As luck would have it, the very highly regarded Elgin Cams business is located in my hometown. I had the good fortune to meet Dimitri “Dema” Elgin today when I dropped off my camshaft. A walking encyclopedia of engine knowledge, and very nice guy to boot. His initial inspection suggests the cam is workable. Apparently …
Inspecting the heads a little closer today. According to the Secrets of the Inner Circle book the presence of the “60,0” marking indicates a few things: Probably original The top has not been surfaced The combustion chamber volume in cubic centimeters
Another part with appropriate date code. After getting the generator out of the engine fan shroud yesterday, it was much easier to see the markings. Thanks to a Manufacturing Date Codes on Porsche 356 Parts article, I was able to determine that 3R on a Bosch component translates to March 1960. Looks like another original …
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 …
