1. THE DIRTY BITS

FROM THIS TO THIS!!

THIS BLOG IS DESIGNED TO HELP FELLOW 356 ers WHO WANT TO STRIP DOWN AND REBUILD THEIR ENGINES. IT IS BASED ON MY EXPERIENCES IN REBUILDING PORSCHE 356 ENGINES UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF UK GURU BARRY CURTIS . THE FIRST ENGINE WE REBUILT WAS AN EARLY 1957 1600 SUPER WITH AN ORIGINAL ROLLER BEARING CRANK. NOT FAMED FOR THEIR RELIABILITY WE REPLACED THIS CRANK WITH A LATER ONE.

I ALSO USED NEW 83 BORE X 9.5 CR SHASTA PISTONS FROM:

Shasta Design Engineering Co.
Phone: (530)238-2198
20216 Lakeview Dr.
Fax: (530)238-2846
Lakehead, CA 96051

Piston & Cylinder Sets
Our most popular piston & cylinder set is the 86 mm bore with 9.25 c.r. These are designed for the C/SC/912 cylinder head, which has a 30° combustion chamber angle. We also have a 83 mm bore X 9.5 c.r. which is made for the 356 A & B heads with a 22° chamber angle.

THE HEADS WERE RE BORED TO SUIT THE NEW PISTONS AND A "WEB CAM" WIDELOBE 912/356 CAM REPLACED THE ORIGINAL WHICH HAD WORN CAM LOBES.
NEW BEARINGS WERE FITTED.

THE SECOND ENGINE IS A 59 1600 SUPER. THIS WAS REMOVED FROM MY 57 RHD COUPE WHICH IS WAITING FOR SOME TLC AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE PICTURE BELOW. AGAIN SHASTA PISTONS AND A WEB CAM WIDE LOBE CAM WERE USED. WE ALSO USED LATER RODS WHICH ARE STRONGER. AGAIN A NEW SET OF BEARINGS WERE INSTALLED.

THIS ENGINE IS CURRENTLY GETTING CLOSE TO COMPLETION.

THE BLOG MAY HELP YOU AVOID THE MANY PITFALLS THAT CAN OCCUR IN AN ENGINE REBUILD. THERE WILL BE MISTAKES IN THIS BLOG AND I WELCOME FEEDBACK OR COMMENTS. PLEASE BE KIND - I AM ONLY TRYING TO HELP AND WILL AMEND THE BLOG WHERE USEFUL TIPS ARE FORTHCOMING OR WHERE MISTAKES ARE MADE.

IT DOES NOT COVER EVERYTHING - HEAD REBUILDING, CRANK GRINDING AND FLYWHEEL BALANCING. THESE ARE BEST LEFT TO EXPERTS, BUT EVENTUALLY I HOPE TO SHOW THE ASSEMBLY PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH.

I DO NOT COVER THE STRIP DOWN IN DETAIL BUT GIVE A SUGGESTED ORDER. LIKE MANY PROJECTS THIS IS THE EASY BIT. SUFFICE TO SAY EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE CLEANED, BAGGED AND LABELLED. DO NOT THROW ANYTHING AWAY AS PARTS ARE SCARCE OR IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND.

BUY YOURSELF SEVERAL PACKETS OF DIFFERENT SIZE ZIP BAGS FROM YOUR SUPERMARKET, A PARTS CLEANING TANK AVAILABLE FOR ABOUT £75 ON E BAY AND SOME CLEANING FLUID. A 25 LITRE CAN OF TETROCLEAN FLUID IS IDEAL. FOR THE MORE STUBBORN GREASE AND DIRT GET A 25L CAN OF THINNERS OR SPRAY GUN WASH FROM YOUR LOCAL PAINT SUPPLIES SHOP BUT BE AWARE IT WILL MELT YOUR PLASTIC GLOVES!! AND ON THE SUBJECT OF DISPOSABLE GLOVES YOU WILL NEED PLENTY OF THOSE. FINALLY YOU WILL NEED PAPER TOWELS OR PAPER ROLLS IN ABUNDANCE.

ALL THE PARTS NEED TO BE THOROUGHLY CLEANED. IF YOU LIKE YOUR NUTS AND BOLTS PRISTINE THEN GET THEM PLATED. LIKEWISE THE TINWARE WILL NEED TO BE POWDER COATED OR STOVE ENAMELLED DEPENDING ON YOUR PREFERENCE. LOTS OF LOCAL FIRMS CAN PROVIDE THIS SERVICE.

PERSONALLY I PREFER A WIRE BRUSH ATTACHMENT ON A BENCH GRINDER AND I USE THIS TO CLEAN ALL THE NUTS, BOLTS AND WASHERS-ITS TIME CONSUMING BUT THE FINISHED ARTICLE LOOKS NICE. I HAVE MY TIN BEAD BLASTED AND POWDER COATED. SMALL PARTS ARE PUT THROUGH THE ULTRASONIC CLEANER AND LARGE PARTS THE PARTS WASHER.

ITS HARD DIRTY WORK BUT ITS GOT TO BE DONE BEFORE YOU START ASSEMBLY

Ultrasonic cleaner