After three and a half months of blood, sweat and tears my top end refresh is finally done! It would have been done much sooner but I decided I might as well powder coat the cam covers along with the rest of the intake. Five broken cam cover bolts and an engine removal later I was questioning my decision.
If all is well that ends well, then all is well. It took much longer, and cost far more than I had planned but I am pleased with the results. I am grateful for all of the help provided by Rennlisters mostly through all of the old posts that covered everything I needed to do. I would not have been able to do it without the great information contained in the archives. Thank you all! I will be taking the 928 on the road tomorrow, spending a few weeks in Omaha. I guess it will be an acid test on the work done.
Even with all of the work already completed I know of several small items I still need to do. It never ends.....

 

Looks Great.
You should be proud of your effort.
Have a great trip.

 

looks great! Nothing like a top end refresh on an 85/86. That was my first time too (an 86.5). Looked great when done, but what a job. One of the reasons why I now have a 78. Much simpler to work on.

 

Congrats.
Job well done.

Have a nice and safe trip.

 

Wow. Nice work. Did you get those hard lines, brackets and hose clamps plated?

 

I bought Ducman82's old intake before he moved and the hose clamps came with--he had the clamps replated. The hardlines and brackets were painted using Eastwoods three part system. It is better than leaving the parts bare, but no where near as good looking as replated parts. It is all in the technique and my technique is a little lacking. Thanks for all the good words.

 

Looks awesome. Great job.

 

YAY! glad it all turned out so great!

 

Looks great! Can you tell more about the 3-part system you used?

 

My bad, it is a four part system: 1.) Base gold followed by 2.) red then 3.) green with a final coat of 4.) gloss clear. I did some internet research before buying the kit and most bloggers agree not to follow the directions from Eastwood. Instead, a light coat (misting) of the gold immediately followed by even lighter coats of the red and green without waiting for the coats to dry in between. Allowing the base metal color to show through after the first coats give the best results. Repeat light misting as necessary to give the desired look. That is the technique part that I was not able to master. And of course, the parts that came out the best are mostly buried and not visible on the car. My results ranged from a fairly realistic plated look to a cheap gold painted look. The system has potential if you can master the proper technique.

 

I think it is quite a fantastic transformation, good job!