need to be cut at the seal flange and then have the flange machined to accept the timing sprocket. It looks like I'll need rework the sprocket too becasue there isn't enough meat on the seal flang for me to cut deep enough to get the sprocket in line. The fun just keeps coming.

I'm going to move on to the second head I guess before I go to work on the timing cover. That one is harder becasue it looks very much like I'll cut into the water jackt if I just mill it like I did the first head. Maybe a little off the head, and then a knotch in the timing cover....I could just mill the head and weld a plate in to re-seal it, but I'd rather not do that much weling on the head if I can find another option.
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TR cams, the 400 sprockets are just sitting there....the sprockets have a bore about 1mm bigger than the TR cams so they go on but flop around.

 

I cut the second head and rough cut the back out of the timing cover to get it on.

I’m thinking I’m going to make the 2 little top covers for the timing cover part of the cam cover for a couple reasons. 1st is then I don’t need to fix the big hole in the front of the 2nd head and 2nd because it will make it much easier to keep the width of the 2 covers the same in spite of 1 head sticking out 5mm farther than the other.

I think that’s it for today….it’s starting to at least look a bit like it could be an engine some day now.
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The plan is actually quite simple, cut out what’s there now with the holes all in the wrong places and weld in new metal so I can put the holes where I want them. This is the easy part really and most of the work I’m going to be doing over the next few days will be more cosmetic than anything else. I want to get it looking like the parts were all made to be together and not an afterthought…..and that will mean changing the shape of the top part of the timing cover, shortening the 2 top covers to match and attaching them to the cam covers. None of it’s very hard, it just takes a bit of time.

I started some of the sawing tonight (got bored with TV). I knocked off some mounts I don’t need, I still need to clean them up on the mill, but it was faster to saw than to mill the whole way. Also, here’s a picture of the hole I installed in the back of the timing cover to clear the head, it needs a piece of plate welded in now.

The last pic is where I was looking at the water situation. The 400 heads were fed by the 2 round holes in the back of the timing cover that flowed into the front of the heads. The big feed on top, just goes into the cover and then out the 2 hole into the heads. The TR heads have feeds in the middle for more even distribution so the 400 set-up isn’t much use. I’m going to just cut that hole section right out of the timing cover and run a coolant manifold/tube from the connections on the head straight out the front of the engine….of maybe straight out the back and run the oil lines in/out the front, I need to think about that, but either way I’m cutting that section out of the timing cover.
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Thanks.

 

I cleaned up my sawsall work this morning on the mill. Now out with that water passage I think......
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I picked a shape for the cover, cut it out and test fit it. I think it will look pretty good….but first I have to fill all the holes I made and move the cut-outs for the cams and that means it needs the Frankenstein treatment. Once it’s machined no one will ever know it was ever this ugly.

I have to decide how I’m going to finish it too. I can't leave it as a bare casting because it’s a pretty rough part but the machined areas are smooth so they stand right out. Wrinkle paint is the easiest I guess because it hides almost anything. It would need a quick sand but that should be about it....but I don't know if it would look right. It would probably look nice if I sand the whole thing to a satin polish similar to the original QV timing covers…..that seems like a lot of work though and the weld and plate area may be a slightly different color. I'll need to think about that.
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There's 1 corner fixed, 3 to go.

The bores are still small for now, I want the back cut large enough to be able to pull the cover without pulling the cams and the front bore needs to be finished with cover in place so the plug will seal properly.

Also, I need to cut some kind of pattern in so it doesn't look like I welded a plate in. After I rough in the second side, I'll decide what I think might look nice to add some shape.
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