Garage Projects: M9X Engine Assembly Done Right
Anyone can build a water-cooled Porsche engine with the right tools and this comprehensive video series.
If you own a water-cooled Porsche, LN Engineering should require no introduction. Their work with late-model Porsches has made them a household name in the community. Now, they’ve partnered with Jake Raby of Flat 6 Innovations for a video series for folks who want to go even deeper.
Raby is a name you should know. His IMS bearing retrofit put him on the map and made owning an M96-powered Porsche a much less stressful — and much more fun — experience. Simply put, he’s one of today’s preeminent Porsche experts. In this new video series, he, along with fellow Rennlist members Tony Callas and Charles Navarro, show you how to assemble a modern Porsche engine.
The DVD series is called Focus On: M9X Engine Assembly and it’s available via the Ln Engineering website. Starting with a bare case and a pile of parts, this step-by-step video will explain the tools, techniques, and procedures required to get the job done.
It’s been designed from the ground up to take some of the mystery out of assembling these complicated, high-performance engines. Raby has taught in-person classes on Porsche engine building in a lab environment. In this DVD series, he uses that experience to make the process easy to understand.
The three-disc set covers about 15 hours worth of content. These are broken down into 20 episodes that cover specific operations.
The end goal for Raby and his crew was to make it so that anyone could build a modern Porsche engine. All it takes is patience, persistence, and an eye for detail.
There are few experiences more life-affirming for a car enthusiast than completing your first engine build. For some, it was a lawnmower or a small-block Chevy V8. Few can say that their first engine-building experience was a Porsche flat-six!
What You’ll Need
Of course, good help doesn’t come cheap. A lot of work went into these DVDs, and that’s reflected in the price. At $629, it’s clear that this isn’t your average Redbox rental. However, when was the last time a superhero movie taught you how to build an engine?
LN Engineering will also loan you the tools you’ll need to get the job done. Renting the main tool kit, wrist pin tool kit, and rear main seal tool kit will set you back $675 if returned within 30 days. LN Engineering also offers a book of torque specs for critical fasteners. That book will only set you back about ten bucks.
Even at those prices, it represents a tremendous savings over a new engine, or one rebuilt by a shop. You’ll also have the knowledge — and the confidence — to tackle anything your water-cooled Porsche engine can throw at you for the rest of your life.
Photos: LN Engineering
Join the Rennlist forums now!
