It started with a pop

[AndrewSlater]

I finally sourced the blanking cap for the transmission, the most cost effective way was to import a used one from the States - which was expensive but still half the price of the new replacements I could find from Rosepassion.



This has allowed me to mainly complete the transmission.
The blanking caps were fitted with new o-rings ( nobody seems to sell the o-ring ) so I had to order some after measuring the old one.
With the new o-ring it was a pretty tight fit and needed lubricating aswell as persuasion from my hammer.
I couldn't find a replacement clip, so used new style clips instead.

Whilst working on the transmission I also changed the reverse switch pin, as mine was clearly showing signs of wear. Although it did work, it was an easy change whilst I had everything apart.


Finally my setup had the clutch cable strap missing ( I thought I had fit one when I restored the car but maybe my recollection is wrong).
I bought a new genuine Porsche one and have fitted that, and also have a new clutch cable and outer sheath to tidy things up.

The new clutch release bearing has been fitted and other than adding some transmission oil it's all done!

[AndrewSlater]

So time for an update.

As well as the clutch release bearing the car has gotten a NOS clutch that came with the car and a new pressure plate.





Although the markings on the new pressure plate weren't identical to the old one, I measured it to the old one and couldn't find any mechanical difference ( other than no wear ) - so I fitted it.

The exhaust put up a small battle but I eventually got it fitted with the graphite gaskets on outlet 2 and 4 as supplied by Mike - thanks again



I then spent what seemed like forever fitting all the tinware. No matter having done it before it is still a bit of a jigsaw puzzle but all back together.
Extra time was spent on fitting the carburettors to try to ensure I have no air leaks going forwards.

So the engine finally came together, and was treated to new pulley halves and a pukka genuine Porsche fanbelt.



Now all mated back to the gearbox.


And filled with transmission fluid.


Now this job just keeps on growing.

Having decided to fit a new clutch cable as well as a new outer, on inspection I noticed that the rear throttle rod bush had started to perish.
As I expected others to be in a similar state I decided to remove the seats, and then the gear lever and handbrake to investigate fully.



Turns out the other two were totally AWOL, which might explain the less than smooth accelerator action.
I removed the entire accelerator rod in order to give it a clean and straighten out a couple of slight bends. At the points where it passed through the bushes the shaft had started to wear slightly ( rod on metal bracket ), so have caught that at a good time.

So new and expensive bushes on order and then spent the afternoon cleaning out all the rubbish and dirt from the tunnel, ready for a reinstall.

I'm slowly running out of distrations that will stop the engine from going back in - I hope!
Although part of me is thinking if I don't put it back in there is zero chance of it going bang and spoiling my day!

[Timo]

Brilliant work Andrew, all these extra little jobs will pay off once it’s all finished and on the road again, devil is in the detail as always

[AndrewSlater]

Spot on - the devil is always in the detail.

Whilst the seats are out, I'm going to take the opportunity to better soundproof the cabin.
The 912 only has carpet on the metal floor and no soundproofing under the parcel shelf - unlike my 911 when I restored that.
So time to replicate the job on the 912.

Whilst I'm here the plan is to bitumen pad the area and top it off with a layer of felt - hopefully that will quieten things down a little.
I have to say I don't think you could engineer a better drum than the parcel shelf - so I must be able to improve that.

One of the springs on my passenger seat has also snapped on the position lever so have had to order a new one from ReplicaParts.

Also whilst here I took the opportunity to straighten out the dent in the tunnel floor below the rear tunnel access, where the previous owner had clearly jacked the car.
I see this dent on many cars and always think it looks a bit nasty and should be removed.
The last time tried to remove it my engine/gearbox was fitted providing little room in the tunnel to access the dent.
With the gearbox out ( and a bigger hammer this time ) after a lot of strategic bashing it's pretty much back to the original shape ( result! ).

Finally my accelerator rod bushings arrived - so spent ages finessing all the bent tab mounts so that the rod goes through nice and straight and smooth.
To make sure it lasts another 60 years I lubricated each point with some lithium grease - hopefully I will have an ultra smooth accelerator.

