Cost of an S38 Rebuild vs. ???
Motor builder in NC
Henry Lawrence 336-342-0883 motor builder and tuner in North Carolina located near Greensboro.
tell him I told you to call.
tell him I told you to call.
Re: M5 motor
edlocke wrote:Swapping different motors other than what was designed for your car unless you have the means usually is a big hassle. I know where there is a e28/M5 S38 crate motor for 3500$. It belongs to Henry who used to work for Korman when Korman was "The Shop" now Henry is out on his own and still builds all of Kormans V12 motors. Henry quoted me on a stock s38 rebuild $7K and goes up from there depending on your need for speed.
I spoke with with Henry yesterday and his crate motor is ready to drop in and go. I would go this route unless you have the cash for more HP...you can trust that you're getting a motor that's gonna be hassle free.
By the way for the guys near Greensboro NC Henry has 2 Dynos...motor and car set up. he's very reasonable too,!
If you went this route you'd have your old block to make into a stroker when money was at hand
Powerplant? Isn't that the place that Ken H went initially
Re: M5 motor
Seriously. I wouldn't give that guy one cent. Douche nozzle.L_N_Love wrote:edlocke wrote:Swapping different motors other than what was designed for your car unless you have the means usually is a big hassle. I know where there is a e28/M5 S38 crate motor for 3500$. It belongs to Henry who used to work for Korman when Korman was "The Shop" now Henry is out on his own and still builds all of Kormans V12 motors. Henry quoted me on a stock s38 rebuild $7K and goes up from there depending on your need for speed.
I spoke with with Henry yesterday and his crate motor is ready to drop in and go. I would go this route unless you have the cash for more HP...you can trust that you're getting a motor that's gonna be hassle free.
By the way for the guys near Greensboro NC Henry has 2 Dynos...motor and car set up. he's very reasonable too,!
If you went this route you'd have your old block to make into a stroker when money was at hand
Powerplant? Isn't that the place that Ken H went initially
Ken has a few other words for him.
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mooseheadm5
- Beamter
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Re: M5 motor
It sounded to me like Ken had more than just some choice language, but rather several Medieval instruments of torture ready for them.wkohler wrote:
Seriously. I wouldn't give that guy one cent. Douche nozzle.Powerplant? Isn't that the place that Ken H went initially
Ken has a few other words for him.
On advice of counsel*, I won't say anything more than what Paul M. and Chris K. have posted. But there are a number of shops out there who are quite familiar with building an S38. Do your homework. Or PM me.
A few points worth noting.
1. The BMW KSD (flat rate manual) specifies 21.6 hours to disassemble/reassemble an S38. To this, add R&R time, which should be around 7.4 hours. Call it 29 man-hours from roll-in to roll-out.
2. Based on conversations with Ernie Keller, the owner of EuroTech in Golden, and a BMW Master Tech with 20+ years experience on these cars, the KSD times are around 5-8% fat; this to allow some leeway for a newbie tech and still let the shop not lose money.
3. The hours figure assumes all needed parts are literally on the bench--this includes gaskets, fittings, hoses, replacement parts, and that any and all BMW specialized tools for the S38 are on hand..
4. Any needed machine shop work would be in addition to the 21.6 hours. Think replacement of valve guides, or added head work, cylinder reboring or honing and so on. How involved this might be depends on what is going into the build. For reference, see the videos in Grsmonkey's build thread. http://youtu.be/XRAnBgQ_B7M
* No fooling. My attorneys told me to just STFU and let PowerPlant do it to themselves. Which they seem fully capable of doing.[/url]
What drives the cost of the S38 rebuilds is the parts costs; for example, the timing chain guides, tensioner, etc. can easily hit $1000. These beasts don't lend themselves to using junkyard parts or picking up Chinese-made trash at the local AutoZone.
Labor is labor, and when one goes to a well-regarded shop, you are paying for their experience and expertise. You or your buddy may be able to do as well, but there are a lot of little tricks in doing an S38 build . . . and they aren't in the S38 manual (written for the M88/3 M6).
So do your homework, but don't expect that the number is going to be a whole lot under $10K.
