Head Case Motorsports

[swt61]

I would think that would qualify as a catastrophic failure!

So complete new long block then?

[HemiSam]

LOL...yeah, pretty much.  Here is the bastage that caused all the drama.

 

I was able to save the heads with a bit of work.  Here is a shot of the heads being repaired.  Only one hole was an issue, but there were o-ring grooves in them previously for a certain copper gasket I've given up on so I had them filled and decked.  Definitely changed from the POC Manley to a Rev race valve.

Cleaning up the hole from hell...you can see some of the damage still

Buttoned back up with the new hardware

 

New Diamond 2618 allow pistons

300M rods...

Higher capacity oil pan...

Billet main caps

 

Assembled short block with a forged Scat crank and a custom cam made for boost...lift is relatively tame

 

HS

 

 

 

 

 

[swt61]

The only time I've seen that kind of damage up close was when a push rod wrapped around the crank shaft of my '72 340 Duster. I was basically left with scrap metal.

[HemiSam]

Blown motor out.  New motor ready to go in.  7-8 quarts of oil to clean....that's a lot when it aerates.  Went all the way to the rear and on top of the chute as an example...impressive.

Decided to add a midplate for stability

Test fitting

 

HS

[Dreadhead]

I am starting to rethink my Koni's as I bet that I'm better off spending the $340 on some race rubber and I am now thinking that I see what the sway bar+rubber does first. If I install them in an adjustable manner it involves modification of the steel and interior to get the knobs to be accessed.

Doing only the sway bar has the added advantage of being super easy to reverse and allow me to go back to stock for trade in. Of course by the time I think of this they had already arrived.

[HemiSam]

Modifying in stagest/increments has the added benefit of seeing what each element does for you, especially if you keep track notes.  

A proper sway bar can make a nice difference.  Proper rubber...invaluable and you won't unnecessarily tear up your street tires.  If you can return the shocks w/o a material hit, then mod in stages as you've suggested and see if you're happy.  If you are, return them.  If not, slap those puppies in there.  

What I don't know is what quality of shocks & springs / coilovers you have now.  It made a huge difference for my car, but I made a pretty signicant change also.  My damn car looked like a chuck wagon before I installed a proper suspension a few months after purchase.

HS

[Dreadhead]

I can't modify my springs and stay in GS. The car handles great already but is actually a little tail happy which the sway bar improves a lot.

Apparently the shocks help you get a wider handling sweet spot. People basically say the shocks don't make you faster but make it easier to go fast.

I ordered them at the same time because I thought it would be worth doing both but as I look at wheels and rubber it gets harder to see the value of one upgraded corner vs the advantages described.

We'll see what the return shipping will be to tire rack and make a decision

[Hopstretch]

Need new tires on the X5 and thinking about taking the opportunity to finally ditch run flats, which flat out suck. (Particularly with 315 rears. Tramlining? Er, yeah a bit.) But I don't have any kind of spare, because BMW. If I just keep a 12V compressor and a couple of cans of repair goo in the car, am I still being a responsible road user?

[MexicanDragon]

Don't worry about the goo, just call a car service to finish taking you where you need to go and have someone pick up the X5 and repair it while you're at the pub drinking. Responsible. Jesus. What's going on with this place?

**BRENT**

[Hopstretch]

You're a funny guy, Brent. I like you. That's why I'm going to kill you last.

[Craig Sawyers]

28 minutes ago, Hopstretch said:

Need new tires on the X5 and thinking about taking the opportunity to finally ditch run flats, which flat out suck. (Particularly with 315 rears. Tramlining? Er, yeah a bit.) But I don't have any kind of spare, because BMW. If I just keep a 12V compressor and a couple of cans of repair goo in the car, am I still being a responsible road user?

Repair goo only works if you have a slow-ish leak.  When was the last time you had a slow leak?  Every tyre that has gone on me in recent years has been a hole in the road shredding the tyre beyond goo.

An X5 has no spare?  WFT.

You're right to ditch run flats though - see above comment on shredded tyres.  They are an expensive useless nonsense.

[Hopstretch]

I've never had a flat tire in all my years of driving. But the thought of "going naked" still makes me nervous.

[grawk]

I've had fast and slow flats. About 2/3 of the time tho my spare had developed a leak from getting old and ignored until I needed it so usaa to the rescue.

[Dreadhead]

All my flats have been tire replacing ones and I can't see going without a spare. An internet search turned up:

http://www.bimmerzone.com/BMW_Performance_Spare_Tire/BIM-SST-E70-KIT.html

I don't know if you use your 3rd row but that looks pretty good if you don't and I'd get a spare tire bag if you do. Not that much room used up.

