V-12 Engine into 308 Build, over on Grassroots

Stainless welds nice but the bottom gets all oxidized which really weakens thin stuff unless you purge which is how I did most of the welding on the headers but near the end purge is hard and a bother on small jobs which is where the solar flux comes to the rescue....but it wants to be mixed with methanol so I try to keep a small can on hand.

 

If anyone following this is pondering a V12 308 and doesn't want to spend 14 years build one it looks like this car was at a dealer in Huston and just moved to a dealer in Atlanta. I don't see it on the Atlanta dealer's website yet but I know for sure its there.

http://www.exoticcarsofhouston.com/Details/X023499/1978-ferrari-308-gts

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and it runs

 

The headers are wrapped. I got pretty aggressive on the front set (on the right) and wrapped the individual tubes down as far as I could then wrapped the set as high as I could figuring less exposed surface area is better for my coils.

I still need to do the pipe the runs from the front bank, up and over the bellhousing but that should be quick, then let them dry out ( I soaked the wrap in water to keep the fibers down) before paint....so I should be able to start on the head leaking issue.

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Wrapping done, The collectors are all tapered and smooth and curved which the wrap just hates...I'm really hoping that the paint sticks everything to in place a bit better....or try making aluminum covers like the factory headers had. Anyway, they are drying, on to the engine.

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So it turns out that TR mount mounts are not exactly a bolt on replacement but I do think they will work without too much drama and since I already bought them,one way or the other they have to work.

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Then torn into the engine a bit

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You've only got half the mount, the other half with the flange that mounts to the gearbox would share the same bolt pattern.
Nonetheless, you can fab

 

Yes, but what do you figure the odd of the TR mount mounts? bolting on and putting the mount at the 308 instead of TR frame locations are? I figured right about 0%

 

Ahhh yup...
Fab it is!

 

Yes.

It looks like just open up the center hole in the brackets a little and drill 2 new holes to hit the TR mount tabs and it'll be good. I had to put 1/4" think spacers under the mounts to get my flywheel to just clear the frame but if I pull those and the OEM 308 washers it looks like the engine will sit...1/16"-1/8 higher than it is now so now, which honestly is probably better as the flywheel is really close to the frame rail.

 

Pulled the cams and this time the buckets all look the way they are supposed to look...what a difference valves not hitting pistons makes

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And timing cover off...what a horrible design to work on, but its off so hopefully the heads will be off tomorrow

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I keep thinking if I ever ended up with your car, I’d need to take out a mortgage to keep you on retainer, forever and ever. Personal hero for diving in and out of that thing

 

Can you spot the cylinders that were running on coolant?

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Hold on... Let me clean my glasses

 

If you get tired of messing with this one, here's one you might want to give a try....

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https://bringatrailer.com/listing/lamborghini-3/

 

A little funny in that before buying the TR motor mounts I was looking hard at marine mounts much like the thing is sitting on in the picture.

That thing it 9L but with 44mm carbs....so its got to be low revs, buckets of torque....and on that note my next project is here and has been waiting several year already....1947 Lincoln flathead V12 that is almost exactly the same displacement as the frankenferrari, but a factory 130hp iirc My original plan for it was a boat burt these days I'm more leaning toward a hotrod....33 roadster or maybe a 26 to save some money on the body parts.

 

The stuff on the pistons is goo....assembly lube, running rich and such. Carb cleaner took it right off

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On the bottom of the gasket the compression mark make it pretty that on the sides it the flame ring not gasket material trying to make the fluid seal...which clearly doesn't work. Sealant it is.

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I did recheck the cylinder protrusion and all readings on this bank were .0015-.0030", so right were I left them.

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Get some aviation sealant on that sucker and I bet you’re good. Looks like that ring doesn’t compress much, if at all.

 

yes sir! Sealer on

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and head on

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While it was off I took the opportunity to grind the snot out the bosses that hold the inner cam cover studs hoping it helps with intake install.

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before pic on the other head

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Have you made any progress on improving the rear stub axles?

 

Like everything on this project the leak test is confusing. For sure there is a leak, the pressure bleeds down 1 psi per minute at 30psi, and maybe 1/2 that at 15 psi so 30 to 0 is about an hour.
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Also for sure the leak is not into the cylinders. I have gapless rings that should seal so I used a compression tester hose to make a bubble tester and nothing, not even a hint of of air flowing in any of the cylinders. When I was actually running the test and not trying to photo it, I held the tip of the hose about 1/8" in the water, so there is no even 0.125" water pressure (0.005psi) in there.
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With everything off in the shop, I can't hear anything.....no idea where it's leaking.
When I went to install the second head I realized I screwed up a little on the 1st. I put sealer on the coolant flow passages on the block but the head has more holes....so where the circles are there are no holes in the block for coolant flow but the head gasket does seal of holes in the heads.....that could be a leak. I'm pretty sure if I pull the head with sealer on it the gasket will be destroyed....and that may or may not be the leak.
I googled how to leak test a cooling system and found 15 psi for 2 minutes with the coolant full....if its only losing 1/2 psi/ minute of air at 15psi, so that would be 1/50th of that with water or about 0.02psi in 2 minutes and would easily pass. another source said 15 minutes....I'd lose about 0.15 psi in that test test and again pass so I'm leaking toward saying its good enough......

 

No. Sean got jis done but I decided to stay focused on a running engine and hit the axles issue when I move to the suspension rebuild.

 

My test is 48 hours at 15 lbs with no loss of pressure or visible leakage. A bore scope will tell you in seconds if there is coolant in the cylinders. I'd also check the crankcase. A pound a minute should not be hard to find. You are testing it filled with water?

 

A lb/min is air at 30psi not coolant. Air at 15psi is 0.5lb/min so currently there is no coolant to see. I could fill the block and rerun the test.

 

Finding an air leak requires an act of God. Fill it with water.

 

Water is the devil.....I'll see what it does with the evans which I'm pretty sure is more prone to leaking than water but won't rust anything when it does.