That's a bit of a disconcerting story. Keep digging. I imagine Gary will get this figured out for you. How weird. If you're not worried about oil starvation while you're driving it then a small accusump might be easier to hide. Does the split sump mod help with oil starvation or has that already been done?
Probably a less important modification if you start your car regularly, no? Much will depend on your expected use post-rebuild.
I can imagine that these cars are not driven very often, but started upon request so people can hear the music ... thus I assume that they often get blipped when not fully warmed up. I also wonder about that chamfer that has been down to the oil feed holes in the crank. If that was beneficial then we all would see that more often, but you don't and unfortunately close to impossible to reverse. Pete
Yes, my guess is that if driven regularly this is much less of a problem. However, just in case (life has a tendency to get in the way of best laid plans), I'd like to see if I can do something about it so that's not an issue. The engine has the split sump, which will of course be retained, so you are right, it's not an issue of oil starving while driving, so your idea of using a smaller accusump may be a good one. I was told the chamfering is a racer's trick. In any case, Gary thought it was a nice touch and didn't have any concerns about it, even if it is something he doesn't normally do. I'm not worried about it having any adverse effects. I'm assuming that the main reason for the crapped out bearings is what you have highlighted (blipping the throttle on cold start, specially when a long period has passed since the last start). Alberto
Chamfering is a racer trick. I had it done on my Pantera engine build. Don't worry about that part. The oil passages are notoriously small on Lamborghinis, so I could see why it was done.
The chamfer on the oil holes is regularly done by any competent crank machinist. Not unusual for main and rod bearings to look this way after many years, coinciding with a lack of service. You will notice in many areas where sulphur and acids have dissolved the bearing surface. Upholds the theory that you should change your oil often, at least on an annual basis. Gary Bobileff
The valve seats are replaced with hardened seats. To do that the old ones are machined out. In the case of one of my heads, the shop sent it back because they were concerned about contamination/rust they found under the old seat. It turns out to have been a major false alarm. The area was re-welded by Nigel at Gary's shop and the shop recut it without any issues, as shown in the pictures after the following hardened seats were installed. Someone in the past had cross threaded one of the spark plug threads and we had to turn down the spark plug to get it in the hole properly, so it was rethreaded correctly. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Meanwhile, I started disassembly of the car. I started with the rear. A few first of "before". The pictures show a Wallace improvement to the rear suspension, which triangulates the lower suspension trailing link and the lower wish bone. This is intended to keep the toe in and toe out from changing when the car is undulating and moving up and down on the road or making a turn, or when accelerating and braking. Once the rear suspension is removed in one piece, (after removing the shock first), it can be disasembled. In taking the rear suspension apart, I discovered that someone had cut the trailing link bushing pocket (see close up picture of the trailing link bushing pocket), for reasons that I cannot explain. Fortunately, I was able to source two new (used) ones and will be replacing them. I am using plastic tubs to keep parts organized and am following the parts manual a tub for each page to the extent possible (not all parts of the car are in the parts manual Tavola). I stole this idea from someone Jon Gunderson, who restored his Dino and documented it here on Fchat. I've got a shelving unit full of plastic tubs with Miura parts. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just spoke to Jon G today (unrelated). He had a good idea, and I think it is important to keep restorations both organized and properly planned. Clearly this cuts down both the time & the cost. Will you be doing re-assembly yourself?
I have someone who used to work for Gary helping me, but yes, I will be reassembling the car (and also blasting the parts [well underway], priming the parts, painting the parts, agonizing over this detail or that, etc.). I have to admit, I'm enjoying doing the work and really, the entire process. Alberto
Now to the gears and other internals. I sneaked in a picture of the Bosch starter stamping. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This engine had been fit with the Wallace sump extension. This involves adding a 1 inch thick ring to the oil pan, adding baffles to the extended oil pan, extending the oil pump, etc. The problem with this extension is that it significantly reduces clearance and causes the sump to be below the chassis rails. If the car bottoms, the first thing that hits the ground is the oil pan. My oil pan had been shaved by bottoming of the car. So, even though I am resolving the fundamental problem (weak springs), I am also removing the sump extension. Frankly, I think keeping it unecesarilly exposes the oil pan to danger and if you were to crack it or shave off the bolt, you'd starve the engine and be in a world of hurt. This engine has the split sump and is never going to be tracked, so oil starvation really is will be a non-issue for it. The last picture is that oil breather discussed previously. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I've always thought these cars were simply too low for real use. One of the reasons why I imagine they don't get used often. I doubt whether they would be deemed street legal in Australia cause they are so low ?? Pete
This is the famous (or infamous) split sump, done during the prior rebuild, the first two from the inside of the casing, the other two from the outside. This will be redone by Gary. You can see a sign of weeping/leak. The last picture shows the oil plug location as done by Wallace. Gary puts it where the SV's have them from the factory, so this one will be plugged. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
So now that the rear suspension if off the car, this is what it looks like. I start inspecting the driver's side of the chassis, and this is where the "What the hell did I get myself into" question is asked, with the realization being that the answer is "Boy, am I in neck deep crap." These are pictures of the driver's side rear chassis showing areas that have been rewelded and there's a lot of waviness on the sheet metal of the chassis in the area. All of this should be one piece, with no welds in the middle of the runs. The rear most bottom suspension pick up point is bent (not that unusual for Miura's). So, it seems that the damage from the previously reported accident was not limited to the front of the car. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
This is a bit like volunteering for rectal surgery on one of those medical programs you see on the science channel or something. Everyone is getting to see the entire works ...