 

I'm trying to decide what the hell to do about the Koni's. I can return them and only be out shipping. I'm probably just going to keep them and get them installed and the car shock towers drilled so I can adjust them. I wonder how much a new trunk liner would be if I wanted to go back to stock.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Dreadhead

[MexicanDragon]

When did they change it to be legal to make modifications to be able to adjust the shocks through drilled holes? Man, if that's legal, stock class got a bit more interesting.

**BRENT**

[Dreadhead]

When did they change it to be legal to make modifications to be able to adjust the shocks through drilled holes? Man, if that's legal, stock class got a bit more interesting.

**BRENT**

It's my impression that this has been true for quite some time. Dunno.

[HemiSam]

Before the rebuild I was running twin turbos that made real power, but with challenges.  I use twin Precision 6766 turbos with the dual ceramic ball bearing rotating system.  I had to use smaller housings than ideal for fitment as they sit under the car (didn't have the heart to gut all the creature comforts like AC, power steering, ABS braking, etc... to place them in the engine compartment).  Believe it or not my car is still very streetable thanks to the boost controller.  Additionally, I needed 3" piping to make them work well.  3" piping running under the car and to the air to air heat exchanger is something to see...big as hell and made for fitment issues as well and bending things here and compromising things there.  I had some fluid leaks as a result (e.g. pressure side of power steering hoses "massaged").  This also resulted in somewhat "leaky" turbo system due to some bending of the cold side plumbing (think pipes headed to the heat exchanger after the turbos have converted the exhaust to the pressurized air).  On top of that there is the oiling system for the turbos.  Changing engine oil was a serious PITA due to all the plumbing...2-3 hour ordeal.  

This will give some context of how much plumbing....before they were powdercoated black

Anyhoo, these are the snails which I still run in the new setup...

They make stupid power and the power delivery can be very deceptive, unlike my prior positive displacement supercharger which was like a light switch...on or off.  No middle.

46mm wastegates

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and 50mm TiAL blowoff valves

Air to air heat exchanger

 

The new turbo system is a major leap forward for me.  Same elements as above, but much of the plumbing is now integrated into my K-frame, including the oiling.  

 

HS

 

[MexicanDragon]

Chris, are you autocrossing tomorrow? I'm trying to make brunch plans, and need to decide between chicken and waffles, or all the fucking biscuits in Chattanooga.

**BRENT**

[Dreadhead]

I am not. I was hoping to get my new suspension stuff installed this coming week.

[MexicanDragon]

Keep me in the loop; Maple Street Biscuit Company needs my patronage.

**BRENT**

[Grahame]

That gives you free time to fax them the public notice?, Chris

[Dreadhead]

Brent's life is filled with so much suckage (i.e. Being Brent) that I feel that I should not take away his ability to have biscuits in his home area.

[HemiSam]

Test fitting of the motor, with midplate and integrated K-member / turbo piping (including oiling) goes in and out of the vehicle to tweak things.  To say some assembly required would be an understatement...in the end it was obvious the headers that kick it all off were....well, off.  That resulted in the geometry getting all squirrelly the further back the plumbing went.  

Not exactly lined up...lol

 

Some shots of the turbo plumbing installed going in and out of the car.  It really is a clean setup, once the fitment issues were addressed, and soooo much cleaner than what I had previously.

Here is an example of the frame being notched and boxed out very nicely to avoid clipping one of the ears off a turbo

Huge front rollbar in the way so custom endlinks, a bit of rotating it and then removing some material required

integrated oiling box won't clear the rollbar

so change things up

 

HS

 

 

 

[HemiSam]

With the motor and turbo system test fitted, time to start buttoning up the driveline.

Rossler 4L80E trans.  I can shift it manual or auto, but the key is it handles the power and has overdrive for the standing mile events.









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The rear cradle was showing cracks from several years of abuse so gusseting in order












Trans serviceable with the harness installed in a way it can be dropped w/o having to drop the whole driveline


















I've been running hard piping for a while so it needed an update for the rebuild given repositioning of some bits...






My Corsa exhaust from 2009 modified to fit the system and with some manual cutouts...less back pressure for the turbo system should I need it at the track

 

The Ford 9" rear end with Wavetrac differential is worth it's weight...  The black hoop over the DS is a rear safety loop.



HS



 

[Dreadhead]

It has a motor and is lots of fun. I broke it about 10 years ago and fixed it on Saturday

$30 for new batteries and it's ripping around almost like new.

Ordered some new tires and extra wheels too. A lot cheaper at 10th scale