'79 SC Engine Bay Detail Project--Give up the Funk!

[t-cup]

So the time has finally come for me to get my ass in gear and do some re-work to the engine/engine bay. I bought the car about a year ago, and have been eyeing this project since then. Basically, plans are to drop the motor/trans, do all the 'while you're in there' tasks, and give it a really good bath. Any direction/tips/advice is appreciated!

Here's the before pic. Note the general chaos of fuel lines, vacuum hoses, etc, and sort of overly patina-ed engine bay.





Thanks to the help of a co-worker/friend who has done 1 or 2 of these in the past, the engine drop was not that big of a deal. Obligatory self in engine bay photo.



Good news, bad news--rear main seal is OK, clutch not so much.



And with the injection/shroud off, we can see some of the funk. That much funk made me drag out my old Parliament/Funkadelic CDs and wonder if George Clinton worked on old 911s.



Mmm. Tasty!




When the work is kind of a b***h, just remember this:




Questions:
1) There is a small orange looking plastic bit on the underside of the airbox. It sits between the black airbox and a metal doohickey that has a line going to the fuel distributor. There is a hose connection on the orange plastic that broke. Any idea what the hell this thing is, and if I can just get this pastic doohickey?




2) The metal tube that exits down from the EGR has been crudely hacked and sealed with a bolt. Correct to assume I can delete this sub-system?


3) Any idea what else I can delete? Ultimate goal with the entire car is to have as few parts as possible. It's a '79, and I don't have smog issues in GA. Can't buy beer on Sunday, though.


4) What music do you listen to while working on your car? Do you use the car stereo, or do you have one in the garage? Me, I've got my wife's Bose Wave Radio she bought while we lived in Japan. As a consequence, it gets no radio here, and mutes out all the lead vocal tracks for some reason.

Thanks!

Tim

[sc_rufctr]

I did a similar project on my 1978 911... The "funk" on your engine is very typical.

As a suggestion... Just give the entire engine a good clean. Don't use any solvent that is alkaline based. It could make a mess of your engine alloy and bolts.

Safest way to go is with a solvent based cleaner... Or turpentine and lots of rags.

Be careful of your fuel lines. Don't try removing them as there 30 years old now.
Make sure there not leaking and give them a good clean in place.

Are you intending on adjusting the valves? You should take the opportunity while the engine is out.

While my engine was out I also cleaned the rear firewall and sides. Don't be tempted to repaint these areas. As getting them clean enough for paint to stick is near impossible without killing yourself with fumes.

Good luck

[Walter_Middie]

Tim,

The metal doohicky is your cold start valve. It lets in extra fuel while the starter is running. The orange looking plastic bit is the cold start valve flange (911-110-264-00-OEM). The picture from Pelican shows a hose going to it, but I think mine is just left open. Maybe someone with more experience here can help.

The engine bay clean-up is a good project. Just replacing the sound pad with something to cover up the old glue residue on the firewall will add a lot. Be sure to replace all the typical oil leak seals that Wayne has outlined in his book and on his web site. You'll be glad you did.

[euro911sc]

Nice Tim! Yiop! CIS rats nest! That's about how mine looks.

Lots of cleaning! Not the worst I've seen, but you will have fun

That red part looks like its on the cold start injector no?
Intermediate Piece PN#911 110 264 00

According to the parts diagram anyway...

How about a CIS delete??

I have a working radio

-Michael

[snbush67]

Yep cold start valve inlet, don't forget the little rubber o-ring. Looks like a fresh break. Looks like you are taking the easy route by dropping the engine.

There is another thread recently started that begins to discuss what can be eliminated from your CIS to simplify;

Simplifing CIS for ‘78 SC ?

Really wierd about your radio...looks like you got the karaoke version.

I think we all start out in about the same place, in case no one told you it can start adding up.

[cantdrv55]

Weird. I've got the engine out of my '79SCtarga and am cleaning up the bay also. My car is brown and looks like the same as yours (copper brown?). And, I listen to Parliament/Funkadelic too. Weird.

