BMW m12 2-liter

[marchsv]

I was wondering if anyone out there had experience with running one of these engines. Approximate engine life rebuild costs and who build these.

Thank you
Tom

[Phil Creighton]

We have run these engines for a customer in both a March F2 and a Gp6 Sports Car for the last few years. Still have the Sports Car but the F2 went back to the UK.
We use Chuck Cornelison at VDS engines in Indy and have had great results.
The engines are a bit temperamental and do not survive over-revs well and there are a number of do's and don't s with them that you really would expect with a 2 liter engine from the 70's putting out 300+hp
With the lack of real spares go to someone that has experience with the type to avoid the learning errors. Not cheap though.
PM or E mail me and I can fill you in on our experiences and let you talk to the mechanic that has looked after these cars.
Phil

[tstrong]

I was wondering if anyone out there had experience with running one of these engines. Approximate engine life rebuild costs and who build these.

Thank you
Tom

On the west coast Dave Vegher at Veloce motors (Petaluma CA) is the the expert with these engines if he is still working.

[blockheater]

I was wondering if anyone out there had experience with running one of these engines. Approximate engine life rebuild costs and who build these.

Thank you
Tom

Sorry this is an odd question but I tried to message you and your in box is full.Do you happen to still have the bertils valve cover for sale?Or any other Vw gonfast parts?

[johnhafkenschiel]

I was wondering if anyone out there had experience with running one of these engines. Approximate engine life rebuild costs and who build these.

Thank you
Tom

Can you post a pic of the exhaust side of the engine showing the exhaust ports or the header if it is in the car?

[marchsv]

Car is currently disabled and has a mock up block in it so no head or header. Just trying to lean the ins and out before a power choice is made.

Thanks to all Apex people for the answers.

[Fmracerbob]

Ran a 298 Lola for a number of years with the M12. A more robust motor than the stretched out Ford based motors. Lots of smooth low rev performance when the FI was set up correctly,The biggest issue is some of the unique parts.

Original blocks are in short supply, later ones can be used with modifications. The real weak spot we ran into was the hubs for the cam gears. These have a rubber strip bonded to the inner hub mount and outer ring that the gear is pressed onto. They allow for more "Oscillation" in timing than one would expect.

There are at least two different diameters of gear and they are matched to the block height to give the correct gear lash. Last I checked some years ago there are only NOS parts from the 80's and were $1500 each. Think about it, a 35+ year old rubber part !

Our builder tried to reverse engineer the hubs but didn't fully realize how much oscillation there is and led to bent valves. In the end we bit the bullet bought the parts and not longer after sold the car.

[Rick Iverson]

Check this out.

[nomis]

I've got a couple heads, cam boxes, cam covers and housing etc.....
if you are looking for parts

[march718]

How good are the M12 parts
price?

[steve48]

Nomis,
What do you have and what condition?
I'm looking to build up a 'show' M12 for the shop and to use to fabricate headers while race engines are being serviced.
I have two Vegher M12/7's, one coming off dyno this week and one in process of rebuild by Forrest Teran who has stepped into the void created when Dave V retired.

Steve C
steve48 'at' pacbell.net

[tlracer]

Slightly o/t but that picture is a thing of mechanical beauty!

[marchsv]

I’m just starting to outline this project it is a Toj 206 2l sports racer that has no chassis tag, log books and most of the car in boxes. The car came with for different trans adapters and a bare bmw block to hold it together. The car came from England sometime in the mid 80s. It was included in a spairs package for a Lola sports racer. I got it as being represented as a Bobsy from a building that was being torn down. That should give everyone an idea that it’s a mess. I pretty sure it is 206-005, limited research shows that the car was privately raced in Europe when new and never finished its first eight races at that time.

Thank you all for the information I will post my progress as I continue to figure this out.
Tom

[marchsv]

This 206-001.

[LeeR]

Would any of you BMW guys be interested in a used 5-stage Heidegger pump? Based on what I am seeing on the yellow sportsracer above, it may be overkill for a 4-cyl, but maybe not... Asking $750 USD to your door in US or Canada (while we can still ship across the border). PM me for details if interested.

Thanks,
Lee

[Rick Iverson]

Here