BMW v8 engine coffee table project

[straight6pwr 2359]

sadly, no. had to so some other projects like refinishing a desk for a friend, making secret santa gift, and making some ornaments for white elephant parties. maybe ill get some time on this on the weekend.  next up is connecting castors to the block, then painting it.

[straight6pwr 2359]

updates! if you are allergic to cats, leave now.

Before I finish the block (polishing and painting) I wanted to figure out the feet. The block could be left alone and just set on the floor, but this will help with moving the table and not scratching nice floors.

Here are the front feet. used the oil pan bolt holes, a nut/washer and bolt and some rubber table feet. height adjustable for leveling!

Here is our cat inspecting the feet that I just installed to make sure they are up to code. (this actually happens in a lot of photos, those who have cats know what Im talking about)

I decided to use casters as the back feet to ease in moving the table around. I used some 1 1/8" square aluminum tube, medium duty non-marking fixed casters, and plastic end caps.

Installed with m10 bolts

Here is the the gap achieved. Will work unless you have 70s shag carpet.

[KaiserRolls 2451]

Russian Blue?

[REKIII 520]

Czechoslovakian Red?

[straight6pwr 2359]

2 hours ago, KaiserRolls said:

Russian Blue?

 nah,  just a domestic shorthair (blue is one of the colors they come in)

[Earl 1250]

Mittens does that to me all of the time. I love the way you mounted those casters=)

[Doorman 71]

Lovin the "gap" in the last pic!!!

what guy doesn't?

[straight6pwr 2359]

1 hour ago, Earl said:

Mittens does that to me all of the time. I love the way you mounted those casters=)

thanks!

1 hour ago, Doorman said:

Lovin the "gap" in the last pic!!!

what guy doesn't?

i missed a golden opportunity, thanks for reminding me!

amidoingitright?

[straight6pwr 2359]

masked and primed the block the last couple of days.

this was the worst of the masking:

just a rando pic of the primer on the block:

 

[straight6pwr 2359]

so i really wanted to make a set of shorty headers, but after some research and experimentation, it just cant happen. so what i decided to do was emulate the style of this honda indy display motor, and just have short outlets.

 

so i'm making the flanges out of oak, and the tubes out of aluminum tubing. once together, i will spray paint them with some sort of metal-look finish.

here are the flanges being cut out:

on the drill press

flange in place, measurements were correct!

[KaiserRolls 2451]

Whoa, this is getting cooler and cooler

[Bassboy3313 810]

Super awesome man! Keep it up!

[CMart 100]

I've got some extra exhaust manis you may be able to cut and make them l look like shortys.

[straight6pwr 2359]

the stock stamped steel ones? they are pretty ugly, some of them are even T-shaped leaving the head. have any pictures, anyways? i'm curious if m62 looks much different than m60.

[CMart 100]

They look like these:

Free if you want them.

[straight6pwr 2359]

thanks for the offer, but I'm going to pass. i mostly hate that left/right are not symmetrical, but those stamping edges, wow it makes them look so cheap. what are those called, "hemming" or something like that?

[CMart 100]

No worries.

They are getting scrapped so I figured I would offer.

I was thinking you may be able to use the flanges and weld a similar pipe onto them.

I believe they are dual walled for heat transfer or something?

[straight6pwr 2359]

ah i see. unfortunately I cannot weld or machine anything, so i'm limited on customizing stuff like that. yeah they are definitely dual-walled, thats why they stamped them instead of just welding or casting.

[straight6pwr 2359]

got the main bearing caps painted and the related hardware cleaned/polished.

also, my 1.75" 6061 aluminum tube came in for the 'headers'

[straight6pwr 2359]

more work done on headers:

finished the flanges

 

wood filler used to get the grain/imperfections hidden before painting. before on top, after on bottom.

 

to cut the tubes, I don't have a miter saw, or a table saw, or a band saw, so i made a little jig for my circular. fyi, diablo circular saw blades are the shit. i've been cutting soft woods, hard woods, and aluminum on the same blade for YEARS and its still sharp.

 

rough cut done

tubes filed, fitting and glued into the flanges. all that's left is to make some 'simulated' welds and then paint.

 

also started on the injectors. they were a bit crusty, and i want to use them to bring a little color to the whole motor, so they will be painted BMW blue.

 

 

[B C 5211]

In for "simulated welds" im envisioning some sort of putty molded into the gap

[straight6pwr 2359]

8 minutes ago, Snap said:

In for "simulated welds" im envisioning some sort of putty molded into the gap

yup, been experimenting with what material will work best. and studying 'weld porn'. silicon sealant is too sticky for shaping. wood filler/wall putty is too gritty. going to modeling clay next.

don't think I'll get quite this perfection, but its what I'm shooting for, if possible:

 

 

[B C 5211]

Im imagining JB weld putty + a shaping tool like a 3/8" round rod to knead it into the gap in steps which would simulate a fillet weld..... In my head at least

[wasnt m3 1284]

[straight6pwr 2359]

i searched for a long time to see if someone had done this full scale and couldn't find anything. where did you find that?

and thanks for sharing, that is a great place to start. the only thing different will be working in a corner, versus a flat surface.