1979 SC Chewed a Valve - Total Rebuild

[PeteKz]

Originally Posted by OsoMoore

Found I'd left off the fuel hookup on the back of the fuel distributor.
I think I'm going to dig up one of those "hook everything up" lists for engine re-insertion.

You ain’t the first.

[PeteKz]

Re heat exchangers: since my car is a 1973, with an SC engine, I don't have the electric fan driven heat, just the air from the shroud. Even on very cold days, that provides enough heat to make the cabin tropical. I use the SSI HE’s. I also used hi-temp RTV on the seams of the HE to prevent water and oil from getting in them, and I haven’t had oil smoke or steam on the windshield since. Obviously, it’s best not to have oil or water leaks in the first place, but I don’t live in an ideal world.

Re not firing: most likely your dizzy is 180 degrees out of phase. That occasional misfire almost certainly confirms it. Rotate the engine 360 to the TDC mark, and lift the distributor enough to rotate the rotor 180, then drop the dizzy back down. Make sure the rotor is pointing at the #1 tower on the cap. It’s easy to get the rotor off by one tooth and the engine will still run but have misses at some RPM.

[kmcteer]

I think I would get out the timing light and see where you are. Also, check ground between the engine (heads?) and the body. Couldn't tell if you did the spark test against the engine.

My car took me a while to figure out timing when I got it non-running. The distributor gear clocking and a miswired green wire repair took a bit to figure out.

Keep Going! You are helping me build the courage for a rebuild!

-Kelly

[OsoMoore]

Spun the dizzy and VROOM. Very happy feeling.
Ran 20 min at 2K RPM for cams wear-in, then drained the oil. Oil actually looked very clean at first glance.

Now to re-assemble everything else and try to put some miles on it before it snows tomorrow!

[ToySnakePMC]

CONGRATS! This has been fun to follow along. First start is quite the milestone. Hope you get it on the road before the white stuff falls. Sounds like several states are going to see some heavy snow or whiteout conditions. (Won't tell you that we had 75F here in eastern NC today...) Patrick

[OsoMoore]

The first ride will have to wait - stripped 2 CV joint bolts. They are old and had seen many cycles of on/off.

But the engine is running and I can finally start cleaning up the garage. She'll stay on the jackstands until CV's are done, so much easier to reach this way.

Weather forecast has snow tomorrow, not sure if we'll get a real break-in drive this year. Fingers crossed that it doesn't bring out the salt trucks.

Either way, I'm very happy to have successfully started it up!

[OsoMoore]

Cam break-in, courtesy of my lovely wife. Holding down the pedal for 20 minutes while I checked for issues was just one of the many ways she's supported me on this adventure.

[rwest]

Congratulations!

You have to be thrilled that everything came together. That first start has to rank as one of the most nerve wracking moments that most of us will ever experience.

Mine stared leaking a bunch of oil right away, but luckily I had just overlooked one of the tension oil lines and it wasn’t fully tightened- scary as all get out though.

[PeteKz]

Congrats! It’s been “a long strange trip” for you, but you have picked up valuable experience and lessons learned for “next time,” or for maintaining and troubleshooting.

Go have a German Brew.

[mikedsilva]

nice. I like that sump cover too. Very funky.

[OsoMoore]

Originally Posted by mikedsilva

nice. I like that sump cover too. Very funky.

Thanks, finding one that deep was a godsend, and it is so solid-looking and handsome.

For a real time warp, check out the rebuild threads by Leland Pate, the 2nd owner of my car who rebuilt it 25 years ago: https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/8224-ladies-gentleman-motor-back-car.html

John Walker and some of the other long-time regular Pelicans will probably recall Leland's very active posting habits.

[911 Rod]

Nice!
Glad it worked out.
I'm impressed that you got all this done in the time you did.

[nene]

Sounds real nice!!

[kmcteer]

Amazing! Good Job!

-Kelly

[Henry Schmidt]

Engine sounds great good job.
One heads up to prevent potential disaster.
The engine pad in this picture is problematic. If pieces break off they might find their way into the fan, fan belt or even get forced under the shroud where it could block the oil cooler. Will that happen? who knows but there is a very good possibility.

[OsoMoore]

Originally Posted by Henry Schmidt

Engine sounds great good job.
One heads up to prevent potential disaster.
The engine pad in this picture is problematic. If pieces break off they might find their way into the fan, fan belt or even get forced under the shroud where it could block the oil cooler. Will that happen? who knows but there is a very good possibility.

Thanks Henry, I'll take a closer look. I think it was flipped up in that picture, usually held back by the oil line. If it looks flimsy, I'll trim it back, maybe tape its edge so it can't flake.

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by OsoMoore

Thanks Henry, I'll take a closer look. I think it was flipped up in that picture, usually held back by the oil line. If it looks flimsy, I'll trim it back, maybe tape its edge so it can't flake.

Those sound pads start to deteriorate with time and as the go through enough heat cycles they just fall apart. If it was my car, I would reach back there and yank it out. Your interior noise level will go up but that's better than exploding your new build.

[OsoMoore]

Without room to run her due to snow and salt, I've put the car on rollers and moved it over. Cam break-in is done, tonight I'll have time to add fuel stabilizer and run for 5 min before I shut her down until Spring.
I took some time to tally all my costs. I think this is fairly complete.

Spreadsheet of Rebuild Costs

Most parts came through Joe's Garage in Milwaukee. Joe was my "in person" expert. At the beginning I took a van load of parts to his shop, and spent an hour picking through them with him, identifying what to reuse, refurb, and replace. Most parts were bought through his suppliers, saving me shipping. I did a cost analysis, and was paying within a few percent of "best online" rates for the parts on average. Without his advice, tools, and support, I couldn't have done it, and I great appreciate his ready ear and expertise.

General Notes:
1) Total Parts + Service was 21K. Around $700 on tools/supplies.
2) Hours worked by me was hard to estimate. I had maybe 10 days of 6+ hours straight work, and many mornings or evenings with just an hour or two cleaning or doing a small step. Somewhere between 100 and 200 hours spread across 5 months.
3) I bought a variety of "core" parts mostly via PP forums. Rods, rockers, head, etc were bought used and then went to various specialists to be prepared for reuse.
4) Many Pelicans privately offered parts and tools, big and small, to support the rebuild. The community coming together made this possible.
5) Special thanks to Henry for consistently providing expertise. Also timmy2 for building me a new wiring harness over the weekend so I could finish before freezing temps hit.
6) I have some reuseable parts (and unused sump covers) I'll attempt to resell. Might get a few hundred back, can't be sure right now. Not counting on it.
7) Biggest warning - Everything takes longer than you thought. Multiple times I had a surprise that cost me another weekend - piston chunks in the airbox, multiple wire breaks, stud stripped, extra powdercoat step, etc.
8) You can do this! Be realistic about the costs - it is not cheap. But if you can stay organized and make steady progress, you can do it as an amateur mechanic.

I'll post again in the Spring when we're back on the road! Feel free to drop any questions/thoughts on the rebuild.

[ducatiroger]

Thanks for documenting your process. My 3.0 is still running well but a rebuild isn't too far in the future. Your updates help paint a picture of what someone takes on when going down the rebuild path.

[OsoMoore]

Originally Posted by ducatiroger

Thanks for documenting your process. My 3.0 is still running well but a rebuild isn't too far in the future. Your updates help paint a picture of what someone takes on when going down the rebuild path.

I'm glad to share. Hopefully you nothing as expensive as the pistons or oil pump need replacement. Those parts damaged by the destroyed piston tallied somewhere around $5K-$6K.