Restoration of a 1960 Porsche 356 Super 90 sunroof coupe.
I am still surprised how much crap is down in the nether parts of the engine. The amount of stuff stuck to the magnet in the oil pan was impressive. It was so thick and densely packet around the magnet, I thought it was a big donut or seal at first. The parts washer turned …
It was holiday family fun day today. While I didn’t get hands on time with the engine, my mind worked away. In between wondering when we would eat and considering the amount of alcohol it is safe to mix with anti-anxiety medication, I pondered the merits of zinc versus cad plating. I also wondered whether …
Good news everyone! After much concern and consternation, I was finally able to locate and verify that the case casting numbers for each of the case parts match. I was having a heck of a time finding them, and had become worried they were missing or ground off. Turns out, you just need to know …
Our Solex 40P11-4 carbs were packed up and shipped off today. They will be restored by what I’m told are the very capable hands of Jim Kaufmann at 356 Carburetor Rescue. I was very tempted to do a rebuild on them myself with a kit. I was advised by people wiser than me to send …
Research seems to confirm my suspicions that the crank was not correct, much less original. Courtesy of the late great Harry Pellow’s book The ABC’s (and 912’s) of Porsche Engines or Porsche Engines and the Future of the Human Race, the early Super 90 did have a unique crankshaft. Mainly just a beefier main bearing journal diameter of 55mm. Mine being an early S90, would not have been counterbalanced. It looks like the counterbalanced version did not cut …
Successfully cracked the case halves today. It required an expertly engineered, hand crafted tool. I sacrificed a cheap 14mm box end wrench. Used my bench grinder on the outside to make it thinner walled. My first custom made Porsche tool Initially was worried by the date codes on the case halves. The first was “12/60”. …
An obsessive personality is a blessing and a curse. A lot of reading, questions, and staring at artificially enlarged photos seems to have led me to being able to definitively identify a Porsche 356 T5 seat. I guess I will know, but I doubt that many other people care too much. A little surprised that …
As my list of parts that need replacing has continued to grow, I’ve been wrestling to create some guidelines for what type of parts to pursue. There are more choices than one would think: Original (refurbished or not) from the original car or a donor New Old Stock (NOS) Porsche Factory new Original Equipment Manufacturer …
I had been slowly gaining confidence that the engine was all original, and had never been rebuilt. The parts, including quick to go things like plug wires, and dates were all turning up original spec. The bolts were the correct size “across the flat”, per The Maestro Harry Pellow. The only odd thing had been …
Day 2 of my engine rebuild efforts. I had a tough time getting the distributor off. Was trying to use a rubber mallet to loosen it and hit the fan belt pulley. Broke part of it off. Didn’t realize it would be so fragile. Felt stupid and wanted to throw things. To make things worse, …
