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How long did it REALLY take to rebuild your motor diy?
I have been working on mine for over 2 years... not every day, not every weekend. Simply working on it when life allows... it’s taking forever.
I keep seeing threads on here with folks rebuilding a motor and reinstalling in a month... How??? No job? No kids? No wife? There’s ordering parts... usually about dozens of times... Machining work... that’s weeks to months... Getting the right tools, researching... Documenting, taking pictures... For example, testing and balancing the CIS system easily took 2 full weekends. Sure, next time I could do it in a couple hours... but not the first time. And you need to clean the injectors, which means you have to build a contraption to do so. And then it leaks...and then you need more copper washers...and then... The engine tins... have some rust. So sand blast, prime, paint, that’s a day... The blow off valve has rust. So sand blast, vht paint, reseal, new nuts and washers, reinstall... that’s a day... Rebuilding the motor, even with Wayne’s book, takes forever. Mostly due to the immense fear of doing something wrong. You triple/quadruple check. You buy bore gauges, micrometers, etc... Perhaps a carbureted motor is easier, but a turbo seems to take way longer... So realistically, from when you started dropping the motor, to when the car was driveable? How long? And I figure 20% or so never go back together... |
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Between 40 -65 hours.Lack of knowledge breeds fear.Reading posts takes time.Read Neil Harveys take on things.He is there to help and reduce your fear.Ciao Fred
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You started on a Monday and were driving on friday? |
You have to allow time for the heads in the shop, parts to come in, figure what you forgot to order.
I generally quote 4 to 6 weeks. My brothers car was in last year, trucked in from Colorado, top end, case opened inspected bearings, power washed, resealed,reinstalled, driven a couple hundred miles then trucked back to him Total time was about 6 weeks It was an 89, you can look up my post on the build. Search “89 reseal and top end “ Bruce |
It took me exactly one year from engine drop to first start up.
Worked when I could. I have a demanding job, kids in sports, vacations, skiing etc. machine shop took longer than expected. Thought it was going to take 3 months. [emoji2957] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
if money not a problem and parts are in place - yeah a week or so or even less...
in some cases 2 years it`s just for taking things apart and saving money :)) |
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I suspect a year, for a complete newbie, is conservative. I have a well equipped hobbyist shop. More tools than most... there’s still a learning curve... |
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I’m sure the second time is 10x faster... |
about six months . top end job.
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First time pulled engine August 2014.
Full rebuild complete and installed May 2015 Sent out cams, heads, rods and crankshaft for repair and got them all back January 2015. Sent oil pump out too for inspection and replaced gear on intermediate shaft Discovered pistons were no good. Ordered P&C set from EBS Racing and got them March 2015. Started actual rebuild mid March and completed it early May. So two calendar months to completely rebuild the engine. I made time at 2-3 hours at a clip. It just takes some negotiation on time now, on the build, in exchange for very specific efforts on other projects. |
took me a month or so including waiting for things. Between jobs so had the opportunity
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3 months on weekends and many evenings, including getting the heads machined and the cylinders nickasiled. Started on the first try, been running it in for a month since completing the rest of the car. Wayne's book is a definite help to plan forward.
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I pulled the engine/transmission together the last weekend of March and had my first startup in mid October. It took another couple weeks before I worked on the tune and got it driving on the road. This was my first engine rebuild. The only outside work I had was sending out the heads to Craig Garrett to be rebuilt and taking my crankshaft to a local shop for inspection and polishing. I used new rods, new pistons, and a rebored set of cylinders I had bought a few years back, so I had them waiting for when I was ready to assemble. If I remember correctly, I had the full block completely rebuilt by mid June. The design and fabrication of the turbo exhaust and intake is what took forever. Since it was originally a 3.2, I had to make it all from scratch. I definitely lost at least 4-6 weeks over the course of the project due to needing to order parts unexpectedly or things not working as expected during disassembly and reassembly.
