Richard's 3.2L total rebuild

[RichHawk]

The engine is in. Everything bolted together really smoothly. The Engine cradle I made (2x6, scraps of 2x4, and a 1 x4) worked really well at keeping the engine and transmission stable.

But I could just kick myself. I ended up with a fuel leak from one of the compression fittings around the 22 year old hose. I tried to cheap out and re-use the $500 "J" hose. Visually the hoses looked ok, but then must have dried out and shrunk a bit in the 9 months of not being in service.

So what would have been an easy fix when the intake was apart is now a big pain now that it's all assembled, and installed.

Of course if I had known that these hoses were prone to leaking I would have replaced them earlier. Of course it only took 20 seconds of searching to figure out that the 3.2L hoses need replaced. Thanks again Pelican for having the answers.

Kicking myself for not checking on it earlier. So I get to disassemble a bunch to get the both the J hose and the very back hose between the pressure regulators.

Almost there. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm almost there..

Richard

[RichHawk]

Oh on a positive note: I found I have a factory LSD in the G50 transmission!
I suspected that I did when turning the cv shaft flanges that they turned together in the same direction. I then researched it a bit and found the original option sticker still on the underside of the front hood. sure enough P220 was there for the LSD.
Richard

[RichHawk]

Pics of the engine in. (Now just to change out those damnable fuel lines. (Why oh why didn't I do that earlier)



I think I'll be backdating the heater blower. now just to find a left side duct plate.
And if that AC doesn't blow cold I'll be mighty upset for keeping it in the car.

Oh, and lastly Special Porsche tool creation number six: The engine and transmission hoist cradle. The main 2x6 supports both the engine and the g50 transmission. The cross beam merely provides tipping support to keep the engine balanced by allowing the Heat exchangers and Cat something to touch if the engine starts to tip one way or the other. The scraps of 2x4 and 2x6 are strategically oriented to support the 3.2L on the cases.
The whole thing fit like a glove, and the 3.2 never once tipped or swayed. As you can see I strapped the cradle to the flat surface of the jack. Plus I used a second floor jack under the tail of the transmission just to assist getting the insertion angle right.



Richard

[snbush67]

Hey Richard...your almost there!

Shane

[gearheadgreg]

So.... Close!!! Just go carbed - screw the injection. Heh heh. Kidding.

Kickass on the LSD!

[RichHawk]

Low Cost 3.2L Fuel line replacement

[RichHawk]

IT LIVES!!!!

She fired right up, I ran her for 20 minutes at 2000RMP for the cam break in. She gave minimal amounts of smoke for the first 5 minutes as the rings seated in.

I changed out the oil, fixed the stuck door handle (so the driver's door would latch!),
and took her on her first drive. The engine sounds awesomely loud with the dual outlet huge 3" openings muffler, and a hollowed out Cat.
No clattering valve noise so I must have gotten that part right.

never having owned a 911 before, I wasn't expecting the "gear drive" noise But it makes sense. The intermediate shaft is gear driven, and sounds just like the hot rod American muscle cars of old when you replaced the timing chain with a set of "gear drive" timing components. Or my old 1986 Honda VFR (Gear driven cams).

Power is respectable for a brand new motor, and for the stock Chip. (Steve Wong, Paging Steve Wong, please pick up the white courtesy phone...)

Another few heat cycles and all the paint will have cured, and stop smelling.

There are of course a lot of other things to do. Suspension comes next to mind.

She is a wollowy beast ( in comparison to my gokart like Spec Miata suspension daily driver)
First is to get the rear sway bar mounts fixed. and at least mount the stock rear sway back up. But soon soon it shall be Stiffer Torsion bars, new Shocks and struts, and bigger Sways.

Woo HOO!!!
Richard


And the first time she's seen the sun in 9 months!

[RichHawk]

Pic of the other side in the rain. (Dan this one is for you!)

[snbush67]

Way to go! Looks great. It would be great to hear it.

[NoLift911]

Nice build Richard...question on the wiring harness in one of your pics. It looks like you are retaining the blower fan in the engine for heat wanted to know in the pic below if the one end equals the other (I removed mine and want to remove all of the wiring but with everything together in the car it is tough to trace...in other words if I cut one and end pull on the other will it come out clean?

