"Sleeper" hotrod - homebuild 2.7CIS to high comp 2.7 MFI

[Darren65]

Nice progress

[gav p]

Another day in the garage yesterday

Things were going well enough until I attempted to set the cam sprocket alignment. This involves matching the cam sprocket shimming to the appropriate chain sprocket within the crankcase, using a digital vernier and a machined straight edge to compare the alignment across the engine. The measurement itself is fiddly, but was made all the harder due to the rear face of my crankcase being uneven. It is supposed to form a straight reference upon which to place the machined straight edge, but in fact was anything but flat due to corrosion and other imperfections.

I think I now have a workable alternative, using a 30mm socket gaffer-taped against the end of the intermediate shaft to provide a flat reference surface from which to take the measurement. Not too elegant, but far more accurate than relying on a wobbly crankcase casting.

This seemed to work for the RH cam last night, but I need to be inventive for the LH one since the vernier is now not long enough to reach the sprocket on this side.

So, not at cam-timing stage yet, but hopefully not far off....

[Nige]

I ran DS3000 on the road as a daily driver for a while and had no issues with them being race pads. Main problem was the amount of dust they kick out and how quickly the new discs disappeared.

[neilbardsley]

Looking your work. See you at a Fairmile meeting soon or in Scotland?

[gav p]

See you at a Fairmile meeting soon or in Scotland?

We'll be in Scotland - be good to catch up then Neil.

Still hoping to have the 911 there, but finding the time to finish it between the day job and dealing with toddler tantrums is proving tricky If not, we'll be in the family estate, which won't cut the mustard at all.....

I now have a long weekend coming up though, so hoping to crack on with it.

[gav p]

Whilst the engine has been out, I decided to get the engine lid and licence plate panel repaired. A couple of parking dings were sustained during 2013 when I lost my garage space for a few months while we had the house renovated.

Mark at County Coachworks in Kingston has done a beautiful job of straightening out the lid, and repainting it. The only problem is, this'll now show up how patchy the rest of the paintwork is....



The chances of a spot-on colour match to the rest of the car are pretty much zero, particularly being metallic. However, at least it keeps the car tidy, and is a nice reminder of how good it would look if i ever got the time to do the bodywork properly

[gav p]

Another quick update - things have been mega busy, but progressing to the point where Scotland is still achievable....

I spent an absorbing Saturday evening setting the cam timing -



This took a while, but for a first attempt it went pretty smoothly compared to the sprocket alignment job described earlier. Note fixed chain tensioners from Stomski Racing - recommended by Nick for reliability and quiet running, and they also mean that externally the engine is very stock-looking (no pressure fed tensioner oil pipes). Supposedly, these will not need adjusting in a long time - but we will see.

When fitting the rocker shafts, I have used Redtek's oil seal kit. This consists of a new pair of end caps and two 0-rings (see picture, next to original parts), which seal against the rocker shaft and the cam housing when the rocker shaft bolt is tightened. This is a big improvement over the RSR seals, which I have prevously fitted but which seemed pretty ineffective. The only problem with the Redtek parts was that the nut part is completely smooth - it does not have the hex cutout of the original. Therefore it proved very difficult to torque up the bolt without this rotating. I resorted to making a slot in the end of the nut (pictured in foreground), to hold it with an angled screwdriver whilst tightening the rocker bolts. This worked well, all are now nice and tight:




Anyway, after the rocker install, things have progressed further, and we are now at this stage -



Hoping to get the SSIs fitted tonight, then the MFI

[Bootsy]

Great stuff Gav. I take my hat off to you

[911hillclimber]

Those are fancy tools!

Doing the cams and getting it right is a big hurdle in 911 engine building and very satisfying. Just takes time a a bit of confidence!

[gav p]

Yep - the fixed tensioners are really marketed as tools for making the timing easier! Avoids using clamps as per your picture, which I guess makes things slightly easier. However, they are also used by racers in place of hydraulic tensioners - a simple part which I thought would be worth trying. They are also somewhat cheaper than new original parts (for what its worth).

Tried fitting the new SSI's last night. I was very surprised to find that they actually don't fit!!

They require slight clearancing of the heat shrouds in order to sit clear of the chain cases on both sides, towards the rear of the engine. Anyone else encountered this? Considering the quality and reputation of these parts, I am pretty disappointed that this is necessary....

It should be a pretty minor mod, but I am not looking forward to taking a hammer and drift to the lovely fresh stainless steel

[911hillclimber]

Are they REAL USA made SSi's or the Dansk ones?

I have the Dansk ones and never again. Some welds popped and the fir was not good.
I would expect the USA SSI to fall into place.

Along the exhaust path I also bought a new Dansk st steel silencer.

Had to assault it with a heavy lump hammer to fit the engine around the cross beam to engine area.

Why are things sold that are not fit for purpose?

[gav p]

They are branded SSI, but made in Denmark so I assume that means Dansk. I thought this was all you could get these days?? (other than the shiny Dansk branded heat exchangers which are not branded SSI). Are USA SSI's still made?

I too have a new Dansk back box, so I guess I can expect some pain fitting that too by the sounds of it...

[911hillclimber]

Nick Moss will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the SSI/USA supply has stopped and the tools belong to Dansk. I think this was about a year ago.

The tooling may be genuine, the manufacturing is not.
I'll be interested to see how your fit-up goes.

[Darren65]

I purchased my SSI's just after they taken over by Dansk……perfect

[gav p]

Here's a pic showing the dent which was required in order to get the SSIs to clear the chain cases -



Not too dramatic, just disappointing that this is necessary.