5. SPLITTING THE CASE

It is now time to split the case. It is made up of the two case halves and the third piece. The picture above shows the 57 engine with the third piece facing you. It is held to the main case by eleven 12mm nuts and washers. Undo the nuts and remove with washers. If you have left the generator stand on the engine you can remove the third piece by carefully tapping the generator stand with a rubber mallett. Remove the third piece and place carefully aside. Shown below is the inside of a 1957 third piece. it differs from the 1959 in that it does not have a removable oil bypass line.

Above is early third piece.

Below third piece from later engine showing oil bypass line which is the tube on the right hand side with a red gromett on each end.

Remove the oil bypass line noting carefully the way the red end pieces fit into the third piece. Get this wrong and the oil won't flow.

You should now be left with a case that looks like the picture below. The next step is to undo all the bolts that hold the 2 case halves together. This consists of 8 perimeter bolts (four top and four bottom), Two cam plug nuts which are usually 14mm but are often other sizes and six 15mm acorn nuts.

Start with the perimeter bolts which are found on the top and bottom of the case and undo and remove these. Next find the cam plug nuts which are found at the front (flywheel) end of the engine behind where the flywheel would sit. The cam plug looks a little like a bottle top with 2 nuts holding it (see phgoto below). undo these nuts and keep safe.

Undo the acorn nuts and remove the nuts and special washers that is bevelled to trap the "o" ring seal. One acorn nut is attached to a through bolt so remove the bolt as well. Note early engines used copper washers not "o" rings and also had 2 through bolts. You are now ready to split the case.

Above engine with third piece removed

Below - On the left side the cam plug can clearly be seen with the 2 studs that locate into the other case half and are fitted with two 14mm nuts.

The case must never be hit directly with a hammer. Use a piece of timber and gently tap the right half of the case at the top and bottom until it starts to split. DO NOT be tempted to lever it apart. Keep gently tapping and eventually the case will split. As the left side is being held by the engine support the right side will move. As the case splits it should be possible to remove the timing gear and camshaft together. Be careful not to damage them. Ideally the crankshaft should stay in the left side of the case as it splits but this does not always happen. Support the crankshaft carefull as you finally remove the right case half. Once the case half is removed, remove the crankshaft and associated bearings. Also remove the cam plug and keep safe. Remove the tiny pins that hold and guide the bearings. Don`t loose them.

Set the crankshaft and camshaft aside in a clean place. spray with wd 40 if you are not planning to work on the engine for a while.

Thats it - You now have all the bits and you now need to decide what to keep, what to replace.

I would suggest starting by giving everything a good clean.

4. ENGINE STRIP DOWN

For simplicity sake I am making the assumption that the engine is removed from the car and on an appropriate stand. Clean off as much as much of the surface oil and grease as you can using Gunk, tetrosyl or paraffin. You can use petrol but don't light a cigarette!
This is the order I like to do it but its not set in stone. Generally I like to start at the top and work down.
Remove the air filters
Disconnect the carburettor linkages, also the linkage in front of the fan housing.
Remove the fuel lines to both carbs and at fuel pump end. Remove fuel line. normally you should need a 17mm wrench/spanner.
Remove carburettors. should be 12mm nuts. Be careful you do not damage the idle mixture screw or accelerator pump linkage undoing these. Remove carbs.
Undo generator nut and remove fan belt and washers. Check generator spins freely.
Remove wires from coil.
Remove oil lines from oil filter can.
Remove generator tie down strap. keep special nut and bolt in safe place.
Remove thermostat rod which comes through fan housing. it unscrews by turning the rod counterclockwise.
Remove bolts holding fan shroud to engine. Normally 10mm but have often been replaced by cheese head screws
Remove the 3 bolts each side that hold the spring plates of the cross linkage bar attached to the sides of fan shroud. Remove the cross linkage bar.
You should now be able to lift of the fan housing complete with the generator, oil filter can and coil still attached. (Yes I know the coil is upside down!!)

Remove the oil filler/breather pipe from the generator stand. It is held by two bolts with 10mm nuts and is unusual in having two washers, one under the bolt head and one under the nut.

Loosen distributor clamp and remove distributor complete with cap and ignition and HT leads.

Now is a good time to tackle the exhaust. It should be held to the cylinder head by 12mm nuts but these are often 13 or even 14mm. You may need the WD40. Sometimes the stud will come out with the nut which is ok as a VW stud will fit and are easy to come by.