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Getting the parts ready ; cylinder heads , ultrasonic cleaning the oil cooler , case work , zinc plating ,
camshafts rocker arms refurbished , P's & C's , carburetors or MFI , etc. takes a lot longer than the actual assembly . |
Man-hour........
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bpu699, The number of hours (40~65) quoted by Fred A. is the total man-hour an experienced person would spend to complete a typical 911 engine rebuild. That is the estimated or calculated time spent to finish the job. That is totally different from the time frame you started the project to completion. Secondly, it also depends on your proficiency. Since we don’t do this job regularly like the pros, it would take us more man-hours than the projected 40~65 man-hour. I made a time-motion study of a couple engine rebuilds I did in the past and accumulated 70 man-hour total on the worksheets over a period of several weeks. Another experiment I did was to determine how long it would take me to assemble a 911 engine using pre-cleaned and ready to install engine parts. All parts were pre-checked and inspected prior to assembly. I did three (3) separate runs in a span of 2 weeks and were able to complete the assembly under 8 man-hours. At a leisurely pace, 12 man-hours is easy. For me, it is not how fast you completed the rebuild but how well you did the job at your own pace. Who cares if you are slower than John Doe and takes longer time to get to the finish line? For me, it is all about enjoyment and satisfaction. Tony |
I just looked up the dates on the pics I took during my last build. Two years.
Then again, I still had a great running motor in my car, so there was no rush. Plus I did EVERYTHING myself. No machine work was required since I started with an SC core. But, I did all the cleaning, assembly, measurements, painting sheet metal, zinc plating misc hardware, and even did my own valve job. Tons more details to attend to as well. Worth the time and effort. You will notice that I used JE pistons, which needed to be checked for fit, CR, deck height, and clearances. I did not do a build thread, you are welcome. But I did document the build, here are a couple of shots. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1578354598.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1578354645.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1578354687.jpg |
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Nice job... I’m doing my own plating, powder coating, etc...too... Very satisfying, yet time consuming... I’m in no rush, have other cars to enjoy... |
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I suspect many folks think they can rebuild a motor, in the real world, in 3-6 months. It’s just unlikely... Life, has a way of intervening... |
And the more custom you get the long it takes on parts lead time. And have a mag case that needs work? 3 months right there...
The disassembly assembly part isn’t the long tail. It’s waiting for custom parts, machine work, plating, painting ,etc... |
The 2.7 in my garage is going on 12 years.
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You are getting input from people who have built 1, built a couple and built a couple thousand. All that matters is you get yours done and are happy with it.
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I'm coming up on 3 years I think. 1 year of it was waiting for the machine shop to get everything done (was originally told 3 months)… and then not getting everything returned to me and having to purchase the 'lost' engine parts.
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my first engine was my 964. Took approx 3 months from start to finish and running. My day job was 6 days a week, 10 hour days. Not much sleeping and every spare hour was spent reading, learning, cleaning, doing.
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mine has been apart for several years. but it's been because of lack of time mostly due to moving into a different house that needed a lot of work. Also this time around a wanted to do the spare no expense do everything you always wanted but couldn't afford build. So I'll save for a while buy some more parts or get some expensive machine work done. but the last rebuild I did a rebuild I took two weeks off work drove it work the day I went back. but I didn't need any machine work and had most of the parts saved in advance.
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Man I feel for the OP I just fired my 930 engine a month and a half ago took 2 1/2 years between work family life MBA deck projects other car repairs Time for bourbon etc.Definitely have to plan ahead with logical milestones so you’re not stuck in the middle of an assembly process that’s where you forget what you did and risk mistakes
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Because I have working car, busy job, kids and other interests, as do so many others here, my build was about 15 months.
