Korman BMW Engine Rebuilding Program
On the road or track, we can put you ahead. Since 1965 Korman has built successful BMW engines and cars for street, on-track club events, rallies, and racing. Our customers have won races in Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Bolivia, San Salvador, Guatemala, Columbia, Argentina, Chile, Canada, and throughout the United States. Join the winners.
Stock & Performance Rebuilding
Customers from around the world ship their engines to Korman for rebuilding. Below are some of the reasons why.
Expertise
More than 55 years of BMW street, rally, autocross, and racing engine experience goes into each Korman engine. Our R&D on the track results in improvements that add reliability on the street as well.
Reliability
Quality parts, precision machining, exact blueprinting, and expert craftsmanship are our key ingredients for reliability. Where we add extra power, we build in additional strength. Our customers offer the best testimony as to the reliability of our engines, just ask one!
Value
Our Engine Plus program provides you with additional parts which are usually needed at the time of rebuild. Our inclusion of these parts is meant to save you time and inconvenience when reinstalling your engine. You will find our stock rebuild pricing comparable to that of BMW reman units even with the inclusion of Engine Plus parts. Additionally, we clean and reinstall external engine parts (intake and exhaust manifolds, injectors, wiring harnesses, pulleys, brackets, ignition system, coolant hoses, air hoses, vacuum hoses, thermostat housings, etc.) saving you even more time and money. This can represent more than 8 hours of additional labor savings over purchasing a bare long block.
Craftsmanship
Our engines are hand-assembled one at a time by dedicated, experienced technicians. The same technician who builds our full race engines is responsible for the assembly of our most modest stock rebuild, and he takes the same pride in each one. All aluminum external engine components (valve covers, intakes, front engine covers, etc.) are glass peened providing a better than new appearance, and all hardware and brackets are zinc plated with a gold-tone finish which also helps prevent rust and corrosion. Blocks are finished in Korman blue or black if you prefer the original BMW color. Your Korman engine will be almost as attractive on the outside as it is on the inside!
Warranty
Korman engines come with a 2-year/24,000-mile warranty. This warranty does not extend to engines and parts used in competition in on-track events. Also excluded are failures due to abuse, neglect, or normal wear items. Full warranty terms are provided on the back of each invoice.
Added Value
If you should choose to part with your BMW in the future you’ll enjoy the respect and recognition “Engine built by Korman” brings to your vehicle.
Machine Work
Boring and Honing with Torque Plates
Cylinder walls are slightly distorted by the tension of head bolts. Boring and honing with the cylinder head off will produce a block with round bores when un-assembled, but slightly out of round when assembled. In serious race engine preparation solid torque plates are bolted onto the block at factory torque specs to simulate the cylinder head bolt distortion. Boring and honing is performed with the torque plate installed to produce a bore that will be more perfectly round when the cylinder head is installed. This produces better ring sealing and longer ring life. All Korman engines, from stock to full race, are machined using a torque plate.
Valves & Valve Seats
Valve seat grinders in common use are not appropriate for BMW cylinder heads. BMW valve seats are so hard that they spoil the surface of the grinding stones causing rough and imprecise seat surfaces. We use special valve seat equipment which cuts rather than grinds the seats. Very smooth and precisely machined seats are obtained. We use three or more angles to improve flow on high performance heads. Valves are also “cut” in a similar manner, providing two completely new mating surfaces.
Blueprinting
We carefully check clearances and tolerances throughout each engine to ensure that all will be within BMW factory specifications, or in certain high-performance engines, within our tested, proven specs for these applications. The strength and durability of BMW engines comes from the excellence of their design, from the exactness that BMW demands in the size tolerances of the parts used, the precision of their machining processes, and diligence in measuring and assembling to very precise specs. This extraordinary attention to detail is what distinguishes BMW engines. It is why they were able to win a Grand Prix Formula One Championship with a production block. It is the secret of their success in their Formula 2 and Group A M3 engines. This is the reason BMW engines produce more horsepower per cubic inch than most other production engines and why you can drive them harder and longer. Our engine-building success comes from our thorough understanding of the technical requirements of BMW engines and our diligence in applying this expertise in our inspection, machining, and assembly of your engine.
“Engine Plus” Program
From our many years of experience building BMW engines, we offer our “Engine Plus” program. Our quoted engine prices represent much more than just the essential internal parts that other businesses quote. We also include the external parts which are usually in need of replacement. Typically, these tune-up and maintenance parts represent over $300.00 of our package prices. All of our rebuilds include the NEW parts listed below where applicable.
“Engine Plus” Program
- Pistons, rings, pins, and clips
- Rocker Shafts
- Rocker Arms
- Valve Guides
- Main Bearings
- Rod Bearings
- Timing Chain or Belt
- Slide Rail
- Tension Rail
- Upper and lower gasket sets
- Oil pump
- Oil pump chain
- Water pump
- Thermostat
- Fuel pump*
- Freeze plugs
- Gaskets and seals
- Ignition wire set
- Oil + fuel filters
- Spark plugs
- Distributor cap and rotor
- Points, condenser
- Alternator V-Belt
- Cylinder head bolts
- Connecting Rod bolts
- Main bearing cap bolts
*included only on stock rebuilds of carbureted engines. Fuel injection pumps are not included.
In the event that you have just replaced one or more of the above items which are included in your rebuild and prefer to re-use the part, it will be deducted from your invoice. In engines subject to extreme wear it may be necessary to replace some of the following additional parts. The cost of these parts is not included in our engine prices unless specifically noted:
- Valves, valve springs, locks, eccentrics
- Camshaft and crankshaft gears
- Fuel injection components
- Piston pin bushings
- Tappet shims
- Crankshaft
- Cylinder Head
- Block
- Valve cover
- Flywheel pulley
- Distributor (included on many high-performance rebuilds)
- Throttle linkage
- Valve guides
- Front and rear covers
- Connecting Rods