HTH
A few points worth noting.
1. The BMW KSD (flat rate manual) specifies 21.6 hours to disassemble/reassemble an S38. To this, add R&R time, which should be around 7.4 hours. Call it 29 man-hours from roll-in to roll-out.
2. Based on conversations with Ernie Keller, the owner of EuroTech in Golden, and a BMW Master Tech with 20+ years experience on these cars, the KSD times are around 5-8% fat; this to allow some leeway for a newbie tech and still let the shop not lose money.
3. The hours figure assumes all needed parts are literally on the bench--this includes gaskets, fittings, hoses, replacement parts, and that any and all BMW specialized tools for the S38 are on hand..
4. Any needed machine shop work would be in addition to the 21.6 hours. Think replacement of valve guides, or added head work, cylinder reboring or honing and so on. How involved this might be depends on what is going into the build. For reference, see the videos in Grsmonkey's build thread. http://youtu.be/XRAnBgQ_B7M
* No fooling. My attorneys told me to just STFU and let PowerPlant do it to themselves. Which they seem fully capable of doing.[/url]
What drives the cost of the S38 rebuilds is the parts costs; for example, the timing chain guides, tensioner, etc. can easily hit $1000. These beasts don't lend themselves to using junkyard parts or picking up Chinese-made trash at the local AutoZone.
Labor is labor, and when one goes to a well-regarded shop, you are paying for their experience and expertise. You or your buddy may be able to do as well, but there are a lot of little tricks in doing an S38 build . . . and they aren't in the S38 manual (written for the M88/3 M6).
So do your homework, but don't expect that the number is going to be a whole lot under $10K.
HTH
Slightly west of East Jesus and north of Bumfuck Egypt.Mab1957 wrote:What are you doing now Ken? Where exactly is suburban Gomorrah? Distance to Sodom? (yes homo)
At present, I'm trying to find a clutch that will handle the torque and still be drivable on the street. Ones that are "soft" enough for DD use slip like nobody's business if I get serious about hanging my leg in it. On the other hand, ones that will support the torque are near-useless for anything other than dedicated track work.
Generally speaking, these use a sintered iron 6-puck friction disc and engagement is nothing short of brutal.
Like it or no, these engines do not come cheap. Without being rude, if you can't handle the buy-ins or the ante, don't sit down at the table. Stay with M30s and live with their limitations.Mab1957 wrote:Seems those of us looking for a fresh s38 need a bankroll. I'd like to hear from someone else who had built one recently. Gary has been very forthcoming and his results are outstanding.
So, I am going the B36 route. I bought bennets22's S38B36 off of eBay. Thanks to Nicke28 for pointing it out. It has low miles, the leak down numbers look pretty good and the swap shouldn't be too hard. Ultimately I get more power and still keep it in the S38 family. If I was in LA and had access to my more capable mechanic buddies and resources, I might have attempted this myself (under heavy supervision). Instead, the guys at RRT are going to manage the swap for me.
It'll be a bone stock B36 DME and harness to start with. A set of euro B35 headers will be swapped for the B36 ones which don't fit. It's not clear yet whether or not I need the Koala motor mount adapter plates but I'll find out soon enough. I'll also need a 535 radiator. Intake needs to be modified to mate up to the E24 air box. I am sure there's more.
Still on the lookout for:
E34 S38B36 harness
E34 S38B36 intake runners
E34 S38B36 MAF
E24/E28 S38B35 euro headers
And the B35 will soon be up for sale for someone to rebuild.
It'll be a bone stock B36 DME and harness to start with. A set of euro B35 headers will be swapped for the B36 ones which don't fit. It's not clear yet whether or not I need the Koala motor mount adapter plates but I'll find out soon enough. I'll also need a 535 radiator. Intake needs to be modified to mate up to the E24 air box. I am sure there's more.
Still on the lookout for:
E34 S38B36 harness
E34 S38B36 intake runners
E34 S38B36 MAF
E24/E28 S38B35 euro headers
And the B35 will soon be up for sale for someone to rebuild.
S54 e28 swap here: http://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?t=83925
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jibbajabba
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