308 V12 conversion begins

Mmmmm..........those look sweeeeet!

 

Hello Mark,

I've looked at those TWM Throttle bodies with the over-head injectors too. They do look nice but $$$$$$.

Below are pictures of two surplus Ford throttle bodies I got from a friend who formerly worked at a Ford dealership in the parts department. The right TB is 60mm and I believe it belongs on a 5.0 Mustang. It's too big for what you need but the left unit is 50mm and might possibly be usable. I ganged 2 of the 5.0 throttle bodies on my 308's supercharger and there may be a way of ganging six of these in a row for each TR head. The TPS is missing from the smaller TB but it's standard Ford (cheap) and so is the IAC motor and both should be compatible with your ECU (PCM if you're a Ford man). These TBs are basically new, un-used but slightly shelf aged. If you're interested I can send one or both for you to examine. Can't hurt right?

Wil
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Mark, I would think that duplicating that TWM setup would be pretty easy for a guy as handy as you. Get some "regular" TBs, and then suspend another set of injectors over the top. Looks a lot simpler than the stuff you've already done on this project.

 

Like that ever stopped you!

 

It's looking like a real motor Mark. Congrats!

 

+100000000000000000000000000000

One looks at that, and cannot help but think, "Why didn't they make that all along?"

So since the car was originally a 308, which is "30" for 3 liters and "8" for 8 cylinders, what should yours be called: a 5512?

Presenting The Ferrari 5512. Hey, I like the sound of that!

 

The throttle bodies are all packed and ready for UPS to pick them up tomorrow so you should see them in a few days. I had to remove the IAC from the smaller TB so the box would close (it's loose in the box). You would want a single IAC per cylinder bank if you gang these so you'd have to mount it remotely anyway. The IAC on the larger TB is still attached. Ford installs the screws with some serious loc-tite so if you want to remove the screws you need to heat up the flange a little with a butane or propane torch and the screws will come right out. Careful because it's only zink. I machined major amounts of metal off of my TBs to get them to fit together. Hopefully you can get one of these to work. My friend may have some more. The dealership was just chucking them (like new) in the dumpster at the time and he grabbed a bunch.

Wil

 

Mark,

Awesome work.

Question:
You now have the form of the bellhousing more or less complete; why don't you take a mold and cast a new one in one unwelded piece?

 

Good Grief Charlie Brown, don't give him any more ideas!

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

 

Better is the enemy of good enough...

Mark could of course also mill a new bellhousing out of a solid block of aluminum

 

Wow. I was just thinking the very same thing this morning before I even turned on the computer, but for a different reason. I think more than a few of us are thinking about this a lot more than we care to mention.

Thoroughly awesome work, everyone I show this thread to is blown away. Not only by the outcome, but almost more by the original thinking and fearless cutting of these rare and expensive castings. This doesnt only impress gearheads and wannabe engineers, anyone with any sense of art and creativity should be equally impressed. However, those with that gearhead mentality that are equally impressed with fine artwork, are doubly blown away.

I have been reading and watching car magazines, homebuilt aircraft magazines, RC Modeler, etc., all my life, as I am sure many here have. I have never seen, or read anywhere, of anyone who has ever gone anywhere near this level of alteration to an engine and powertrain. People have been trying to put a Reynolds block BB Chevy in an airplane for over 30 years, and its still seemingly lost in the design stage. Some are flying, but development goes on. There are also the other various gear reduction drives that have been attempted to put various car engines into aircraft. But nothing approaches this level. Mark has cut up and rewelded virtually every single casting on this thing to make it fit his own way. Even if it doesnt work, which I doubt, his achievment thus far is beyond impressive. There are about 4 or 5 running V-12 308's worldwide that have been completed since Goldmans car was produced nearly 30 years ago, it is a very laborious undertaking and requires a great deal of engineering and skill. Mark has trumped them all. The only large scale alterations that come close to this are Enzo Ferrari welding 4 cylinder engines together in the 30's to go racing, and the flight of the Pheonix. And the later is more fiction than reality.

I guess what I am trying to say, and I feel I am speaking for many here, is that most of us just dont have words to express our feeling of awe here. Its beyond awesome, its flippin overwhelming. I keep thinking of the golden hammer award Popular Mechanix used to hand out for impressive projects. Mark needs something golden, but no one thing seems to encompass it. Maybe a golden engineer statue?? The fact it isnt done yet just makes it even more incredible. I cant wait to see the headers he's going to make.

 

Hey Mark.

Why not just use some motorcycle throttle bodies? Alot of guys in the import scene use Suzuki Hayabusa GSXR ITB's to bolt to their Honda engines. They take an old intake mani, chop off the plenum, and then hold the itb's to the runners. Here check it out. http://www.preludepower.com/forums/showthread.php?t=234130
I think that would be the cleanest, easiest, and cheapest way to go in my opinion. You are in business for a few hundred bucks.

 

Fully, completely and utterly agree on all of the above. Anytime Lana wants you to do work around the house Mark, you've got a bunch of gearhead FChatters suffering from withdrawal symptomes here

Compared to this project, my mere Subaru powered homebuilt aircraft is childs play....

The only comment I have on Paul's posting is that it should be a TITANIUM statue, not golden....

 

It would be more fitting that it be fabricated from 6061 Aluminum.

 

It's not as simple as it sounds. An aluminum pattern (the positive mold part) needs to be larger than the finished product. Aluminum shrinks as it cools from liquid to solid approx 1/3" per foot as I remember. Using his current bellhousing as a pattern, his new piece would be smaller.

And +1 to all the compliments above. This is amazing to watch!

The statue should be an aluminum casting of Venus, but with the features cut off, machined and re-welded on to look like Mark. The arms and naughty bits should come from an aluminum David.

 

Actually it's (approx) .015" per inch which equals .180" per foot or about 3/16" per foot.

Cheers,
Paul