30 May 2023
It's been over 9 months since I posted an update, but there are exciting things afoot for this project. The car has remained mostly untouched since the last update, as several other projects have come and gone in the shop, including the rescue of the E55, which had originally been purchased to donate its engine as a spare for this car!
This past weekend, Donna and I took the V8 Crossfire on a tour of Florida's "Forgotten Coast" which is a strip of beaches running from just east of Panama City, FL to the Big Bend area, where the peninsula curves south. Our love for Crossfires runs strong, but lighthouses are what we enjoy the most, so we set out to see the four remaining lighthouses of the Forgotten Coast, and it just didn't hurt to get a few pics of the Crossfire with them!
The Cape San Blas Light, Port St. Joe, FL
St. George Light, St. George Island, FL
Crooked River Light, Carrabelle, FL
St. Marks Light, St. Marks, FL
The car ran flawlessly during the over 650 miles it was driven. It was a fun trip, and I look forward to making this same trip again in the future. If you are ever looking for a really scenic coastal car trip, the Forgotten Coast offers a lot of gems along the way!
In the coming weeks, my family will head west for wheat harvest as they do every year, but I have to stay behind for work. In those times, I have no set schedules or family duties and this becomes an ideal time to take on the really big car projects. Two years ago during harvest, I pulled a well running V6 out of this car, and put a V8 in. This year, I will be pulling the V8 out again.
It actually runs very well, but there have been some lessons learned about long term reliability of the engine, and I want to tackle some of the heavier preventative maintenance. For instance, it is known that the timing cover seals *will* fail one of these days (M112/M112K has this same issue, BTW). This is a major project that can be accomplished in the car, but, there are other items to also take care of. I will also pull the oil pan to replace the oil pump check valve (lesson learned from the E55), oil pump chain, tensioner and spring. The chain gets loose, and slaps around in the M113K. This is a known issue, and easy to remedy once the timing cover is off. Inspection of the timing chains will happen, and I have replacements on hand, if warrented. While the engine is out I will also replace the rear main seal which has been weeping since I got this setup running, It never has leaked worse than that, but time to take care of it. At the same time, I will be adding a beautiful pair of Needswings headers to the package. Other than small maintenance and cleaning, the last engine item will be the addition of a Killer Chiller setup, and with it moving the battery to the trunk to make space for a water tank (which will be added later).
In the rear of the car, I will be dropping the entire rear subframe. This is to install a modified 2005 SRT6 subframe that will feature later model rear differential housing bushing mount points. This will allow the bolt-in installation of the HAG215 differential, which is a project I have wanted to get done for at least two years. I will also add a Wavetrac to the mix, and the rear end ratio will change from the current 3.07 to 2.65. With the extra torque of the V8, it will be better to just slow that engine down a bit. The driveshaft will be modified with MB V8 4 bolt flanges front and rear, too, as I am concerned about tearing up the three bolt type of flex discs.
There are a few other items I will tackle along the way, and I will detail them here. For now, let's consider this the kick off post for the next round!