Alex Wong1697456877 Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 I'd just about finished repairs from the Marrakesh rally and took it to a rolling road to tidy up the cold starting and generally fine tune the map. - The bloody things gone bang on a rolling road - sounds like it dropped a valve at just 1/2 load and 3000rpm. It had been making a loud ticking tappety noise in the second half of the rally but seemed to be running fine. It isn't now. AAAaaaaarrrrggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh........... *mad* *mad* *mad* Edited by - Alex Wong on 16 May 2005 00:11:14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted April 11, 2005 Author Share Posted April 11, 2005 Still, after F355's troubles, I'd convinced myself the head gasket was leaking - I can replace it now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECR Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 At least you have a nice mirror ....... 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrolhead Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 Not having much luck Alex. Maybe time for a K Series 😬 😬 OK Silly - how about Duratec R5 no 65 😬 Edited by - Petrolhead on 11 Apr 2005 20:23:34 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old captain slow Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 So where did you finish on the rally, Alex? C7 CDW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbirdman Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 Tough one Alex,Tough one Alex, Best just to live in sin and bypass the marriage bit 😳 I know a man who has a nice Blackbird engine for sale. Matt Life begins at 10,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 Alex, please stop posting threads about Xe engines. People will start assuming that they aren't as bullet proof as they seem *confused* Bad luck, i hope it has not caused to much damage to the piston. Carbon Components from K9 Composites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F355GTS Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 Alex sorry to hear your news ☹️ I've got a few new valves in the garage, no idea if they'll be the right ones but you're welcome to them if they are Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted April 11, 2005 Author Share Posted April 11, 2005 Thank you all..... Not desparate enough to want a K series yet. I'm insecure enough to need my big butch Vx lump, even if it's crippled. Apart from the Rally, it's about 18 months since I had a car that ran and it hasn't felt right since the waterpump TDC incident in France in 2002. (broke 8 valves that time). Not that I can afford it but a nice x-flow or Supersport to use for when VDU is in bits is becomming a very appealing thought..... Mark, Mine are +1mm inlet and outlet - but thanks anyway. Edited by - Alex Wong on 12 Apr 2005 00:40:11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted April 11, 2005 Author Share Posted April 11, 2005 David, didn't finish the rally - had clutch/gearbox/spigot bush failure. Just finished rebuilding it ...... and just about to start again! 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy couchman Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 ...and just to really cheer you up Alex, my crossflow let go at just over 6,000rpm on the RR earlier this year when the front spigot(?) detached itself from the crankshaft when the woodruff key let go. It bent three pushrods... Having feared the worst, it was a hell of a relief. Not gloating, I hope, but maybe the damage won't be as bad as you fear. Fingers crossed anyway. Good luck. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 Too much power is too much It is sad to see your toy so often broken If you like big power you could buy 911 RS 1992 or 993 RS ideal , lot of fun for circuit and never broken eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper man Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 911's - great cars, ... but so SLOW...compared to a fast Caterham Alex - you are a good friend, but I think ou have done your bit in demonstrating that R500's are as reliable as anything else that goes as fast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 Sorry to hear that Alex. Let us know what the problem was / is. Were you running non standard values or guides? Hants (North) and Berkshire Area club site here My racing info site here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 Alex, really sorry to hear the bad news. Seems an unbelievable run of bad luck. Hope it's not as bad as it sounds and that you are up and running soon. MikeW Mega Grad Race No 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EFA Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 Alex, You have inherited the curse of K2RUM. 😳 Sorry it ended up with you, I could think of a couple of more deserving individuals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted April 11, 2005 Author Share Posted April 11, 2005 Thank you all for your kind words, It would appear that one of the number 3 inlet valves has broken near the stem to head radius. The piston has repeatedly smashed into the protruding valve stem and the head of the valve has been rammed sideways into the valve seat and cracked the head. The number 3 bore is scored badly. The head's scrap, the block at best needs re-lining - but is probably not worth doing and the piston crown looks like someone fired a shotgun point blank into it. These were 7mm stem, +1mm head valves running on standard guides. I'm guessing the initial failure was a valve spring - something that I've had fail before on the engine. I can't really live with a step down in power, and a change in engine would bring about extra costs and no suprise, I rather like the XE lump. I think I have a good set of steel rods, a good lightened and balanced standard crank. A pair or Q450 QED cams, DaveK's custom made equal length primary exhaust, a lightweight itty bitty flywheel complete with it's non standard starter and a pair of 45 DCOE style throttle bodies and the injection kit with DTA ECU - Question is, do I want a "bitza" engine or can I find the money for a complete Swindon built unit (which is what I'd really like). I suspect the former option is more realistic but I need a good standard head and block to get started. C'est la vie. Anybody know of a good standard XE engine or a coscast head for sale? I've seen a few on E-bay but difficult to tell if they're good...... Edited by - Alex Wong on 12 Apr 2005 07:31:50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F355GTS Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 Alex We could talk about my old engine, 218BHP fairly std except Omega pistons, Piper cams, ARP Rod bolts and a little bit of porting Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted April 12, 2005 Author Share Posted April 12, 2005 Mark, Thanks Not sure I could pay you what it's worth though - a standard engine can be had for £400 and I'd be stripping your engine down and pretty much disposing all the good bits to start to get back to where I was - near 250BHP. I suspect your engine is worth more than £400 to somebody. Is it a Swindon 218 engine? Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted April 12, 2005 Author Share Posted April 12, 2005 The funny thing is, I don't hate the car at all, and in a strange way, I'm glad the engine's killed itself. It's kind of a ctrl-alt-del technique to fixing the problem but I just had a feeling things weren't right since soon after starting the rally. Ignorance is not blissful when it comes to engines. Cold facts are easier to deal with, even if I don't know quite how I'm going to get out of this mess at this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Whitley Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 You could always fit a Honda VTEC, they never break. Well almost never, video here ☹️ R500 driver. Oh all right. I have a Taylormade R500 Driver in my golf bag 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted April 12, 2005 Author Share Posted April 12, 2005 Very tired but a quick update Have bought and picked up an unused Swindon JPE engine - it's was one of the last ones built and has been lovingly looked after in somebody's living room. The owner turned it by hand every now and then and it looks immaculate, with all the supporting paperwork from Swindon. Just need to get my head around a few things like the loom and the fact that the water plumbing has been blanked off at the back of the head and on the inlet manifold (the little fitting that goes to the top of the header tank is the only water fitting I can see on the head.) Very tired, but very very excited......... Can anybody shed light on the wiring loom and the head water plumbing? Edited by - Alex Wong on 13 Apr 2005 09:17:51 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F355GTS Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 Alex Presumably it has a thermostat housing on the front left 🤔 if so then it's like mine Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Wong1697456877 Posted April 13, 2005 Author Share Posted April 13, 2005 Silly me - yes it has the thermostat housing and the small fitting on the inlet manifold to the top of the header tank. The back is blanked off and the larger inlet manifold fitting that the bottom of the header tank was plumbed into are blanked off. If this is the same as yours, where is your header tank plumbed into? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogvet Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 Ah, that will be another Doctor's engine then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now