Undo lower nuts connecting exhaust to J tubes. These are often seized solid. DO NOT cut the J tubes they are hard to find.

If all else fails cut the exhaust.


Remove exhaust.
Remove fuel pump supply line.
Now you can start removing the sheet metal screws using a large screwdriver. Remove the rubber seals. Its not a bad time to take a photograph so you remember exactly how the sheet metal goes.
Remove the fuel pump - it is held by two 14mm bolts.
Remove the J tubes and heater boxes.
Remove the spark plugs.
Remove the carburettor manifolds. One bolt and two nuts. Bolt is special so do not lose it. Normally it is 14mm.
Remove rocker cover and the bale that holds it in placeCheck your rocker stand. Supers should have an aluminium stand with the rockers held by saddle washers and nuts. Normals have a cast stand with circlips holding the rockers. Photo below shows a super with saddle washers as original and lock nuts which are incorrect.




Loosen the tappet adjusting nuts as its easier now than when disassembled. Note that the tappet adjusting nuts and the rocker tie down nuts look very similar but do not confuse them as they are different threads
Loosen the nuts holding the rockers. the exhaust rockers at each end are held by 2 nuts, the intake rockers in the middle by 3 nuts.
Remove rockers.
Remove push rods from their push rod tubes.
Remove the 15mm bolts holding the rocker stand to the cylinder head.
Remove the stand. Check it for cracks

Remove the head bolts using a 10mm allen socket. loosen evenly starting in the middle and working out. There are 8 in total each side.
Remove the cylinder head. The photo shows the eight bolts, four next to the valve springs and four recessed into the cooling fins above.



Remove the push rod tubes and the air deflector plate which is held to the cylinders with a wire spring. This photo shows the black deflector plate, push rod and spring. Note that early push rod tubes did not have the one inch extension that the later tubes have. the long end goes into the case.



Keep these parts safely.
Remove the cylinders to expose the pistons. The pistons are held to the connecting rods by a wrist or gudgeon pin which is held in place by circlips.

Remove the circlips that hold the wrist or gudgeon pins of the piston. you will need circlip pliers for this.
Use a drift to remove the pins. an old 1/2" socket set extension bar is often the right size. If the pin is very stiff you can gently heat the piston for 30 secs or so with a blowtorch or even the heat from an old fashioned light bulb and usually this sorts the problem.
Remove the pistons for inspection later.

Now is a good time to drain any oil left in the sump. Remove the oil sump plate which is held by 10 nuts and washers. It is not unusual for a stud to come out when removing the nuts but it can easily be put back in by using the double nut technique. This involves putting 2 nuts on the stud, tightening them against each other and using the outer nut to screw the stud back in.

Remove the sump plate and filter. The sump plate has a magnet in the middle - check this for metal pieces, bronze and metal filings indicate wear in the engine.
Next remove the gauze filter which has a central hole for the oil pick up pipe.
Rock the engine from side to side to remove all the oil.

The next task is tricky. It is removal of the flywheel nut. If the clutch pressure plate is still fitted you will need to remove this first. It is held by six bolts and it is best to release them slowly a little at a time working around the plate. Eventually it will come off. Inspect and discard or keep for reuse if you feel there is life left.

For the flywheel nut you will need a 1/2" 36mm socket and a breaker bar. You will need to lock the flywheel. In the picture below is a long handled breaker bar with 36mm socket. Note the flywheel lock bolted to the engine case. The flywheel locks are a VW product and fit the 1800mm flywheels. They can be bought at most air cooled vw outlets and on eBay. Both the photos were taken with the engine on the bench for illustrative purposes. Your engine will need to be firmly attached to your engine stand or bench support.

36mm socket and breaker bar

Flywheel nut and flywheel lock

The next picture shows the pulley nut with a 30mm socket. again a breaker bar may be required. The nuts can also be removed using an air ratchet but it has to be a powerful one.

The flywheel nut can now be removed. you may need to gently lever the flywheel from side to side to get it off. lay it aside for

You can now repeat the process for the pulley. Remove the pulley nut and gently tap the pulley off. Use a piece of timber to avoid metal to metal if it is stubborn. If you look closely at the pulley shaft with the pulley removed you will see there is a semi circular shaped key in the shaft. lever this out and keep it safe.

You can now remove the pulley shroud tinware. It should be bolted to the third piece with two 6mm long short bolts. They are shorter than the usual tin ware bolts. Check they are the short ones and keep these aside in a separate bag clearly marked.

