My 964 engine rebuild (Steve Brookes)
- Thread starter Steve Brookes
- Start date
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Not at all but I'm not sure if it should be a point of discussion so send an e-mail to me: boxsey at btinternet dot com and I'll be happy to let you know.
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Wednesday June 2nd (Easytrack day)...about 8 of us going along at the moment. I'm also booked on the PCGB day at Silverstone in late July [
]
]
da_gleadless
New member
Congrats Steve, so pleased for you (not so much for your wallet, but its gotta be worth every penny)[]!
]!
Steve Brookes
Moderator
ORIGINAL: da_gleadless
Congrats Steve, so pleased for you (not so much for your wallet, but its gotta be worth every penny)[
After the first drive today....have to agree with you. [
] Will report more back of my thoughts after some extensive test drives this weekend.
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Who's doing yours Andy?
Mike & James at Zentrum Nottingham. Always been very happy with the way they work
and have a great reputation in the East Midlands. I think anyone that is having this sort
of work done should spend plenty of time discussing the whole project with their chosen
builder and that's one thing that Mike has been great about. Price is always a consideration
clearly, but for me it's how your taken through the job that's the important thing. I'm sure you'll
agree Steve that when parting with this amount of wedge you want to be "in there" with them, not talking to the tech through some bird on reception. I've left a camera with him and I'll be popping in when I can to check on progress so I'll post a
few pics as and when.......Did I say I was missing it already? []
Andy.
and have a great reputation in the East Midlands. I think anyone that is having this sort
of work done should spend plenty of time discussing the whole project with their chosen
builder and that's one thing that Mike has been great about. Price is always a consideration
clearly, but for me it's how your taken through the job that's the important thing. I'm sure you'll
agree Steve that when parting with this amount of wedge you want to be "in there" with them, not talking to the tech through some bird on reception. I've left a camera with him and I'll be popping in when I can to check on progress so I'll post a
few pics as and when.......Did I say I was missing it already? [
]Andy.
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Yes, I've heard good things about them. Keep us informed and let's hope there's a long summer of fun to reward us []
]
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Finally....Some thoughts about the whole process.
So, today was really the first time I got to go out and put some miles on the car since it was all put back together. It idles beautifully and there is distinctly less mechanical noise from the engine. The same is true as I increase rpm. I have to admit that prior to the rebuild it was getting a lot more 'clattery' at high rpm (but that could have just meant the tappets needed adjusting). On the road the revs build smoothly and rapidly. There's no lag to speak of. At the moment I'm limited to 5,000 rpm. Does it feel more powerful than before in that rpm range? To be honest...no. I'm not disappointed by that. In fact, I'm very impressed that my backside dyno tells me that a 167,000 mile 964 engine had probably still got most of its original ponies before it was rebuilt.
My brief experience is that if the car feels plenty powerful, then a rebuild is not going to suddenly make it feel more powerful. Am I glad I spent all the money having it done...yes. The reasons being:
1. The numerous oil leaks on the engine have now been sorted.
2. Every part of the engine is now as good as it can be for its age.
3. I have the peace of mind that the engine should be good for many years to come and there's no time bomb ticking inside that could lead to a sudden failure.
4. The longer I had waited the more it would have eventually cost
Regarding point 4, a big cost is the labour and that will only go up as time goes on. However, more significantly, as the 964 parts bin in Germany gets emptied, the prices of parts are being hiked up. A specific example with mine was the cost of the six rubber intake stacks that I needed replacing; a month before my rebuild started these retailed at £20 each but when mine were orderded the price had gone up to £40 each!
To finish, here's another gratuitous pic of the refreshed engine []
and here's a little tip from Danny of unit 11 for anyone who has a loose fitting filler cap. If like mine it spins loose if you overtighten it, put a jubilee clip on and keep taking it off and tweaking it tighter until the cap goes on with a nice firm twist. I think he was feeling sorry for me after I'd paid the bill so didn't want to suggest that I needed to buy a new cap. []
So, today was really the first time I got to go out and put some miles on the car since it was all put back together. It idles beautifully and there is distinctly less mechanical noise from the engine. The same is true as I increase rpm. I have to admit that prior to the rebuild it was getting a lot more 'clattery' at high rpm (but that could have just meant the tappets needed adjusting). On the road the revs build smoothly and rapidly. There's no lag to speak of. At the moment I'm limited to 5,000 rpm. Does it feel more powerful than before in that rpm range? To be honest...no. I'm not disappointed by that. In fact, I'm very impressed that my backside dyno tells me that a 167,000 mile 964 engine had probably still got most of its original ponies before it was rebuilt.
My brief experience is that if the car feels plenty powerful, then a rebuild is not going to suddenly make it feel more powerful. Am I glad I spent all the money having it done...yes. The reasons being:
1. The numerous oil leaks on the engine have now been sorted.
2. Every part of the engine is now as good as it can be for its age.
3. I have the peace of mind that the engine should be good for many years to come and there's no time bomb ticking inside that could lead to a sudden failure.
4. The longer I had waited the more it would have eventually cost
Regarding point 4, a big cost is the labour and that will only go up as time goes on. However, more significantly, as the 964 parts bin in Germany gets emptied, the prices of parts are being hiked up. A specific example with mine was the cost of the six rubber intake stacks that I needed replacing; a month before my rebuild started these retailed at £20 each but when mine were orderded the price had gone up to £40 each!
To finish, here's another gratuitous pic of the refreshed engine [
]
and here's a little tip from Danny of unit 11 for anyone who has a loose fitting filler cap. If like mine it spins loose if you overtighten it, put a jubilee clip on and keep taking it off and tweaking it tighter until the cap goes on with a nice firm twist. I think he was feeling sorry for me after I'd paid the bill so didn't want to suggest that I needed to buy a new cap. [
]
vitesse
Active member
Steve,
I am glad you are pleased with the result-the engine pic looks great-as to performance your seat of the pants "dyno" isn't a very scientific conclusion-as you say,there is no reason to think your car before the rebuild was down on power & will obviously be a little tight just now but once run in again should should be capable of that bit extra.
If you had new plugs,I always felt they took a few hundred miles to burn back when they were changed at the service by John.I had the same experience using Bosch Superfours in the Rover Vitesses I have run-it always took a few hundred miles to get that eager performance feel & this was reflected in mpg figures.
Enjoy![]
I am glad you are pleased with the result-the engine pic looks great-as to performance your seat of the pants "dyno" isn't a very scientific conclusion-as you say,there is no reason to think your car before the rebuild was down on power & will obviously be a little tight just now but once run in again should should be capable of that bit extra.
If you had new plugs,I always felt they took a few hundred miles to burn back when they were changed at the service by John.I had the same experience using Bosch Superfours in the Rover Vitesses I have run-it always took a few hundred miles to get that eager performance feel & this was reflected in mpg figures.
Enjoy![
]
Steve Brookes
Moderator
Des, the decals came from highgate house who supply decals for the Porsche club championship:
http://www.highgatehouse.co.uk/old_964.htm
The wheels (boxster sport classic) I got from a member on here 'bamberjim' who specializes is supplying used Porsche wheels. You can e-mail him through his profile.
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