Engine Rebuilder

[sesob1]

Can anyone recommend a good shop for a basic 911 rebuild? I have a 1973 911T (2.4) that I pulled out over a year ago...I became pregnant 4 month later and I haven't been able to finish working on it! I'm not looking for any modifications, just a general overhaul, and am willing to ship it anywhere in the US. Any recommendations would be highly appreciated!

Thanks
Stephanie

[yelcab1]

If you are willing to ship, John Walker in Seattle is your man.

[Elombard]

I think Henry at Supertec has a beautiful stock fresh 2.4 for sale. You could plug and play and sell your old motor as a core?

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

John Walker and Supertec are both VERY solid, reliable sources. JW has done work for me in the past and it was very well done at an extremely reasonable price.

Oh, and stay away from motormeister according to the combined wisdom of this board and RennList.

Sorry, don't know of any on the East Coast.

[Grady Clay]

Stephanie,

First, WELCOME to the Forum. You found the right place.

Tell more about your car/engine. Why is it out? What symptoms? How many miles? Any history? What diagnostic tests were done? What were the results?

How is the car’s general overall condition? Any other problems?

What are your goals? A nice stock 2.4T is a great car. Knowing what you want and expect long term will help get you the best advice. There is a wonderfully diverse group here and you will get good advice covering a wide range.

I appreciate a stock 911, Porsche did the right things in ’72. That said we now have 34 years of experience with the ‘72s. Hindsight is a wonderful thing – you can correct things that Porsche engineers never envisioned 34+ years ago. Rebuilding the engine (if needed) presents you with “while you are there” possibilities based on that experience.

John Walker, Henry Schmidt and more will give you that kind of expertise.

John Walker
john walker's workshop
7613 greenwood Ave. n.
Seattle, WA, 98103
206-789-6800
jwworkshop@aol.com

Henry Schmidt
www.supertecperformance.com
SUPERTEC PERFORMANCE
760-728-3062
supertec1@earthlink.net



There are considerations other than the engine. Those include cleaning the oil system, making sure the fuel system is properly functioning, insuring there isn’t an impending brake failure from sitting and more. There needs to be competent help in installing the engine and making sure everything works properly. This is a critical issue regarding warranty.

Best,
Grady

[TimT]

Give Bill Rudtner a ring, 516.378.8769

Located in Freeport, just off the Meadowbrook Pkwy. Many years of Porsche expertise.

[randywebb]

You might run a search for people in New York by putting those terms into the search engine.

OR you could Email Bill Verburg who is in Albany.

OR check with the PCA group.

Despite teh numerous great shops in Calif., Wash. and Oregon, there has to be a good shop near you.

You definitely want to stay away from cleaning chemicals while preganant or lactating...

[NY65912]

Welcome to the board. I highly recommend Bill Rudtner in Freeport. He is currently doing my SC mods and now.......we found a broken head stud.

http://www.rudtnersracing.com/index2.php
Rudtners Racing
16 St Johns Pl.
Freeport, NY 11520
1.516.378.8769

Good Luck

[Grady Clay]

Stephanie,

Let me add some thoughts.

Since you were planning on doing the rebuild yourself I assume you have some knowledge and helpful friends. It would be wise to get your rebuild knowledge honed to a fine point so you can properly communicate (both ways) with your engine rebuilder. He needs to know what you want and you need to understand what he is saying.

This Forum can help you there but some resources will also help you. I recommend you get Dempsey, W.R. How To Rebuild and Modify Porsche 911 Engines, Anderson, B. Porsche 911 Handbook, Dempsey, W.R. 101 Projects For Your Porsche 911, Bentley, R. Porsche 911SC Service Manual: 1978-1983, Coupe, Targa and Cabriolet, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche A.G. 911 Workshop Manual – 1965-1983 (expensive but has stuff found nowhere else), PET – the Porsche factory parts catalog CD (P/N 000.043.400.05, $15), the Mechanical Fuel Injection CMA booklet (download here) if you have MFI. Of course there are more.

When hiring someone to rebuild your engine there is much more than just the ability to turn wrenches and get everything back in its proper place. It is the pair of skilled eyes that can recognize when something is wrong. By extension, measuring tools are necessary to ‘see’ what the eye can’t. Part of the ‘seeing’ is knowing all the subtle issues ’73 Porsche engines have faced over the years. This includes the updates and later technology used in more recent engines and how to apply that to your engine.

Part of that is the knowledge and skill to know what you don’t need. It is easy to throw all new parts at a 911 engine. The ‘art’ is having the right balance for a good and long lived rebuild and not break the bank. These are expensive projects. Spend your money wisely.

High on the list is communication. With the engine not at home, you must rely on someone other than yourself. Not only does the two-way discourse need to be very clear and accurate but you both need education. You as to what is right and wrong and how to best fix it. Him as to your desires, requirements and expectations. With today’s digital cameras and e-mail you can follow every detail if you want.

The biggest issue is trust. You were advised above to not use a certain builder. Apparently that builder has the reputation for not returning your parts and substituting others of inferior quality. As you go over the recommendations on this Forum (and others), you will get the sense of who is honest and who is not. It is too bad this is the case but unfortunately there are incompetent and crooked physicians also.