It is now possible to remove the oil pump cover. The "A" engines up until mid 1959 had a small oil pump. It was then replaced by the more efficient larger one. Remove the 4 nuts holding the cover (3 nuts and a special bolt on later large ones). In the picture below the early style oil pump cover is being removed by inserting 2 bolts into the threaded holes in the cover and tightening them which forces the cover off. This system was discontinued on later engines. Note the early style 5 bolt seal ring which covered the pulley seal. this was discontinued in mid 1957.

The gears can now be removed and inspected for wear.
Check the gears and oil pump drive shaft that is driven by the cam for wear. If the slot in the cam or the end of the gear show signs of wear then replace the worn components.

The photo below is after the third piece has been removed and shows the slot in the cam that drives the oil pump. The rectangular slot in the centre of the cam is where the oil pump drive fits in. This area can become very worn and if there is no oil being pumped then disaster is imminent.

Next remove the oil cooler and associated oil fittings from the top of the case. The early oil coolers are held by two 6mm studs attached to the cooler and a nut on a stud attached to the case. The later oil coolers had 8mm studs. In the photo below the stand for the oil cooler can be seen towards the front (flywheel) end of the engine with the stud and nut that holds the right side of the cooler and the holes for the studs of the cooler on the left. The middle two holes are where the oil enter and leave the engine.

Oil cooler base showing stud, stud holes and oil entry points with seals

Remove the fitting for the oil line to the rear (pulley) end of the engine as you will not be able to remove one of the perimeter bolts if you don't. Remove any other oil line fittings

It is now time to remove the oil pressure relief/control valve. Engines up to mid 57 only had one located on the third piece. It is easy to identify as it has a large brass cap with a wide Flathead screw socket on its surface. You need a wide screwdriver to undo this. Be careful not to damage the cap. Once unscrewed you can remove the spring and plunger. However it is quite likely that the plunger will be well and truly stuck and a special tool is available to remove the plunger. This is the tool on the right in the photo below. These can be obtained from VW heritage in the UK of Pelican in the USA

Later engines (57.5 onwards ) had 2 oil pressure relief/control valves, one in the third piece and one in the left hand case half. Remove both. Between mid 1957 and mid 58 a third thermostatic oil control valve was also fitted to the left side of the third piece. This was not a success and Porsche recalled the engines and removed the workings of the valve and capped them off!!

3 SUPPORTING YOUR ENGINE

IF YOU ARE GOING TO TACKLE AN ENGINE REBUILD THEN YOU MUST HAVE THE RIGHT SORT OF ENGINE STAND OR SUPPORT. IN THE EARLY DAYS PORSCHE USED TWO VW PARTS TO WORK ON THE ENGINES. THE FIRST WAS VW 313 WHICH IS A BENCH CLAMP, THE SECOND IS VW 307 OR 307A WHICH IS A 2 ARM OR 3 ARM SUPPORT RESPECTIVELY AND WHICH CAN ALSO BE USED TO SUPPORT THE TRANSMISSION. BELIEVE IT OR NOT THESES TOOLS CAN STILL BE ORDERED THROUGH YOUR FRIENDLY VW DEALER. HOWEVER THEY ARE NOT CHEAP!!

My VW 307 (matra tools)

LUCKILY THERE ARE SEVERAL FIRMS WHO MAKE AFTERMARKET STANDS WHICH CAN BE CLAMPED TO A BENCH OR TO AN ENGINE STAND DEPENDING ON YOUR PREFERENCE. THE OFFICIAL PORSCHE SUPPORT PART NUMBER P201 IS ALSO MADE AS AN AFTERMARKET PRODUCT.

VW 313


P201 WITH VW313 CLAMP

YOU WILL ALSO NEED A FLYWHEEL LOCK.

NOTE IN THE MAIN PICTURE AT THE TOP THAT IT IS THE LEFT HAND MAIN CASE SIDE THAT IS BOLTED TO THE SUPPORT AND THAT THE NUT FOR THE TOP SUPPORT STAND BOLT IS ON THE CASE SIDE. DO NOT GET THIS WRONG AS WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED BUILDING YOUR ENGINE YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REMOVE THE BOLT FROM THE ENGINE AS THERE IS NOT ENOUGH CLEARANCE!!

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE SUPPORT CAN BE ROTATED THROUGH 360 DEGREES TO ALLOW ACCESS TO ALL PARTS OF THE ENGINE.

PLEASE REMEMBER THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE IS THE FLYWHEEL - THE BACK IS THE PULLEY.

