Slightly O/T - 996 rebuild / Boxster transplant

[rhd racer]

Good shout, thanks. I have bought a tool too, so should be straight forward once it all arrives, and at least know that it is all super safe


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[rhd racer]

So whilst waiting for bit to turn up I fitted the plugs. I have not only treated it to new ones, but upgraded to iridium ones, which are supposed to be more efficient and require less current. Hopefully this equals easier starting - not that it has ever been a problem starting, but with a tiny 1kg battery then any less cranking time is a win




As you can see, they have a tiny pointed contact (slightly awkward to picture!)

Then the vacuum line for the brake servo. You might recall that on the Boxster engine e it is on the near side, and on the 996 it is on the off side.

The OE line is plastic and preformed, with an OD of 15mm, which at least makes finding plastic pipe fairly easy. One of the clips was broken on the elbow I inherited, so extending the thought of a plastic pipe fitting I went to my house tool bag where I keep some emergency fittings (stop ends and connectors etc) - sure enough, I had one. Better still, it is exactly the same as the factory locating clips



I found some plastic irrigation pipe online in black (so looks OE) that I hoped would be solid enough not to collapse under inlet suction. It arrived today and is perfect - you can squeeze it slightly but not enough so it collapses. The advantage of the pipe is that it will take up the offset of the banks on the boxer engine



So that is set aside until the engine is in the engine bay and I can measure how much is needed.


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[rhd racer]

The postman brought everything I needed yesterday, so before I work I reasoned with the dog that he could wait till later for his walk and hit the garage for an hour and a half.

I was expecting trouble - the Cohline pipes are 9.3mm bore versus the 9.5mm of the Halfords tubing. Ok, 0.2mm is a gnats chuff - but they were so tight it took me probably 3-4 hours to do last weekend.

I took off the jubilees and it was evident just how much they squeezed the pipe - but also the damage to the outer of the pipe that one of the 5 clips did






In a slight change of plan, I thought I would fit the pipes to the fuel rails on the car (or at least try). My reasoning being that with the injectors in and being bolted down, it was a better jig that the vice. Unbelievably, the first one slipped on like a charm, and the second.

It seems that the thinner walled line was more pliable and therefore more workable. I still used fuel seal paste as a belt and braces approach, but it was so easy that I could connect the 3 pipes to the Y connection in situ, so did not need to remove the fuel rails and the injectors.

The new fuel line clips clamped up and that was it - job done in an hour





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[rhd racer]

Tonight was a little more frustrating but productive nonetheless.

Firstly I lifted the engine on one side so I could access the filter housing. I have got a new filters (obvs) and plastic carrier because I need to keep the old ones on my 2.7, so I can fill it with oil for storage. I filled the filter first and then fitted, to save all the cranking later.



Then the coil packs ( these are just 500 miles old if that) were swapped over and the fun began with the wiring. In short, I had run the wiring for each bank in the wrong way to suit the new manifolds. The presence of the stubby manifolds meant it is all a bit different, and the wiring tighter as a result, that needed some working through. Anyway, a frustrating hour later this 5 minute job was done and all the last sensors on the block connected





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I then spotted a stripped wire on the back of the alternator which I had forgotten about. I meant to do it whilst messing around with the manifolds but here we are. I could not reach the plug well enough to disconnect it through the back of the engine so removed the alternator (a job I think would be nigh on impossible in situ).

Despite having a terminal set with 30 different options I could not remove the cable from the connector. Luckily, the cable is tight in the connector and strong, so not at risk of breaking, giving me two choices;
1. Insulation tape
2. Cut the wire, heat shrink the bare bit and solder
For ease, given the length of the cable and location I went for option 1. It is not going to fail and let me down, so it is a case of insulation and support only.

Getting the alternator back in the hole and the bolts lined up - well that was always going to be a nightmare. If you have to tap the thing out, it is never going to be easy to get back. I then decided to re-route the vacuum pipes that control the inlet flap to hide the tee piece and keep away from the throttle cable



Anyhow, all done and ready to fit the box finally.





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[sladey]

Nice work

[neilbardsley]

Wow!

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[911hillclimber]

Strewth!
Bloody hard work, far more than I expected when you started.

Wonder what these engines are like with just carbs and mappable ignition.

7 weeks or so before the season opens Wayne!!

[rhd racer]

Cheers gents

Missing the first one Graham as a bit tight on time so kicks off for me mid April - Curborough then Mallory. Should be entertaining


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[911hillclimber]

Curb in the car will be interesting!
We start on the 19/20th at Loton.

[rhd racer]

I have been struggling to pick this thread up again.

Tragically, almost 3 weeks ago we lost Angus totally unexpectedly to a heart attack. He was just 39, and leaves a lovely wife and step daughter, and lots of devastated friends and family.

