Yes I was having fun with the nuclear missle theme
Engine rebuild and engine bay resto thread - 2240284 '72 CS
- Thread starter Stevehose
- Start date
An update from Blind Squirrel Restorations LLC. Since starting my engine all hell has been breaking loose LOL.
While on a slow test drive through the neighborhood my vintage red 9 blade fan flexed into the radiator and shattered. Damn, I loved that fan - hard to find them in nice condition. It’s weird because I have 1/2” of room between the radiator and fan and it still made impact. Anyway, back to the garage.
Then I noticed that 2 of my core plugs were weeping coolant. Fortunately they were somewhat accessible but still not an easy fix. For the one above the starter, I tried tapping it a little further in but no dice, the other leaking one was the smaller one below and left of the other. I tried tapping that in a little and it seemed to stop. I gave it one more tap to be sure and bam out comes more coolant. So I drained $50 worth of new BMW blue coolant, took off the carbs, and out they came. Here are the offending plug locations:
I must say since I installed the Fumoto drain valves in the block and radiator it made an otherwise miserable chore much less painful, a total win. I installed new core plugs, yanked the radiator, fixed the messed up fins, repaint, installed a backup 8 blade vintage red fan, added new coolant and fired it up. Smaller plug still leaking. It’s very difficult to get these in cleanly because a socket won’t clear the starter to use as a tool to install squarely, and the brake booster is in the way of the other one. So I ground down a thick washer and used that to hit with my 1/2” socket extension to disperse the force without damaging the plug as I tapped around the circumference. This worked nicely.
So one fixed, one leaking still. Ordered more plugs and drained the coolant again. This time I used Permatex Aviation sealer and only tapped it in flush to the block, not a little bit past flush like before.
Started the car to warm it up and gas comes pouring out if #2 carb’s venturis. Damn. So off come the covers and I discover the gaskets I made with “fuel proof” material from Amazon was not actually fuel proof and the gasket absorbed fuel, ballooned up and forced the float open.
No problem, made some new gaskets out of good material and reinstalled.
All excited to drive it again and test for leaks. Pulled out of the driveway and the engine died 10 feet into the drive. Damn. Pushed it into the driveway and determined that it wasn’t getting fuel past idle rpm. So I pulled off the cold airbox assembly that I spent 3 hours installing earlier in the day and pulled the tops off the carbs again. Something didn’t look right then it dawned on me that when I made the gaskets I forgot to cut a hole to allow air to the idle/low rpm circuit. Doh. So I put some stock gaskets back on and it started right up and I headed out again. 50 feet later I blow up another fan. Earlier in the day while tightening the batt cable I accidentally touched the wrench to my NOS voltage regulator (there only for looks) and blew a hole in the side of it, ruining it LOL. I now feel the car gods working against me, testing me on how bad I want this. Also feeling karma turning against me. These are the times that try men’s souls. Exhaustion sets in.
I suspected that my 102mm water pump pulley, although providing faster pump speed and cooling at low rpms, is providing too much speed and causing fan flex into the radiator. This time it did more damage to the radiator so out it came again for paint and repairs. I’ll need a new radiator at some point because I can’t stand looking at a fresh engine compartment and a FUBAR radiator. I swap in a larger pulley but it wobbles so no go there. I bought a new black 9 blade fan with the core plugs and I noticed it is thinner than my red ones thus more clearance, and stiffer too. I installed that and shimmed my radiator forward as far as it would go, now I have almost an inch clearance and the 102mm pulley still.
Took it for another test drive - fan is now fine and no core plug leaks.
Yesterday I took it out of the neighborhood and onto the main roads for the first time, and out of first gear. Don suggests limiting to 4k rpm, varying the loads and rpms, and 32 max timing for 800 miles. So I set the 123 distributor to rev limit at 4k and the timing curve accordingly. The engine sounds great and wants to run higher but Don won’t let me
. Drove 60 miles. Then drove 50 more today. No oil leaks, coolant leaks, or fuel leaks. I dare say I feel karma coming back in my favor.
Now the assembly of various remaining parts begins. I installed the blinker housings and headlights. Center grille. Bumper is next. When I started the engine for the first time last week, the 85 amp alternator wasn’t charging so I swapped in an old one while I troubleshooted this one which worked fine when last used - car gods at work again. I disassembled and found that a regulator brush was too short (must have broken or something) so I ordered a new regulator and set out to clean/rebuild this alternator.
