5.3 LM7 powered '97 BMW M3 sedan!

[BRAAP]

Got around to cutting the valve seats and surfacing the heads today. Machine work is now done. 4 angles on the seats, (technically 5, but the chamber cutter only left its radius, not the flat, so I’m not counting it), performed just a tad more hand blending after using the chamber cutter. Intake seats are .040” wide, exhaust seats are .060” wide. Both intake and exhaust valve also have a 30 degree back cut.

During surfacing, I only took .004” off each head, they both cleaned up 100% in .003”. (A huge thank you to my wife for not overheating the engine over the past 160,xxx miles).

Next step is to CC the chambers, setup the valve train, final clean, assembly, then attach the heads to the short block.


Intake and exhaust seats just after the first cut, 3 angles, (30, 45 and 60 degrees). The final 2 angles are added with separate cutters.


Ready to be removed from the mill after being surfaced;




Machine work done, awaiting final clean;

[BRAAP]

Happiness is;
Torqueing the last bolt on your LSx long block!

I dub this mild 5.3 the LS-7/8ths. (just shy of an LS1).

Found a good spot for the 16 valve emblem, though probably will end up putting it under the hood somewhere.
Valve covers will be wrinkle black!

[BRAAP]

Ohhh.. Ahhh..
Wrinkle black valve covers…
Sorry there isn’t much more than that right now… I’ve been asked to “slow down”! Problem with that is if I go any slower I’ll stall! I’ve got approx 2-3 more weeks of head scratching, gives my help a little more time.

[BRAAP]

Not much to update. Just stabbing, restabbing, and stabbing the power train in and out of the car, looking for that elusive sweet spot mounting location. After some component modification and then finessing the power-train in a few locations in the car, I did find a spot I like with few compromises. Keeps the crank C/L “angle” (up and down) in line with the OE BMW, decent “compromise” in clearance around the typical tight areas.

Gahts a bits mah hed itch-en bed-fah I’s commits to dis spot…

[r6z4o6]

What a project! Dig the valvecovers, how did you do that?

[cjriojas]

You work fast and it looks good. I want to see how you get the headers to fit.

[BRAAP]

What a project! Dig the valvecovers, how did you do that?

VHT brand wrinkle spray paint. These valve covers actually came out not as good as they could have, too thin in some places, shiny areas...

Been using this wrinkle paint since the early '90's on valve covers, and other engine bay related parts. looks quality OE, Very tough, resistant to oils, gas, engine bay heat, cleans well, etc.

Key to the wrinkle paints is HEAT! You want to get the part to 110-180 degrees for a good quick wrinkle. PReheat the part, paint and continue to apply heat until the wrinkle sets up. It will work at 100 degres as well, jut not as fast. Below 80 degrees, its hit and miss if it will even wrinkle and if it does, its spotty at best. My good freind uses his gas grill, lid partly open heat low. I have used the oven, wifes HATES it as the paint fumes fill the house for few hours, but it works so well at controlling the heat! For parts the size of the LSx valve covers on mild days in the 6-70 degree temp range, I have used heat gun with success, just takes a while to preheat the part. On cooler days, the heat gun might not be enough.

[socal1]

thats gonna be a mean beemer

[BRAAP]

I’ve been lazy the past week and a half, not much physical progress. Went out to the shop and looked over the car a bit, looked over the pan/x-member a bit, glanced at the cruise control, pretty sure I found a cool new location for the ABS module, found a neat little reverse switch mod, (reverse switch on the trans is REAL close to the trans tunnel), drank more than few FOSTERS’s over that period… This whacked out work schedule I’m sure has had some influence on the lack of motivation as well. Positive motivation is this the BMW is my daily driver, so in the mean time I have been driving Plan “B” and Plan “C”, (Plan “B” is an ’85 Scooby-Doo GL wagon that was given to me for free, 200,295 miles on it now, engine starting ticking pretty loudly this week, plan “C” is my ’90 Chev full size Ext cab 2wd parts/shop/farm truck!) With Plan B looking like it needs a new engine, (engine swap of course, EJ22), the LS 7/8 powered M3 must move forward…

The big news is that I finally committed to my Engine Management system. In “talking” to my dealer for the WOLF V-500, he did some scrounging and found that WOLF has been using the V-500 on GM Gen II engine with the 24 tooth crank and rear cam trigger. Universal harness ordered in the next week and WOLF will provide the LSx config and maps! Wolf being speed density that means no MAF to deal with when plumbing the intake! For those interested in aftermarket EMS, take a look at the WOLF V-500.
Advanced Engine Management - Wolf EFI Electronic Fuel Injection and Performance Ignition Control Systems
Bang for the buck, it compares nicely to the uber-exotic offerings with 8 channel sequential ignition output, tons of user definable inputs and outputs, VVT control, GM idle air control, Staged injectors or blending of for those running exotic fuels such as Meth blends, race gas in separate tanks, etc. It will even support MAF for those who like the their MAF, most just delete the MAF and go speed density! Tons of boost support for those of you addicted to boost with built turbo timer, etc. I ran this on my ’93 300-ZX before I sold the car, LOVED the user interface, controllability, and mostly the consistency in how the engine ran vs the OE Nissan EFI! Ran smoother, crisper throttle response, seamless, no sacrifice in MPG! For those like myself that are hyper sensitive to noticing when the ECU is making adjustments while driving, the nissan eCU was no exception, the WOLDF I never noticed! it was consistent no matter the temps, the driving style, etc! I understand the GM PCM is very stable and seamless when properly tuned, I have no qualms in using it, but I already have this and now knowing that configuration settings and base maps are available, not too mention I am already somewhat familiar with it, V-500 it is!

Couple screen shots I took of the WOLF V-500 when I had it on the ZX.

Config settings;


Check out ALL the user definable outputs! You set what is controlled by what parameters it is controlled to and from! Shift lights to cooling fans, waste gates to stepper motors. VERY powerful. This EMS is only limited by the installers/tuners imagination!


Spark map for the VG30DE


Data logging;

[2k5Squirrel]

very cool project!