A hearty "Thank You" to all that have looked, commented, and enjoyed this project. For me this is the final detail to be placed upon a very challenging yet extremely rewarding the project.
For me the sharing of the pictures and thoughts was always as if we were simply chatting, coffee with friends so to speak. If anything comes from what has been shared and discussed by so many over the last several months I hope it goes something like this.........renewed excitement, a reaffirmation that you can develop a relationship with a company/individual and convert "Your" dreams into reality, maybe I have been able to share some ideas that will help you with your own projects, and last but not least I hope the bar...... the level of vision, design, and associated craftsmanship continues to be raised thus establishing what I refer to as the renewed baseline, the minimum one should expect from a similar set of circumstances. I have received some wonderful comments and suggestions from many of you, thank you. It has been my pleasure.
Through the following pictures I will attempt to bring you a better understanding of what went into producing the final piece for Mr. Bloch's Super Charged M5. By the way, a photo shoot and supporting article has been scheduled by BMW of UK. They are going to place both Mr. Bloch's Super Charged M5 and the original, my Super Charged Z8 that I converted on the cover of their October issue. I remain confident that the information surrounding the pictures will be both informative and based on fact...... should make for great reading. Might I suggest you get a copy?
Just one of the many parts that had to be produced before the final open window plenum cover could be fabricated.
The first fit of the bezels on one of the two donor carbon fiber covers used through the course of this project.
After the first cuts were made to the donor cover.
The underside securing system.
The R&D'd cover fully assembled and the windows letting the light shine through
Here are a couple pictures of the actual carbon fiber cover used for this process. I share these so you can see that the design and details I have incorporated into the process are much more than simply looks. Generally carbon fiber covers have some compromise when it comes to fit. Typically they can be a bit awkward to install and remove and then there is always the concern for cracking out around the bolt holes. I eliminated these problems by doing the following. First of all within every securing hole there is a fully machined insert bonded in during the process. This is far more than a sleeve; it is actually a fully machined full length stainless insert that has a counter bore indexed to receive a fully machined collared/sleeved washer during the installation of the plenum cover. The first advantage of doing this is the bore within the sleeve was able to be machined slightly larger to allow easy on and off of the plenum cover. Then once the plenum cover has been installed the machined collared/sleeved washers are installed. They by design index the cover to the lower plenum by sliding into the stainless machined insert that was counter bored. Once the OEM acorn nut is installed and the tightening begins the pressure is transfer to the collared/sleeved washer that in turn transfers it to the counter bore lip located within the insert that was bonded into the plenum cover and then finally full equal compression is made across the face of the surrounding rubber seal. There is no pressure transferred to the individual carbon fiber through hole mounting points.......The results are a great fitting cover that will weather the test of time.
Mr. Bloch's beautiful carbon fiber cover now fully committed to the process.
Mr. Bloch's plenum cover fully assembled ready to be cleaned and installed.
Now this is one of the most beautiful photos taken........Mr. Bloch's engine bay before the plenum cover is installed.
Mr. Bloch's motor with the cover in place. Please accept my apologizes for the cover not being highly cleaned and polished however it was 2:00am by the time I took these pictures after a very long process and I was tired.
Now if I have not bored you here is a picture of my Super Charged Z8 before the cover is installed..... As I stated earlier regarding the photo of Mr. Bloch's motor before the cover was installed, this has to be one of the most awesome views of the motor. Everything is able to be seen. You have got to love it.
The plenum cover installed on the motor.
By placing the windows within the plenum cover it allows everybody to see and to better understand what is hidden behind the curtain (so to speak). In the case of the Super Charger conversions the eye candy that was once hidden required one to carry and share photos of the motor with the plenum cover removed (like pictures of your family in your wallet) so that others could truly understand what you were talking about…… as for the OEM eye candy presently hidden …..…..the OEM stacks, snakes as referred to others are pretty cool too. If you are like me, a car nut, and a bit of a motor head then it is all about the mechanical parts as such I park my cars in the garage with the hoods open.
Have fun guys.
