Coffee talk, anyone? Let’s get this build thread more up-to-date as 2026 has been off and on busy with this project that actually extended out longer and costlier than what it could have been. M.C.D. - Mission Creep disease is a real thing. There is no cure for the affected, I hate to admit.
So what happened? Well - as indicated in a Feb ’25 post just above, a decision was made to open up the case and go from there. My engine assembly genius is Mr. Bruce Abbott who you may or may not know. He is Flat6pac here on the Pelican and is a seasoned air-cooled engine builder. Bruce got introduced to early 911’s in the early 1980’s and has consulted with and built engines for many folks here on the east coast. I have had the pleasure to get to know him, ask questions, listen to his answers, and understand that his knowledge base is built on realistic results and real-world experiences – not so much trying to sell me something that I don’t need or may be deemed as overkill.
Did I listen to Bruce? Absolutely. Did I stray from what he thought I needed to get it back in shape? For sure! We did go his route with full rebuild, check all bearings, clean things up, polish stuff we can reuse, send out other items for machine work, and use fresh gaskets, sealant, return tubes, etc to freshen up this 3.0L.
Where I did go off the deep end due to the devil sitting on my shoulder (and compelling influence from close friends who wanted me to open my wallet even wider) was to take this to a 3.2 short stroke with higher compression and twin plugs. Okay. That cannot be but a small upgrade – LOL…
So, the long block 3.0 was taken to Bruce one Saturday in early March and he got it down to two large separate pieces.
Here's Bruce giving Tad240 some one-on-one schooling as we disassemble. No broken head bolts. But interestingly enough - I had all Dilivar studs - not 12, but 24. Odd right?