Is it too much information or full disclosure? I have to admit that it has crossed my mind that it's TMI to post all of this stuff. On the other hand, it's a 45 year old car in March. All Miura's have issues like this (if not all 45 year old cars); we really haven't found anything that unusual, however, the real issue is that most owners don't (or don't want to) document what's really under the paint on their cars. Certainly, most are not as involved in the work as I am in this one nor do they usually document the car in this kind of detail that I have seen, nor have the passion (or is it dispassion?) to look at the warts and broken bones and strive to fix it all using the best people you can get your hands on. I guess the danger is you overdocument and people think your car is a clapped out piece of junk, when in fact, the damage it has is common to all of them, people just don't know it. For example, I am now convinced that any Miura who's owner thinks his car is perfectly straight is simply deluding himself. As I'll show later, even taking the car to a chassis shop doesn't guarantee that it will come out straight after it is pulled. Even if it does get straightened, unless the chassis is reinforced (specially the rear on the Miura's), it's a futile effort because it will just twist flex again. When you straighten it you then have other decisions to make such as how far do you deviate from the original design/materials/techniques to make a permanent fix? I hope that what I am doing is documenting the car as is, faults and all, and then show how these faults are fixed while trying to keep as close as absolutely possible to the original concept, design and cosmetics when balanced with the need to make the fixes permanent. In other words, I am trying to curate the car, not redesign it nor hide its deficiencies. OK, I'll stop now, I'm rambling. So, too much information or full disclosure?
No, not TMI, certainly not as far as I'm concerned. I think everyone is enjoying it! Having done this with my Bora the striking contrast between the construction "methodologies" of these two cars is fascinating. But that car also has it's own set of issues. I would suggest that you do a really good job of showing how well all the problems get "rectified". Oh I don't know, some folks want a car that was always perfect so there is that. But you're never going to sell it anyway right Alberto? Just have fun!
Save bankruptcy, Alzheimer's or the grave, no. As to fun, except the part about writing checks, I absolutely am.
Some new bits. The bearings are almost unobtainable at this point, in the oversize I needed. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Dissasembly and clean up of parts starts. Note the reinforcement plate on the right hand (D stamp is for Destra) upper A arm. I am not sure if this is a Wallace upgrade or if Menser through of this. In the tear down process I discovered that the driver's side upper A arm was bent. I sourced a new (old) one to replace it. I'll have to weld a reinforcement plate so that it matches the right one. The pictures of the motor is the heater fan motor for the car. This thing was completely original and had never been off the car. Note that the color is a much darker grey than what is typically used on these motors on Miura's (typically a light grey, which may or may not be correct for later Miura's, but not for this early of one given the evidence; I know the Jaguar E-type guys seem to use the lighter grey color on their motors, which is where the light grey on Miura's might have come from). The radiator fan motors will be painted this color to match (I sourced an NOS wiper motor with a date code in the 60's and it has the same dark grey hammertone finish on it, as an affirmation of the color). Note date stamp on motor cover plate. Note rubber boot on ball joint. I have no idea of this is original, but it fit perfectly. Part numbers posted, but VW does not appear to have any such number in their parts catalog. I went to an old fashioned VW place (you know, the kind without any of them "cumputers", it was kind of like this: Me: "Do you have any of these?" Counter guy: "Jee, I don't recognize it, Hey Jeff!! Do you know if we have any of these?" Jeff: ' Yeah, check in the small box on the bottom shelf where the tie rods are!" Counterguy "Here you go." Me: "Do you have a part number for that?" Counter guy: "Jeff, what's the part number" Jeff: "I don't remember, just charge him $3 each.") Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The re-welded and profiled cams came in. They look fantastic. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
