as most of you regulars know, ive built a nice spec engine for my saff using "the best" components i could afford to buy, and many were classed by lots of people as the best there is.

well, the motor was run in for 700 gentle miles, then taken to msd for a live map.

the first day went well, a few adjustments were made, ready for some light mapping on day 2.

i got a call mid morning..... engine failure, they thought a broken inlet cam....


when the rc was removed, the cams were ok.... so the head came off....


inlet valve seat has come out, and basicly killed the piston, head, bore.



the head was 700miles old from a very well respected company, and there is absolutly no doubt that the blame for my failure lies with them....luckily msd have the whole event on datalog.....because i rang the head company today, and apparently it got too hot.....bollocks did it....it was in second gear having light mapping done

so, im now in devon, with a dead car again, and its stuck in blackpool, im asking if anyone can help get her home? or have ideas how...
and what do i do now? im about to contact trading standards for advice, but i fear i will get screwed again...nobody in this world has any balls to admit liability these days


secondly, i must thank stu, kenny and wil at msd, the guys have been so helpfull over the last two days, i really appreciate your help guys, im so sorry for all this agro. i tried my best to make her good, but i guess it just wasnt to be...gutted,

 

sorry to read this post mate, it must be absolutely gutting for you.
i really hope you find a way to make the company pay

 

so gutted for ya mate, its just sole destroying when something like this happens. will it live to see another day?

 

the reality is , and dont take this the wrong way, motorsport has no gurantees.

 

gutted for ya.................honest

 

join the aa / rac pay for the cover to get you home, you will have to wait 24 hours though before you can all them out

 

Wounded mate

 

literally every penny ive earned, and every spare hour has gone into this car over the last year, i just dont know if i can do it again

 

just looked at who your head was done by. seems to be the second horror story in only a few weeks from one of there heads. to be honest your head dose looks a bit thin in your resto pics. do you know what thickness it is as i've heard at under 138.6mm they have a tendency of dropping valve seats

 

no idea buddy, i assumed it would be top notch, as you would for Ł2600

 

im the same as you and the thought of something like this happening is frightening. might be best to just lock it away somewhere safe & come back to it with a fresh mind later. or as hard as it is 'de tune' it to a less stressed spec

 

as said last night mate totally gutted for you

i used this guy to pick up a saph i bought 300miles away without even looking at it,i just told him the two postcodes and he picked up and cash on delivery

hes not a gypo,its a family buisness

07801226968

 

Absolutely, you have no guarantee when tuning.

After my car was chipped it's never ran right

 

thanks col

 

2.5k for that i think id be wanting a head over 139mm thick (almost oringinal)

 

Shocked James :-(

 

Bad news mate hope it gets sorted!

700 run in miles sounds a little low to me though, i'd personally want at least 300 more on it before I gave it some!

I Know that isnt the reason for the failure, just thought i'd mention it!

 

I live in Blackpool, if theres anything i can do to help then please do ask, and i'll see what i can do

 

running in is a thing of the 70's!!!!

 

i know how to run an engine in, it was ready

 

Free trailer you can borrow here in Dorset, you are welcome to use it buddy

 

Gutted for ya, and i KNOW where your coming from
The seat would fall out if the engine was standard or not, and if the company have changed the seats, then it´s a F***ING bad job done.
I hope you get it sorted m8, really do

 

If you want to cobble the car back together I've got a good 2wd head you can borrow?
I'm on the wirral, not mega far from Blackpool.

Absolutely gutted for you though mate

If you're still stuck for getting the car home by the weekend, a mate of mines got a flatbed, just spoken to him now and he could do it for you then, but you'd have to talk to him about cost.

 

if they dont pay up then name and shame

 

really sorry to hear the bad news mate You were flying the big spec 4x4 flag for me! Was one of the best big spec 4x4's i've seen....am gutted.

 

No need to be so defensive, it was mearly my opinion from past experience.

If your happy to give a new engine with 700miles a hard time then thats your choice

 

thanks guys, il be glad if someone has an idea of how to get her home, i dont want it stuck in stus way..,

i cant tow a trailer on my driving licence, which is a royal pain in the ass tbh,

i have a spare head here, but the piston is mangled to hell,

i have pics, i just dont know i want to look at them

 

i live in Barrow and i have an A frame if you have a tow vehicle i can poss drop it off on sunday in blackpool on my way to airport

 

Seems the most sensible thing to do and probably the cheapest.

However I am sure myself and Dan wouldn't mind going on a road trip if you did the hiring of the transportation

Tim

 

i am a member of the aa, but the head is off, and im not 100% sure i could get away with it...

thanks for your help guys

 

James i have an a-frame and a licence to tow a trailer

Trailer hire is about Ł35 a day from Tamar trailer in Plymouth for a brand new tilt bed Brian James.

Give me call if need be. I'm off work till tuesday

 

As i've said to you on the phone mate, so sorry this has happened to you. One of the nicest saph engine bays i've worked in for a while. Everything was 'proper' and it had all the right ingredients to be a genuinely fast car.

Taking the head off last night was gutting

 

thanks richie

 

sorry to hear that mate.makes you just wana sell up when thingss like that happen

 

if done correctly running in takes nowhere near 700 miles.

 

cheers wil, good to know it wasnt my fault thats for sure, i tryed to do all i could to make a strong motor, but hey ho

 

Not necessarily so, I have seen a seat fall out of a stock motor these are old engines now so it doesnt supprise me this happens on the odd head,
I would recomend you finding a engineer to do a report on it and see if any of the head work could have disturbed the seat itself or the amount of porting/modding the seat caused the problem,
700miles is more than enought running in but this would not have affected the valve seat,
This opinion is from someone that has nothing to do with this engine so no bias has been shown.

Mark

 

i,m pretty sure that if you are a member and your car is still taxed, then there should be no problem mate. might just have to explain when you call them that you,re a mechanic and that it,s an engine failure!

 

Hi mate - sorry to hear your woes... i move cars around and am a member here and on escort cosworth forum - I have a escos that i am putting together. I can give you a price to go and collect and run down to you mate, although as the distances are large unfortunately will cost ... but I am 100 genuine and very trustworthy and honest. not after work but if this helps at all...

Gary

 

As you already no James im so gutted for you mate.. I know how much blood' sweet' and tears not to mention money you have put in to this car. Please don't get to disheartened mate im sure it will all work out. And i will give you all the help i can and it will only cost you a tub of clotted cream ..

and all this motorsport bollox.. This had naff all to do with motorsport in my eye's

Chin up mate