Boxer Major In A Not So Mega Garage

Makes for a wondeful sunday am read...thanks for taking the time to document all of this...really nicely done !

 

Good day Dave,

As always excellent work!

In regards to the Dinoplex... Ensuring quality electrical connections will no doubt help, however, given that the Dinoplex can (and will) fail without warning, it would be best to change it now (while you have direct access to it) with either a MSD unit or a modified Dinoplex with it's insides replaced. After all the hard you have done, it would be nasty to have the car fail at some point do to a cranky the Dinoplex.

If you do not decided to change it, perhaps some signal conditioning (TVS diodes, etc) of the Dinoplex's inputs may avert or minimize the failure(s)? The TVS diodes would minimize the effects of an overvoltage condition by clamping the Dinoplex's voltage to an acceptable level. Anyway, just a thought.

Keep up the great work and write-up!

Cheers,

Sam

 

Sound advice

 

Good day Dave,

I totally understand your concerns about originality... However, there is also the case where your Dinoplex could bail at the time of judging your car would not start... The probability is there, the question is how high? As for the judges being able to ascertain the note of the electronics, this I could easily argue. Some level of high frequency noise could be introduced by the Dinoplex, but I would suspect that this is really Dinoplex (internal component differences and age related changes, internal design changes during the Dinoplex's manufacturing lifespan, etc) and installation specific (grounding issues, electrical choke/industor installation, etc). I would be very happy to argue with any judge that has the "ability" to differentiate the sounds emitted by electronics... and aged ones at that. I been involved with electronics for over 35 years and even my ears are not that sensitive ... perhaps they are just getting old ....

As for mounting the MSD... I, too, am somewhat of a purist and so I made a simple backing plate that mounts to the original Dinoplex's mounting studs (or bolts... I can't remember... see age is setting in). I then mounted my MSD to the backing plate. Thus no mounting modifications needed and the car can be reverted back to stock quite easily/quickly.

However, one change that must be done is one of the signal wires must be separated (dare I say cut) for the MSD installation. So, reverting this change would entail a reconnect of this wire... however with the use of some heat shrink tubing and a soldered connection, the ability of a mortal eye to see this would be extremely difficult. At any rate, I do understand your dilemma.

As for the TVS diodes... you will not find these in any Ferrari archives. This was me thinking out loud of using a Transient Voltage Suppressor (TVS) diode in order to minimize the effects of a transient overvoltage condition and thus possibly preventing/minimizing at least one known failure mode of the Dinoplex. TVS diodes are a class of Zener diodes that clamp a signal's voltage level. They are quite a bit beefier (i.e. can handle more current and thus dissipate more power) and faster in operation than typical Zener diodes. I use them frequently in order to minimize the effects of temporary overvoltage (end user misuse or electrostatic discharge ESD) conditions in Industrial equipment. In theory they should work quite well, are quite inexpensive, and would be easy to install. However, not knowing the full electrical characteristic of what causes the Dinoplex to fail would make the selection a bit of a guess. That being said, there would be no harm in using them and would have the potential of minimizing a Dinoplex failure...

As for a write up on them... TVS diode information is all over the web. They are certainly not new. How and which ones that would be the most effective for the Dinoplex would involve some level of analysis of the Dinoplex's internals... I could make some educated guesses as which ones I would select, but knowing how detail oriented I can be my write up would be more of a thesis than a quick blurb (I tend to over engineer things). Perhaps when I get some spare time I will look into this further.

Cheers,

Sam

 

Interesting info from a seminar I attended as a mechanical engineer working on turbine engines at UAL:
Lawson Products who make nice (but unoriginal) fasteners had an engineer demo a set up with an expensive torque wrench, and a load cell connected to a large digital display, along with another load cell and large display showing the "clamp" load. He started with a 5/16-XX bolt, and torqued it to 20ft-lbs. The cell read ~9,000#. He then loosened it, and queried the group what would be the clamp force when re-tightened to 20ft-lbs. (The response was mixed). It was lower. I think the number was 5 - 6,000#. He said the reason for this is the surfaces get burnished, and the resulting micro grooves from running the surfaces on top of each other create the higher effective friction. He loosened it, and torqued it back to 20ft-lbs, and the number was lower still. I think ~4 - 5,000#. (I remember the numbers roughly 'cause this seminar was in 1989) He explained that a fresh surface would increase the clamping force, so he removed the nut,and turned it over and re-torqued to 20ft-lbs. The clamp load was over 7,000#. He also demo'd oil, ant-sieze, threadlockers, and non strength graded fasteners. I'm not saying I follow this religiously, also, he works for a company that sells fasteners to the company, but I think the demo was educational.

Your motor looks fantastic. Like new! Your exhaust system looks very nice. Are those cats? Thanks for the post of your service.

 

Being a Flat-12 owner, and a wrench turner....I must admit my shame in not tuning into this thread sooner. I'm practically speechless (my fiancee Karen Thanks You for that!) at the level of detail, pictures, and step by step procedures.

Mr. Bendl - truly an amazing and inspirational thread! I sat down and read the whole thread from the beginning tonight, studying pictures, reading and re-reading the narration...Wow! My hat is off to you Dave, for going through the monumental effort of documenting this process for us. I can't wait to hear your exhaust system. I have the Borla 4-Can style system on my TR and I've often considered changing out the mufflers to some other type, like you did on your system.

Again...Thank You!

 

Oh yeah, I LIKE that exhaust note!
I'll be looking forward to your spring test run vid.
John

 

FYI, Perma-Tune has Dinoplex units that have been rebuilt with a modern electronic ignition inside ... so it looks OEM yet performs and is reliable like a modern electronic ignition ... http://www.perma-tune.com/ignition-Ferrari-aec-103b.html

 

Dave,

Like many others have said, this thread has been a pleasure to read. I will be doing a fully documented Major on my GT4 this fall and I've actually learned quite a bit from peeking over here to 12cyl land and eyeing your thread. It's been a pleasure for sure!! You'll likely see me out in ChiTown this summer sometime as I'm planning a trip or two that way in the 308. (I owe Skip a drink!) Hopefully I'll get to see your gorgeous 512 in person!
Again, thanks a TON for putting the work into documenting this project!

JIM

 

Looks georgeous! Fantastic. Looks as new, and has that beautiful "as delivered" from the factory look. Nicest Boxer I've ever seen.

Looks like a concourse winner!

Thanks for posting this incredible effort.

 

Thanks Dave!
It’s been a pleasure to read and truly an inspiration for us DIYers!
I shudder to think what that quality of workmanship would have cost in a shop!
Now get out there and Enjoy!
John

 

I am curious are you going to time the camshafts properly with a degree wheel or just line up marks?

 

Dave, new to your thread but very impressed with your project. I may have missed it but what was the verdict on the condition of the belts and tensioner, close to failure or good for another x miles?
My reason is mine was done at 7032 and car has 11100 but 4 years have passed. Car is NEVER red lined or driven hard period.
Maybe you can do a PDF on this and sell it as a how to?

 

WOW.....what a read. Great job Dave. Thanks for sharing with all of us. You are fortunate that I do not live close by as I'd be knocking on your garrage door every day just to see the action.

 

thanks dave. great thread.

 

i went back and read this story again and i have to say, you are a f*cken stud. i can not imagine doing an engine out on my boxer, on my own, in a cramped gagage like that. no way, it would be compleltely hopeless. well done

 

Anyone have a workshop repair manual for a 512 BBi that I can obtain?
Thx,

 

Does a thread like this exist for a 512 TR ?

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