Hi Guys,

I am a new poster and relatively new (8 mos) owner of a 72 911T that I shouldn't have purchased. I didn't listen to the experts and bought a cheap car, $5000.

I drove it home, it ran well but leaked like a sieve, literally check the gas and top off the oil. I went to upgrade to E cams and found huge valve stem clearances. So, top end & jugs off. While I am here I might as well go for a low cost compression boost. Deeper & deeper I go... Yeah, this isn't the first time, just the first time on a Porsche.

So if anyone out there as a set of nice pistons & pins for a 2.2T or E for about $100-200 please contact me off list at triplesn8s@neo.rr.com. If you have something else that might work try it out on me. My pistons are near perfect but I can blow more compression than the stock 7.5:1.

Nice to meet you all. I am an absolutely hopless car nut. I live near Akron, Ohio.

TIA,
Bill McCauley
72 911T
80 TR8 Convt
78 TR8 Coupe
75 JH Partially started supposed to be SCCA EP car
00 Triumph Sprint ST (M/C)

 

Bill: Nothing good comes cheap on a Porsche, especially performance mods. You, quite frankly, have a lousy engine to work with, unless you keep it dead stock, or modify it substantially. A little compression here (have you calculated piston pin placement and 4.4mm of stroke difference), a little E cam there, modify the MFI pump, you won't get much for the amount of money you'll spend. (Compression/valve timing changes require MFI pump mods). If your car is a no-sunroof coupe (you want to do as little as possible to a Targa!) and you want to go fast increase the displacement to 2.7, find a good set of Webers (or PMO carbs), install S cams, port the heads, install case savers (professionally), install a front oil cooler, suspension & brakes up to the task of handling your new engine and have a blast. The alternative is to do the valve job, put the car back together, have fun with it or sell it for $7500 (?) and look for a better replacement. FYI: While the engine is out check the trans mainshaft seal in the bell housing - if it's leaking the trans will have to be disassembled to replace that seal. Sorry...
Pete

 

Golly, thanks for the encouragement. My thoughts are more like this:

There's nothing wrong with cast-iron cylinders. The small port heads
can be opened up to whatever I want with a simple blend on my buddies
CNC milling machine, I am thinking 32-34 mm. Utilizing the M. F. I hardware I will install a Megasquirt E. F. I system. With the 'E' cams, a little more compression from 2.2 pistons, fresh rings, valve springs and a valve job I'm thinking 2.4 liters in a 2300 pound car ought to be a fair amount of fun. Of course considering I stay on-budget. It doesn't have to be beautiful to be quick and fun.

If it was all about pure power and speed on a budget I would just drop the new 3.9L Rover short block into my TR8 with the Extrude Honed Edelbrock manifold, port matched, Megasquirt EFI/TBI etc. For less than $3000 with all new bits. That’s an easy 250+ hp w/ 275+ lbs torque in a 2600lb car including GM based A/C that will hang an icicle off of my nose plus power rack & pinion steering, power brakes and a drop-top (& suicidal brakes).

But there is more to it than that. Driving a less powerful car at 9/10’s on the backroads (where in western PA there are tight twisty swooping roads with lots of big TREES right on the berm) is a blast. Small displacements work just fine.

One question on your comment about the trans input shaft seal though. I read in a recent Panorama of a replacement procedure on a ’74 using the factory special tools that didn’t require disassembly. I used a threaded special tool to go down the snout and engage the seal in order to pull it. Is there something different between a ’72 915 & a ’74 915? Or was the writer smoking something?

So how about it guys, anybody have a nice set of 2.2T or E pistons at
a good price?