Inspiring 356 Pictures

[Meissen540]

[356JAGER]

Thanks to all of you fellows. Always a good crew on this site. One other factor in my builds is CCing the heads and setting compression at 8.5 to 1 on the normal rocker arm engine and 9 to 1 on the S rocker lump with the unground crank.
Looking for a long, smooth life for them and myself.. At 72, so far, so good.. Happy Holidays and a great New Year to all.
Cheers,
Joel

[356JAGER]

If my driving style is unclear, here's the plate on my daily driver..

[Jack Staggs]

Sounds wonderful.

[356JAGER]

Jack,

My machinist is Jay Robinson, IMHO one of the best available for 356's.
He did my heads with new guides, springs, retainers etc. and cut them to
30 degrees to match the pistons. AA also offers 22 degree piston sets if
you want to retain the stock angle. A biral cylinder kit is also available
for a few more dollars.

https://aapistons.com/collections/porsche-piston-cylinder-kits/products/copy-of-86mm-porsche-356a-b-big-bore-piston-biral-cylinder-kit

My cams were both ground for me by Dema Elgin, specifically to match the other parameters of the build. As stated in my first post, the new engine is smooth and torquey and pulls like a freight train to 4500 +. You're absolutely correct, the proper cam is key to getting the most out of any
configuration, all depending on what you want to achieve.

Cheers,
Joel

[bbspdstr]

Here is a picture as my early Christmas present from a good friend and customer, John Kreuz.

The Speedster has been his since the early '60s. The original engine sits in his garage, I painted the body a Corvette yellow for him and he assembled it himself.....even though that took about 5 years.

There is always a back-story: I was called by a guy who wanted to get rid of (sell) a 912 nearby. I had no interest, so I told John. He called the guy, bought it for $800 and got a running 912 engine. (John sold the body...which was not nearly as bad as I would have thought....for $800.) He took the outer visible 'stuff' (and flywheel) off of the original Speedster engine and placed it on the 912...and since then he has over 1,400 miles this past summer with a 'stinger' Bursch and the old racer windscreen from my last Speedster.

John's son is an airline pilot, thus the picture made into a poster. I got the smaller framed copy as a memento. Come Spring, John will be out again, "loud and proud"...a kid in his '70s. I find THAT to be inspiring!

Bruce
PS- that Speedster, a '56, was 'clipped' TWICE with a front end before 1962. Pictures of the reconstruction of the body are on my website.
http://www.bbakerent.com/clients.php

[bbspdstr]

Also BTW, there is nothing but a gamble with an earlier 356 crank. They can be great even at first under...IF there are no over-revs in it's history, no un-Godly number of heat cycles, etc. But how does one know?

I raced with used C and even an SC crank before I bit for a SCAT only after 10 years of others race-testing even those, with NO reports of breakage.

Here's the un-broken engine out of the racer. Other breakage did occur, as the engine still had the trans bellhousing attached when it left the car. The only damage to the main engine other than sheetmetal was a bent right side Solex manifold. Go figure.




That SCAT got regular twists to the power max at 7200 rpm and more if the situation called for it....like waiting for a tractor-motored Brit car to shift coming out of a corner next to me (sorry Roy).

Bruce

[Pat]

I have a 912 crank in my 356B--how do those hold up? It has been in the car for at least 30 years.

[356JAGER]

Pat,
The 912 and SC cranks are the same, counterweighted with some main
bearings larger than the B crank. C crank is the same without counterweights
and is preferred by some for less rotating mass. The only 'upgrade' would be
a SCAT or one of the new Chinese repops of the same, though they are largely
untested at this point.

If you are going to race or play boy racer they are the way to go. If you're just driving for pleasure any good crank properly prepped will do fine. The old adage about ' power costs $, how fast do you want to go ' applies. The fact is that even the most souped up of 356/912 motors will maybe let you beat a Honda Civic or two, if you don't swap ends trying...

Cheers,
Joel

[Pat]

Joel

I rarely get to 5K RPM as a shift point--usually about 4500rpm. I think it will last longer than me!

[356JAGER]

Pat,
That's my plan too !!!

This one's for you Roy..

[356JAGER]

San Simeon, Ca.

[356JAGER]

Mendocino Headlands 88

[356]

[spyderwerks]