My S50 conversion.Done !

Wed Jun 14, 2006 8:12 am

Well, got the sump of last night to investigate the bottom end knocking and was faced with the worst possible scenario.

The engine is basically fucked, small end shells have disintegrated, end caps are oval and the crank is damaged. The guy that sold me it is VERY lucky he resides hundreds of mile away from me!

So, the dilema, ditch the whole project or get a new engine?

Wed Jun 14, 2006 8:22 am

bigpimpin wrote:Well, got the sump of last night to investigate the bottom end knocking and was faced with the worst possible scenario.

The engine is basically fucked, small end shells have disintegrated, end caps are oval and the crank is damaged. The guy that sold me it is VERY lucky he resides hundreds of mile away from me!

So, the dilema, ditch the whole project or get a new engine?

thats an utter shame mate
feel for ya especially after the recent episode with the diff.

I personally wouldnt ditch the whole project
you have come to far to do that
I would try and source another lump
or there is a twin turbo M30 in the for sale section

Wed Jun 14, 2006 8:54 am

Truly gutted for you. That must be one major, major disappointment.
You've come too far to give up now though. Source another engine is the only way to go.
Be interested to know what was the reason the engine was up for sale in the first place.

Wed Jun 14, 2006 10:00 am

right well dude the first thing i would do !! pull that lump out as its shaggedf get a pallet!! strap it to the pallet put it in a van! take it back and ram it down the blokes THROAT hard forget how many miles it is dude was it sold in good order etc??
i personally wouldnt give up if i was you though m8 that looks awsome wat youve done so far , dont lose out just for the sake of milage though m8 thats wat im saying! i will keep my eyes open for you m8 for a engine aswell good luck in watever you decide to do i know how easy you can feel like giving up on these cars! theyre hard work at times stick in there buddy!! go have some words with the guy who sold u the lump. then go for it again........

Wed Jun 14, 2006 1:10 pm

DUDE!! Gutted for ya!

Yeah he might live miles away but.. van hire Ã‚£40.. diesel Ã‚£not to much - compare that to the cost of sourcing a new engine without any money back

Go and ram it down his throat with some large mates

Wed Jun 14, 2006 3:27 pm

Yeah i suppose it will do

Looks sweet mate and i have the atmost respect for anone who can take on a job like that and finish it.

Fancy working on my Polo

Wed Jun 14, 2006 4:59 pm

sorry to hear about your enigne sandy but all the hard works been done now,dropping the engine in and out is the easy bit of the conversion as you know, so id get another engine if i were you.

Ben,
i can rework the polo with my rangrover if you like,go straight over it or just squish it against a wall,up to you

Wed Jun 14, 2006 8:14 pm

Oh bollox !

Wed Jun 14, 2006 8:21 pm

got some quotes for engines....most expensive is over 4K from FAB :bling:

its only done 19k though.

I know I have gone too far to give up now, its just a right kick in the teeth at this stage. Yeah Buster, could have the motor swapped out in half a day.....but then the wiring again !

Hey ho, you learn by your mistakes as they say......and don't trust nobody !

Wed Jun 14, 2006 8:51 pm

cant you use the wiring off the old engine ?
also,isnt there any spares off the old engine that could be sold to get some money back ?

Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:04 pm

Yeah I suppose I could see how much of a ballache that would be when the engine is out.
Just had a look on ebay and there is a few Evo bits for sale so I'll keep an eye on how much they go for.

what a nightmare !

Wed Jun 14, 2006 11:29 pm

mate, im angry for you i really am

your project looks spot on, dont abandon it now jus sell the top end and buy another lump, it will be worth it in the end dude!

Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:39 am

I had the opportunity to buy a damaged (Rear ended) M3 for Ã‚£1700 and i didn't take it up

Engine was mint, interior, it was all there, but Patrick and i were Ooooing and Rrrring and in the end left it. Ho well

Buster as for my Polo, you leave my baby alone. Ive had some great times with that car and the back seat will testify to that

Thu Jun 15, 2006 8:59 am

Hi,

Have just read the thread so here are some suggestions.

You have no wiring to do you can remove the engine wiring / harness complete and reinstall it on the replacement engine.

You have done the exhaust and all the troublesome parts so its basically a bottom end swap out.

I would remove the engine harness, then remove the engine and the box.

Source a bottom end which can be done for about 750-1000, so long as your happy that your top end is ok ?

Its then a case of swaping the bottom end, make sure you do the oil pick ups and pumps correctly etc.

Then re-assemble, pain in the ass, but give what you have spent, and the cost of your time ? and the parts, then with what you have, your no so far away.

When complete, take photos when you seperate the bottom end, and return the 'Scrap' to who ever sold it to you for the cost of the replacement parts, I/m sure some Zone members would be willing to go with you !!

Just some ideas.

Regards,

The Gorilla.

Thu Jun 15, 2006 11:35 am

Lovely but by putting a 3.2 inside does it change the handerling and wheight?

Thu Jun 15, 2006 12:33 pm

Blitz wrote:Lovely but by putting a 3.2 inside does it change the handerling and wheight?

It does add a bit of extra weight, so in theory it should make a difference. In practice - no it doesn't

Ian.

