Having been around these boards for a while making occassional posts and being on my 3rd Porsche, I thought I would post on here my engine rebuild process and the trials and tribulations I come across on the way as an introduction to me and my car.

I bought my 964 in July 2009 from a west London specialist. The car had 99k miles, good straight bodywork, all the little extras I wanted, like AC, genuine cup wheels, etc. the car also had a top end rebuild, so I was thought I was pretty safe in the department for a good few years...

Just before Christmas, on a drive out for some more DIY paraphernalia I heard a rattling noise, sounded like a blowing exhaust. The car was due for a service so I booked it into Jaz and the guys immediately diagnosed it as a broken head stud, even before it was on the ramp. To say I was gutted is an understatement. Spending serious money on an engine rebuild 10,000 miles after it was just done is not my idea of a good use of very hard earned cash...

I took the car home for a few months while I gathered my thoughts and set aside some money (which was scarce having recently moved house). However, with summer on the way and Le Mans and Goodwood to look forward to, and the fact it is just such a shame to have a 911 sitting in the garage off colour, I took the plunge and booked the work in.

I'm not going for a monster spec engine like Frank, although I love the idea of doing it and agree with his theory that adding a bit more will offset the cost a little bit in terms of value and smiles per mile. My spec is:

ARP head studs
Big ends
Timing chain and tensioners
Valve guide sand seals
RS single pulley
RS engine mounts
Powder coat tinware
Paint engine fan

I've probably missed some other basics off this list but my general requirement is replace anything that can be replaced and needs to be replaced plus any future preventative medicine so I don't end up needing to split the lump again in another 10,20,30k miles because of some other random part for the sake of £500 now...

The eagle eyed could probably spot the offending stud back left:


My only caveat to this basic rebuild option is if the bottom end gets split. Jaz are going to inspect the big ends once they are off this week, if they look suspect or worn unusually then chances area full bottom end rebuild is on the cars with main bearings, etc. as well. If I do this then I will oil flow the crank case and get the crank tested and the whole assembly knife edged and balanced, get the crank case inspected, etc. This might also lead to some light porting of the heads...

Box of bits for powder coating:


Block on stand:

 

Good luck with the build Stan, I shall be watching your thread with great interest...

My 964 will be needing a top-end rebuild in the not too distant future, as I have acquired a fairly heavy leak from around the head studs and when I take the plunge will be doing the tinware and engine fan too. If by the time the engine is out, it looks worse, I will bite the bullet and do a very similar build to you, although I'm hoping it is top-end only for mine (fingers crossed).

I also plan on having a Hot film conversion at the same time, which I think if my memory serves me correctly, yours has already??

I'm currently in the process of setting some money aside to carry out the work, having just paid out for our wedding and honeymoon to come, it won't be just yet... luckily for me, I'm not having to top up the oil level much, pressure is good, she runs and pulls fine and no nasty noises... famous last words!

 

Touch some wood Paul!

I don't have a hot film conversion at the moment but saw a kit on German eBay for £600 from DME Shop which is plug and play for the 964 which I might 'invest' in...

 

That's a good price, I'll check them out. Thanks for the heads up

 

Hey Stan, it's a real bummer when you find that head stud, I remember all too well!!

https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...e-rebuild.html

If you are going for ARP head studs then it may be worth thinking about upgrading your rod bolts at the same time as you will never get a better time to do it! There are a few other bits you may want to think about while it's all in bits, maybe LW flywheel & clutch?

How long ago was the top end done? The tin clearly still has factory markings on it so they never repainted the tin or changed the head studs??

If the case does need to be split then it's not the end of the world, most of the money is in the top end anyway and at least you will end up with a completely fresh engine that you can really trust when abusing it.

Good luck with the rebuild, be a bit careful with 'plug & play' MAF kits, there is some good and some rubbish kits out there & they're not cheap! A proper remap is a much better investment than MAF in my humble opinion.

Cheers

 

Subscribed! Good luck with the build - hope it all goes swimmingly. We'll have to see you at one of the meets - at this rate you'll be at one of them way before me!

 

If you don't mind me asking, why are you replacing the cam chain tensioners?

Thanks,
Roy

(We are in the middle of a 964 rebuild also - for a SC race car.)

 

10/10 Good work!

 

when I did mine, it was because of worn valve guides. the bottom end was still good. but I did replace all the bearings and rod bolts and head studs along with valve job. once you are there, then do it,

 

I personally think the Hot Film / MAF upgrade is potentially one of the better value for money upgrades you can do for a normally aspirated 964. I am with you on the remap, but I would do that as well. Generally N/A cars don't respond massively to a remap. Upgrading to MAF allows more air in and that in theory would increase the BHP. The standard car relies on the old-fashion mechanic flap to regulate airflow, so the difference should be noticeable. So I reckon a hot film with a Decat and perhaps a Cup pipe, followed by a remap is a pretty good option for relatively little outlay. But hey, that's just my 2 pennies worth and is taking us a little off-topic.

 

Stopped by Jaz today as while the engine is on the bench the bodywork is being attended to by Chris at 911 Bodyshop.

The block has just been cleaned and the big ends are being inspected tomorrow:


Oil pipe in this photo is a bit worse for wear and will be replaced:


The heads have been rebuilt due to worn valve guides. Hoping to get some pictures of those next!

So the other part of the car making a beeline for my wallet is the bodywork, so I thought some gratuitous photos were in order. I had a dent on the rear quarter which needed attending to so plan was a simple dent repair and blow in the rear quarter. Then I suggested that some previously completed paintwork (not by 911 Bodyshop) on the engine cover was not very good so we thought it was worth doing that. We also noticed some rust around the rubber seals so decidede to pop the rear screen out. Then I had a call today that Chris felt it was worth doing the whole roof as the rust was a bit worse than expected. In short I am now doing, roof complete including sunroof, removing front and rear screens, front scuttle, the OSF wing (small rust bubble next to scuttle), engine cover and spoiler, sills and shark fins, headlamp rings, rear bumper and rear quarter!! Oh, and the cooling fan...











AlexP: top end was done 10k miles ago. They did not do much except the bare necessary to stop oil leaks it seems. A lesson to all those buying cars with a fresh engine rebuild which was done for the purposes of sale, even from well known/reputable garages...... The ARP head studs and rod bolts are the plan.

Sboxin: I might be wrong in my terminology about cam chain tensioners. Is this the same as timing chain ramps??

MAF upgrades were all the rage. If I were to go down that route (in the now distant future!), combined with a custom chip, decat and bypass, would this not be a pretty good 'package'??

 

Btw Colin, I'm still hoping Motec is on the cards one day...!

 

"I might be wrong in my terminology about cam chain tensioners. Is this the same as timing chain ramps?? "

Yes, they are different parts - the guides are "plastic" (ABS) pieces that wear and should be replaced...the tensioner is metal and and only rarely needs to be replaced -- However, we did have 2 hydraulic tensioners go bad in a 3.2L race engine at the same time -- that seems to be very rare. That's why I was very interested in your parts description...

Thanks for the feedback ---

And, good luck with your 964 projects.

Regards,
Roy

 

Nice progress Stan, what splitters have you got fitted?

 

Great progress Stan!