[RichHawk]

nope not the same wire.

I would not go chopping wiring harnesses. The weight savings are minimal. the decluttering is minimal, and you might want to restore it in the future.

Also note that removing the engine compartment blower will keep the footwell blowers from working due to a circuit in the relay box.
read all of this...
Why you should backdate your heat on a 3.2

[NoLift911]

Thanks Richard -

Footwell blowers?? What are they??

[gearheadgreg]

Awesome job Rich! Yep - a little suspension massaging and shes done. For now. Heh.

I LOVE the sound. Love it.

[RichHawk]

..imitating Steve Martin as the Jerk...

The Steve Wong Chip is here! The Steve Wong chip is here!

I sprung for the Custom chip from Steve, because the cams put me out of range of his standard chips, plus he accounted for my actual 9.9:1 CR and the 91 octane. ( I can't reliably find 93 octane around here)

He did a great job and a quick ship so that magically in less than a week, I have a new chip to put into my DME tonight.

Dyno run is scheduled for Saturday so I can get tweaks on the AFR if needed.

Plus the custom chip big money means that If I find a good set of SSI or headers that he will change the mapping to match future mods.

That's it, I can never sell this engine now. It's crossed the threshold of justifiable, and now is just plain fun. (You can justify something if you can convince your wife with a straight face that you might be able to re-coup at least a substantial percentage of the costs if you were required to sell it.)

But FUN, well that doesn't need to be justified.

slightly delusional,

[RichHawk]

SMOOTTTHHHHHHEE...

Like Butta'

So my Butt Dyno didn't really notice much of a top end difference with the Steve Wong chip added, but it sure did notice the fatter midrange. And not just fatter, but usable and linear. When cruising at one speed I find I'm upshifting one higher gear than I did before because I can tool along at 2000 RPM and below without surging. The stock chip just couldn't do that. it couldn't account for the mods. The cams put it out of range.
Is it faster? Probably. Given that you can use the midrange now, and are not waiting on the revs to climb above 4K for something to happen.

Oh, and it hasn't stalled yet returning to idle.
And the idle quality is much less lumpy. It lost a touch of the "big cam" sound at idle. That's ok. The trade off is that the exhaust noise is lessened and I don't feel quite as conspicuous. Especially on downshifts and engine braking. The exhaust isn't popping like it did with the stock chip.

I checked the full throttle operation and the pedal is able to open the throttle 100%, but I have not checked the operation of the Full Throttle switch to ensure the DME is seeing WFO yet, nor reset the mixture or idle.
I gotta get all of that set before Saturday, for the actual Dyno run.


Ya know what the best thing is?
I don't have to mess with re-jetting. EVER!

Richard

[RD911T]

Rich,

Curious how your dyno numbers came out. Couldn't find them posted anywhere.

Tom

[RichHawk]

Fresh Motor with less than 200 miles on it, so there's probably some to be had when it all loosens up.

3.2L
new JE Pistons
DC20 Cams set to 2mm overlap
9.9 actual CR

Stock intake, filter
Stock Heat exchangers,
Hollowed out Cat, and Sport Muffler,
Steve Wong Custom Chip to match.

[RD911T]

Thanks for posting this build. Great fun to read! Well Done! Enjoy!!

Tom

[snbush67]

Rich,

Is the 201.74 with drivetrain loss at 15% and you have 230hp?

Shane

[RichHawk]

Originally Posted by snbush67

Rich,

Is the 201.74 with drivetrain loss at 15% and you have 230hp?

Shane

Yep. All that work to just get to the European spec 230Hp, but I hope I have a better midrange. And it actually feels stronger now (800 miles in) than it did at 200 miles in. maybe finally getting broken in to it's stride. Or possibly owner wishful thinking

I figure I probable have another 10 ft lb of torque all throughout the midrange by advancing the cams a bit but ultimately my bragging Hp is limited by the rev limiter, which is defined by the stock valve springs.

Better exhaust and cleaner flowing intake would probably bump me an additional 10Hp-20Hp But I'm at the point of diminished returns now. All extra money is going into the suspension and body next.

Richard