8000 rpm/300 bhp 3.2 rebuild

[911hillclimber]

The Skoda estate, the whole of the UK will rattle inside the boot....

[911hillclimber]

With all the space I need time for the engine to come out and see how things are down the exhaust ports.

Bit of a fiddle, but so easy compared to a 911 extraction, just keep on getting CV grease everywhere....
Remembered to get the light weight flywheel off before roping up:



Removed the one header and that came off well, inverted the engine to get to the other and the dry sump scavenge pipe off, thought I had the flood of oil from every hole sussed, but not quite.
However, the 6 exhaust port are just perfect, this is a great little engine!







A hole like this is one BIG opportunity..
Was originally to have a V8 but bought the 911 engine instead on the day.

[911hillclimber]

Bob Watson told me it takes a week to strip, clean and inspect a 911 air cooled, doubt he is far wrong.

The engine is down to the point where the barrels will fall off the pistons if I let them.
Everything came off to plan with one small exception and that was getting the cam housings off the heads. The large contact area of the sealent stops the parts parting with a tap of a plastic head hammer, so resorted to a good heating up with my hot air gun. Takes about 5 mins of overall warming before the sealant is softening, and a gentle lever with a good screwdriver saw them both ease off the heads.

Each head removed, but I was not expecting the difference in torque on the sleeve nuts, some 'loose' and some not so loose, not as tight as I expected. Studs all ok, so maybe a new digital torque wrench for me this Xmas!

The bores are to die for, the cams are exceptional, all 1986 parts, but the heads/pistons are quite carbon coated, far more than I expected, bit too rich maybe.

Pressure is on to get the heads 'clean' so they can go to the machinist in Warrington to be twin plugged.

Anyone know of a good quick way to get all the old orange sealant off?





Organised!!

[Hannibales]

I'll be interested to see what you think of Headshop (UK) Ltd, at some point in the not too distant future I'll need some work doing myself.

They share the same premises as Jonny Holland of Unit 11 Porsche who does work on my 944 and though I've only had a quick look in the back rooms I was suitably impressed.

[911hillclimber]

He impressed me in several ways
Firstly he very quickly called me after my email to him, everyone else simply did not reply at all in any way.
Secondly, he spoke in respectful engineering terms. I am an old school mech engineer and was on the same wave length.
He talked costs, understood I did actually know what I needed and what I could do to reduce costs but assist his work too. I could almost smell the cutting oils down the phone.

Price was right, not inflated to my mind, and he was more than happy for me to deliver the heads and collect. For that he reduced his price!

[911hillclimber]

Spent 3 hours removing all the hard sealant off the heads and cam housings in prep for taking them to Headshop in Warrington for machining.
Tedious and even had the tedious radio on to ease the boredom.

I think the Loctite solvent on it's way will remove te much smaller bits left and they are ready to soak overnight in neat brake cleaner to remove the last of the carbon residue in the ports.
The cam covers have a casting number of early 1988, so this engine s 1988, always thought it was 86.

Will order the Kent Cams and spring kit tomorrow, big outlay as ever.

Getting bothered about WEVO/Twin Spark and the gateshift order I have with them.
2 broken shipping promises and I'm not alone according to Impact Bumpers....

[911hillclimber]

Must make one of these!
https://youtu.be/4LXwbsS0_YY

[911hillclimber]

Lots to update on:

Cams and springs arrived today, 56 hours after ordering them.
WEVO Shiftgate arrives tomorrow after a game, Government made more money than anyone else involved.

Split the crank cases.

Made a DIY quality splitter like the one sold by Stromski Racing (sorry to them). Cost me £8.75 and a few hours on my trusty 1939 lathe.
Undid a zillion case bolts and screw, even those that hide from you (3).

Assembled the DIY splitter and turned the socket set....

Pop!

It only worked perfectly. Amazingly easy, so worth the faff of making one (Stromski is a lovely design and $370)

No effort to open the cases at all, ridiculously easy.

Crank out, mains are perfect, pump feels super smooth, laygear looks ace.
Drips of oil all over the floor, but hoping to get a 'charity payment' parts washer this weekend from a DDK'r.

So much cleaning to do, but then a BIG wait for an uncertain delivery from the USA at Xmas.....

Pictures here:

DIY splitter parts. The stud is M20 to scale it.



All in place on #2 conrod, set at BDC.

[AndrewSlater]

Well done Graham, that's an excellent job!
You might want to slow down or else you'll have it all finished before you know it - and where would the fun be in that

Intrigued by the splitter - Can I ask, if the plate is threaded, what is the nut above it used for?

All the best
Andrew

[911hillclimber]

I hope not to have to split too many more cases in my lifetime, I can see one more coming soon.
The plate is not threaded as I don't have an M20 tap, so there is a loose nut under the plate held stationary by the adjustable spanner. That nut on the top of the M20 studding is welded on, and when turned by the socket jacks the plate away from the crank, hence the separation.

Very satisfying to home make the thing and have it work!
Thanks to sromski for the idea and I think someone somewhere recently telling me about the tool.

Wish those rods and Pistons would turn up.

Heads to the machinist next week and the box up to Mike same day.

[RobFrost]

My 1988 engine cam covers have a 964 part number - make of that what you will. I read somewhere they often phased in parts from future cars on those earlier production models.

I've been waiting over 2 months for an aluminium rear panel from Design911. They say manufacturers are having issues with supply of their inputs - due to the global supply problem. I just keep checking for updates and being super-polite to them.

Nice job with the splitter. Engine looks in great condition.

[Cortina]

Well done Graham, that's an excellent job!
You might want to slow down or else you'll have it all finished before you know it - and where would the fun be in that

Intrigued by the splitter - Can I ask, if the plate is threaded, what is the nut above it used for?

All the best
Andrew

And to answer your question (which was "missed") - nut above plate is doing nothing ... the one welded at the top is the one doing work ... he's just testing you !!

[911hillclimber]

Ah!
Sorry, THAT nut...

It was on there incase I needed to stabilise the stud under a pressure I was not sure of. If the stud started tilting, the nut screwed down to the top of the plate would act as a stabiliser. Remember, this was a one-off-cheap-fast rip-off of the neat Stromski product.

Bit of over 'engineering' on my part.
That top nut wa not needed in the end. The case unzipped so easy it was almost a joke. I expected a FAR greater battle as nothing I attempt is easy.

[AndrewSlater]

Thanks for the clarification - couldn't understand what the nut above the plate was doing.

Again - great work.

[neilbardsley]

So you are reusing the crank? From the photo I can't see why you wouldn't but I don't have X ray vision

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