Porsche 944 project car - £free!
Discussion
Not exactly free, I did 5 days work for it but still a bargain. It is a 1991 S2 and has been standing outside for a couple of years, the catch being the engine is dismantled & sitting in the boot.
An engine rebuild on one of these can be megabucks I looked around for a replacement and found this fire damaged example.
I have now removed the engine, stripped the car & started stripping the engine. I found a big problem with the cylinder head - a large crack, into the waterway. This must have shown some severe headgasket type symptoms as the oil and water would have been mixing on a huge scale!
Fortunately the head from the other car looks useable. The cylinder bores and big end bearings of the donor engine look in good shape. The next step is to clean the motor and fit new gaskets everywhere (some have been damaged by the fire) before rebuilding it & fitting it to the white car. BTW, the S2 has a 3 litre 16v 4 cylinder normally aspirated engine - the largest 4 pot engine of recent times.
An engine rebuild on one of these can be megabucks I looked around for a replacement and found this fire damaged example.
I have now removed the engine, stripped the car & started stripping the engine. I found a big problem with the cylinder head - a large crack, into the waterway. This must have shown some severe headgasket type symptoms as the oil and water would have been mixing on a huge scale!
Fortunately the head from the other car looks useable. The cylinder bores and big end bearings of the donor engine look in good shape. The next step is to clean the motor and fit new gaskets everywhere (some have been damaged by the fire) before rebuilding it & fitting it to the white car. BTW, the S2 has a 3 litre 16v 4 cylinder normally aspirated engine - the largest 4 pot engine of recent times.
The donor car is due to go to its new home this weekend so I'll be able to collect the white car and start cleaning it (which I'm quite looking forward to - its filthy!). I've started cleaning up the engine ready for reassembly and the head will be going for a skim next week, plus maybe some welding. There is some corrosion on the mating face, I'll leave that decision up to the head guys.
MadRob6 said:
Saw this over on TIPEC or PCGB (can't remember which one). Looks like you have your work cut out for you.
My free Porsche project is dragging on a bit but slowly getting closer to being back on the road. Good luck with yours.
I've seen your project, luckily mine had new Porsche fuel pipes shortly before being taken off the road - saving me from the huge headache you suffered!My free Porsche project is dragging on a bit but slowly getting closer to being back on the road. Good luck with yours.
bertelli_1 said:
MadRob6 said:
Saw this over on TIPEC or PCGB (can't remember which one). Looks like you have your work cut out for you.
My free Porsche project is dragging on a bit but slowly getting closer to being back on the road. Good luck with yours.
I've seen your project, luckily mine had new Porsche fuel pipes shortly before being taken off the road - saving me from the huge headache you're suffering!My free Porsche project is dragging on a bit but slowly getting closer to being back on the road. Good luck with yours.
They should be done soon but I've discovered various other bits to keep me busy for a while yet. A word of warning, check the rear of the sills where the rear trailing arm setup is mounted, you'll probably find some form of rust there. I have a bit of surface rust that should be easy to sort but I'm glad I caught it early.
I finally have the white car home now and the head is back, first, a pic of the head - the finish is awesome & well worth the expense (gulp!), compare it to the previous pic,
Now the body work. I've started the cleanup & have done some before and after shots of the worst side. It still needs further cleaning & a polish but the car will be sitting on the drive for a while yet so there's no point doing the job twice, although being white & not green anymore should keep the neighbours happy.
Thats what I call dirty & you haven't seen under the bonnet yet!
Now the body work. I've started the cleanup & have done some before and after shots of the worst side. It still needs further cleaning & a polish but the car will be sitting on the drive for a while yet so there's no point doing the job twice, although being white & not green anymore should keep the neighbours happy.
Thats what I call dirty & you haven't seen under the bonnet yet!
Keep up the goodwork, top job. Although no where near as bad I bought a MK2 Golf GTI in white which i'm going to slowly take apart and begin cleaning. Little bits at a time, already had the airbox and afm of, after 10 hours of sanding the crud off the afm it now been nicely polished 
Looking forward to seeing how you get on.
Looking forward to seeing how you get on.
It's surprising how well these old abandoned white Porsches can scrub up. Although not as filthy as yours mine had black spots all over it and had absolutely no shine whatsoever but I've managed to get it looking like this.
I wanted to get the paint protected a bit since it's going to be living outside for quite a while and didn't want the paint to deteriorate any more than it had done but it came up much better than I expected.
How long do you reckon until you'll have it up and running?
I wanted to get the paint protected a bit since it's going to be living outside for quite a while and didn't want the paint to deteriorate any more than it had done but it came up much better than I expected.
How long do you reckon until you'll have it up and running?
Since you asked - the sump is on (new pickup & sump seals), the block is cleaned and painted, ,all new front end seals (crank, waterpump, balance shafts), the balance shaft housings have also been removed and resealed. I've seen a few 944's with weeping housings so it made sense to do them with the engine out. Waterpump, rear cambelt cover, oil filler and balance pulleys are on.
The cylinder head parts are all cleaned up & ready for assembly but I need a new battery for my micrometer as the valve spring shims are all mixed up so I need to measure the spring lengths. Then I need to spend some cash and buy a new clutch, rms, belt kit, engine mounts etc before refitting the engine. There are loads of jobs to do in the meantime (finish cleaning the engine bay, fit new heatsheilding etc).
I was in 2 minds about painting the engine but the fire has stained a lot of parts and it was just easier to paint them. Plus the few cars I've seen with painted bits look rather good anyway.
Evo, I have a Mk2 Gti as my daily driver (running a 20vt engine) which I would love to give the same treatment but everytime I open the bonnet it gets dirtier.
The cylinder head parts are all cleaned up & ready for assembly but I need a new battery for my micrometer as the valve spring shims are all mixed up so I need to measure the spring lengths. Then I need to spend some cash and buy a new clutch, rms, belt kit, engine mounts etc before refitting the engine. There are loads of jobs to do in the meantime (finish cleaning the engine bay, fit new heatsheilding etc).
I was in 2 minds about painting the engine but the fire has stained a lot of parts and it was just easier to paint them. Plus the few cars I've seen with painted bits look rather good anyway.
Evo, I have a Mk2 Gti as my daily driver (running a 20vt engine) which I would love to give the same treatment but everytime I open the bonnet it gets dirtier.
Overdue update - I have spent some time rebuilding the head but finally got bored after the 3rd pass with the grinding paste. Valve grinding is a very tedious task. Fortunately my clutch arrived which gave me something else to do. I also bought some other seals inc an RMS, oil cooler kit & a thermostat - much easier with the engine out!
Surprisingly I found another problem, I had noticed the cooler takeoff has about 3 tubes worth of sealant on it. When I removed it I found a large crack, so the original engine will be donating another part. I've probably used more parts off the 'damaged' engine than the 'good' one now!
Surprisingly I found another problem, I had noticed the cooler takeoff has about 3 tubes worth of sealant on it. When I removed it I found a large crack, so the original engine will be donating another part. I've probably used more parts off the 'damaged' engine than the 'good' one now!
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