A series of unfortunate events

[wdfifteen]

Last November I decided to tackle my Speedster's intermittent turn signal and weak brake light problem. It turned out to be corrosion on the wiring harness connections between the turn signal switch and the main harness, but that's beside the point. The fix was easy, but I had disconnected the coil wire so I could have the ignition switch on for an extended time while I diagnosed the problem.
With the brake lights and turn signals working, I tried firing up the car for a drive. It wouldn't start. I tried to pull a spark plug to see if it was wet or firing and the Helicoil in the head came out with it. At about the time I got the plug+helicoil out I noticed the coil wire was off. I smacked myself on that flat spot on my forehead, but it was too late by then.

In desperation I tried a Helicoil Save-A-Thread but I wasn't real happy with the way the plug felt when I screwed it in. http://www.amazon.com/Heli-Coil-R532614L-M14-Sav-A-Thread-Long/dp/B000BOJ79K/ref=pd_sim_263_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0VTDPC67FCTAPY6K3SB8

By this time I had been unable to drive the car for a month facing having to yank the engine out because of a single corroded wire under the dashboard. I was pissed off to say the least, but I took the engine out, took the head off, and found this:



Save-A Thread is supposed to work great, but I used it according to the instructions and it left all this metal in the cylinder.

I sent the head to CE Engineering in December and Walter welded the spark plug hole and got the head back to me, looking beautiful, in a few weeks.



By this time winter had set in and there was no way I was going to work on a cylinder head when it was 20 degrees outside. It's not the kind of work you can do with mittens on. Over the course of the winter I had to fix a snow blower and I don't know what else and the carefully arranged valve springs and shims got scrambled.

So I couldn't just put the head together and put it on, I had to borrow a spring pressure gauge and set up the head from scratch. It's been a while since I've done this and what with beer breaks and happy hours it took me a whole weekend to install four valves.



When I got the rocker assembly back on and set the valve lash it was somewhat gratifying to find the clearances were pretty close to what they were before I took the whole thing apart.

While putting the sheet metal back on I broke the oil temperature sender. A new one from out host is $196. I'm searching for an alternative. (anyone got a used 6 volt VDO oil temp sender?)

But now the car runs. I took it for a drive last weekend. It will still do 100 mph and it is a hoot to drive. It sits at the front of the garage now, right behind the door, ready to go. But geeze, it has cost me 8 months and almost $800 to fix a corroded connection in the brake lights.

[masraum]

But based on that picture alone, it's worth it.

[MBAtarga]

Based on the car content in the garage - 1st world problem?

[HardDrive]

Worth it. And yes, first world problem. Bono will not be taking up your cause.

[pitargue]

Seems like a nice problem to have. :-)

[onewhippedpuppy]

And I'm sure you were thinking, "why do I mess with old cars", right up until you took it for a drive.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Worth it. And yes, first world problem. Bono will not be taking up your cause.

.
Where I come from, we call it "a problem of abundance."

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

Worth it. And yes, first world problem. Bono will not be taking up your cause.

Weep for me.

[Tobra]

Man, that head looks beautiful.

Better check out the rest of the wiring, just saying.

[fastfredracing]

Down the rabbit hole . It happens on customer cars also. Nice looking stable!

[asphaltgambler]

^^^^^^^^^Honestly........ sounds like a typical day in the garage on any of my projects^^^^

[tabs]

And the moral of this story is....................Take it to your mechanic in the first place....it would have been cheaper and you would have only had to cry a little bit, and not $800 worth.

[tabs]

Any hooo you can't be a completely worthless Liberal scumbag if you have a Speedster...meaning you have at least one redeeming quality in your soul. Anybody who has and drives a vintage Porsche can't be ALL BAD!!!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

In the interest of redistributing vehicular wealth to those less fortunate, I'll be sending some guys over later to pick it up. The 911 too. You don't need that comrade.



I wish I got head that clean! Nice!

[tabs]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

In the interest of redistributing vehicular wealth to those less fortunate, I'll be sending some guys over later to pick it up. The 911 too. You don't need that comrade.



I wish I got head that clean! Nice!

Will they be of darker complexion?*






*Yeah I know I am a mtherfking racist, at least I am willing to admit it you sanctimonious hypocritical mtherfker.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

"I'ma call a coupla hard, pipe-hittin' [brothas]*, who'll go to work on the homes here with a pair of pliers and a blow torch..."

* original "Pulp Fiction" quote edited slightly.

[rusnak]

Just a few suggestions: when you need to leave the key on for testing, just connect a float charger to the battery. And when you take a spark plug out for any reason, use a shop vac to suck anything out of the hole before replacing the plug. It's just good practice.

Having said that, I think you are VERY LUCKY that you had to pull the heads. I wouldn't want that metal bouncing around in the head. And 356s are really pretty easy to work on.

[wdfifteen]

^^
A charger wouldn't be any help. I wasn't worried about running the battery down, I was worried about frying the coil if the points had been closed.

[Baz]

Patrick...thanks for the interesting thread and amusing story....happens to the best of us, as you know.

Respect to you for working on your own 356 mechanicals.

I bought a 356 short block a number of years ago with the intent of building an engine just as a learning tool, but just haven't had the time. I got an NOS box of cylinders, ring, and pistons too. And a bunch of other components.

I wish I had an oil temp sender to send you - there's got to be one out there at a decent price.

That's a gorgeous Speedster....wow!!!

[DanielDudley]

That's only 100 dollars a month. Some people spend more at Starbucks.

And of course a box of Cracker Jacks is cheaper, but the prizes aren't as good anymore. I still get a kick out of nice looking parts.

Got any more pictures ?