I had known Angus for 25 or so years, and he was just a lad when I first met him. His father Jeff was one of my best friends, and sadly we lost him too early at 57 in 2011. Angus had just started out in a tiny workshop after a period working for Neil Bainbridge, and was soon looking after some very impressive cars. After his father’s passing he and I, and his sister, became really close and have been great friends ever since. A brilliant engineer with a can fix anything approach, he was calm and considered and the first to help anyone if he could. A long time racer, first in his father’s (then his) 71/72 911 with a 3.4 Carrera engine in hill climbs and sprints, and in recent years circuit racing his Boxster S in the Porsche Club Championship. A long time endurance fan, he had run Astons at CLM, and we were due to go to LeMans this year for his 40th.

If you have been helped by him in the past, it would be a huge help if you could assist his wife Carly and buy her some time whilst she works out how to deal with an incredibly complex legacy - link below.

https://gofund.me/e90210a0

As far as my project goes, frankly I wanted to chuck in the towel and give up, but it is not what Angus would have wanted and he was invested in seeing the project through. To be honest, whilst the car is a sad reminder it has been a helpful distraction also, so I am continuing in his memory.

I will revert to business as usual now and bring things up to date, but thanks for reading and rest in peace my friend.


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[rhd racer]

Before fitting the engine I replaced the brake pipe which goes around the engine bay - it was starting to look fragile and it cannot be replaced in situ. This being the last engine change I plan, it was a job that just had to be done. I just needed to remember how to make double flares




I shall be making a new rear to front line also whilst everything is drained down.

I did use a strange internet trick to limit fluid loss. I don’t know how it works, but by depressing the pedal half way only a drip or two comes out of the system. Very weird

I chose to swap over to my spare gearbox too. The LSD in my current box has been slipping a bit, and it is a box I picked up after a crowns wheel failure in 2022 at Loton, so was built by someone else. I will get it looked at later this year and keep as my spare



Gearbox on and I remembered the crank position sensor which looked like it wouldn’t fit in the slightly rotated position, but luckily a relief in the casting allowed me to refit it





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[rhd racer]

I mentioned how high you need to get the car to pull / fit on of these engines but of course this engine is taller still. Look away now if you are of a health and safety disposition - my largest trolley jack has failed and I need to find someone to reseal it, so I had to use two jacks and some wood to get the height. Luckily the car is very light with no engine and very stable on the wheel stands at the front so it is not quite as bad as it looks - and it was only up there for 5 mins






Once bolted in I was surprised that it actually fitted. However I did not have it properly on it’s mounts and a couple of days later I found what you would call interference with the front of the engine surround



This started a good week of messing about - first carefully cutting off the lip




In isolation this wasn’t enough, so after dropping the engine on its front mount I very carefully I cut slots in the inner skin making a mini post box in the panel, the idea being that I could compress them together and make some clearance. Thank goodness for cordless grinders, bit by bit, partially blind, I managed to get it opened up



I could then clamp some timber over the top so the lip that seals to the engine cover did not deform, and then I could use a plumbers wrench to press the inner panel up to the outer, clearance the inlet.

In doing all this, I had cut out 3 spot welds holding the skims together, so re welded sealed and painted. Overall, I had created about 5mm clearance at the front, which with semi solid gearbox mounts and a urethane engine mount should be enough


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[rhd racer]

I then dropped the gearbox slightly and clearance improved even more, by tilting the unit backwards slightly. I decided the best way to do this was to buy some 2nd hand mounts and cut them up, so I could weld the square shanked top onto my mounts, dropping the box by c10mm in the process





This was a lot of work for a relatively small gain, but the car is so low it continually smashes undertrays getting in and off the trailer (especially in lower profile slicks) and I didn’t want to drip the front anymore and risk catching a water or fuel pipe.

Rather than go to this effort, you can use a 964 engine mount, but I have already invested heavily in semi solid ones, so I modified what I have. Adding 10mm to the mount meant the studs were too short…









The stud was really difficult to get hold of, as it is M12 x 1.5, so a timer thread than the standard 1.75 pitch. But £50 and and making up the order with some boxes of bolts to put in stock was more palatable than £400 on new mounts. I matched the cone in the top of the inserted part of the stud with my thread starter worked a bit harder than it should.


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[rhd racer]

I then hit one of the most unexpected problems - I could not connect the shifter cables. The taller inlet made the cables about an inch short at max travel, and allowed for no movement. I tried to bend the mounts slightly, but this changed the alignment and made some gears difficult to shift, so I needed another solution.

Longer cables aren’t available as Boxsters don’t run the taller 996 manifolds, and whilst I have spare sets of cables the ends would not be possible to re-engineer onto longer cables.

Looking at the gear shifter, I remembered that on an S with a 6 speed box you can buy a snazzy shifter console that raises the gearstick towards the driver. I had a brainwave that I could both raise and move the shifter to shorten the cables.

Rather than make in steel, I thought I would modify a stock plastic one as they are so light and I had one from a car I broke years ago. By cutting it down, bonding a Perspex sheet with captive bolts in it, I managed to raise the shifter an inch, and move it back towards me by 4 cm.






Then with a bit of plastic paint it looked half sensible






This them created a visible gap between the cables and the inlet to allow for engine movement





Now with it all bolted in and mechanically connected I could press on with fuel and water


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[neilbardsley]

That is completely rubbish news. 39 is too young. I've been feeling old and sad a bit myself recently. One day at a time and remember to enjoy the little things.

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