Engine Drop & Other Fun Options

[pfreiburger]

Dropped the engine and transmission today using the Sunnex transmission jack. Worked really nice and safely, with no lift plate needed (BTW, the engine tin to body seals WILL TRY to hold up the front of the engine on their own). Transferred the pair to the table using the engine hoist and then to the engine stand after separating the transmission from the engine.

The 1.7 engine is out so it can get a makeover, with the installation of a 1911 cylinder & piston kit and a new set of 1.8 heads. The agenda will also include D-jet and ignition freshening and some electrical tidy-up. The transmission is getting a full teardown and overhaul - the 1st gear syncro’s are definitely bad and 2nd is probably not far behind. Both units are leaking like a sieve - R&R would be in order on that point alone.

Other work on the list includes the heating system (valves, hoses, blower fan mod), and the fuel system (steel gas lines, all the rubber lines and pump relocation). I pulled the tank and fortunately it looks fine inside and out. Also looking good is the area under the tank, no rust, just dirty. In fact, now that everything has been stripped out I can find no rust (but lots & lots of grime) anywhere but in the trunk - in the usual reinforcement channel area. This is a California car that obviously spent most of its life there - not in Wisconsin where I purchased it.

I have really enjoyed the teardown, as doing a major disassembly really gives you a 914 education not available otherwise. In general, I really like how Porsche put this car together with only an exception (like what were they thinking with the fuel pump mounting?) or two. Seeing how the car comes apart is a lot of fun.

Not so much fun is the usual PO and/or previous shop butcher work. Shoddy electrical, missing fasteners, vacuum fittings with rolls of tape applied, stripped CV bolts, incorrect fasteners (countersunk wood screws, for example), bag of snake’s fuel pump installation, and my favorite - the too big in diameter fuel line that also happens to ethanol intolerant. Found that one under the fuel tank, leaking just enough to burn everything to the ground.

The bottom line? Having a ball! More to come.

[Shivers]

Nice garage.