Also fitted my new clutch cable and treat it to a new clevis fork and clip ( as they are pretty inexpensive ).



Again slowly running out of excuses not to put the engine back in - must find another easy win whilst I'm here.

[AndrewSlater]

Have finally finished the additional soundproofing.

Parcel shelf fitted with bitumen pad with a second layer over the central area that 'drummed' so badly.
Then a top layer of felt before refitting the trim.





Same treatment for the floors.


Just awaiting my new springs before refitting the seats.

Ran out of excuses for putting the engine in so decided to get on with it.
Worst job was reconnecting the heater control lines which always seem to fight all the way.

After filling the engine with oil it was time to get some oil pressure and get it started!

[neilbardsley]

What is the pipe running over the bar towards the rear of the car? Fuel?

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[Nine One One]

Its the equaliser / pre heat pipe between the two carbs



https://www.912bbs.org/forum/attachment ... jpg.54225/

[robs912]

Looking great Andrew! You've done a great job.
Have you run it yet?
Cheers
Rob

[AndrewSlater]

Apologies for the delay in responding - as usual life gets in the way.

To answer Neils question, yes the fuel line passes the voltage regulator, goes through the new filter, and then loops around through a primer bulb and then back across the engine bar to the fuel pump.
This is the same arrangement I had previously, I've simply changed the clamping method of the fuel pipe to include more soft rubber and cable ties.

I have a priming bulb in the circuit as when I first got the car back on the road, if I left it for two weeks or so it was touch and go whether the mechanical fuel pump would prime the float chambers in the Solex carbs before the battery went flat. I had several times whereby I was taking the car out from a weeks weeks of inactivity only to not get the old girl started and had to change plans and recharge the battery. The priming bulb works well just give it a few soft squeezes until the pressure firms up and the car pretty much starts every time.

As for Ian - he too is correct the pipe to the right is the pre-heat pipe between the two carbs. Annoyingly I got the engine in and forgot to connect it at the top as I was fitting the engine. So I had to take the union back off and faff around to get it all back together. I also dropped one of the clips behind the engine which was fun to retrieve ( you can easily see where hours of effort are lost ).

And to answer Robs question the damn thing didn't want to start when it was all back in.

I'd primed the oil pressure which took a little longer than I had expected ( the problem is I don't fully know the oil capacity of the engine now it has the full flow oil mod and it is still on axle stands so the engine is not level ) - so maybe needed a bit more oil.

When I first reconnected the electrics and cranked it, it cranked well but there was zero sign of it firing.
Rather than keep going I decided to consider what could be wrong.

I could smell fuel and I had a spark at the plug so strated to think it was more fundamental than that.
I had two theories.
First maybe I had not meshed the camshaft and the crank together on the correct markings ( I was 100% sure I had ) - but best not to think of that scenario as there was no quick fix.
Second maybe I had fit the distributor drive in the wrong orientation ( again I was 100% sure I had got it right ) - but something had to be wrong.


I went with the second scenario and decided to swap the leads on the distributor 180 degrees out - cranked the old girl up and she tried to fire a few times - Bugger!

The next step was to drop the valve covers so that I could check where the distributor was pointing when I had cylinder 1 on compression at TDC.
I learned a useful fact then when both push rods are off load you can spin them freely with your fingers.

I set the pulley to indicate TDC when the distributor was pointing at cylinder 1 position, and tried the push rods on cylinder one. One is slack the other not - damn!
Tried cylinder 3 and both push rods nice and slack - Double damn.

So there was the proof that the distributor drive gear was indeed 180 degrees out.

I removed the distributor and the drive was correctly aligned perpendicular to the engine but which orientation.
I doubled checked a few sources on line and the Meastro and I had it wrong.

Now at this point I'm pretty annoyed with myself as this is exactly the same mistake I made when I rebuilt the 911 engine and it wouldn't start - distributor 180 degrees out.
Surely only a really incompetent person would make the same mistake twice - swiftly moving on.

