Upgrades for Occasional Driver

[dennisv]

I've been digesting the How to Rebuild Your Porsche 911 Engine. Wayne has quite a long list of recommended upgrades (i.e. expensive when added up). I'm sure they all have merit, but expect some have more value than others.

I'm curious which ones are considered the most worthwhile in terms of reliability and longevity. We're rebuilding a 914-6 / 911T engine. The car will be driven occasionally in a spirited manner, but I don't see us racing or tracking it. So we're less concerned with performance gains than we are with reliability.

Appreciate hearing from the group, particularly ones with experience implementing, paying for, and living with these options.

• Oil pump 76-83 ($$$)
• Oil bypass mod ($$)
• Carrera chain tensioner kit ($$$)
• Engine air baffles 77-89 ($)
• Aluminum valve covers ($$)
• Case savers ($$)
• Camshaft oil line reducer ($)
• Piston oil squirters ($$)
• Shuffle pins ($$)
• External oil cooler ($$$)

[dennisv]

I should have included External Oil Cooler in the poll, but I can't find a way to edit it.

[Nditiz1]

I don't know enough about the oil pump from a later car, but if I were to rebuild a mag case I would just ensure align bore and case savers. I think a lot of these things can be done after the engine is built and more so help in the cooling/pressure department.

Cooling mods -
Oil bypass mod
Engine air baffles
External oil cooler

Carrera chain tensioner kit is not really needed. I feel like the keeper retainers are just as effective at preventing your timing from getting messed up in the event of a tensioner failure.

Aluminum valve covers are nice, but if the cam tower and cover are both planed flat then it shouldn't be an issue. the 2.4 that is running in my 914-6 has 1 turbo valve cover and 1 mag. The only reason I changed the 1 side to the later is because I found a leak, later to discover that this was cause by a pinched shop towel. Im pretty sure I could have put the mag cover back on with the gasket plus silicone bead and it would have been fine.

The oil line reducer I think is becoming the norm, the part number for the older is now superseded by the reducer. It helps to get more oil to the crank which is never a bad thing.

I'm not familiar with the piston squirter one. If it adds more squirters I guess that is a plus. That one will be done during the rebuild stage.

Shuffle pins, don't know about this one either. If it makes the mag case less prone to warpage then probably a good thing.

Again not a pro like the other real engine builders on here, just some thoughts on what I have seen/gone through

[Cloggie]

Oil cooler is definitely a good idea....generally think of these engines as oil cooled and as such anything that keeps the internals cooler is a good idea...hence the squirters, upgraded pump, oil bypass to reduce foaming are very good ideas

The cam tensioners are a bit misleading as the end result of Porsche's long work in that area was that the real need was the wider bushing on the tensioner arm, so that is also an adder....after that, well, take your pick.

With an upgraded pump, you have more oil around and so you get caught with the balance between too much oil to the cam towers/too much in crankcase/foaming etc....hence the smaller cam tower restrictors. I split the difference (but I have a 3.4 with Turbo pump) and drilled out the restrictor to halfway between the old one and new one...yeah, I am a compromiser..

I agree about the aluminium valve covers. You can remedy most mag covers with a pane of glass, some sandpaper and a bit of WD 40....just sand 'em flat.

Mag cases are something I have avoided.....gave up on them when my 2.7 went walkabout and by the time I did case savers/line bore/shuffle pins and all sorts of other stuff, it was about the same price to buy a good aluminium case and it has been great since.

Up to to you, but the extra 5 kg or so for an aluminium case is not a big deal....go on a diet if the weight worries you!!!

D.

[safe]

Oilcooler for sure. Otherwise a 3.2 carrera engine would be a big upgrade (already has all the mods in your list) in reliability, driveability and performance. Obviously if its an original 914-6, keep the original engine in it!