Belgiumbarry
Well-Known Member
haha, that M88 is not far from my home..... but i don't want it 
4310316 begins
- Thread starter aearch
- Start date
-
- Tags
- restoration list
Alan, I think you are missing the point of the good advise that forum members have given you.
As things stand you have an engine that you can’t start or run. The engine, according to what you have told us, is a very high compression s38b35 which may have been bored to a larger displacement. You have an engine management system that you nor anyone else is willing/able to work with unless you pay them cubic dollars to attempt at getting it going. You’ve gone the route of Logan who has a history of being a big flake and abandoned you as he does with most everything he takes on. People have come to your home and have unsuccessfully attempted to help you. You have wiring issues amongst other issues. Am I missing anything?
The first route I would have gone would have been to go the megasquirt route. It’s tried, it’s proven, there’s tons of support and it is adaptable to the modifications that have been made to your engine; but you opted not to go that route
Others, including Don, have suggested going with the tried and proven m30b3x route which is a fantastic choice especially if you go with a b35. Don even offered to kindly help you, he is our very own expert in that department; but you didn’t take him up on this and now he is a spectator watching things continue to go horribly wrong.
And now you “are taking the advise” of your fellow forum members and trying to replace your engine with an s38b35 of unknown condition. Unknown condition of an s38 motor is a frightening thing. Rebuilds cost $20,000+ and that’s if you’re lucky you didn’t buy an engine with a cracked block which is very common on these engines.
So how does any of this make any sense? How? We’ve been watching and trying to help from what seems to be the beginning of time. You had a goal of competing in the 100th anniversary of BMW at Legends of the Autobahn which was in 2016. It’s 2022 and you’re still stuck in the same situation. What was Einstein’s definition of insanity?
Alan, I have been a cheerleader through thick and thin; but I can’t see keeping up the charade. You need to rethink this whole thing. Either spend the money to get this engine running with megasquirt or install an m30b3x and cut your losses. Either way it’s going to cost you money. Going the route of an unknown s38 motor is just nuts. Einstein would agree.
As things stand you have an engine that you can’t start or run. The engine, according to what you have told us, is a very high compression s38b35 which may have been bored to a larger displacement. You have an engine management system that you nor anyone else is willing/able to work with unless you pay them cubic dollars to attempt at getting it going. You’ve gone the route of Logan who has a history of being a big flake and abandoned you as he does with most everything he takes on. People have come to your home and have unsuccessfully attempted to help you. You have wiring issues amongst other issues. Am I missing anything?
The first route I would have gone would have been to go the megasquirt route. It’s tried, it’s proven, there’s tons of support and it is adaptable to the modifications that have been made to your engine; but you opted not to go that route
Others, including Don, have suggested going with the tried and proven m30b3x route which is a fantastic choice especially if you go with a b35. Don even offered to kindly help you, he is our very own expert in that department; but you didn’t take him up on this and now he is a spectator watching things continue to go horribly wrong.
And now you “are taking the advise” of your fellow forum members and trying to replace your engine with an s38b35 of unknown condition. Unknown condition of an s38 motor is a frightening thing. Rebuilds cost $20,000+ and that’s if you’re lucky you didn’t buy an engine with a cracked block which is very common on these engines.
So how does any of this make any sense? How? We’ve been watching and trying to help from what seems to be the beginning of time. You had a goal of competing in the 100th anniversary of BMW at Legends of the Autobahn which was in 2016. It’s 2022 and you’re still stuck in the same situation. What was Einstein’s definition of insanity?
Alan, I have been a cheerleader through thick and thin; but I can’t see keeping up the charade. You need to rethink this whole thing. Either spend the money to get this engine running with megasquirt or install an m30b3x and cut your losses. Either way it’s going to cost you money. Going the route of an unknown s38 motor is just nuts. Einstein would agree.
Obviously everyone can do whatever they want and justify anything. It makes things interesting for sure. I tend to do things within a certain amount of effort versus return, so my coupe is a stock 2800cs that runs fine. Probably slower than a Prius, but I drive the car to cruise around in and I enjoy it that way. I have a much faster car and it came that way, reliable, very fun to drive and that's why I drive it. To try to make my coupe that "fast fun car" would take so much time and effort that it doesn't make sense to me when I can just get in a different car a go.
