F40 LM Restoration

Gregg,
As someone who just did a lot of this (rebuilt the wastegate, cleaned, balanced, and tested the injectors (blueprinting refers to something else - not injectors), and a whole host of other things, I have to say that a lot of what you're saying and how you're saying to do it is the exact opposite of what I was told to do by a couple of the guys with significant and substantial F40 experience - guys who have prepped F40's in a very serious manner.

A couple of the things you mentioned will lead directly to the grenading of the very expensive LM turbos. And this is from guys with a ton of real world experience with these cars.

So that leads me to ask: how many F40's have you owned, driven, worked on, or set up?

 

Exactly Tim .

One thing I highly suggest doing is a compression check and this test is very simple and basic and one you can do yourself and at home with a buddy. The injector cleaning is a must especially with the notoriously bad gas/petrol back in the '90s and I have another "must do" suggestion". Drop and flush the fuel tank and replace the fuel pump filter/s and check that the pump is still working within factory specs as the pump itself could be ready to retire and under full boost that could mean disaster.

 

Specifically which ones? Your input would be great and help Tim out.

Sadly none my friend but I have more than the average knowledge of turbocharged engines.

 

I already emailed Tim a bunch of info on things and he is in touch with the right people.

I have no doubt that you have knowledge of turbocharged engines but one thing to note, that others before you have found, is that F40's are set up very specifically and it's a car that requires more than a little specific knowledge. One thing in particular that you mentioned - the changing of the wastegate springs - has to led to turbos blowing up. Depending on what ECU's the car is running, which iteration of F40 turbos it has, and how the waste gate(s) are controlled, you can mess with the spring pressure depending on the back pressure but you cannot change the spring rates. Rates are pressure are two different things. You certainly can't just "buy a few sets of WG springs" and swap them in and out as you suggest. Also, on a dyno, a lot of these cars will go into overboost but will not on the road or track - again, depending on how it's set up and how "close" they work it. Overboost will burn out the turbos very quickly - like a single dyno session.

I'll be the first to tell you that, unlike yourself, I'm no expert. But I figured that when my dream car and my own money are on the line, I really go out of my way to talk to the guys that really are F40 experts. So I found those guys and had them walk me through everything in ridiculous detail, complete with calculations and resources. And these are guys who's work speaks for itself and their immense attention to details has built my trust in them. I'm really a perfectionist when it comes to my cars, especially with my F40. Consequently, given what I have learned and the work that I have done, it's hard to me to sit back and read what you said when they are things that I was specifically told NOT to do because of the consequences.

So everything you said makes sense for something like a 300ZX turbo or a Subaru or something but because they're things you just can't do on an F40, it can easily and needlessly cost Tim something in the neighborhood of 20,000 pounds. Or more.

Which is why I had to ask how much F40 experience you have or if you're chiming in "just because."

 

Correct.

 

Blueprinting is the engineering art of getting components as close as possible to there optimum tolerance/balance both individually and in conjunction with there other associated mechanical components.

I would say cleaning, flowing and closely matching a set of injectors of part of the overall package would be part of a blueprinting process.

Mass produced engineering components can vary widely within a manufacturers acceptable tolerance band, so often where motorsport rules dictate that only original components can be used then selecting more closely matched components than those already in place can gain a legitimate advantage.

 

That is great news Tim and that shop definitely sounds like they know what they are doing and thank you for the pics. You are going to have one hell of a photo album once all is said and done. Is the shop helping you document the resto by taking pictures aswell?

Cheers,
Gregg

 

Tim,
Do you have a projected completion date barring any unforseen hurdles or delays? I suspect you are expecting atleast a 2-5 year time frame from start to finish?

Gregg

 

Some impressive projects on their website indeed: Home

Gr. Martin

 

Wow that is alot sooner than I suspected which is great. Hopefully you or your shop can locate an original 'Michelotto pedal box' asap because I know you are ready to drive her and I know I am ready for some video.

All the best,
Gregg

 

Nice! Let me know if you would need a brand new exhaust as I have a set of Tubi still in their shrink wrapping unopened and I won't be using them at all.

More pics please!

 

George, which Tubi do you have? Is it full or only the mufflers? Regardless, even without seeing it, it's fairly definitive that it won't work on this due primarily to the dual wastegate set up. All of that said, it would be great to know what kind of exhaust you have as someone here would probably want it.

 

I have the 'Non Kat' version sports muffler as they refer to it as. They are the latest ones.

 

Thanks for posting all these progress pics!
These sorts of threads is definitively my favorites.

 

Michelotto I know really enjoyed drilling holes in many of their modified a-arms, but that appears to not be the case here. Good thing too, strength is probably in order.

 

Those are great. Is it complete, i.e. including the parts that bolt onto the turbos and wastegate as well as the final pipes?

 

How do you post pics from the iPad?

 

Traveller
Great thread - thanks for posting updates
Kevin