There are plenty of knowledgeable Pelicans and PCA members in your area. Buy some beer and invite a group to evaluate your 911T and engine. If it wasn’t done before, a cylinder leak test can be performed on an engine while it is out of the car. Not being able to drive it (and its sitting) limits the usefulness somewhat. Checking the engine sump and cutting apart the oil filter will yield some useful information also.

You want to light into this with the most knowledge possible.

From your post I gather you have a newborn. Every parent can understand why you don’t have extra time to rebuild a 911 engine.

Best,
Grady


Edit for some vB code.

[Joeaksa]

Listen to Grady. He has forgotten more than most of us know about 911's.

The comments about MM and staying away from them is spot on. There are a lot of GOOD people in the business, so please find one and use them if you are not going to do it yourself.

Joe A

[Dan in Pasadena]

Stephanie,
Another welcome to the board. Most all of the guys here will give you heartfelt good advise at all times. Take particular note of what Grady Clay, John Walker, Wil Ferch and a few others tell you. These guys know what they're talking about. I don't think any of us have ever heard anything bad about Henry at Supertec, its a fine shop. John Walker's shop is a no lose proposition - ever. Also, Bill Verbug is a very knowledgeable source and since he's in your general geographic area....?

That 2.4 Henry has done already is top notch, beautiful running and beautiful looking. If you don't know it already, there are lots of "While-I-was-in-there's that can happen when you're talking 911's. Henry's already done 2.4 could save you a bunch of hassle.

[sesob1]

Thanks so much everyone for all the info!! To answer Grady Clay's question(s) the car was running ok when I purchased it, but had some problems when it was hot(which I ended up fixing with a new MSD CD Ignition Unit)
The only issue I really had was a small amount of oil leaking. I'm not looking to modify the engine for racing, I'd like to restore and maintain it so I can enjoy driving it!! The previous owners drove it (65K original miles) but I'm not so sure about the maintaining part.
I'd love to take the time to do it myself, which was my original plan..but along came my daughter, and now I don't have time for anything else...unless someone can recommend a trust worthy Nanny instead of a trust worthy mechanic????? I'm not sure which is harder to come by!

Thanks again
Stephanie

[mark_d_mcguire]

Dan Jacobs is in CT, 203-262-0569, that way you can go visit.

He does a lot of fantastic race cars, not sure about street cars, but worth a discussion.

[Joeaksa]

Take care of the child yourself as our kids are our future.

Work on the car when you have time and farm out the bits that you do not have the time or tools to tackle.

My 2c worth...

[onlycafe]

hi stephanie, welcome aboard. glad to hear mother and child doing well. how about a picture of the car and daughter?best of luck with all of your new projects.
david

[rs6er]

Stephanie-
I heartily recommend Dave Hammers at Werks I in Seacliff. Porsche only shop. Everything from 356 to 997.

[Want to be]

Check out our website for engine rebuild prices.

I could help with the shipping courier.

Good luck

jpc

[fintstone]

Welcome. Like many others here, I think you cannot beat guys with reputations like John Walker or Henry Schmidt at Supertec. I have personal experience with Henry (Supertec) and he did a great job on my engine and gave me a 2-year unlimited mileage warranty. Good luck with your 911 project and your new daughter.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by sesob1
Thanks so much everyone for all the info!! To answer Grady Clay's question(s) the car was running ok when I purchased it, but had some problems when it was hot(which I ended up fixing with a new MSD CD Ignition Unit)
The only issue I really had was a small amount of oil leaking. I'm not looking to modify the engine for racing, I'd like to restore and maintain it so I can enjoy driving it!! The previous owners drove it (65K original miles) but I'm not so sure about the maintaining part.
I'd love to take the time to do it myself, which was my original plan..but along came my daughter, and now I don't have time for anything else...unless someone can recommend a trust worthy Nanny instead of a trust worthy mechanic????? I'm not sure which is harder to come by!

Thanks again
Stephanie

Whoa, hold on. You sure it needs to be torn apart and rebuilt? You're talking about a hunk of money here. Enough that if you invested it now, your child's future and education would be secure.

Now, I have no idea what your financial situation is and don't want to know. But, we all can use money. Why not have some diagnostics done. Are you familiar with a leak down test?

There are some basic upgrades that might be recommended involving the cam chain tensioners and oil flow, but first find out what is needed. A lot of these engines will go a couple of hundred thousand miles w/o any work on the short block. Your oil leak may be one of the common ones that we all know, but are hard to get to during routine service. Yet, with the engine out as you have it now, they can be fixed rather inexpensively.

Unless you are positive that the leaks are in the case parting line, I'd take it easy on the tear down unless you already have it apart.

This is the most honest group of people around, you can take 99% of what you hear to the bank. An some of the people who post here are legends in their own right. Many more are genuinely qualified. Beware of solicitations, the real people don't need to do that.

But, you are talking about possibly 10K here, so take your time. That car is not losing any value.

Welcome from me, too. I've been here since 2001. Learned more than I ever thought possible from these guys.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Milt,
How many posts did you have under "Zeke"? A lot I know, I know.....but "been here since 200"1 and 191 posts looks weird!