Any Newbies rebuilt their engine?

[PK 77 911]

Any Newbies rebuilt theri engine by following the available manuals like, 101 projects, How to re-build 911 engines, shop manual. If so compared to my below stated experience how did it go for you? I am a backyard DIY'er having mostly worked on BMW's, never rebuilt an engine before but am succesfull at most mechanical fixes I undertake to do. Will buy all required tools and have the time and patience too. The engine is a 2.7L with up grades. I also have a good mechanic that will give me a few tips if I need it as well.

Thanks for your experiences.
PK

[Rot 911]

I rebuilt my 3.2 having never rebuilt a Porsche engine before. Had some experience rebuild British cars. If you have the patience and Wayne's book, it is something anyone with a bit of mechanical experience can do.

[Zeke]

I have spent many years working on cars. I started 40 years ago doing fiberglass bodywork on a Corvette and ended up owning a fiberglass shop making parts. I painted and I restored. I learned metal work. And I did a lot of mechanical work to various chassis, including suspension, driveline and brakes.

I fooled around with VW engines doing top end work, assembled iron V8's from the short block on. I never did much work with cranks and bearings. Wouldn't touch a trans.

After a few years hiatus, I got back into cars more intently than ever. I built my own TypeIV 914 motor with the aid of Wilson's book and Raby's video. I talked to guys at two different shops. Then, out of necessity, I went thru a 901 trans. While I was at it, I changed some gear ratios. A fellow on this board (Redbeard) has a website for trans work. That, and the Haynes and I went at it.

The trans worked good and the motor was nice and tight. But, I burned some pistons because of a carburetor issue on a very hot day. So, I got to build the motor again. And, again, some tuning issues destroyed what seemed to be a very well assembled motor. Perfect balance; smooth as glass due to careful blueprinting, i.e., cc'd heads, matching deck heights and all components balanced.

So, my answer to you is, yes, you can do it with the aid of a couple of books and, more importantly, help from here. Specifically, over on the rebuilding BBS. But, learn from my mistakes. Just being able to take parts to the machine shop and then assemble the thing is only part of the job.

Before you build motors, you should be able to tune them. And I needed some more help there than I thought I did. And you know what? When I asked for a little help here and there, that was the part that people really didn't seem to know enough.

You need to be able to make them run and run as good as they will for what you have, before launching into a rebuild. Tuning is an art as much as it is a skill. And you will need that artful skill the moment you hit the starter.

Just my .02 (better make that my 2000.00 times two, heh he)

[MikeSid]

Originally posted by Zeke
Just being able to take parts to the machine shop and then assemble the thing is only part of the job.

Before you build motors, you should be able to tune them.

Very well stated. You've just described the nagging feeling I have that has been keeping me from rebuilding my own engine. I know I could disassemble, have parts machined, and reassemble, and probably do so without leaks and have a running engine. But I also know that JW would do a much better job, in much shorter time, and with a much higher degree of reliability - and probably for a very similar amount of $$$ as I would end up spending after tooling up.

The thing that keeps bringing me back to doing it myself is the fun and experience of doing it. From a time and dollars standpoint, I don't think a first time DIY job makes good sense. But if you're after a fun time and a valueable learning experience...that's a different story.