The Canary Files: 69' 911T Engine rebuild with video
 

Well It's been a long time coming and I was beginning to think I'd never type these words but I've started the engine rebuild!!

I have a thread going on The Porsche 911 Technical Forum for the whole car project but I thought I'd start a separate thread here so I can get more granular on just the engine rebuild section as I need all the help I can get!

I have all the parts and the engine case has been sitting in a box for way too long so I decided to stop thinking about it and just take the leap. I've got the first stage done, the short block complete. Following Wayne's book and the Haynes manual it went a little like this:

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The case from Ollies machine shop.

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Align bored back to standard

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Oil bypass modification by Jay at Jay's precision machine shop

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Right side of the case mounted on the engine stand.

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Time certs for the head studs and transmission mounts.

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Crankshaft and rods all honed, polished with new bushings etc.

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New 4 rib oil pump from Ebay. Like brand new for only $200! The old magnesium pump was showing signs of wear.

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Crankshaft mounted to the flywheel ready for the rod install.

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With new bearings I use some Plastigage and the old rod nuts and bolts to check clearance.

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All is good between 0.038mm and 0.05mm

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New ARP rod bolts and the stretch gauge

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Measuring the stretch is the way to go (0.009 - 0.0095 is the value) I also checked the torque value too.

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In an old case the intermediate shaft rode on the surface of the case, Ollies machined it for a standard bearing.

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Bearings all lubed up

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Rods are on the crankshaft and the journals are lubed up. New nose bearing too.

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The crank is back in the case with no drama

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New SC oil pump with intermediate shaft and new timing chains all ready to go.

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Installed in the case with a standard bearing.

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Loctite 574 spread on all the mating surfaces.

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Through bolts with o-rings torqued down to 25.8 ft lbs

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Installed the new head studs with some Loctite 271

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They all came out to be between 134mm - 135mm

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Checking the deck

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Checking the head studs

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We have a completed short block with flywheel, timing chain ramps and crank pulley etc

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All very exciting!

Next is working out the correct clearance from the new high compression pistons to the heads? What is the best way to measure that?

Cheers!

-Kav.

Awesome Kav! I'm about 2 months behind you so you're getting me revved up!

Go for it Keith!!

When I took my engine apart all the timing chain ramps were brown, is that correct for a 1969 911T motor? Or should some be the black type?

Cheers

-Kav.

Cool vid, excited to go through this myself.

Left me wondering though... why didn't you make the assembly tools as detailed in the book to keep the rods and chain pointed in the right direction for case assembly? Surely it can't be a cost thing since it should be under $10 in materials and you went out and got a stretch gauge.

I love seeing a plan coming together! Nice work.

whatcha doin with the cams etc? gonna make it breath a bit more?

I just didn't think I needed them. A cable tie on the timing chain and the rods have quite a bit of assembly lube giving them so friction to stay upright. As you can see in the video I really didn't have any issues not using them.

Cheers!

-Kav

There is very little I can do with this little 911T. It only came from the factory with 8.5:1 compression etc. I'm following Wayne's suggestion in his book for this motor and:

Boring out the cylinders to 81mm
81mm 911S Pistons with an 9.5:1 compression ratio (I will get to explaining that in the next video)
E cams.
SSI heat exchangers
M&K 2 in 2 out exhaust

I'm not counting HP numbers, all I know is it will have a few more ponies than before and I'm fine with that.

Cheers.

-Kav

Excellent video!

Nice work.

Kav, nice work!

I recommend returning the Porsche flywheel bolts in favor of the ARP. These are not single-use and a lot cheaper.

Building out the top end
 

Well I got busy with work again and spent the summer working in London. It was great to be able to see my extended family every weekend, eat wonderfully crap British food and drink many pints of warm beer but terrible for building Porsche engines in California!

It's time to get back on track and get this thing done!

We left off with the short block complete, it's time to build out the top end! I made a little video of the process.

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Everything is laid out on my clean tray ready to build out the top end of the engine.

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I bought a set of JE 81mm pistons with a compression ratio of 9.5:1. The cylinders were bored and honed to match.

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Firstly I will gap the piston rings in the cylinders to 0.014" for the first ring & 0.016" for the second according to the spec sheet that came with the pistons.

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I bought a piston ring filler from Amazon.

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Measuring and setting the gap.

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Oil ring and other rings get installed.

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And then installed in their corresponding cylinders with a piston ring compressor ahd a light tap.

