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Yes, he will. But what does Greg know?
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Heh, He's a good buddy of William's and William used me for absolutely nothing on his car....hard to not know there's some sort of issue there! He's also a good buddy of Mark's....and Mark blames me for him putting low octane fuel in two of his engines....we don't even talk anymore. So, none of this is a complete shock.
Lines have been drawn..
My sincere apologies to everyone concerned for getting Paul's informative thread and that engages our diverse 928 community in productive dialogue off track further, but Greg's breathtaking inaccuracies will not stand uncorrected.
I inherited Stan (RIP) at Auto Strasse (1999) from the previous owner of my first S4 until his sudden death. Without a mechanic that I knew, Mark Anderson and I were becoming friends and I asked him for a mechanic recommendation. That's right, I was one of scores of customers that came to Greg on Mark Anderson's recommendation, which held great weight with me and many here.
Greg was my '93 GTS's only mechanic until I sold that car, and Paul at Auto Kennel totaled all of my receipts from Precision for the purpose of marketing the car (over $37,000 in over 12 years). Greg was the only mechanic that I ever let put a hand on my car, I did not even contemplate being a DIYer at the time as I didn't want to lessen a very fine GTS example with novice mistakes. Greg disgraces himself by trying to convince this community of a completely and verifiably false claim that I never used him.. While I am far from Greg's best customer in terms of scope of work and dollars spent, those were dollars I earned and spent for work and expertise that enhanced my ownership. I am stunned that Greg would treat a customer this way and expect goodwill in return.
Minerva began as an effort between friends to try our hand at a project with little risk, since it is hard to ruin a car that was considered by most to be a parts car and beyond saving. those that helped (many) offered their time and expertise to be part of something unique, and am most grateful for the friendships that grew from that effort. Why Greg Brown takes an ambitious project (MInerva) whose main purpose was to see what can be accomplished by a novice(results uncertain at inception) with diligence and collaboration and turns it into some kind of disrespect of him is beyond reason. Greg's comments and admonitions were welcome input in that thread. Apparently my respect for Greg was a one way street.
I will let others defend themselves, but at a minumum Greg owes me an apology that is as public as his unwarranted and unfounded remarks about me. I am hoping he realizes the mistake he made in his post, we have history that is due honor. In the end, I value clarity over agreement, ymmv.
Additionally, Greg's trolling of this thread is unbecoming. It doesn't matter if some folks don't agree with a certain course, fair and open discussion is a good way to learn and further knowledge in the community. Greg has information that is valuable, however the moderators should not ever indulge a troll.
Do the head gaskets yes or no / last comment / lets move on
Not all 40 year old sports cars were maintained the same. Some even got oil changes on schedule. I fully accept that working on old cars involves some risks. Based on the below images and the condition of all observable coolant passages, and the overall condition of the long block. I made a decision not to pull the heads. This car has 54k on the clock and someone clearly serviced the fluids (including coolant) on this particular engine. I am going to drive this car when its done. If the head gasket goes. I accept that outcome. I'll replace them. with a smile.
Right now lets return to the focus to the 14 other items that are in process, that are getting fully rebuilt because there is clear evidence it needs it.
Not all 40 year old sports cars were maintained the same. Some even got oil changes on schedule. I fully accept that working on old cars involves some risks. Based on the below images and the condition of all observable coolant passages, and the overall condition of the long block. I made a decision not to pull the heads. This car has 54k on the clock and someone clearly serviced the fluids (including coolant) on this particular engine. I am going to drive this car when its done. If the head gasket goes. I accept that outcome. I'll replace them. with a smile.
I guess since head gasket failure is not typically catastrophic, I'll go with your plan. Check oil regularly, look for milkshake and drive happy(until the inevitable).
Progress Report on the Transaxle rebuild / Final assembly
California Motorsports is now preparing for final assembly. I am particularly excited about the surface finish on the case. Different that the head gasket discussion..... I decided to go in deeper WYAIT with new bearing$ and all (5) new sychros. Included in this project is the rebuilt of the LSD core provided by 928 Intl. (thank you Mark).
I am resealing and cleaning the original TB tensioner. The prior owner had placed a nylon washer between the lock nut and the body in an attempt to stop the leakage. Nylon does not like being compressed for more than 5 minutes at ambient. So see below attached attempt to fix. The tensioner is full of oil and so far, no leaks.
Metric High-Pressure-Rated Metal-Bonded Sealing Washers $7.75 for a five pack. part no. at McMaster Carr is:
Able to withstand pressure greater than 7,000 psi, these one-piece bonded washers create the tightest seals. They are zinc-plated steel for corrosion resistance in wet environments. The Buna-N rubber seal has excellent abrasion resistance and good oil,weather, and chemical resistance. Washers are reusable.
The Prior Prior owner of 01117 had cut open the forward body harness to get access to individual wires.
Mark at 928 Int'l was kind enough to discount a similar vintage harness that had been molested. Same olive green. This donor had long sections, still ply-able that would make an ideal cover to the opened sections on the car.
I experimented with a few PVC glues and the final solution for adhesive turned out to be Testor's model airplane glue. While wet on both surfaces, place the 'patch' section and immediately wrap in tape. Very tightly. Let it dry for a day.
I am almost done with this donor harness. If someone else on the 928 forum has a similar issue, I am happy to send a patch section to them for the cost of packaging and postage.
Another productive week with assembly on Phase II. Rob provided the precision tensioner tool and expertise. William provided the 5x experience of only using a Porsche OEM timing belt.
djustment nailed the number. Front suspension in and loosely fitted. Next week is fitting all the driven pumps.
Transaxle is done / A quiz for the hardcore 928 experts
California Motorsports Inc. finished the rebuild on the transaxle and LSD unit. Quiz: besides the safety wire on the shift forks, what is the one item that is not stock on this gearbox?
Please tell me more about your choices on front springs and shocks. You're moving from the original/nonadjustable fronts to a later setup? What year setup and which springs and shocks did you choose, and why?
I'm evaluating whether to move to a later adjustable front setup on my '83, because it's too low on all original springs and shocks, or put in new original front springs and replacing all shocks -- or even just all new shocks. The problem with moving to a later setup is that the '84 (adjustable type) springs are NLA and the '85 and later setups are for heavier 32V engines. Additionally, I don't know whether a later front spring setup would be an optimal match with my original rear spring setup!
Would be interested in your feedback and what you decided to do.
01-29-2019, 02:37 AM