Whilst I had the timing covers off I also decided to set them back to the recommended settings rather than the very wide sides the Maestro had suggested after a rebuild.
I'd thought long and hard about this but decided that the slack settings might contribute to some poor running and it was one less change on the engine to put them back to where I originally had them.

Now removing the distributor drive isn't that simple with the engine in place as you need to remove the fuel pump as it prevents the distributor drive from coming out.
Now removing the fuel pump isn't that simple as you can't get at the bottom nut with the tinware in place.
So out with some of the tinware, out with the fuel pump, and pull the distributor drive out with a magnetic helper - all good.

Dropped the drive back in, making sure not to disturb the washer perilously loose in the third piece, and put it all back together.
An hour or so later and it was all back together - hurrah!

Refit the distributor and check the position - what the .... it's still pointing at cylinder 3.
I can't believe I've removed the drive, thought it all through very slowly and clearly and fit it back exactly as it was.
Surely only a really, really incompetent person would make this mistake - swiftly moving on.

I am clearly mentally challenged when it comes to visualising the distributor - so this time tried not to over think it.

Another hour later ( I'm getting quicker at this ) and it is all refitted, cylinder 1 is on compression TDC and the distributor vaguely points towards the cylinder 1 orientation.

OK time to fire her up - only she didn't this time.
Starting to doubt my sanity I static timed the distributor and she ran.
Five minutes later and I had double checked the dwell and set the advance to 30 degrees at 3000 rpm and she ran much better.
I also got my carb synchroniser out and put it in one of the throats only for it to drop out the 6 inches and break.
So I didn't get to double check the carb balance so refit the air cleaners.

So there you go she runs - at last.

I've refitted the tailpipe and she appears to run well ( still on axle stands ), and definitely sounds a bit more purposeful and urgent than she used to ( possibly the higher CR? maybe the exhaust ?? )

The next step is to await some new driveshaft bolts and washers, and then I can get the car back onto it's wheels.
I'll probably need to play around with the clutch adjustment and I also need to repair and refit the seats and then she should be ready for a test drive ( assuming it ever stops raining and the boggy ground around my workshop starts to dry out - might be a long wait ).

The plan is to take the car out and carefully bed the engine in for the first 50 miles or so and then change the oil - fingers crossed she gets that far!

I will keep you posted.

[robs912]

well done!

Don't feel too bad about the distributor drive issue, I seem to remember doing the same thing on a VW engine I built many years ago and it took me ages to work out what I had done wrong!

I didn't really find a definite answer as many people have different ideas on this, but I changed the oil and filters after 50 miles to be on the safe side and to check there wasn't any crap/swarf etc in the oil.

Rob

[neilbardsley]

Another way to balance the carbs according to Jack Staggs, 616 us guru, is to remove the plugs from the distributor cap one at a time and note the rpm drop.

I use plastic pliers for blocking brakes lines. Otherwise you can get an interesting shock

http://www.356carburetorrescue.com/jackstaggs.html

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[Timo]

Blimey, sounds like you’ve had a bit of a game sorting that dissy drive orientation.

Well done on finally sorting it.

I like the idea of fitting a fuel priming bulb, my car has always suffered from the exact same issue, I usually end up disconnecting the pipe to the fuel pump and sucking the fuel through to the filter before attempting to start it!

[Nine One One]

Well done Andrew you persevered and got their in the end. Being over cautious and trying to get everything just perfect, sometimes causes these problems, I think we have all been there, and then question our sanity when we know something should be all correct. You should see a big improvement now, and the satisfaction it's all fully rebuilt, with an external oil filter as well.

[neilbardsley]

Blimey, sounds like you’ve had a bit of a game sorting that dissy drive orientation.

Well done on finally sorting it.

I like the idea of fitting a fuel priming bulb, my car has always suffered from the exact same issue, I usually end up disconnecting the pipe to the fuel pump and sucking the fuel through to the filter before attempting to start it!

I think our cars not starting instantly is a blessing in disguise. Allows oil to circulate in the engine before it starts

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[Timo]

Agreed Neil but after half an hour cranking it gets a little tiresome!