[GothingNC]

Clean engine bay is a beautiful sight

[sc_rufctr]

How did you get the underside so clean?
Did you use a solvent?

Looks great

[JackMan]

Wow, Wow, Wow. I am impressed. Great job on the clean up. I would hope you're going to rebuild the engine and the gearbox "while you're in there." I hope the Porsche Angels drop a bucket of cash on your driveway while you sleep. Fantastic job. Please do tell how you got the engine bay so clean, step by step. Did you repaint?

Also, I'm no expert but do yourself a favor and throw two old tires and a 4x 4 under that car, if it comes off the jacks you want something to catch it.

wj

[ruf-porsche]

The clean engine bay car is a different car from the Original poster that started this thread.

[RWebb]

so, P funk = Peach blossom funk?

[RoninLB]

Originally Posted by t-cup

Basically, plans are to drop the motor/trans, do all the 'while you're in there' tasks, and give it a really good bath. Any direction/tips/advice is appreciated!

- confirm the rear main seal or tranny seal isn't leaking.

- clean all electric connections and coat with dielectric or bearing grease. Make sure all connectors are making good contact. At the 14 pin electric panel connector use a razor blade to gently open up the pins an itty bitty bit to maintain excellent contact. Don't forget tub ground in elec panel tub side area.

- replace oil psi idiot light switch at flywheel end end of case top. Use present one as a spare in glove box.

- replace engine case to breather gasket. Many don't coat new gasket. I do.

- confirm all mechanical fuel filter. accumulator etc connections aren't frozen. Some use never seize. Don't over torque them.

- if car has over 125 k miles consider changing trailing arm to tub upper bushing.

- confirm that your car came from factory or has modified cylinder air deflector tin. My little brain can't tell from engine pic.

- consider drilling CV bolts for safety wire.

- consider using a proper range torque wrench on cylinder head bolt nuts. Don't turn counter-clockwise as text says to re-torque. Only turn clockwise setting wrench at final torque reading. It's basically a test of case threads. Wrench should click without nut moving. If a stud broke you'll know it beforehand.

- consider not painting tranny. Other things can be done as corrosion protection.


Is that rust in the pics ?


party hearty.......

[gsmith660]

On the cold start valve adapter the aux. air regulator and aux. air valve hook in there and if that was broke and the car was running you had a massive vacuum leak, bet the car ran terrible.

[GothingNC]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

How did you get the underside so clean?
Did you use a solvent?

Looks great

Previous owner used a variety of cleaning chemicals, lots of elbow grease, and applied new paint.

4 years later it still looks pretty good.

[GothingNC]

Originally Posted by ruf-porsche

The clean engine bay car is a different car from the Original poster that started this thread.

Correct.

[t-cup]

Thanks to everyone above for the tips and encouragement. Progress has been slow with other home projects, weather, work, etc. Slow, but not stopped. I've gotten the CIS off, cleaned the long-block, done 11/12ths of the valve adjustment, and bought a good deal of the new parts that I'll need. The remaining 1/12th of the valve adjustment is proving to be a problem, which leads to another decision point.

Here's #6 intake:



The retainer is cracked. I've picked up the new part, along with the new collet and am now wondering. While it's out of the car, do I just go ahead and do all 12? The car has about 200k, and I think it's had a top end rebuild, but am not positive.

I searched for valve retainer issues on the forum, but didn't find much, and from the few folks I've talked to, this does not seem like a common failure point. Anyone know what usually causes these things to fail? Could it be a symptom of a larger problem?

What say you; bite the bullet now, spend the small part cost, readjust the valves, do the whole job, or just replace the one and forget it?

[smestas]

Great thread!

Thanks for taking the time to post and share the images with us.

[sc_rufctr]

Check the engine for broken studs etc... If it's OK I would just change the broken one and button it back up again. Make sure you check the spring installed height as this is an important measurement. (what isn't on a 911 engine?)

Although I'm not sure how to remove the retainer with the head on the engine.

I know it can be done on water cooled VWs. In that case you have to use a special tool and air pressure in the head to hold the valve shut. I'm guessing you could do the same with your engine.

Someone please chime in