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Fantastic to see your project come together, and appreciate the great engineering detail that goes with it!
Thought this group would find it interesting, esp the parts about how good handling these cars are once sorted. This thread imo is all about a road going BBLM except faster better looking and road comfort. The 512 BBM https://www.evo.co.uk/ferrari/206855/ferrari-512b-blm-the-anatomy-of-a-v12-le-mans-racer
I'd love to build a Silhouette BB512, the body parts are readily available. That was my original plan for the 84 Boxer I bought and was in serious need of restoring. Opted not to hack that car up but it would've been a fun build.
You need to convince some of the BBLM owners to do as Lance Stroll did (22255?), and convert a BB into a BBLM so they have a backup!
i think the way you're going is better. The Silhouette boxers dont have that classic look, imo the foist BBLMs that retained the basic body just a little flared out looked way better. Taking the stock car, upping the hp to BBLM territory, EFI, those mama mia velocity stacks, the right wheels and tires and you're all set as a road car, well maybe some 550 maranello sport seats and yeah Ac that works(love the electric ac idea), plus maybe a lipo battery.
I believe he's referring to lithium batteries like the ones from Antigravity. They are considerably lighter weight.
lithium polymer very light weight prob weights 2 kilos, still has 550 cca. Removes a lot of weight from the front. imo the way to lighten up the steering is narrower front tires and less weight out front. the heavy radiator in front of the wheels can’t change but no need to keep the spare tire or tools in the car and the lead battery over the wheels can be replaced with something far lighter. Additionally Throw in some negative camber and one ends up with a far more reactive front end and lighter more tactile steering. It is a vast improvement. the issue with bbs is not under steer, the front end can be lightened and use narrower rubber while still retaining all the grip it needs while improving steering feeling/tactility and turn in.
Speaking of weight. I weighed my aluminum stubby manifolds against the stock runners. 770g vs 2145g (~12 lbs. total). Weight savings / center of gravity wasn't really a motivating factor, but nice to know that there's at least 15 lbs. of reduced weight between the runners and the plenums (compared to manifolds and throttle bodies / trumpets). Then there's all the CIS mixture control unit / distributor, intake pipes, air filter boxes, and misc CIS bits (AAV, WUR, etc.). I wouldn't be surprised if there's at least 30 lbs. reduced weight (most of it on top of the engine).
Good day Sean, Just a heads up that LiPo batteries have a much different charging/discharging profile that may or may not be compatible with the original alternator that was designed to charge led acid batteries. I would think that the LiPo auto battery manufacturers would provide some tech to ensure compliance, but it would be best to verify... otherwise the the results could be catastrophic. I cannot stress this enough, as if you overcharge a LiPo Battery it will overheat and self ignite... and should this happen the resulting fire will be extremely difficult to extinguish and in many cases simply burns until there is no more energy battery material. If you draw too much current (short circuit, etc), then again... the battery will overheat and cause it to self ignite. All the LiPo battery packs I have worked with have an attached thermo-sensor that activates if the battery temp exceeds a threshold. This is a basic fail-safe, but more may be needed. These days there is usually some sort of battery monitoring system to minimize any issues/risks. As I said, I am not an expert on LiPo Auto batteries, but do work with LiPo batteries in other applications and so my comments/concerns may have been addressed by the auto LiPo manufacturer. Still... it would be best to double check and confirm. Cheers, Sam
Status update. I spent the last week mostly working on the manifolds. A combination of polishing the intake ports, brushing the runner exteriors, and flattening / surfacing. I left some of the pitting / surface texture on the flanges; which I think gives them more of a cast look. I tried not to overdo it. I want them to look nice, but not "too nice". I personally think the end result looks like they belong. And if not, well, it wasn't for lack of trying... I did one more test fitment today (pics attached). Weather permitting, I will tighten the manifolds down tomorrow, and start finalizing the throttle linkage / levers. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Looks very nice!! By the way, those plug tubes are not too hard to remove. When freshly plated, they help give the engine a crisper and a more restored look. I did this on my last EO service. I bring this up because you have the manifolds off, which is the major obstacle to working on those. i.m.h.o. Apologies, as it's so easy to spend someone else's money, and you can gold plate them, and not gain 1/1000 of a HP.
No apology needed. It's less about money, and more about limiting scope creep. There are so many little areas that irk me, but I've been really resisting the urge to pull on the strings (repainting the chipped coolant pipe, the spark plug tubes, replating the throttle crank, all the spray paint covered hardware, faded hoses, etc..). I justified the coolant hoses as a hazard, but I'm mostly turning a blind eye to the rest so I can stay focused on the ITB work and get the car back on the road (so I can enjoy driving it!). I figure the whole engine will be addressed as part of the rebuild (cams, valves, lighter crank, lighter rods, higher compression pistons, diff carrier, etc.). But yeah, those spark plug tubes are particularly unsightly. I saw your thread about using a slide hammer and machined collar. I can 3D print a plastic collar quickly that is unlikely to mar them, but then it's cleaning and plating turnaround that pushes the whole timeline out. And then I might as well use that time to strip and repaint the coolant pipe, and then, and then, etc.. Tempted to just put the spark plug boot over them and out-of-sight-out-of-mind them until the rebuild. Or your comment might have just nudged me over the edge to addressing them. Thanks a lot!
