UPDATE:
Engine build:
During the 2011 season myself and Tony decided to look into doing something with the engine. The one in the car was very tired and was down on compression from day one. Although it was still getting us good results we felt that the rest of the car had progressed to the point where the motor was becoming the weak link. We had bought a spare engine just in case and it sat quietly in the corner of the workshop for over a year. We handed the task over to Dan at 519 Automotive and over the next few months, and many late nights on messenger, we trashed out a rough spec for the engine based on budget, performance and reliability requirements. We sent the spare engine up to Dan after the Anglesey weekend, there was no rush for the build as we always intended it to be for 2012.
First job was for him to strip the engine down. It was eventful. Two headbolts sheared off, leaving a challenge to remove the head, then once it was off, detonation damage was discovered.
We had been sold this engine as a perfectly working and well serviced unit, but
on stripping the bottom end it became clear there had been an oil supply issue to the crank. All the journals and bearing shells were scored heavily. When the pistons were removed, the biggest surprise of all appeared. The circlip had come out of one piston, allowing the gudgeon pin to come into contact with the bore leaving a deep groove which was beyond even reboring. The circlip eventually turned up, jammed in the oil pump.
At this point we decided the head was just about salvageable, and worth using as it was a phase 1 version with the larger exhaust ports to start with, but the entire bottom end was scrap.
Another bottom end was sourced that had come from a low mileage 182. Having sat around for a while it was a bit dusty, but there didn’t seem anything to worry about with condition, and a full strip down confirmed it to be in absolutely perfect condition. Probably the best used block you could wish to come across. Luck was on our side for once.
Balancing: Dan told us that experience has shown that the F4R responds well to dynamic balancing. As our engine was for racing it definitely deserved the best treatment, so a race tolerance balance was opted for. This engine proved itself to be a great base again, and the crank required no modification at all, impressive for a mass production engine!! The conrods, with new ARP bolts fitted needed a little work. They were all weight matched and end to end balanced.
From this point it was a job of assembly and clearance checking. We decided to stick with the stock pistons for cost and reliability reasons so these were acid cleaned and came up like new. Piston ring end gaps all checked and adjusted where necessary in freshly honed bores. Main and big bearing clearances plastigauged, and crank thrust float
measured.The bottom end was now fresh and solid.
The cylinder head was an area we had spoken at some length about improving. The head was in poor condition but was able to be saved. The ph1 172 head as already mentioned is generally regarded as the best standard head for performance, so as we had this for a starting point we were very happy. Still room for improvement though, and a few hours of fettling later, a reworked head which should improve the breathing of the engine all round.
The stock valves on a Renault F4R are a two 2 piece valve with the head friction welded to the stem. This has been known to lead to failure in extreme cases. As our main brief to Dan was reliability we opted for a set of one piece Supertech valves. Inconel exhaust and nitrided inlets.
Cams: Another subject of lengthy conversation. We came to the decision that due to retaining the stock pistons, and thus limiting cam choice, we would use Catcams 421 profile. Dan reported seeing very good results from them with Throttle bodies. As luck would have it a low mileage set became available at just the right time. We have also retained the VVT/De-Phaser
So it was just a case of building it all up with new seals, gaskets, water pump etc and it was ready for fitting.
Having all the parts to hand, checked and ready made fitting the engine a straight forward job. It fired up nicely and after a sorting a few fuel and coolant leaks all was well. The fuel rail we have been using was the stock Renault item. Now the car is up and running again we are going to swap to an AT power rail for reliability and also run the fuel pressure a little higher. Lots of small jobs to do before it goes for calibration, once again at Tour De Force.