Installed Japanese bearings to replace the Chinese ones. Cleaned the housing, stator, and rotor, tested diode assemblies, and repainted the stripe (antique blue left over from my drill press resto) and clear coated:
Installed today and it pumps out a beautiful 14.2v charge.
More assembly of parts ahead and I still need to paint the underside of the hood. I’m hoping the shakedown issues have all shown themselves by now, paid my dues to the car gods, and I can focus on getting 800 break in miles done and completing assembly. I need a wheel alignment before any more mileage. My clock no longer works (hope it’s the fuseable link) and I have a squeak in my steering column under the upper cover that will need attention.
Onward.
While on a slow test drive through the neighborhood my vintage red 9 blade fan flexed into the radiator and shattered. Damn, I loved that fan - hard to find them in nice condition. It’s weird because I have 1/2” of room between the radiator and fan and it still made impact. Anyway, back to the garage.
Then I noticed that 2 of my core plugs were weeping coolant. Fortunately they were somewhat accessible but still not an easy fix. For the one above the starter, I tried tapping it a little further in but no dice, the other leaking one was the smaller one below and left of the other. I tried tapping that in a little and it seemed to stop. I gave it one more tap to be sure and bam out comes more coolant. So I drained $50 worth of new BMW blue coolant, took off the carbs, and out they came. Here are the offending plug locations:
I must say since I installed the Fumoto drain valves in the block and radiator it made an otherwise miserable chore much less painful, a total win. I installed new core plugs, yanked the radiator, fixed the messed up fins, repaint, installed a backup 8 blade vintage red fan, added new coolant and fired it up. Smaller plug still leaking. It’s very difficult to get these in cleanly because a socket won’t clear the starter to use as a tool to install squarely, and the brake booster is in the way of the other one. So I ground down a thick washer and used that to hit with my 1/2” socket extension to disperse the force without damaging the plug as I tapped around the circumference. This worked nicely.
So one fixed, one leaking still. Ordered more plugs and drained the coolant again. This time I used Permatex Aviation sealer and only tapped it in flush to the block, not a little bit past flush like before.
Started the car to warm it up and gas comes pouring out if #2 carb’s venturis. Damn. So off come the covers and I discover the gaskets I made with “fuel proof” material from Amazon was not actually fuel proof and the gasket absorbed fuel, ballooned up and forced the float open.
No problem, made some new gaskets out of good material and reinstalled.
All excited to drive it again and test for leaks. Pulled out of the driveway and the engine died 10 feet into the drive. Damn. Pushed it into the driveway and determined that it wasn’t getting fuel past idle rpm. So I pulled off the cold airbox assembly that I spent 3 hours installing earlier in the day and pulled the tops off the carbs again. Something didn’t look right then it dawned on me that when I made the gaskets I forgot to cut a hole to allow air to the idle/low rpm circuit. Doh. So I put some stock gaskets back on and it started right up and I headed out again. 50 feet later I blow up another fan. Earlier in the day while tightening the batt cable I accidentally touched the wrench to my NOS voltage regulator (there only for looks) and blew a hole in the side of it, ruining it LOL. I now feel the car gods working against me, testing me on how bad I want this. Also feeling karma turning against me. These are the times that try men’s souls. Exhaustion sets in.
I suspected that my 102mm water pump pulley, although providing faster pump speed and cooling at low rpms, is providing too much speed and causing fan flex into the radiator. This time it did more damage to the radiator so out it came again for paint and repairs. I’ll need a new radiator at some point because I can’t stand looking at a fresh engine compartment and a FUBAR radiator. I swap in a larger pulley but it wobbles so no go there. I bought a new black 9 blade fan with the core plugs and I noticed it is thinner than my red ones thus more clearance, and stiffer too. I installed that and shimmed my radiator forward as far as it would go, now I have almost an inch clearance and the 102mm pulley still.
Took it for another test drive - fan is now fine and no core plug leaks.
