Engine Rebuild DIY Project: 1976 Carrera 3.0

[jsveb]

Originally Posted by Carrera 3.0

Thanks Walt!

Everything has been boxed up and safely shipped to Ollie's. My ego got a nice stroke from both Ollie's and WebCams as they commented on how very rare/special this motor is (A+ customer service - you get what you pay for). They even had to admit that they have no idea whether s grind cams will cause clearance issues with my pistons. Apparently the solution is to just do it and see what happens. Ollie's estimates 8-12 weeks for rebuilding the oil pump and heads, and machining the cases, crank, cams, etc. The waiting game begins! If only I could get my hands on the right car to drop this beast into... I'd have something to fiddle around with for the next few months.

For any DIYers out there thinking about tackling their first engine, I'll note that packing and shipping a case/crank with broken studs is a major PITA. This is especially true if you're like me and don't have lots of packing materials lying around or convenient Fedex pickups rolling up every day. I ended up spending around $90 in boxes and packing material, and just under $300 in freight with FedEx Ground, insured. These are costs to keep in mind.

I believe I told you this in post 12

Regarding packaging, pu foam in a can. Spray it into bags. They will then form a protective foam block which can easily be separated since the bags are independent from Each other. Somebody here on pelican taught me that trick.
Cost: a couple of garage bags and a can of PU foam.

[Carrera 3.0]

Jsveb - I'm keenly aware of how special the motor is. I spent several years looking for one and then pulled the trigger the moment I found this one across the country. It's just nice to hear my opinion of the engine validated by the pros at those shops.

Great idea on the spray foam! Somebody was thinking when they came up with that.

[Carrera 3.0]

Got my estimate from Ollie's (ouch!), and looking forward to seeing the parts again in 6-8 weeks. The crank is straight, and the case is healthy, by and large. The halves have had some minimal friction between them, so I am taking extra precaution by having the case shuffle pinned.

I have decided to go with Canyon Components Steel Head Studs. Once you add in OEM hardware, price is about the same as some of the popular race engine options, but my research shows that these steel studs will fare better during street use.

In order to ensure proper installation, I'm having the studs shipped directly from our host to Ollie's.

[Carrera 3.0]

Well the waiting game was ended when I received everything back from Ollie's a few weeks ago, and I am doing some late game second guessing on how to proceed. While cleaning up my cylinders, I have made the unfortunate discovery that some corrosion caused by sitting has removed the Nikasil in a couple of spots on my cylinders. I am shopping new cylinders and have a couple questions for the wise:

Are all 95mm MAHLE piston & cylinder sets the same? In other words, can I use a set from/designed for a different 911 (3.2 Carrera or SC)?

Are there any other piston/cylinder options out there worth considering? For me, they would need to be superior for my street application or substantially cheaper to justify the switch.

What about going with a 2.8 short stroke? I understand that this would involve a 2.0/2.2 66mm stroke crank, but are there other mods that would be necessary? I have read all of the threads I can find on this subject and can't find clarity. While I understand that twin plugs, larger valves, and a custom mfi setup can squeak out extra ponies, I'm not really interested in taking this engine to that extreme. I guess I am asking whether the move to a 2.8SS is worthwhile as long as other components remain constant. Any opinions on this would be much appreciated.

[DSPTurtle]

Lets see some pics of the pretty parts back from the vendors!

[Josh D]

You could have your existing cylinders re-nikisil coated and reuse your existing pistons (if in spec). That's your least expensive option.

[jsveb]

You could have your existing cylinders re-nikisil coated and reuse your existing pistons (if in spec). That's your least expensive option.

And, if they are the original 3.0 that's certainly what I would do.

[Carrera 3.0]

They are the original 3.0, but are the original 3.0 cylinders any different from other 95mm MAHLE cylinders?

[Carrera 3.0]

Any recommendations on vendors that do Nikasil re-coating? Words of wisdom about this process? My mechanic recommended against this option.

[Lapkritis]

Plated Cylinder Services | Plating Honing Repair | Piston Coating | Big Bore Kits | Motorcycles | Snowmobiles | Dirt Bikes | Rebuild | Replace | U.S. Chrome Corporation of Wisconsin Cylinder Repair Company

[Josh D]

Originally Posted by Lapkritis

Plated Cylinder Services | Plating Honing Repair | Piston Coating | Big Bore Kits | Motorcycles | Snowmobiles | Dirt Bikes | Rebuild | Replace | U.S. Chrome Corporation of Wisconsin Cylinder Repair Company

^ or EBS. I believe EBS has them in stock and take yours in as cores.

[Carrera 3.0]

Thanks for the pointers on recoating the cylinders - does anyone have actual experience with either of these companies? I have been advised by some that it is impossible to get a recoated cylinder as perfectly honed/round as a new or factory cylinder. Is this true?

Also, I have started a second thread for the 2.8ss discussion. You can find it here: Carrera 3.0 to 2.8 Short Stroke Questions

[Walt Fricke]

I was quite satisfied with the Alusil 95s I had US Chrome machine and Nikasil plate. They have plenty of experience, and I've not heard a negative word (not that I hear everything). I don't know who EBS uses, but this work requires precision machining as well as plating to keep the bore where it needs to be.

I don't think the original cylinders are any different from any other Nikasil 95s. No magic to them.

[Lapkritis]

US Chrome knows what they're doing. A 2-stroke (holes in the side of the bore intentionally) with nikasil and high rpm is more challenging an environment than the Porsche flat 6. They've been doing this a long time.

[Carrera 3.0]

Well I still have not made a decision on pistons/cylinders, though I am leaning toward having the cylinders re-plated and moving to 9:1 JE pistons. More input on that decision is certainly still welcome.

In the meantime, the last of my parts are back, and I have finally gotten to start on reassembly! I have rods on my crank again! Still a long way to go, but it feels good to be moving in the right direction.

[vascott01]

Many Congrats!!!! I know the feeling...I just did my crank the other day....Such a great feeling. Make sure to bag that sucker and put it away until the case assembly. Then clean it again...

BTW just noticed you are in Indianapolis... Long time Hoosier from the North side. Lived near Keystone at the crossing and wife's family is downtown... Actually will be in town the 3rd weekend of December....

Cheers

[Carrera 3.0]

Thanks Scott!

Great to see some Indy connections here on Pelican. PM me with any dates you might be available if you would like - I'll let you know if I will have anything worthwhile going on with the engine. I am near downtown.

Hoping to tackle the bottom end and mating case halves next weekend...

[Bill Verburg]

Cis pistons have a very different dome and valve clearance from MFI/carb domes

Cis 95mm 8.5


Max Mortitz/Mahle 98mm 9.3


RSR 95mm 10.3 Mahle


If using S cams the latter 2 have the clearance the first doesn't

[Carrera 3.0]

Bill - Great info, Thank You!!! WebCams talked me into a 964 grind on the cams to be safer on clearance. Would I still have an issue with stock pistons?

I finally opened up the box with my case and it looks great except that one of the new studs was apparently bent in transport. I'll be reaching out to Ollie's and/or UPS tomorrow to address the issue.

In the meantime, I started putting the bottom end together today, and intended to finish until I realized that I am missing one of the smallest parts in the entire build - the dowel that fits into the case and #8 nose bearing. I made the poor assumption that this would come with the new bearing and/or the case hardware package. Is there any chance I am missing it somewhere?

I will hopefully get my hands on a new dowel soon and get the bottom end sealed up later this week. I will follow up with pictures when it is done!

[mikedsilva]

What has happened to this engine rebuild?