F40 LM Restoration

Thanks Matt, slowly, but still so much to do, starting with the engine

The engine was putting out 650 HP at the rear wheels at full boost, and 720 at the flywheel and was dynoed as such not that long ago and we would like to approximately match these figures. However, too much of this power was achieved through boost and the stress full boost places on reliability is substantial as has been clearly established by all the issues the engine has had over its meagre 12,000 miles (new heads etc) and further confirmed by what we found on teardown (crank, valves etc); clearly no point in rebuilding it exactly as it was as otherwise we will be here again in a few thousand miles.

We have always said what we are after is RELIABLE power and this means taking as much stress out of the engine wherever the opportunity presents itself(whilst having sensitivity for history), and one significant but expensive way of doing this is with the use of exotic metals. For the crank not to have to swing round unnecessary additional weight is achieving exactly that and we already have our lightweight flywheel saving us many pounds, but we can now add to that even more directly as Michelotto pathfound and established twenty years ago with his LM programme.

Here is our first glimpse of our LM spec Titanium con rods. If I have my maths correct, it turns out these save over 3lbs in rotational mass which is a monster difference exactly where you need it. We were only allowed to see them and snatch a quick iphone shot, before, rather like a newborn, they were whisked away by the midwife (Crosthwaites)for the balancing act. Yes, undoubtably expensive, but having the engine in pieces it would be foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity. And, let's face it, they are yet another thing of beauty.

As a consequence of this and other modern developments, small and large (Zircotec finish to inlet manifolds and hot side of the turbos being a small example, contemporary turbos being a large one) we are confident that we can achieve probably the same output, without resorting to high boost, leaving that only for an occasional banzai lap when it will certainly produce more than the 720, but over time at a cost. We also know from those midnight conversations with CM that a combination of high boost and high compression pistons mandated a new crankshaft every 4,500 miles. No thanks, we want to use it without that countdown clock ticking in the background. No point building in foreseeable issues.

Next week we await delivery of the entire assembly (crank, rods, pistons, rings, flywheel etc) which are all being dynamically balanced and which will take quite some few days to achieve what we want. This engine has got to go together as perfectly and as blueprinted as possible with no HP or reliability left on the table. Tough ask, but that is the goal.
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Thanks Greg, we will have a simple rotary switch as per the GTE's set behind the gear lever so we can select our mapping in the same way as they could as per attached where we will also have the original Manetinno.
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I'll take that as a first post! Welcome indeed!

I think I get as much pleasure sharing this adventure as everyone seems to get reading it. As a consequence it encourages me to go into more detail, so sort of self feeding.

 

Back to the chassis for a post.

Here you can see our somewhat tatty front air conveyor which once adjusted for a perfect mate with the clam (as in one of the pics) will be stripped and restored. So much work to be done before these elements are ready for paint but we are slowly getting there. Just as I think we have almost reached a decisive point I am reminded we still don't have a rear clam in paint, upper or lower, nor a front clam or air conveyor. In fact all we have is the roof and two cills!
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As I said, a change of focus this week. After the heads and conrods, now our new turbos and waste gates turned up.

Earlier in the thread I was seeking opinions from everyone as to the right way to go as clearly we needed a nod at our history, so we keep the twin wastegates, but the twin KKK's needed updating. From endless research on all options, finally the best route seemed to be Garrett and here was the thinking:

1. They are currently used on some LM's racing in the UK and are proving reliable and powerful.
2. As a result of 1 above, we know we can make the Motec gear work with them, the code has been developed and we don't have to be a guinea pig.
3. Being contemporary, they offer much reduced lag and are more reliable due to their dual ball bearing construction.

In short, more efficient, more reliable, more powerful, less lag. Sounds good to me.

Most important though is their track record, and we have support from a team currently running two of these LM's and they in turn have support from Garrett. No other manufacturer was interested so either we had to start from square one developing code or even if we decided to revert to a single wastegate IHI system (which departed too far from the interesting and individual history of this particular car in our opinion), with it could come reliability issues and then where do wet get the code for the Motec gear? Again we wanted reliable power and a proven route with minimum developmental risks so Garret was the logical choice and a natural evolution of where we were.

We are keeping our old bespoke exhaust manifold system, cleaning it up and then Zircotecing it to make sure more heat comes out of the back of the car than into the engine bay, and also keeping all the old turbos etc so if my heirs had a real hard on for originality, they could be refitted-meanwhile I want drivability and reliability. So, in short, still staying true to its racing heritage, unusually still running twin wastegates with its original manifold system, but just brought up to date for a better and more reliable driving experience. A comfortable compromise we think.

We have also had the exhaust side of the turbos Zircipotec finished, so as to try and maintain as much of the exhaust gas heat inside which can apparently markedly assist spool up. You can see the different finish in the pics.

Not great photos I am afraid but better will follow when we really turn our attention to them.
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Yes Gregg, Tials as you correctly IDed!

 

The Turbos are the the GTX3071r with inconel impeller and apparently used at Le Mans.

Thanks Guys for the comments, always appreciated as this is my first foray into this restoration world and one understands why the Russians and Chinese are so cagey about broadcasting rocket launches etc as when things go wrong, it is all exposed, the good and the bad. So to have positive comments is very uplifting but then I also risk maybe making the wrong decisions which no doubt will attract negative comments, hopefully as i can learn from that too.

Lenses now carefully set aside and fitting of headlights underway before stripping and then final prep. Also note that all important badge finally back where it belongs. Temporarily.

Nice shot from Kevin at the bottom just to add a bit of colour to this post!

Might we be looking at paint soon? That would be another milestone
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We are having a debate here at Mototechnique and think we have agreed, but thought it would be good to hear from our 'advisory panel', Fchat.

Here is a reminder pic of our inlet manifold. In this pic you see the raised Ferrari logotype which is self coloured. On most LMs I note it has been painted in red as attached but is that just a bit overkill, sort of gilding the Lilly?

Thoughts?
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No all the sleeves, pistons etc checked out perfectly

I think we will see around 625/650 on standard boost which is more than enough. Actually possibly too much.