Yesterday I took it out of the neighborhood and onto the main roads for the first time, and out of first gear. Don suggests limiting to 4k rpm, varying the loads and rpms, and 32 max timing for 800 miles. So I set the 123 distributor to rev limit at 4k and the timing curve accordingly. The engine sounds great and wants to run higher but Don won’t let me
. Drove 60 miles. Then drove 50 more today. No oil leaks, coolant leaks, or fuel leaks. I dare say I feel karma coming back in my favor.Now the assembly of various remaining parts begins. I installed the blinker housings and headlights. Center grille. Bumper is next. When I started the engine for the first time last week, the 85 amp alternator wasn’t charging so I swapped in an old one while I troubleshooted this one which worked fine when last used - car gods at work again. I disassembled and found that a regulator brush was too short (must have broken or something) so I ordered a new regulator and set out to clean/rebuild this alternator.
Installed Japanese bearings to replace the Chinese ones. Cleaned the housing, stator, and rotor, tested diode assemblies, and repainted the stripe (antique blue left over from my drill press resto) and clear coated:
Installed today and it pumps out a beautiful 14.2v charge.
More assembly of parts ahead and I still need to paint the underside of the hood. I’m hoping the shakedown issues have all shown themselves by now, paid my dues to the car gods, and I can focus on getting 800 break in miles done and completing assembly. I need a wheel alignment before any more mileage. My clock no longer works (hope it’s the fuseable link) and I have a squeak in my steering column under the upper cover that will need attention.
Onward.
Last edited:
Wow, I am impressed you suffered so much in one day....and kept at it. Many would have slumped in front of the TV at that point to escape their troubles. . Well done. On my motor, I would like to have a Red fan, but I am toying with the idea of it being a placebo, as I no longer have the space due to the rad having an oversized core in it. I have a large Spal pusher fan in front is my plan. I figure at high RPM it should be nice not having a fan spinning at such a high speed.
Wow, endeavor to persevere. Never heard of core plugs leaking.
We have given up on all the usual fans.. 5 blade, 9 blade, red fan black fan.
Too many broken fans, ruined radiators, dented hoods.
We install the BMW Euro only skinny fan that uses the last version of BMW‘s spin-on fan clutch. With the built in fan shroud on fan - there’s no way the fan tip can ever go into the radiator. We also offset the radiator top by offsetting the radiator rubber in the brackets.
Too many broken fans, ruined radiators, dented hoods.
We install the BMW Euro only skinny fan that uses the last version of BMW‘s spin-on fan clutch. With the built in fan shroud on fan - there’s no way the fan tip can ever go into the radiator. We also offset the radiator top by offsetting the radiator rubber in the brackets.
Stevehose the engine sounds amazing! Well done.
Beautiful engine bay. That looks to be a 40mm radiator, is it right? Happy to see that is possible with a mechanical fan still.
The car gods can be cruel but your offerings will soon be rewarded.
Agree, hoping the fan clutch should take care of that, I hear it engaging and disengaging based on coolant temp.
Stick around, I'm sure there will be other anomalies with this!
What a rollercoaster of a journey. Way to persevere, Steve.
Is a part number available for this assembly? Or car model/year to use as search criteria for RealOEM?
Last edited:
New BMW E34 E39 E46 E38 M41 M47 M51 M57 Cooling Fan 7 Blade 420MM 11522243303
New BMW E34 E39 E46 E38 M41 M47 M51 M57 Cooling Fan 7 Blade 420MM 11522243303 | eBay
Part number: 11522243303. +325td M51, 325tds M51. +318tds M41. +525td M51, 525tds M51. +X5 3.0d M57. +725tds M51. New BMW Cooling Fan 7 Blade. Condition: New.
www.ebay.com
I may need to borrow those to get me through this!
Got a 3-core also and the fan was very close, so I put some spacers between the fan and the coupling, moving the fan back a few mm which made enough difference on mine.An update from Blind Squirrel Restorations LLC. Since starting my engine all hell has been breaking loose LOL.
While on a slow test drive through the neighborhood my vintage red 9 blade fan flexed into the radiator and shattered. Damn, I loved that fan - hard to find them in nice condition. It’s weird because I have 1/2” of room between the radiator and fan and it still made impact. Anyway, back to the garage.
