Guy craps all over Wayne Dempsey's book... is it bad info?
 

So I was on a FB Porsche page when someone was asking about a head stud issue... most recommended a rebuild and in conversation Dempsey's book came up.

Another user, a shop owner I think, began to run down the book, referring to it as "Porsche Witzbuch". So since this book is widely used I wondered if this book is truly as bad as it is being framed by Karl at Thoroughbred Motorsports LLC?

As I plan to rebuild my engine in the near future, and have attended Tony's class I want to make sure I have the best information to do so.


I don't want to point fingers or shame people or anything, I want solid info on what resources are best and if a resource is incorrect I want to know.

Thanks,

I've never read Wayne's book, a few of my suppliers, very renowned in the Porsche world, assisted Wayne when he wrote the book and say it's well done. I've seen people go by Wayne's book and do a beautiful job, and I've seen the opposite. But in the end, you ask for the BEST information, and that only comes from the factory manuals. Tolerances, torque specs etc. should only be from the factory manuals, or cross referenced to the factory manual, too many "misprints" elsewhere. The Bentley manuals are a prime example of incorrect torque specs.

I used Waynes book to rebuild my engine 5 years ago and found it invaluable. I imagine his book has taken a lot of money out of the " specialists" hands, so you have to keep that in mind too.

Between his book and the help i found here from people wiling to assist and on the engine rebuilding forum, i found it a very easy and enjoyable project.

I just finished up a head stud/top-end rebuild and used Wayne's book as guidance. Is it perfect? No. But it is a very comprehensive reference that gets you 90%+ completed.

I also used the tech spec book that Porsche provided back in the day.

Done a couple of top ends using Waynes book. Found it was the only book necessary to complete the job. Read it cover to cover before starting then follow it step by step and you should have no problems. My two cents

Bought a 3.0L out of a wreck about 12 years ago. Using Wayne's book step by step and page by page I disassembled it and then page by page rebuilt it. Also I might add with the help of Mike Bruns' then at J&B racing. Using some of Mike's recommendations and 1 1/2 days tuning on his dyno I got what I wanted. Bulletproof!!!!

I'm sure I have a slight bias, but I've had plenty of discussions with DIY Porsche and BMW guys and they've brought up the books without knowing I was from Pelican. No complaints.

Some "techs" just seem to have a huge ego trip going on. Nobody could anything better than them. No mistakes, ever.

Yep, and everyone else is a hack, and only they can do it right.

I have Wayne's book, and I use it and the Bentley manual as well. The Bentley has several errors.

This was the general feeling I got from the guy. I asked him to give me a specific example that was "wrong" in the book... I got

"I could spend a month making a list of a hundred things - I do not have time for that. We are booked solid with over 40 engine builds and rebuilds in progress and have a lead-time way over a year now. I am working on another book, and it will not try to compete with the excellent factory manual or Bruce Anderson's book but more be a part and part difference guide what you can use with what and what you cannot and why etc. - maybe I will include a chapter on the many, many things not to do and why. If you want to know how to do it right, ask any professional, not someone who writes a book on building his first engine - we keep learning after hundreds of engines rebuilds and builds, you learn every day and trust me, the "Porsche Witzbuch" is a joke that is misleading a ton of people - people think just because it is written or printed it is right - the quantity sold has nothing to do with it's quality."

I would love to get my hands on factory manuals, might be over kill but would be nice to have.

Thanks for confirming the feeling I got from this interaction.

Bentley Blew my airbox, that was fun.. had the rotor going in the wrong direction for my SC. so when i had the firing order, put the wires in wrong.
one blown airbox.. thanks Bentley.

Both the 101 Projects and Engine Rebuild books are great resources. Every DIY'er should have copies.

Edit: I should also point out I successfully rebuilt my engine using Wayne's book and Bentley.

No, the book is just fine. As with all endeavors from engines to sourdough bread you want the broadest possible perspective if you are new to the job. For this reason you spend your time acquiring documentation that will give you the best shot at success the first time around. The example of the stupendously amazing Barrington books on BMW /2 restoration having been reviewed by all the pros still resulted in an errata sheet - it happens. Wayne's book is just part of the holistic approach to our cars and I appreciate it as you can tell because I paid good money for it.

Amazingly, it is the Haynes 911 manual that points out the pin you must drive out when replacing the horseshoe spring up to the early '78's, none after. Go figure!

Yet has the time to engage in verbal slap fights on FB. :rolleyes:

He's probably more miffed that Wayne has empowered people to do their own engine rebuilding, taking away from his service business. If the guy really cared about teaching people to do it right, he would host classes like Bruce Anderson and Jerry Woods used to do. For some people it's about the community around the cars, for others it's about how many $$$ they can make.

Are you building an engine right now? I'd lend you my factory manual if you are.

Lol, well said John...SmileWavy

Not right now Matt, I need to put the new engine in the Mustang, (to make room) and drop the Porsche engine summer/fall next year so I can tear it down and start getting parts sent out and such. Then plan to rebuild the following summer, so I am gathering tools, and supplies and knowledge as best I can.

well..back in the 1980 i would go to Woodland Hills,Ca ogner Porsche factory shop...i wanted to ask for some info(no internet those days) ..you should have seen the faces of the foreman or the top mechanic i was sent to.I got nothing out of them.Mind you, our shop was not even a mile away except we were independent.
As John W.mention big ego mechanic are the best.NOT..it is 2021 and past 15 years or more it is a fact people in Porsche community help each other..It might be more years.
Period why not share some info ? Just remember how many great porsche technician past away and how much knowledge went with them to heaven, this is no replaceable,ever..so sharing is cool with me...

Ivan
btw..personally i have never read Wayne`s book but talking to him he is very knowledgeable..

I just recently sealed up the long block on my FIRST 911 engine rebuild and Wayne’s book was my primary printed source. I also have the Haynes manual and the spec sheet booklet for my 1983 model year. With each step I made sure not to trust any single source alone and instead cross checked multiple sources. And perhaps most importantly, I spent hours reading these Pelican message boards and/or asking questions here to find various opinions and make judgement call on what was best for me and my engine. So in a sense my primary source was this Pelican online forum. After a while I learned who are some trusted names on this forum. John Walkers Workshop. Flat6pac. Henry Schmidt. Craig Garrett. 911pcars. Tom Butler. Tony Donato. And many others. Thank you Pelicans!

I have done almost every task one can do on a 911 except an engine rebuild...got a pro for that, but may do it myself next time. I don't even have a book and learned everything I know from here or from experience. Every car is handmade and a little different so a book is really just a start. I do know that Wayne's tech articles posted here (representative of what is in his book) are pretty darned good. He looks at and describes things as an engineer...which goes a long way. Wayne's vision with this site and his book have made me able to enjoy this hobby in a way I could never have as a checkbook mechanic. I would like to be jealous of his apparent success...but cannot, as I did not have the same vision and can only see it in retrospect.

gssereik, that is THE list of names!!

My general plan is to digest as much info as I can, become as familiar as I can with the process of building a 911 engine. Tony's class was a huge help, I want to be Tony when I grow up!!!