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Time to measure the deck height, the distance from the piston to the top of the head. I'm looking for 1.25mm - 1.5mm. I install a 1mm barrel shim to start.

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Blobs of clay are placed on top of the piston (No circlips are installed yet on the wrist pins). I have no idea where to but these things!

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We'll install the heads on cylinders 1 and 4 and crank the engine over to crush the clay. We'll take it all apart and measure the thickness.

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I got a reading of 2.2mm, so according to a bit of math I should use the 0.25mm barrel gasket and I will be in the zone.

Time for another go! and the blobs on top were not crushed so we'll do away with those! I got a reading inbetween 1.25 & 1.5mm, we are all good!

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I bought the Stomski Racing Circlip injection tool.

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Takes a bit of getting used to but I install all the circlips on the right side of the pistons along with the 0.25mm barrel gasket. I use some Curl T on the base gaskets.

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Installing the wrist pin, light tap. The engine is covered in cling wrap, not that I don't trust Mr Stomski.

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Ready to inject!

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Boom! snaps right in! Bloody fantastic tool! I called Mr Stomski and told him!

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All the pistons and cylinders installed.

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The heads are torqued down.

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Checking the heads are level to eachother, and they are.

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With that we are done with the top end!! Moving on!

Lily and I are going to Rennsport and would love to say hi and meet other Pelican's as we wander around and watch the races so please give us a wave!

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Hopefully see you there!!

Cheers!

-Kav.

One of the best engine build threads I've seen. Looking forward to part 3.

If I see this correctly you are using original T spec cast iron cylinders with forged pistons. If this is the case you need to make sure you have enough clearance between piston and the cast iron cylinders. I have used forged Mahle (S spec) pistons in original Mahle (T spec) cylinders with fatal results. Only then to learn that the original T spec pistons are casted aluminium with a metal insert to reduce expansion to match the expansion of the cast iron cylinders.
In your post you mention that the cylinders have been reworked so hopefully you have added some clearance to compensate for the difference in expansion.
Just a warning, hopefully you were aware. The build looks very impressive!

THIS will be my goto video and thread when it's time for my rebuild.... just amazingly well done sir.

Yes indeed, I thought this may come up! I was trying to gloss over it as it's seems like a controversial subject that I really didn't want to get into!

I talked at length with Jay the machinist who bored the cylinders to match the pistons. Jay is extremely experienced and knowledgeable about air cooled engines. He likes the combination for a forged 2618 aluminum piston with a cast iron cylinder. As he explained the 2618 alloy JE use is a low expansion and hard wearing. That combined with a cast iron cylinder gives you more dimensional stability and a more durable combination but you need to add in the correct clearance for the different rates of expansion. My cylinders have 0.003" of clearance, measured from the set JE of pistons installed. The Mahle piston uses a different alloy that may have different expansion qualities.

It was also way cheaper to buy a set of JE pistons (which I got a deal on) and bore the cast iron cylinder to match. We'll see how we go I suppose but I feel confident in Jay's work and knowledge.

Cheers!

-Kav.

I really enjoyed your videos Kav! My engine rebuild has been sidelined a bit by a move in house and wife with a new job - so watching you put yours back together was some great vicarious living!

Cheers,
Keith

Great build thread & great video. Best luck can't wait for pt 3.

This is awesome!!! Great thread and very educational. Looking forward to part 3!

Outstanding! Love the vids and detailed pics.

MattR

Cam housings and sprocket alignment
 

More work on the engine rebuild, cam housings, camshafts, timing chain housings and the sprocket alignment. I had a couple of issues, firstly I'm not very skilled with the crows foot wrench for the sprocket retaining nut. I really struggled to get it to 110ft-lbs multiple times without the wrench slipping off, so I ordered the Stomski racing cam nut tool. I also didn't realize the cam sprocket shims were 0.5mm and not the 0.25mm as described in Waynes book but all worked out and I'm ready to tackle the cam timing next. Wish me luck on that one!

I made a little video of the process.

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Clean cam housings, cam shafts with the E-cam grind, oil return tubes, o-rings and all the hardware laid out on my clean tray.

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New oil return tubes installed, when I ordered them they were yellow zinc and when they arrived .... they weren't. I loosened the head stud nuts to give myself some wiggle room for the cam housings.

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Installed the cam housings dry, no Loctite 574 yet as I need to measure for the valve to head clearance. It all needs to come apart again.

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Torqued the cam housing nuts first then the head stud nuts before trying the cam shafts in their housings, both spun freely (thank God!)

