1979 Porsche 911 Targa locked Engine

[Zetroc23]

911SC Targa sat for over 2 years. The car only has 43k miles, body looks great, needs some interior work but we are trying to see if it’s worth repairing.
We finally got it started but it constantly blew white smoke. We only found 1 mechanic near us in Atlanta that even works on a 1979 911 Porsche and was told that the engine locked and now we are looking for a used or rebuilt engine and mechanic that will not cost a arm and a leg in labor to do the work. Any suggestions on a reputable mechanic close to Georgia to rebuild the engine and/or where to get another engine?

[Zuffenwerker]

cogs cogs is in georgia. "MR. COGBURN" is a porsche gearbox expert. He sells a lot of used parts and rebuilds a lot of transmissions. I would reach out to him. He can probably take care of you or point you in the best direction.

Daniel Journey

[prschmn]

If the engine was running albeit smoking and had oil pressure the odds on it seizing up are damn slim. I'd say more diagnosis is in order.

[Henry Schmidt]

I agree that second opinions can render different results.
If you can get it out and crate it, shipping is pretty reasonable. Don't limit your choices to proximity over quality.

[reclino]

Cogs cogs has some pretty negitive feedback on this forum. Many many very upset customers. I think he may be a bad choice for a novice customer.
If it was running,.and is now "locked up". I would suspect a CIS problem. Cylinder full of fuel from sticky CIS fuel injection would do this.
Remove all the spark plugs, remove power from the CDI ignition box, and see if engine will turn over.
Your mechanic is likely not the correct guy to diagnose this.

[Daves911L]

A muffler full of unburned gasoline will produce amazing amounts of white smoke for a very very long time. The post above regarding CIS trouble seems like a reasonable place to start. As does questioning notion that it is "locked up" when it was previously running. You may have filled that muffler with gas with your efforts to start it. Hopefully your mechanic didn't get it hydro-locked (cylinder filled with gasoline) and damage something. No harm will be done by pulling the sparkplugs and seeing it it can be readily turned by hand (wrench on the crank pulley, or in 5th gear and (gently) pushed forward.

Having had these cars for over 40 years now, I find the engines to be remarkably simple and easy to care for. But they are are also considerably different from almost every other engine that the average mechanic will be familiar with. It may be worth your while to step back, think, read, and test a few things before plunging in. Realize that there is nothing magic or sacred here, you just need to know which does what and why. There are a number of well known and respected porsche experts that frequent this list, at least one of which has already chimed in.

[SCadaddle]

Could be as simple as the new owner, or unwitting new mechanic, prior to attempting to initially start the car, filled the oil tank up to the mark on the dipstick? We all know what that would do when it comes to smoke!

[Cairo94507]

Do not be afraid to ship that engine; limiting your choice to what shop may be near you is not a good plan. Find a personally recommended shop from people who have taken their cars there and were very satisfied. You don't want to gamble with the kind of money it takes to refresh/rebuild one of these engines.

[Dpmulvan]

Originally Posted by Zetroc23

911SC Targa sat for over 2 years. The car only has 43k miles, body looks great, needs some interior work but we are trying to see if it’s worth repairing.
We finally got it started but it constantly blew white smoke. We only found 1 mechanic near us in Atlanta that even works on a 1979 911 Porsche and was told that the engine locked and now we are looking for a used or rebuilt engine and mechanic that will not cost a arm and a leg in labor to do the work. Any suggestions on a reputable mechanic close to Georgia to rebuild the engine and/or where to get another engine?

Maybe find a fellow pelican member near you, I’m sure there are some down in Georgia.
Try your local Porsche chapter. Going into this situation without knowledge or help can get your wallet drained really quick.

[stownsen914]

Edit - I missed the bit about it being locked. Definitely more diagnosis is in order. Like does it turn over by hand?

Two things:
1. I like the advice above to double check the oil level. This must be done while the engine is warm and running. It's a common mistake to check it cold, decide it's low, and add oil. This will overfill it and absolutely cause smoking.
2. Even if you didn't do the above, it's also common for an engine that has been sitting to have oil pool in the cylinders or even make its way to the muffler as suggested above. Either of these will result in a big time oil fog for some time until the oil burns off. Especially the muffler could take a while.

Confirm the above two things and report back.

[safe]

A friend helped a guy with an engine that was locked up after winter storage this spring.

One cylinder was completely full of oil, he had done (what we think) an oil change without draining the sump....

So a locked up engine can be something easy, try removing the spark plugs.

[slammin]

Hi contact Ed Pimm PIMM plain city Ohio Epr Restorations number is 1-614-562-1199 he’s built many engines and transmissions he also knows Joe from Cogs cogs his specialty is restoration of early Porsches 356 s and up Slammin

[fintstone]

Easy to lock these up (when trying to start after sitting) as reclino noted above. Often just burping the CIS will solve the problem (starting after sitting) as the accumulator will have long been empty and there will be a bunch of cranking/compression without fuel.

or...sell me the car cheap and I will bring a trailer. Watch out for wrenches/shops that make the offer to take it off your hands.

Good luck.

[Flat6pac]

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