A CHEAP WAY OF MAKING AN ENGINE SUPPORT/TEST STAND IS TO USE A LATE VW BUS BELLHOUSING BOLTED TO AN ENGINE STAND. THE LATE BUS BELLHOUSINGS WERE BOLTED ONTO THE TRANSMISSION AND IF YOU KNOW ANY LOCAL BREAKERS THEN GET HOLD OF ONE. THE DOWNSIDE IS THAT ACCESS TO THE FLYWHEEL IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH THIS TYPE OF STAND BUT THEY MAKE AN EXCELLENT STAND FOR TEST RUNNING AN ENGINE AS THEY ALSO HAVE THE STARTER MOTOR FITMENT CAST IN. SEE PHOTO BELOW.

THE VW BUS BELL HOUSING IS ON THE LEFT OF THE PHOTO. IT IS BOLTED ON TO A ROLL AROUND ENGINE STAND AND THE PORSCHE ENGINE BOLTS ONTO THE BELL HOUSING. THE ENGINE IS A SUPER 90 I AM STRIPPING DOWN.

2. TOOL,TOOLS AND MORE TOOLS

NOW I HAPPEN TO LIKE TOOLS - IN FACT I'M A TOOL ADDICT - IT REALLY HELPS!!

IF YOU PLAN TO REBUILD YOUR ENGINE YOU WILL NEED A VERY GOOD TOOL KIT.

THE BARE MINIMUM IS A FULL SCREWDRIVER SET, A FULL 3/8" OR 1/2" METRIC SOCKET SET, A TORQUE WRENCH, A SET OF METRIC SPANNERS FROM 6MM TO 20MM, SOME LARGER SOCKETS i.e. 36MM, 30MM. A SET OF LEVERS OR PRY BARS HELPS WHEN DISMANTLING THE CASE AND CHECKING THE END FLOAT.
A SET OF PICKS IS ALSO VERY HELPFUL. YOU WILL NEED YOUR GENERAL TOOLS SUCH AS HAMMERS PLIERS ETC WHICH MOST WORKSHOPS SHOULD HAVE. A RUBBER MALLETT IS ALSO AN ESSENTIAL. A COMPRESSOR WITH A COMPRESSED AIR GUN TO BLOW THINGS THROUGH IS WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD.

SPECIAL TOOLS.

PORSCHE USED A LOT OF SPECIAL TOOLS AND WITHOUT A FEW OF THEM YOU ARE GOING TO STRUGGLE.

THE FIRST ONES NEEDED ARE USED TO INSTALL THE CRANKSHAFT AND PULLY SEALS. LUCKILY THEY ARE STLL MADE AND CAN BE OBTAINED FROM PELICAN PARTS, STODDARD AND ZDMAK IN THE USA

OIL SEAL INSTALLERS TOOL NUMBER IS P212. THE FLYWHEEL INSTALLER IS A STODDARD TOOL.

AN OIL PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE PISTON PULLER MAKES REMOVING THE PISTON MUCH EASIER ALTHOUGH YOU CAN MANAGE WITHOUT. A DISTRIBUTOR DRIVE TOOL ALSO MAKES INSTALLING THE DISTRIBUTOR MUCH EASIER. THESES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE ABOVE SUPPLIERS OR IN THE UK CAN BE GOT FROM VW HERITAGE.


YOU WILL NEED A DIAL INDICATOR AND BRACKET OR STAND TO HOLD IT TO THE FLYWHEEL. THIS IS FOR MEASURING THE END FLOAT OF THE FLYWHEEL.

THIS IS THE SPECIAL TOOLS PAGE FROM THE STODDARD SITE WHICH SHOWS WHAT IS AVAILABLE.

YOU WILL NEED A PISTON RING COMPRESSOR AND OBVIOUSLY A SET OF FEELER GUAGES.

AN AJUSTABLE TIMING LIGHT IS ALSO A MUST.

A BREAKER BAR WITH HANDLE EXTENSION OR A TORQUE MULTIPLIER IS A MUST FOR THE FLYWHEEL NUT AS IT IS TORQUED TO 400 ODD POUNDS.

YOU WILL NEED ACCESS TO A PRESS IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO PUT IN NEW BEARINGS AS THE TIMING GEARS HAVE TO BE REMOVED FROM THE CRANSHAFT.

THE LIST IS ALMOST ENDLESS BUT THESE ARE THE ESSENTIALS.

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