So...Someone is manufacturing new 3.6 cases...

[Catorce]

Originally Posted by John McM

Famous last words as I've yet to start the motor, but I thought a set of matched pistons and cylinders was a bargain from Autobahn at $999. Sounds like I'd better get in quick if I want any more.

That's a pretty good price. My guess is he has to sell them so cheap because no one really has a place to put 3.6 jugs right about now, except the occasional 3.6 rebuild.

[mikedsilva]

Originally Posted by Catorce

Huh, that's one of the few cases I have zero experience with. Who owns one that wants to loan it to me for a bit???

I actually have one of these fully apart and freshly ultrasonically cleaned.. would be PERFECT for you but I am all the way over in Australia..
sorry!

[Matt Monson]

It's a shame nobody ever invented an aeroplane.

[Catorce]

^lmfao!

[4flyboy]

What is the significance of Catorce = 14?

[ChrisBennet]

Originally Posted by Catorce

Guys,

It gets better, way better. I got a call yesterday from a huge dismantler, the one that parts out Singer's motors. They have a massive supply of 3.6 cranks, rods, pistons, and heads, because these are used by them. They are stoked about my cases not only because they can resell them, but also because they can 1) build a fleet of 3.6 crate motor long blocks form the parts they have and 2) sell their 3.6 internals stock because it has been languishing.

There are no cases to put their vast supply of 3.6 cranks in, so they have a mountain of them.

Exciting times!

Let's hope they don't raise prices on us!

[Catorce]

Originally Posted by 4flyboy

What is the significance of Catorce = 14?

Nothing really, when I joined it was available and I love 914s and own one. It kind of stuck, even on other forums. Also I am Italian not Spanish but quattordici doesn't quite have the same ring. Nor does vierzehn....

[mepstein]

A 914 guy making 3.6 cases - Awesome!

[Catorce]

While I wait for the machinist to finish constructing the fixtures that will hold the case in place for machining, I am putting my 3.2 short stroke motor back together. It started life as a 3.0 in my 1983 SC, and was just tired all the way around.

Although I had the case halves soda blasted and hot tanked, it is still very hard to clean out the oil galleries. It is clear to me that Porsche never paid any thought to rebuilding these. Here is what you will NOT be doing on my cases:

1. Taking JB weld and coating the outsides of all the aluminum plugs so they don't leak. Not only is this a totally hack solution to an easily solvable problem, it looks like crap. My case has hex head plugs that can be removed and replaced. A little loctite will keep them in place and leak free.

2. Want to clean out your piston squirters, or verify they work? You need a tool like the (excellent) one from Stomski racing that fits in the case through bolt hole and shoots a jet of air up into the squirter. Alternately, you can rig something up, but it is still a hassle. How about just using removable squirters that unscrew???? Yeah, that's what I said too.

3. Regardless of what the case looks like from the outside, there is no good way of ensuring the oil galleries are clean and clear without removing the plugs, which is a hassle. Usually you wind up spraying a gallon of carb cleaner through every hole you can see, then say a little prayer, and hope for the best. See point #1.

Also working on a new feature that will make it easy to separate the case halves without hammering or prying. My case should last forever, but if you need to open the motor because you a) dropped something in there b) forgot an oil pump seal, c) forgot to put the chains on the lay shaft and don't want to use a master link, you'll be able to split the case easily.

Most of the ideas I came up with were directly borne from building a ton of these engines myself. I hope that shows through.

[KNS]

^^ There's some pretty cool photos on Catorce's website...

[Flieger]

Will you be able to mount an MFI pump to the 3.6 case?

[manbridge 74]

MFI... now we're talking.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by Flieger

Will you be able to mount an MFI pump to the 3.6 case?

I like the way you think.

[Tremelune]

MFI over EFI?

[Catorce]

Well the mounting bosses for the MFI fuel pump are present on every porsche engine case up to the 993 as far as I know, and they are also on my case but that is FAR from all you need to convert a 3.6 to MFI. Your challenges are more related to how the heck you tune the MFI pump to such a massive displacement motor plus about a billion other things required to make MFI work.

Frankly I don't see a lot of call for this.......

[Catorce]

Although significant time (and money) was spent to create what is probably the world's most complete solidworks model of a Mezger engine case, that is simply not good enough to machine off of without triple checking everything. Sure, the scan was to 50 microns, but we need to be sure....SURE...that the dimensions are perfect before we start destroying perfectly good castings.

To that end, The Machinist is diligently confirming every single last little dimension on the model to the factory 3.6 case. It begins with a perfectly flat slab of granite with which to measure from; from there, reliable and repeatable baseline dimensions are pulled of the case and double checked with the model.

We also use conventional 2D drawings to make our notes on, and these are printed 1:1 scale so we can set the case right on top of them and jot down everything we find to be of importance.

The whole point here, just as with the tooling, is to come up with a prototype case that is very close to where we want to be. I'm not going to exaggerate and tell you it will be perfect from the get go, but all of these steps help to ensure that we have an accurate case pretty much from the start. Nothing is left to chance. Nothing is assumed just because it has been scanned at 50 microns beforehand. That is not the way we roll here....

First CNC machining pass will happen in the first week of October.

[Antonov]

This makes me happy, very very happy.

[micheloaks]

Originally Posted by mikedsilva

I actually have one of these fully apart and freshly ultrasonically cleaned.. would be PERFECT for you but I am all the way over in Australia..
sorry!

Mike get it scanned for starters

[Catorce]

Originally Posted by micheloaks

Mike get it scanned for starters

I don't need the scans anymore because from this point forward everything is a derivative of the original solidworks model.

As an aside, I have received probably 5 more requests for the early turbo case, so it might just make it into production.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Will it be bored vertically or horizontally?

Merits of either approach?

Honing to Grade 5 final bore tolerances?

Type of CNC machine and control?