M96/M97 Enthusiast Class
12-15-2015, 03:50 PM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
M96/M97 Enthusiast Class
I just got back from a M96/97 Engine Build Class taught by Jake Raby and Tony Callas last week. What an absolute early Xmas gift to myself! I have no affiliation with Flat6 Innovations or Callas Rennsport but I would highly recommend their Enthusiast class even if you only take the initial 101 online prerequisite webcast. In the 101 class I acquired knowledge of how to potentially extend the life of my engine. In the 102 class we tore down and then rebuilt a boxster and a M96 engine. Invaluable knowledge transfer occurred during the Q&A sessions, techniques shared during engine assembly and/or over a beer during dinner with instructors and fellow enthusiast.
FWIW, I'm a simple DIYer with limited engine knowledge but an ever growing want of knowledge re my 997.1. I'm in it for the long haul as I'd like to keep this car for years to come… perhaps even pass it down to my boys(24&22) at some point. My CPO warranty expired last year and I don't plan on extending the warranty of my '08 C2S. We have 5 vehicles in my household which are all DIY maintained… our oldest vehicle is a ’92 4Runner. I enjoy driving my ’08 C2s and DIYing has its own p-car ownership rewards. I've executed various preemptive and/or preventative maintenance and modification projects over the years... many of which are listed within the DIY Index stick. And although I’ve gathered bits and pieces of knowledge over the years re the “why” in performing frequent oil changes, coolant replacement, preemptive WP replacements, etc… it was refreshing to hear it from a pair of renowned p-car experts. In Tony Callas, http://www.callasrennsport.com/, we received expert training on cam installation/timing and proper p-car maintenance… BTW, his shop services and restores p-cars of all types including those rare 959’s. With Jake Raby, http://www.flat6innovations.com/ , we gained expert knowledge of the weak points within the M96/M97 engine. Although the IMS gets all the attention there are numerous other failure prone engine components such as bolts, cylinder liners, etc which have come under the knife of the corporate bean counters… only so much can be accomplished by the good engineers at Porsche. Jake’s company has rebuilt hundreds of engines so we were able to share in his cumulative knowledge of what to avoid(LWFW for example), how to maintain for longevity(3-5K oil changes, frequent coolant changes, preemptive WP changes, AOS replacements, and much more) and ultimately how to rebuild our own engines. Len Hoffman, www.hamheads.com, also shared his knowledge of cylinder heads. The training facility was top notch and after 4 days I’m contemplating the next DIY project… to rebuild/ruggedize my engine.
A well deserved Semper Fi to Jake and Tony for taking the time out of their schedule to offer this excellent class to Enthusiast for the 1st time. I know that Jake is backlogged 14+ months on engine builds and Tony is very busy restoring those 959’s. I plan to attend future sessions such as the diag class. Also +1 to my fellow classmates/enthusiast… you all made the class a pleasure to attend.
Below are some pics… Also a fellow classmate, Ahsai, made an excellent post with details of the class on the 996 forum. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...***-102-a.html
FWIW, I'm a simple DIYer with limited engine knowledge but an ever growing want of knowledge re my 997.1. I'm in it for the long haul as I'd like to keep this car for years to come… perhaps even pass it down to my boys(24&22) at some point. My CPO warranty expired last year and I don't plan on extending the warranty of my '08 C2S. We have 5 vehicles in my household which are all DIY maintained… our oldest vehicle is a ’92 4Runner. I enjoy driving my ’08 C2s and DIYing has its own p-car ownership rewards. I've executed various preemptive and/or preventative maintenance and modification projects over the years... many of which are listed within the DIY Index stick. And although I’ve gathered bits and pieces of knowledge over the years re the “why” in performing frequent oil changes, coolant replacement, preemptive WP replacements, etc… it was refreshing to hear it from a pair of renowned p-car experts. In Tony Callas, http://www.callasrennsport.com/, we received expert training on cam installation/timing and proper p-car maintenance… BTW, his shop services and restores p-cars of all types including those rare 959’s. With Jake Raby, http://www.flat6innovations.com/ , we gained expert knowledge of the weak points within the M96/M97 engine. Although the IMS gets all the attention there are numerous other failure prone engine components such as bolts, cylinder liners, etc which have come under the knife of the corporate bean counters… only so much can be accomplished by the good engineers at Porsche. Jake’s company has rebuilt hundreds of engines so we were able to share in his cumulative knowledge of what to avoid(LWFW for example), how to maintain for longevity(3-5K oil changes, frequent coolant changes, preemptive WP changes, AOS replacements, and much more) and ultimately how to rebuild our own engines. Len Hoffman, www.hamheads.com, also shared his knowledge of cylinder heads. The training facility was top notch and after 4 days I’m contemplating the next DIY project… to rebuild/ruggedize my engine.
A well deserved Semper Fi to Jake and Tony for taking the time out of their schedule to offer this excellent class to Enthusiast for the 1st time. I know that Jake is backlogged 14+ months on engine builds and Tony is very busy restoring those 959’s. I plan to attend future sessions such as the diag class. Also +1 to my fellow classmates/enthusiast… you all made the class a pleasure to attend.
Below are some pics… Also a fellow classmate, Ahsai, made an excellent post with details of the class on the 996 forum. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...***-102-a.html
Last edited by USMC_DS1; 12-15-2015 at 04:41 PM.
12-15-2015, 09:01 PM
#7
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What a great experience! I'd love to treat my brain to a class. This thread just reassured me that I went the proper route to get a Raby 4.0!
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12-15-2015, 09:33 PM
#8
Drifting
Thread Starter
Yes sir, all 49+ yrs of me. 
+1... I'm looking at a 4.0 build as well.
+1... I'm looking at a 4.0 build as well.
12-15-2015, 10:08 PM
#9
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Man!!! I had as much fun hanging out with you as I did in the class. It is a great class for the beginner and professional. I could not say more!!!! Tony and Len did a great job too. I guess Jake did a good job for an *******. As as I said many times......." If you don't think Jake is an ******* you have not known him long enough." LOL Hope to see you at another class.
12-15-2015, 10:54 PM
#10
Former Vendor
Man!!! I had as much fun hanging out with you as I did in the class. It is a great class for the beginner and professional. I could not say more!!!! Tony and Len did a great job too. I guess Jake did a good job for an *******. As as I said many times......." If you don't think Jake is an ******* you have not known him long enough." LOL Hope to see you at another class.
12-15-2015, 11:46 PM
#11
Rennlist Member
12-16-2015, 12:34 AM
#12
Drifting
Thread Starter
Man!!! I had as much fun hanging out with you as I did in the class. It is a great class for the beginner and professional. I could not say more!!!! Tony and Len did a great job too. I guess Jake did a good job for an *******. As as I said many times......." If you don't think Jake is an ******* you have not known him long enough." LOL Hope to see you at another class.
12-16-2015, 10:34 AM
#14
Former Vendor
Things like cooling system flushes, and scheduled maintenance are covered in "M96 101", an online class that's filled with this data. The 101 class is required before attendees can sign up for the engine rebuild (102) class. The online class is 8 hours of content, spread over two sessions on two separate days.