Time to dig in...softie conversion

[speedo]

Can sit in a box on the shelf...taking up space or I can assemble everything and bolt them to the chassis. The later. These came back nice the third time around.
The rest of the hardware is all done and waiting.

I by no means am a caliper expert...but rebuilding decent calipers (without issues),with the right tools has always been a simple gratifying task.

As I had new brakelines, I may as well bolt everything up to the suspension, and install the pads and nice fresh retainers



To the left...

The brake lines for the front were correct...I think I got sent SC lines for the rear. I don't think they are long enough to modify. So I will install the calipers and come back later...with the correct lines

And after a trip through the dishwasher, and literally hours with carb cleaner and a wire tooth brush...voila. The cleanest 901 trannie that I know of...if that matters

Worse than cleaning rear inner fender walls. But now the trannie starts out new life as "groomed". I will run a 901 instead of the 911 type for a couple reasons. Primarily, I like pull type trannies vs push. I think they are easier to adjust, but...means I need to swap out the clutch cable.

Speedo

[FLYONWALL9]

all of this cam out VERY nice I should really take the time to do the process......

[arrivederci]

Plating looks good Speedo. I should've had a bit more of my hardware done in our batch. Either way, things are going together pretty well for me with all the clean, freshly plated parts.

What did you decide re: the painter?

BTW, that towel you are working on -- nice rainbow. And clean air too.

[rennch]

Lars,

Just curious...that whole suspension looks like you could eat off of it. Why not spend a few minutes cleaning up the hubs?

[Duckworth]

Originally Posted by emptyo

Lars.....Why not spend a few minutes cleaning up the hubs?

I've never seen those plated, but if they were given to the platers....figure roughly $400 for those. It adds up rather quickly.


With that thickness....they're near bullet proof in any condition.


___________

[rennch]

I just meant a little cleaner and some BBQ paint or something.

Originally Posted by Duckworth

I've never seen those plated, but if they were given to the platers....figure roughly $400 for those. It adds up rather quickly.


With that thickness....they're near bullet proof in any condition.


___________

[Duckworth]

[speedo]

One painter down...two to go. Two guys coming up tomorrow to look the car over and scratch their heads. I should be able to decide tomorrow night. I really didn't want to start on the engine till the car was gone...but I have run out of things to do to the car. My projects have already migrated to the gas tank, the oil tank, the dash and steering wheel etc. I moved the car today to get access to the engine (sitting on a furniture dolley) and pulled it out...looks a bit rough, but it turns
On a different PP thread...
This ought to be good...
... I raised a few engine questions. When I freshen up the 2.2, I want to add a bit of ummph. The decision has been made to go with a 70.4 crank and rods and an E cam. I have all the necessary parts on the shelf. I need to check the crank, rods and cams I have and make sure they have no issues. If I can get close to 2.4 E specs (165 hp), I will be happy. The 2.4 E arrived at that number with MFI, and I will be pushing the old zeniths. The teardown started this afternoon...nothing else to do in 18 inches of snow.
I need to check in with the upholsterer...been several months too long. I have to remind myself I am recovering the BMW sport seats, he is also doing the dash...and I am having him restitch a "347" 914 steering wheel that I will use with a nice batwing horn button.
Pics on the forensic investigation of the engine tomorrow...fingers crossed. At least with an engine if you find "bad"...you just replace it. You don't face having to cut out, fabricate and weld back in. We'll see.

Speedo

[speedo]

So this beast looks a bit dirty...looks like it spent a week at "Burning Man". S'pose that's better than a week in a pond.

Poor man's engine hoist

We have liftoff

We can look better than this. Like one of those EST seminars...gotta break you down before they build you back up

Where it all began

Heat exchangers have seen better days...also known as "oh, that's how asphalt is made"!


It is going to take a long bath in the dishwasher. So far other than the typical studs that come out when you try to remove the nut...no big deal so far.
The heat exchangers were held on with 6 of the 12 required nuts, and there was only one exhaust gasket.

[speedo]

Could be worse. So this is where the missing seat insulation ended up.
I will spare the thread the pics of the over-cooked petrified mouse poop that I found next to the "bedroom". However, I did find out whey the crank was tough to turn.

Seriously, with all the grease soaked leaves and twigs, I'm surprised it wasn't a fire hazard. Isn't that how they started fires in the old days...friction next to flammables.
So I need to leverage myself to get the cam nuts free as I still only have two arms. They broke loose without event.

