fordsportjay

iTrader: (6)

been at oulton park today,first proper track day since getting my m3 back up and running happily.

great day,lots of good cars,quite a few khumo race bmw's.had a superb morning catching and passing most things,the car was absolutley flying and im happy.............

then


coming along the pit straight,not sure how fast but in 4th gear in high revs so prob 115/120 mph,felt the car hold back very slightly then BANG!
smoke and what sounded like half my engine bouncing underneath the car.pulled straight onto the grass,car was full of smoke-

rather large hole in the sump with half a piston sticking out of it! damn!

got the car towed back on got it back on the trailer.......

got my big end cap etc back from the marshalls that was left on the track.
i think thats it for me now with trackdays,cant really justify spending on another engine at mo so looks like ill be breaking the car and calling it a day-bugger!

-beefy-

iTrader: (6)

sorry to hear that jay ,

how much would another motor be to source ?

or would it not justify the expense ,

beef

Shorty

iTrader: (1)

Fuck, not good Jay, just as you was saying how crisp it felt after you sorted it.

Cant you get another engine?

Micky

Thats trackdays mate,they are never cheap,never mind when an engine goes pop.regards,Micky

fordsportjay

iTrader: (6)

i just cant warrant spending 2/3k sourcing a good engine for it-it was always meant to be a budget track car and it has served me well over the last year or so.plus i would be paranoid about the new engine unless it was pulled apart end checked,arp bolts etc-as it looks like one of the big end bolts has come loose or snapped on my engine.
there are some good bits i can sell off it and hopefully the ported head is still ok so should get some decent money back out of it.
i really enjoy my trackdays in that car but thats it im afraid......just havent got the money to spend on it at the mo.

hope this isnt the start of a bad run for me-its my birthday on tuesday!

Ginge !

jay i understand what you mean, i was like that when i pranged the scooby,, was thinking whats the point spending 2k getting a 4k car repaired then im gonna try and do track days with it so theres still a chance that the engine will also die anyway

think if the fun you have had with it though already, you seem to have done a few track days with it over the year so been quite fun already im sure

downside to owning a cheep performance car,, is that the parts will always be expensive

Stu @ Claims Care Centre

iTrader: (1)

Thats what i worry about when going on track!

Dangerous Malcolm..

What a pisser.

Ginge !

i dont think its a good idea for you,,, as you had a engine fail on a RR day !!

Stu @ Claims Care Centre

iTrader: (1)

ill take the risk!!!
i built my new engine just needs mapping now really

fordsportjay

iTrader: (6)

my engine was very sweet and seemed sooooo strong.

looks like one of the big end bolts has either sheared or come loose,as the marshals recovered a big end cap,whats left of a bearing and half a bolt from the track.

cant wait to get the sump off as ther seems to be half a piston sticking through a hole in it.
fuck me though-it didnt half go bang.the guys from the medical centre said they ran out when it went to see what had made the noise,only to see my car on the grass smoking rather heavily.

at least i didnt get oil on the tyres and crash as well i suppose.

Stu @ Claims Care Centre

iTrader: (1)

that would of finished your week off.

surely there is cheaper cars out there with similar power and cheaper to maintain.?

Big Will_

Sad times mate

Be a shame to break it now - maybe hang on till a cheap replacement motor comes up?

Will bell you this week as per our discussion

NUTS RuS

iTrader: (35)

I still have some new compound pads in my boot for you to try as well.

Maria.

Awww jay not good fella

westus1

iTrader: (6)

didn't want to see this
always fancied a m3 as a track car
as they always seemed so reliable
still better than a cossy i suppose

blacky.

not good jay it was a cracking track car with all the right bits to make it fun

im sure if you just stick it over to one side for a bit a new motor will turn up

foreigneRS

misery

this is why i believe the future of track cars is small cars like fiesta etc. or bikes as a track session on a bike does not punish it a great deal more than a blast on the road anyway

james kiely

iTrader: (5)

sorry to hear this ,why not take a year out jay and rebuild the motor and track it next year ,at least you know the car.how much would a bottom end build be for a m3 by the way?

fordsportjay

iTrader: (6)

i think the block is damaged so its looking like a replacement bottom end req.not sure what to do with it at the mo as i was having so much fun until it went bang today.


ill have a look on monday.....

darryl turbo

iTrader: (1)

you can't get rid of it jay, the amount of time, money and effort you've put into it. do as people have said - put it 2 one side and fix it when you can

wirralphil

Thats the way, forget it till monday. Look at the cost of the engine replacment, then look at the cost of another track car.