Fri Jun 16, 2006 4:26 pm

Got an engine from a 1999 Cab, so I'm good to go !

Apart from being Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£Ã‚£'s worse off !

The dream is still alive !

Fri Jun 16, 2006 4:37 pm

nice one !

Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:38 pm

WillG wrote:I thought i read somewhere that m/s50 engines are a bit lighter then the M20 dont they have ally blocks

I can tell you from personal experience that the S50 weighs a LOT more than an M20!

Me and a mate easily lifted my M20 between us, the S50 was SO much heavier!

Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:45 pm

I was dragging mine up the road on a dolly made of kitchen worktop and wheels from machine mart...

Half way the wheels gave in (it was heavier than I thought and I underspecced the wheels) so we had to drag it kicking and screaming to my house!!

I can vouch for how heavy these are! Some how we muscled it inot my tiny little hallway. Took ages to get out.

Jai

Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:52 pm

undressed the m20 weighs 120kgs

the s50 weighs 150kgs..

the m52 is the alloy blocked one and that weighs 118kgs

Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:55 pm

right yeah, just checked and said 117 for M20 and 152 for S50 , it was M52 i was thinking of

Fri Jun 16, 2006 6:08 pm

Right.My manifolds are nearly done.The back one is finished.I have made a jig to hold them on to save refitting them to the engine every 2 minutes.

I've managed to borrow a pipe bender when i need it ,just need to order some 2.5" stainless steel pipe now.

Sat Jun 17, 2006 4:29 pm

The manifolds are done and look absolutely awesome !!!!

My friend has done an excelent job on them,i will take some pictures as soon as i get my camera sorted.
No modifying the anti roll bars or no lowering of the sub frame or anti roll bar mounts.

Sat Jun 17, 2006 4:31 pm

Excellent news

You are going to have some serious fun soon

Enjoy,

Ian.

Sat Jun 17, 2006 9:27 pm

Cool ! I can't wait for this beast to be done

Sun Jun 18, 2006 3:32 pm

Nice one buster, sorry I seem to have hijacked your thread!

I'm gonna "tweak" the manifold when the engine is out to see if I can get a better fit.

Just strippin down the buggered engine just now.

Hope to be up and running by the end of next week!

Have you got a deadline for yours?

Sun Jun 18, 2006 4:17 pm

buster wrote:.
No modifying the anti roll bars or no lowering of the sub frame or anti roll bar mounts.

Compatible with an E36 rack, or is that asking too much?

Sun Jun 18, 2006 4:19 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:
buster wrote:.
No modifying the anti roll bars or no lowering of the sub frame or anti roll bar mounts.
Compatible with an E36 rack, or is that asking too much?

I believe he is using the E36 rack. I certainly supplied a set of pipes

Sun Jun 18, 2006 8:14 pm

Thanks Guys for your support and help.Hopefully now i've got the manifolds back it shouldn't be too long,just need to paint them,re fit them and then measure up to order some 2.5" stainless pipe to finish.
I also need a back box.I tried a standard EVO one but its far too big and very heavy so i've put it back on ebay,i think i'll use an aftermarket one meant for the evo instead.
Yes Brian,all done with the e36 rack also,i thought it would be crazy not to as the manifolds needed modding anyway.
I've got no deadline really Sandy,its just done when its done,but it shouldnt be long now.Im hoping to take it to york run what ya brung in july,with or without MoT i'll just trailer it there with the rangie.

cheers
andy

Wed Jun 21, 2006 1:44 pm

That is one fantastic piece of engineering!

Excellent Read Mate...looks like 1 amazing project..Congrats!!!

Jason

Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:49 am

Jay07 wrote:
That is one fantastic piece of engineering!
Excellent Read Mate...looks like 1 amazing project..Congrats!!!

Jason

Thanks jay

Got some bad news guys.Im really sorry but i was that eager to get the manifolds painted and fitted i forgot to take some pictures

There on,and look awesome.I will try and take some in situe and from under the car.
Again,sorry for not taking any pics.

Thu Jun 22, 2006 1:03 pm

NO PICS??????

Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:04 am

Hi Buster, what brake fluid reservoir have you used and what type of pipes have you used between it and the master cylinder? My audi one is now touching the plenum as I've spaced up the drivers side engine mount.

I took a few pics of my manifolds which I'll post up soon.

Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:44 pm

i used some stuff from bmw for the piping.Its the same pipe as used on the clutch fluid bottle.It comes as a metre length and is quite cheap.
The connectors to connect to the master cyl are from bmw but you'll have to ask Ian about those as i dont know the part numbers or what they were off.
I got the brake fluid bottle from car builder solutions ( www.nfauto.co.uk).

My exhaust building is coming along ok.The manifolds are on,i will take some pics of them in situe.To be honest if i had taken some snaps of them before i think it would be very difficult to duplicate from.
I have started on the journey to the back of the car.Where my pipes connect to the manifolds i have put in a pair of stepped pipes i got from jetex custom exhausts.They make the system go from 2" (at the end of the manifolds) upto 2.5".Thats also where i have welded in my lamdba (sp?) sensors.This is to the same spec as the original Evo exhaust.
All in stainless steel naturally