William knight engine design

[Sailkane]

Wanted to write a thread on my recent experience with William Knight who designed my engine rebuild for a 1979 911 SC (euro) that I have owned for over 30 years. 60,000 miles and the usual issues with oil leaks and a need (desire) to refresh.

Found William from the thread “William Knight is a Super Hero” here on Pelican.
Decided to call and talk about the process, the costs and the time frame.

After about an hour of discussing how I was going to use the car, which is Street and Autocross, he developed an engine build that matched my budget and my expectations.
There were many follow up conversations, as I had more questions about parts and build expectations, and William was always there to have a conversation. I wanted this car to remain in the Production Class rules and still be an exciting Canyon Carver.

I took a leap of faith, after reading that no one had any issues sending him money and receiving parts, so sent off $1000 deposit to start buying the parts for the engine build.
His prices are as good and sometimes better that what I could find myself.

After all the parts came in, and I had everything in my hands, we selected an East Coast engine builder in Delaware named Will Pyle ( FAIRWINDS AUTOMOTIVE) that has done work for William before.

I called Will and discussed the proposed build, got an estimate for all the work and agreed on a drop off date.
I trailered the car and 3 large Tupperware boxes filled with parts down to Will. Upon arrival we unloaded the car, went through the inventory of parts, review the estimate of work and then got a tour of the garage and engine build room. Will has a Porsche engine being finished once a week. My tour had 4 engines being detailed before being run on the test stand. My confidence level was very high when I left.

I started receiving pictures of my engine tear down showing the progress he was making. Next the amazingly cleaned engine build pictures started to come!
I had Will send off the Fan to Tru6 for a refinish. Will sent out my engine tins to be powder coated also.
I had Wii rebuild my 915 gearbox as well.
Any issues, questions, that came up during the build Will gave me a call to discuss the options and estimates of cost.

The entire design and build was a very satisfying experience.
I followed up with William Knight to express my satisfaction with his design and all the help he gave me . If anyone is in need of a refresh or a modification to their Porsche engine please give William Knight a call with the knowledge that he is as smart, trustworthy and generous as all the posts make him out to be.

Anyone on the East Coast, looking for an experienced Porsche Mechanic/ Shop please give Will Pyle at Fairwinds Automotive a call..

Anyone looking for more insight on my recent experience please feel free to post or give me a Private Message.

Thank You Pelican Parts for a great catalog of parts and information to maintain our beautiful cars! This site, and the great people who share their knowledge, makes the owning of one of these great cars a rewarding experience.

[snbush67]

Great post! Thanks for sharing.

[Mixed76]

Awesome to hear; will you tell about your build and before/ after impressions? We all like pictures!

Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk

[Geneman]

William Knightrace is THE MAN!!! His reputation for help and everything else is absolutely with out question. Checkout the threads (either here or Rennlist) where he made a king hell race engine for Scott Winders...... I do not think Scott has lost a race yet..

[Sailkane]

Will start posting pictures and specs this weekend.

[PeteKz]

I was likewise pleased with the parts and support from William when I built my current engine.

[Jjm4life]

This thread is a tease. No pics? No details on the build?? What did you have built?

Anxiously waiting to get my William knight / will Pyle 3.5 back from the tuner.. any day now

[PeteKz]

My build: 1979 RoW 3.0 SC case and large port heads. Dropped in a 74.4 Turbo crank and rods with ARP conrod bolts to increase displacement to 3.2. Also installed turbo oil pump (higher capacity). New bearings. New Mahle Motorsport p/c’s which should give about 9.8 CR. M1 cams. Carrera tensioners. Heads reconditioned with TBC in the exhaust ports. Other misc stuff. Stayed with CIS for drivability and efficiency.

[Sailkane]

[Sailkane]

Only one broken head stud. The most interesting note that when inspecting the Piston rings All the piston rings had aligned the gap so I was losing compression in all cylinders.
Will said he questioned the oil I was using because of how dirty it was inside’ the engine.
Have always used Mobil1 synthetic. Maybe because of the ring gap alignment?

[jac1976]

Are many on here using synthetic?

[GG Allin]

William is currently helping me transform mine from a fairly high strung race engine to an equally powerful, streetable engine. The process is fun and educational. Can't wait until it's done.

[IndyAlex]

William Knight and Will Pyle are really good people! They are the brains behind the engine in my build.

[winders]

Yes, William Knight is the best!

He just finished rebuilding my 3.6L race engine...new ITBs, new cams, and new pistons....should be fun!!

[MrBonus]

Great story. Will Pyle is a Porsche encyclopedia. We are lucky to have him in our region.

[Sailkane]

As promised some engine porn.

[onboost]

Originally Posted by IndyAlex

William Knight and Will Pyle are really good people!

Originally Posted by MrBonus

Will Pyle is a Porsche encyclopedia. We are lucky to have him in our region.

Yes and Yes!

[Sailkane]

[Sailkane]

[LJ851]

Thanks for the pics.

Do you know what the green case sealant is ?