Turns out the mechanical early tensioners had "insurance" collars. I usually go with carrera tensioners, but we'll see...I may reuse the mechanical tensioners if they are still in good shape.

No surprises yet. The chain housings are loose now, but won't come free till the towers and heads come off. Hopefully if the weather clears(10 degrees F and dumping snow), I can get the top end off tomorrow night...enough for now.


Speedo

[rennch]

Lars...that "packed debris" picture looks like my engine did...mine survived from New York to Nebraska...then kaboom.

[lateapex911]

Lars, looks great. Can you fill us in on your 'spot welder" and your 'flapper' that you use to knock your welds done with, unless it's all a trade secret.
Thanks

[Fritter]

There may be some other "goodies" inside, after seeing the collars?

The engine even still has the little breather snorkel with the rubber valve...may be a sign it was rebuilt with care in the past?

[speedo]

So the temperature finally rose to the point where the shop was not painfully cold. Monday night was -5 degrees F and tonight we were a balmy 20 degrees F. May not sould like much...but a huge difference when grabbing steel tools. Really no complications in dismembering this little beast. Down to the shortblock in no time...

P and Cs look relatively fresh with nice score marks on the cylinders

Ah ha! I think I found one of the "goodies"...not sure whether this looked worse on the outside, or on the inside. Not sure wheter to call this 10w-40 tapioca, or .."soups up"!

And just so you California pelicans don't whine too much about a little Santa Anna winds...at least you have 70+ degrees outside temps. My parts storage...

Little crank that gets replaced...if someone needs a std crank in nice condition let me know. This is definitely "extra".

Splitting the case revealed...nothing. Bearings actually looked very good. Oil pump spins freely but will get replaced by a 3.0 pump. I forgot that 3R cases had piston squirters...but they do. Intermediate shaft and chains look fresh too. No bits of shrapnel anywhere. Lots of gunk, but gunk is better than gunk with metal flakes.
Carcass without any internals

The piles. Tin goes to get sandblasted and plated, heads go to get a valve job, cam towers get disassembled and rockers get checked. Cylinders will get the fins blasted and a hone job.

And this goes to get washed and linebored.

I am assembling my list of rebuild parts, gaskets, bearings, rings and hardware needed for the rebuild.

But the best news is that the fourth painter interviewed is the right stuff. Great credentials, referrals and attitude. Targa goes away for 4-6 weeks this weekend. We decided that the trunk and engine compartment get body color vs being painted black. I am feeling good about the color choice and the time frame. The guy has painted lots of 911s and focuses on higher end cars for higher end clients...makes me wonder why he wants to paint for me

Speedo

[speedo]

Painter coming up today to take it away. I shoveled enough snow out of the way to get his trailer close to the shop. Piles of parts anxiously waiting.

Targa has been ready. I have been ready...the engine has been ready. The dog has been ready.

On time, loaded up and out of here. Miguel promises to treat her right. I will drop by weekly for update pics

See ya! Come back when you look more presentable ...ok?

What's this....whoa, space! I'm liking the extra room.

[speedo]

Sooner I get the parts to the respective recipients...sooner I get them back. Case, chain housings and cam towers go to get cleaned and in the case (of the case) get line bored. Everything fortunately measure std so nothing special will go on. I will either have them to the oil bypass mod, or I'll do it myself. The crank goes to get checked, magnafluxed, plugs removed and flushed and plugs reinstalled...then polished. Cams follow the crank, but just to get polished. Heads go to get cleaned and a valve job, rockers will be checked and if necessary rebushed...hopefully not...he will also bead blast the exterior of the cylinders and hone them. All the tin, engine mount and pulley covers as well as the fan/housing/strap and the valve covers get powder coated. I have decided to go ahead with the carerra tensioners, so I will clean/sandblast the chain housing covers and clear coat. What did I miss? Numbered the rockers to make sure they go back where they came from...looks like oil marker, but they are actually "dremeled".

T cams...spec nicely, but are for sale as I am going E

I will post these on the for sale thread...if interested in them or this assembly (non CB 2.2 crank, flywheel and rods) let me know

All boxed up and no place to go...except to get better...and then come back.