Then I noticed that 2 of my core plugs were weeping coolant. Fortunately they were somewhat accessible but still not an easy fix. For the one above the starter, I tried tapping it a little further in but no dice, the other leaking one was the smaller one below and left of the other. I tried tapping that in a little and it seemed to stop. I gave it one more tap to be sure and bam out comes more coolant. So I drained $50 worth of new BMW blue coolant, took off the carbs, and out they came. Here are the offending plug locations:
View attachment 175623
I must say since I installed the Fumoto drain valves in the block and radiator it made an otherwise miserable chore much less painful, a total win. I installed new core plugs, yanked the radiator, fixed the messed up fins, repaint, installed a backup 8 blade vintage red fan, added new coolant and fired it up. Smaller plug still leaking. It’s very difficult to get these in cleanly because a socket won’t clear the starter to use as a tool to install squarely, and the brake booster is in the way of the other one. So I ground down a thick washer and used that to hit with my 1/2” socket extension to disperse the force without damaging the plug as I tapped around the circumference. This worked nicely.
View attachment 175622
So one fixed, one leaking still. Ordered more plugs and drained the coolant again. This time I used Permatex Aviation sealer and only tapped it in flush to the block, not a little bit past flush like before.
Started the car to warm it up and gas comes pouring out if #2 carb’s venturis. Damn. So off come the covers and I discover the gaskets I made with “fuel proof” material from Amazon was not actually fuel proof and the gasket absorbed fuel, ballooned up and forced the float open.
View attachment 175624
No problem, made some new gaskets out of good material and reinstalled.
All excited to drive it again and test for leaks. Pulled out of the driveway and the engine died 10 feet into the drive. Damn. Pushed it into the driveway and determined that it wasn’t getting fuel past idle rpm. So I pulled off the cold airbox assembly that I spent 3 hours installing earlier in the day and pulled the tops off the carbs again. Something didn’t look right then it dawned on me that when I made the gaskets I forgot to cut a hole to allow air to the idle/low rpm circuit. Doh. So I put some stock gaskets back on and it started right up and I headed out again. 50 feet later I blow up another fan. Earlier in the day while tightening the batt cable I accidentally touched the wrench to my NOS voltage regulator (there only for looks) and blew a hole in the side of it, ruining it LOL. I now feel the car gods working against me, testing me on how bad I want this. Also feeling karma turning against me. These are the times that try men’s souls. Exhaustion sets in.
View attachment 175626
I suspected that my 102mm water pump pulley, although providing faster pump speed and cooling at low rpms, is providing too much speed and causing fan flex into the radiator. This time it did more damage to the radiator so out it came again for paint and repairs. I’ll need a new radiator at some point because I can’t stand looking at a fresh engine compartment and a FUBAR radiator. I swap in a larger pulley but it wobbles so no go there. I bought a new black 9 blade fan with the core plugs and I noticed it is thinner than my red ones thus more clearance, and stiffer too. I installed that and shimmed my radiator forward as far as it would go, now I have almost an inch clearance and the 102mm pulley still.
Took it for another test drive - fan is now fine and no core plug leaks.
Yesterday I took it out of the neighborhood and onto the main roads for the first time, and out of first gear. Don suggests limiting to 4k rpm, varying the loads and rpms, and 32 max timing for 800 miles. So I set the 123 distributor to rev limit at 4k and the timing curve accordingly. The engine sounds great and wants to run higher but Don won’t let me
Now the assembly of various remaining parts begins. I installed the blinker housings and headlights. Center grille. Bumper is next. When I started the engine for the first time last week, the 85 amp alternator wasn’t charging so I swapped in an old one while I troubleshooted this one which worked fine when last used - car gods at work again. I disassembled and found that a regulator brush was too short (must have broken or something) so I ordered a new regulator and set out to clean/rebuild this alternator.
View attachment 175636
Installed Japanese bearings to replace the Chinese ones. Cleaned the housing, stator, and rotor, tested diode assemblies, and repainted the stripe (antique blue left over from my drill press resto) and clear coated:
View attachment 175637
Installed today and it pumps out a beautiful 14.2v charge.
More assembly of parts ahead and I still need to paint the underside of the hood. I’m hoping the shakedown issues have all shown themselves by now, paid my dues to the car gods, and I can focus on getting 800 break in miles done and completing assembly. I need a wheel alignment before any more mileage. My clock no longer works (hope it’s the fuseable link) and I have a squeak in my steering column under the upper cover that will need attention.
Onward.
Old school alignment to adjust the ridiculous toe-in after the suspension and subframe work. The steering was notchy and skiddish and not good to drive on. This cured that condition and will hold me till I get it aligned for reals next week.
i would have bet money (based on memory - obviously adult beverage influenced) that your antenna was on the rear. on a serious note, the engine + bay looks GREAT!!!
I wish it was-I love that look