The project has slow periods when not much happened and other times when I got lots done in just a few weeks. I was given a recommendation by Competition Engineering that I don't let the mag case sit around too long after the machine work before making it a short block. So I made up the short block within weeks of receiving the case back from machine work. But then it sat, wrapped in plastic, for a ski season. The advantage (disadvantage?) of taking a long time is that I found a well priced set of unused Mod S cams so I could make it with a bit more performance than originally anticipated. I probably wouldn't have spent the extra money if I had been building on a faster schedule. The biggest help to keep the build on a reasonable time line is to enlist the help of a fellow enthusiast. Last time I built an engine, at least 20 years ago, I was able to get Walt Fricke to give me a hand. He was also helpful this time helping me figure out if my cams were indeed what I was told they would be. This time there are a lot more resources to help make things go well, Wayne's book for example, and this forum. But it also means a lot more reading / studying to indulge in. Back in the 90's there was Bruce Anderson's book and other info wasn't so easy to come by. I certainly don't remember so much information about engine sealing, there may not have been as many good products available for the task so it seemed much simpler to follow factory recommendations. The OP stated that he figures 20% never go back together, regarding that I have no doubt that it could be true. |
Well I started this thread, appreciate everyone honestly. My motor is 95% done I just need to do some tiny stuff, electrical connectors, etc. just don’t feel like doing it. It’s cold in Wisconsin...
Rebuilding a motor was very educational, but I wouldn’t do it again. It’s fun the first time. Financially, if you have a good paying job, it’s a financial loss leader if calculate your hours spent... |
Fun thread to read and reminisce about my rebuild last year. Mine went from engine drop to startup in 5 months and while I had a blast doing it and learning lots...I gotta agree, wouldn’t want to do it again with my current schedule. The amount of time spent stressing over it and wasting time in PET trying to find the right part or Belmetric to make my umpteenth order of stupid bolts or racking my brain in the Pelican store trying to double check my order so I wouldn’t miss something forcing me to pay for yet more shipping on some dumb $7 gasket to driving around a dozen parts stores begging for them to find a certain size of petroleum-safe breather hose to playing email tag between tiny vendors in far away time zones to convincing my wife that the last dozen boxes were the last dozen boxes....what a nightmare. Rewarding, but a total nightmare.
The biggest thing I learned was these motors are pretty straightforward to put together once you have everything you need. Problem is for us hobbyists, we never ever ever never have everything we need. Ever. |
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But just think, at all the cars and coffees, you can say you did the work.:D |
I think it took me ~18 months...
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But now dread and doubt creep in... unlike most hobbies :) A small part of me dreads finishing, because then I have to start it... I have seen one too many posts on here about leaks, smoking, drip-drip-drip, no oil pressure, etc...after a rebuild... Did everything I could, triple checked, used the best parts... still... |
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But now when I drive it it's a dream come true. Third quickest at last years auto cross and people are taking selfies by my car at the cars and coffee.:D |
Rebuild, slowly!
Well, I am at 7 years and finally making some progress. Checked and torqued all chain cover "pins" today,http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1580077824.jpg
almost forgot...wish me luck! |
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The actual engine build time 60-70 hours sounds about right. For a first time builder maybe 80-100 hours. http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads...4034_thumb.jpg |
It all depends on your motivation........
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I personally know two medical doctors who are interested in Engine Rebuilding. They could easily issue a check and have their cars done by the professional shops. Yet, they are willing to spend many hours away from their practices and get grease on their hands. Some people are driven and motivated to learn new things in their life. Engine Rebuilding to me is a pastime and some sort of therapy. I recently purchased two (2) complete engines in spite of having another two (2) motors in the garage. So I will have something to tinker in my basement in the coming years. I just turned 77 years old a few days ago. Tony |
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Bo |
'79. 3 months @ 9-5 daily, 5 days a week for engine. Working out of friend's shop---have all Porsche tools, lifts, press, washers, blaster, etc. on hand. Most time goes to inspecting, cleaning, inspecting, measuring, documenting, refinishing parts. Assembly time is next. Least time goes to disassembly. Personal rebuild = no-rush pace.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1581173446.JPG http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1581173729.JPG http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1581173729.JPG . |
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I started over Thanksgiving break and am finishing up now.
Probably 20 total days. First time doing it. |
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