I'm psyched. Shop space finally, and a chance to settle down and order some of the parts I will be needing. The 15x7 fuchs are out spending time with "uncle Al" in California. Weird...with the car gone, and the engine going...I don't have any major projects. Seats should be done as well as the dash, and he will also get a 914 "347" steering wheel for a quick recover. I may be able to pick those up when I take the assorted engine parts to Denver.

Speedo

[speedo]

Parts were distributed to the various shops Monday with at least a two week turn around expected. Yesterday the shop (evaluating the rockers, rods and heads as well as the P and Cs) called me to tell me they had started work and found that three cylinders (the ones with water in the intakes) were oxidized/corroded and he wasn't confident that a hone would fix things. I found a set of 2.4 cylinders last night I had stashed away...and ID'd the best four thinking I'd box them up and put them in the car, and wait for the next trip to the big city. This morning I get a call from the same shop...he needs the cylinders ASAP as he is ready to sandblast the group and then hone them today...crap, well er I guess that's good. Then the shop with the case and crank calls, case was cleaned and already line bored. Crank looks ok, but he sent it off to get polished...so come get the case...whoohoo! Glad I had the cylinders in the car. Off to the metropolis, dropped the cylinders and checked out the heads. We are replacing valve seals (all the valves were new enough to recut), fresh heads looked great. Rods, decided to replace the pin bushings...but he already had picked those up, so shortly they will be done. Grabbed the case and towers and chain housings on the way home. Ordered my rings and bearings and gaskets etc...three days out.
So I pick up the crank, heads,P and Cs, and powdercoated tin on Monday. I will need to create a "clean room" in the shop over the weekend so I can start to assemble.
Cleaned and bored


Finished up the tank resto

These nasty things get rebuilt this weekend

They are tight...but need a thourough "going through

I've done tons of webers, but never Zeniths...so it will be interesting

To keep the engine compartment uncluttered I need a pair of these as the stock air cleaners are going away. If anyone needs the OEM correct air cleaner and carb tops, let me know.

Sonjay was kind enough to set me up with a couple 2.4 decklid grills which I will restore and turn into 2.2 grills

Clean towers and chain boxes

Totally jazzed. The shops really came through for me without me having to beg.
Nice the way that sometimes works out. Friday first pics from the body shop.

Speedo

[mikeferg75]

Glad Miguel worked out it's not my fault if he F)(*& it up

[speedo]

Speaking of the painter...I was supposed to stop by yesterday afternoon to get some status pics. Didn't happen. I picked up my fresh heads, cleaned pistons and honed cylinders, and rebushed and sized rods. Recaros are also done, but no time for a sidetrip. Crank is done Monday, so I will grab the seats on the same trip. I'm excited...the recaros will irritate the "purists", but impress the "practicals" as they are completely reupholstered BMW sport seats. WE played with the bolsters and eliminated the adjustable under knee supports. I can't remember which BMW seat they are...but I believe they are the E 30 sport seats. Basketweave centers and perforated bolsters, with a headrest "chopped " to look more like the sport S headrest. If the seats come out as planed, I have another pair I will have him redo.
So with no car to work on...I have peripheral stuff to get done. Today is Zenith day.

So is it spelled Kgnarly or just gnarly...

I don't get it...these are air cooled cars, why do people feel the need to introduce water


Midway through the disassembly I came to realize that these Zeniths are more complex than the comparable Webers. That doesn't speak to better, just more complex

And three of these screws fell out of one bank, and two out of the other (webers don't have these) and I am assuming there should be six in total.

But they have no threads, so they are not screws...do they float in these orifices?
Ok...I could use some help with these. If you want to weigh in...let'r rip.
So I need to get these dipped. I am not going to mess with the shafts and butterfies as once all the peripherals were removed...the butterfies move nice and freely, and the shafts are tight.

[speedo]

I recently picked up a 914 380mm steering wheel in "known" rough condition. Seller represented the wheel fairly. I wanted a wheel to refinish to use with a restored batwing horn button. I will have the wheel "double -wrapped". As rough as it is...




I will need to sandblast and refinish the spokes, before giving to the upholsterer. I have restitched a wheel before...it was a b!tch and I trust the guy on a double wrap to do a better job than I can. I'll at least clean it up and repaint it. First pass through the sandblaster.

Waaaay better

Tomorrow...some clean up with filler, prime and satin black.
Engine build starts next weekend when rings , bearings, and gaskets arrive.

Speedo