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Everything I need laid out on my clean tray, parts, gaskets, 0-rings and the tools to do the job.

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Installed the timing chain housing with a dry gasket and the chain ramp with the short end facing in.

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Installed the camshaft end plate with paper gasket and o-ring, large washer bevel side in and 3 shims. The woodruff key give me some grief even though I test fit it on the bench. Sprocket flange over the camshaft.

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I got confused about the thickness of the shims, the book says 0.25mm but they are 0.5mm. I started with 3, went to 4 and then went back to 3 on the right side!

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Tightening the retaining nut to 110ft-lbs multiple times as I swapped the shims was very difficult with my novice skill levels using the crows foot wrench, I've ordered the Stomski Racing cam nut tool for the next step.

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Measuring the sprocket alignment from my straight edge. The camera tripods were a set of helping hands and worked out great. The measurement on the left side was bang on with 3 shims, the right was close enough with 3 shims also.

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Cheers!

-Kav.

Very nice! Thank you for taking the time to document your build.

dho

You will like the Stomski tool for tightening and loosening the cam nut ! Much easier to use.

On the nuts inside the timing boxes (holding the box to the case and the nut that holds the tensioner), I have been counseled to use standard nuts with wave washers as opposed to the fiberlock nuts. I noticed that the fiberlock was not getting well down over the threads, thus the question of their being effective. The answer was go back with wave washers and standard nuts.

I'm sure you will get differing opinions...

You can see the issue here..


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Changed over as described....


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Great advice! Thanks! I will do the same and go back to regular nuts with wave washers!


Cheers!

-Kav.

I just wanted to thank you for making the effort of video taping your process.
I am sure it slows things down, and takes a lot of time to edit.
There are a lot of people out here who always wanted to get near an engine rebuild, but never got the chance.
For most of us, this is as close as we'll ever get.
Thanks.

Torque Adapter Wrench
 

What is the brand of the Torque Adapter that is shown in the video @ 8:23?

Great vids
 

Kav, thanks so much for taking the care and time to post your videos. Very professional and helpful. I hope to follow in your for steps one day with my non-driving ‘73 911T targa project! Look forward to seeing you behind the wheel of your beautiful 911 in 2019!

Your videos were a massive help in my build. The videos have been one step ahead of me the whole way along which has been awesome!
I've just caught up and am finalising cam timing and piston / head clearance checks.
Looking forward to your next update! :)

Cam Timing and Piston to Valve Clearance
 

This update is a long time in coming.

Unfortunately we lost our beloved Father Peter to lung cancer in January this year. He was diagnosed with stage four cancer while I was working in England over the summer of 2018. Needless to say the news was devastating and we spent as much time possible together over that summer. He wasn't a car guy but he loved following the progress of The Canary and probably contributed to most if not all of the YouTube views. I got the call to get on a plane and come home days after New Year and we lost him two weeks later. He was my true hero and someone I try to live up to everyday. Working on The Canary has been a great distraction but updating the posts and editing the videos is something I've found hard to get back to, so this is my attempt at that bridge.

Here we are at The Black Horse pub car barn together over that summer near my parents house.

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Next task on the engine rebuild was probably the task I was most nervous about, timing the cams. Not sure why but it felt like a very difficult and complicated procedure. It turned out to be less complicated but more difficult / frustrating. I made a video about the experience.

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Setting up for the Cam Timing. The clamps on the idler arms need to be extremely tight! I should of invested in some mechanical chain tensioners.

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Installing RSR rocker shaft seals to help prevent oil leaks from the cam housing.

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I installed the rockers for intakes 1 & 4 and set the valve clearance to be 0.1mm

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The engine crank is at Z1, top dead center. I'm using some blue painters tape to help me easily see the Z1 mark against the case halves.

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Both left and right cams with the keyway / dot facing up as a starting point. I install the dowel pin the corresponding sprocket hole and tighten the 46mm nut to 110ft lbs.

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I invested (I say that but it was only $25) in a digital dial indicator. I set it up with the Z block on intake #1.

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After much frustration I finally end up with the left side at the desired 3.15mm for my E cams.

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Right side is at 3.16mm

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Once the timing was set I could depress the valves 1.5mm on the intake and 2mm on the exhaust and check my valve to piston clearance by rotating the engine 720 degrees slowly checking for any interference, all was good. After I was completely satisfied I tore the whole thing down ready to add my sealants and do this all again!

Cheers!

