DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Thanks Darren, thanks all.

..

Anyway, first world problems. Onwards for now. I need to finish this project either way (can’t sell as-is).

Sad to hear this about your engine.
I find the only way to resolve how you are feeling is to take back control. Go and pick the engine up what ever state it's in, breath a sigh of relief that you got it back, then work on a new plan to get it completed. Best of luck.

Don’t give up on the cars, friends and driving experience - all truly first class. Get over the present hurdle and move on. A few good drives and you’ll be back into it.

Know how this feels and have met many who have had this and far worse experiences.
Finding a reliable specialist is very hard, there are few around imho and v limited experience.

I had a difficult experience with an engine builder held in top esteem on here and it fell foul due to their machining, came highly recommended etc by many etc.
This is why I DIY as much as I can even if my ability and the result is sub standard.

Get it back and get it built at home and if some parts are tricky the current build video's by Jeff in Australia as he does his engine I feel are very good.

Mike Bainbridge sorted the machining out for me taking a week, he quoted a week for the work, and charged less than quoted.
He rescued a similar situation on my gearbox too a week later...different specialist.

With all the prep done and with all the parts needed and the Dempsey book the engine can be back in the car in one week solid, done it 4 times.

there are always massive downs during a project .. wether car / house / work etc ... pretty much always works out right in the end though .

My advice .. step away from the project, jump in a car and head over to Spa for the historic 6 hours meet this weekend . Nothing better than sights & smells of old cars racing, foreign beer + pork schnitzals / stodgy belgium german food

This is superb build thread, both about quality of work and how you present it. I really hope get your engine back and you can finish and enjoy rest of the build!

IMO Its reasonable to say that you should get your engine back fully rebuild within 2 weeks, thats plenty of time to build a fairly stock engine. Or alternatively try to get all your stuff back immediately. I hope current engine builder understands that he would most likely have very big drop in business if you'd name the place.
(my experience: I never proper answers (calls, emails) from "one of top engine builder in UK", so I made conclusion that its definately worth risk/headache to even try business with them.)

Bob Watson said several times that it takes 2 weeks to do a complete stock 2.4.

1 week to strip, clean, prep repair and get parts. (he had a huge engine cleaning machine mind)
1 week to prepare, build and check the assembly of the engine.

Thanks all. I'm grateful for the advice, and for the various kind messages (above and via PM / email) from my DDK friends.
It's nice to know that middle aged middle class men from Surrey, with extremely first world problems, can find help and support when we need it!

Joking aside, it is true that we (I) get emotionally invested in these projects. Away from the usual commercial constraints of work - for once I wanted to do something absolutely right, without compromise, and get the car as perfect as it can be. It's frustrating to be failing to do that, but hopefully will come good in the end (perhaps with a bit of rework, and some more time and money). As long as none of the original bits are AWOL or damaged, nothing is permanently lost. Fingers crossed for that - I still don't really know the status.

Richard

We both have a stalled project but more importantly another car to enjoy. Really poor customer service is all too frequent in every area of the commercial world right now but it’s not your fault so you don’t have to beat yourself up about it. Get your engine back, take a breather and go drive your other car for a few weeks, get your mojo back over the winter and regroup. You want to finish this resto, I know you do, oh, and by the way you ARE doing a fantastic job on a very worthwhile 911. Stick in.

Regards
Mike

Hi Richard,
I too am sorry to hear about your troubles. If your engine rebuilder is a DDKer, I reckon you will be fine since most people on here are good guys. Do stick with the project. You and your restoration thread have helped me along my journey and it would be a shame not to finish it to your exacting standards. Good luck and let me know if I can help in any way.
Kind regards
Gitesh

A bit of toy throwing (from pram), a bit of help from DDK-ers (thank you), and a bit of constructive engagement with my engine builder, and here we are:





There's still work to do on throttle bodies but today I collected the engine and gearbox as shown above, refurbed and rebuilt as agreed, and it's now at home with me.
Better pics to follow when it's in the car with the wiring etc connected and tidied.

Feeling a bit more chilled now.

Cheers!

Good work Richard, very pleased this worked out.

Excellent news - hope it restores your mojo!

Loverly.....