IF the M3 is to costly to fix then look at another car which could go that quick.

Then maybe the M3 will look cheap...

The Youth.

iTrader: (1)

park it in the corner of your unit and let it just sit there, then slowly as time and funds allow get an engine check it over fit and have fun again.
I did exactly that when my 100E dropped a valve and destroyed the bottom end and block in 2005, got it back on the road in 2008 and really enjoy havimg the car again..

you will regret it long term if you jump into breaking it!

steve

Barry_GTi

Stick a Cossie engine in it

Rab

Jay, budget track toys are the way forward, 75% of the fun, 10% of the budget You could have just as much fun in 800 quids worth of rough 205 GTi, and it's alot cheaper to just buy another one if you fuck the motor. Plus the benefit of having a whole car load of spares for it

Guted about your BMW though

Glenn_

iTrader: (1)

Gutted for you mate.I would just keep the car too and just do bits to it at a time.

fordsportjay

iTrader: (6)

just dont know what to do yet.......

ive just put it as breaking for parts on ebay just to see what bits people are into...

simonc

Sorry to hear your bad news. This is quite common on E36 M3's more so on evo's, i have read of several that have spun a shell due to Rod bolts stretching at high revs or even breaking bolts. Makes me really worry,tried not to take mine over 7k at Brands last week. ARP bolts do sort problem though. Had the rev limit been removed on yours ? 7k on the 3.0L were you revving it over 7k quite a lot ?

Simon.

Jim Galbally

jay, someone told me about this lastnight, just throw a second hand engine in it!

my engine+box+all anciliries for a complete bolt in/bolt out came to less than a grand.

you know how a spanner works so could swap the bloody thing over in a day

quick service on the replacement lump, job jobbed.

for that sort of money theres no point not fixing it! why bother spending more than the cars worth rebuilding the engine anyway, chances are a second hand lump will be fine anyway, loads of crashed M3s out there with sound engines

AlexF

Use something cheaper on track - mk2 golf etc etc

Its the future!

cossie4i+

iTrader: (15)

Sorry to read about your bad luck

Steve

TimC

iTrader: (1)

Absolute shiter Jay as it really did go well on track, was really surprised with it last October for the passenger ride out.
Just take your time with it and rebuild it when funds allow.

Sticky.

iTrader: (4)

Not good Jay.

Get it Cossie'd like Rentons old BMW.

Lee Ivatt

iTrader: (1)

Why not take all the decent gear off, ie suspension, brakes and bits,

Then just buy shitters and every time they blow up just get another and transfer the bits!

You may find your faster due to not "caring about the car" and there fore pushing it that bit more?

Matt Evans

Shit news Jay.

I suppose its summat we all dread, but like you say, at least you didnt crash, or cause anyone else to come off.

Give it time to decide what to do next mate. Theres bound to be a "value" solution to it?

Matt

simonc

Golf GTi Mk2 with 2.0L abf is a good idea & cheap.

dave cos4x4

iTrader: (5)

not good news Jay.

you like the car so why not keep it in storage until you can sort it out.

you will only regret it later on.

Neil@FastFord

Ah grim mate, if you have to break it, you can start again for buttons.

Budget giggles are still to be had as you know pal.

I say, stick it in the corner and rebuild one weekend when your free with some cash, you'll be happy about it

foreigneRS

it certainly is. i'll be using my 1.25 fiesta i think. strip it out and maybe uprated suspension.

beauty of a small car is that you can tax it year round for not much, but don't insure it. then on the 3 or 4 track days that you might do per year, insure it for a day with https://www.tempcover.com/ for £14 per day