-Kav.

Kav, looks great!

Quick question, when you measured the cam alignment, looks like you used a straight edge against the case... I see other tools that align it against the intermediate shaft directly.

When you align against the case, how do you know the case is truly flat? The outside of the case isn't a machined surface. On my case for example, the two halves where they meet are clearly not flat at the joint as I can catch a fingernail on it...

Also, I have heard some folks say that the copper gasket between the case and cylinders are one time use. If you torque the head down, and then take it off, and put it back...do you now need new copper gaskets?

Bo

Kav,

That is heart wrenching news - I'm very sorry for your loss. My father was a car guy and taught me everything I know about turning wrenches. I lost him 12 years ago and truly miss working on things in the garage with him (even the arguments). I recently moved to an old farm with a shed that's at least 75 years old - the wood is all oil stained, and it just smells like an old shop. I know he would have loved it.

I was excited this morning when I fired up YouTube while getting ready for the day and saw that you had posted another video. My engine rebuild has been stalled for the past year as we packed up and moved, but as spring sets in here (and the risk of frost bite sorting parts in the shop has subsided), I have been getting back into organizing and cleaning parts, and putting together several big parts orders - the next installment of your progress is not only educational, but motivational. Thanks for getting back to posting updates. This, plus attending Luft this weekend, will be a big boost!

Cheers,
Keith

Well done getting the video out Kav .. top shelf as usual. Wondered what had happened as you were quite prodigious last year. I thoroughly enjoy them, very educational. I think I might have to invest in one of Stomskis good designs too ..

Sorry for you loss, I’m sure your Dad was a great bloke ..

Glad to see you're back. So sorry for your loss.

I just watched your video of the cam timing. Unless you did this for practice, you did a huge amount of un necessary work.


Piston to valve clearance checks. I think I have this written up on our web site about doing this.


This can be done when you first have the case bottom together. Fit up one cylinder with one piston and one head. No piston clips required at this stage. You will need a degree wheel fitted and before you fit the one head, TDC the degree wheel with your dial indictor directly on the piston.

Now fit the one head with the valves loose in the head. No springs. Hold the valves in place with a rubber band or similar. Don't worry about them falling , they will stop at the piston. Exactly what you are measuring.

Turn the engine until you have 20° BTDC. With the dial indicator on the tip of the valve, zero the indictor with the valve up against the valve seat. Now drop it slowly until it touches the piston. Record this number. Repeat this every 5 or 10° until you go past TDC and are at 20° ATDC. Do the same for the Exhaust valve. Now call your cam supplier and ask them for the valve lift at those same crank degrees at the timing you wish to use. They will know the Intake and Exhaust centerlines at the lift at TDC you may be wanting. They will also be able to tell you the valve lifts at those crank degrees. You subtract the numbers they tell you from what you measured and this is the clearance at each degree mark you used. If its too close, change the cam timing to suit or machine the pockets/change pistons.

This may seem long winded, but I promise you its far quicker than doing a full assembly, then taking it apart again. Once you have done the math on paper and established you have clearance, you build up the engine one time.

As for the cam timing way you did it, another way is to place the cams where the rocker is on the backside of the lobe, or I guess with the cams you are using, where the dots are up and down. Fit your rocker arm and do the lash as you did. Now turn the engine until you are approx. 90° BTDC. The more valve lift at TDC may require this position to be further from TDC. Put the pin into any hole and turn the cam until the dial indictor reads the lift you want. The engine wants to be BTDC. Pull the pin and slowly turn the engine until you are just before TDC. Find a hole close and insert the pin. Now turn the engine until you feel you have taken all of the play out of the pin in the hole. If you are not at TDC, try another hole. If you go past TDC, do the same but turn the engine back past TDC and then turn the engine clockwise making sure you take all of the chain slack out. This way, you are up against the pin in the hole and the cam is where you want it.

Another simple tip when turning the engine, use a long breaker bar. It makes the job a lot easier.

Hope this makes sense. Cam timing is the easiest part of building these engines and these engines have to be one of the easiest to time. Too much is made of this and has put unneeded fear into many. Just have to make the process easier and eliminate repeating, trying to get the number you want.

nh

Hey Bo.

I measured off the from of the case as it was nice and flat. You can get the Stomski racing SR008 sprocket alignment tool.

I didn't take the copper gaskets off again, just the cam housing.

Cheers.

-Kav

Thanks Keith. Good luck!!

-Kav.

Thanks Rosco.

-Kav.