Dang, I purchased a 2800cs and have to say that I LOVE it!!! It is zippy, fun to drive, and has plenty of power. It is not the fastest or quickest in the fleet but the 2.8l is a fantastic engine that is silky smooth and revs to redline. It could use a little power at the top of the revs; but it doesn’t so there.
On this one I have to part ways.
I trust Logan can get the car sorted out given the budget and the freedom to work at his shop, not at the customer site. That is my experience with Logan's work on my E36, E24, and E39 M5.
If Alan switches horses now we (or at least I) will never know the answer to the puzzle of why the engine does not crank with all plugs in place given a directly connected fully charged brand new Optima and brand new starter. I was hoping this could be resolved through our collective brains and volunteer work as that knowledge must be preserved. If that is solved Alan is down to one remaining issue, electronics.
I am not in the area, but will be after Legends.
Yes, that was my theory when I visited and used my voltmeter. But then Alan reported jumper cable straight to the starter.
Kahneman system 2 learning says that we have to see this solved before we learn...
Maybe Logan will return a call from you, he is a well documented flake, please give it a try for Alan. He said he could do it but then disappeared, his standard MO I think.
I saw Don ask what the compression was a while ago, "Pull six plugs, attach a compression tester and report back". I don't see a response. Did you do a compression test? What were the readings?
I am in touch with Logan and have discussed how to help Alan. The same with Don. In my line of work, semiconductors, every company deals with customers they would happily do without. Because they are not a good fit, because of the learning curve, etc. There is no perfect way of declining business, not returning calls may be a gentle way actually. One VP defined the method as "benign neglect".
The issue here is financing. To me the deal is pretty straightforward. Let's say Alan's car will be worth 120k$ after sorting out all the mechanicals, and that it will cost 12k$ to do that. All that is needed is to write a contract that assigns a 10% ownership to the mechanic in exchange for the successful completion of the work.
It is a win-win, now you only have to convince the parties.
So Logan is willing to help? Has he asked for funds up front? He hasn’t provided an estimate to my knowledge but if he has, what is it. I am glad he has helped you personally, others, not so much.
I don’t know any mechanics that work like this. I can think of three distinct parties that performed a joint e9 restoration, and none of them ended well. All of the parties are members on this forum also. I know there are success stories to share also, but it seems to be the exception.
No, I have not gone that far without a consent from the owner.
That is the issue, if mechanics are busy with the business they have, and have a healthy backlog, why would they complicate their lives with such a scheme? I once built a house from the ground up jointly with friends, I defended the project in front of the city architects and told them that many wise people argued a joint project is the best way to ruin a friendship, and that we were there to prove them wrong. We did.
Here is the proof: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Vz7ZcGu2vQFrqVub7
Houses, cars, and even jobs, are just excuses for creating things with people we like. Or should be.
This whole managerie of issues can be solved. It will take a commitment and 10-15k and this thread will be put to bed.
Alan - are you prepared to spend that sum of money? It's a simple yes or no.
If it's no then you should be open to following the advice of replacing the motor with something stock and straightforward.
If you just have to have the S38 then you need to set aside the money to have it done correctly. It's obviously not getting done any other way. It's fairly simple.
If you can commit the funds then @Arde can contact Logan and try to get a commitment from him. Trailer the car to him and get started
Alan - are you prepared to spend that sum of money? It's a simple yes or no.
If it's no then you should be open to following the advice of replacing the motor with something stock and straightforward.
If you just have to have the S38 then you need to set aside the money to have it done correctly. It's obviously not getting done any other way. It's fairly simple.
If you can commit the funds then @Arde can contact Logan and try to get a commitment from him. Trailer the car to him and get started
We are only asking if he is willing to help, I don’t think that requires permission from Alan.
With the car at his shop and somebody willing to pay for his time, I venture to say yes.
So is Don. What we face is the prisoner's dilemma paradox leading to a suboptimal outcome.
Strange that Logan won’t return calls, a professional explains why he won’t take a job, he doesn’t ignore a customer after telling the customer he can help. But then Mike has told you about the issues with Logan that he has experienced.
WOW THANKS MARKOS
SO REALLY WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GO AS IM GOING TO SELL THE S38 I HAVE
ITS ALREADY SOLD TO A FRIEND
SO REALLY WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GO AS IM GOING TO SELL THE S38 I HAVE
ITS ALREADY SOLD TO A FRIEND