Thank you for appreciating the spirit & enthusiasm of the message. I'm doing deferred maintenance on one of my cars (and the project scope is growing). I just put new tires on it, and it's driving me crazy not to be able to drive it. I drove it only 3 or 4 miles, and the fresh rubber transformed it! A great running Boxer is a real treat to drive.
It's mostly loctite holding them in and sealing them to the head to prevent water from creeping past. A little bit of heat to break the loctite bond and they often just pull out with a pair of pliers. They slide right back in by hand then the loctite bonds them in.
And more important, they also keep the fuel out, if the carbs dripp... That was missing on the Miura...
Early 365's dont have them either. They have a rubber plug you suff down the hole, they're a real drag to deal with.
Status update. Home stretch. Just some odds / ends, and triple checking. The manifolds are installed, along with the throttle bodies, injectors, and fuel rails. Not sure how everyone else does it, but I used Hondabond RTV around the coolant passages. Otherwise, just a little Permatex adhesive on paper gaskets. Seems the last person to do this on my car was very generous with RTV everywhere. I couldn't find manifold torque specs, so I went with 20 ft/lbs – which in hindsight seems like maybe a bit too much (not sure). The throttle bodies seal with large o-rings. I also extended the ref (crank) and sync (cam) sensor wires so I can run them through the same p-clips being used for the BAT+. The TPS connector was modified to switch from the string pot I previously used to the more conventional Jenvey TPS. Knock sensors are re-installed, along with coolant hoses and clips. Over the years, it seems a mishmash of hoses and clamps have been used on my car (mostly US origin – probably whatever they had lying around). Even though my car obviously isn't going to win any awards for being original, I still wanted to go with period correct clips that were somewhat easy to attain. Probably should have done more digging / asking around, but I went with mild steel Jubilee hose clamps and p-clips. I also had aluminum panels made to fit where the old air box brackets are (SendCutSend). I'm not married to them, but I think they're better looking than random tabs with bolt holes sticking out. As you can see in the overhead picture, the throttle connecting rod geometry is not symmetrical. I tried a few different configurations, but this is as close as I think I can get while using the stock setup. I might try it just to see if it really makes a difference, but I think a relatively easy solution is to simply make a new throttle crank with the arm distances set to straighten the connecting rods. I can experiment with 3D printed plastic / carbon fiber first, and then have it made in metal once I'm happy with the geometry. I'm also experimenting with another 3D printed aluminum part for the vacuum collectors (homage to the carb cars). These are glass blasted, and I am using clear silicone; which is a loose homage to the wire sleeves and BBLM fuel lines. I'd like to make another tweak to the design, and then I'll probably smooth (then brush) them like I did with the manifolds. My hope is to button everything up this week, and then start the car this weekend. I still haven't tired from seeing trumpets on a flat 12. Ps. I appreciate the comments / insight regarding the spark plug tubes. I've been very tempted to pull them and re-plate them. I was hoping to find someone local, but it seems no one is really doing this anymore. The timing combined with the feeling that it's just one of a handful of things that irk me, made me decide to leave them and turn a blind eye. Ultimately, they'll be addressed during the rebuild (along with other similar items). So basically, I made it Paul's problem Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The TR and M has a tin cover that attaches to the intake manifold studs, the wiring from the injectors sits in that valley inboard of the cam cover and the black tin hides the wiring. 148553 is the part number so you can see what Im talking about. They probably wont fit because of the oval intake ports but its something you could easily make.
Not a fan of the filters and how they reduce the size of the stack. I would be curious to see a with and without VE comparison, peak HP etc. Unfortunately you might need a dyno to see how much those bugger up the end result.
I'm curious how much they disrupt flow as well. The combination of suffocation / velocity could be noticeable. Easy enough to A/B test on a dyno though. I mostly went with these as a temporary solution so I didn't get bogged down on designing air boxes and roof scoops. If I go that route, then I imagine a larger filter would be used long before the air got to the trumpets. Personally, I'd rather not throw a bunch of socks over the trumpets or a big ITG sausage over the top as I think that kind of ruins the look of the trumpets. I think my ideal setup would have good air temp / filtering when the engine lid is closed, with nice open / exposed trumpets with the engine lid open. I experimented with a few designs in CAD where the air box mounted to the underside of the engine lid and sealed up against a lower plate when the engine lid is closed. I think that's the closest I can get to a "best of both worlds" – unless someone else has any ideas.
Cold air being sealed to the stacks through a small base plate is the best way to go. I would add tea strainers to the stacks regardless.
