57 356 A mild resto

[merbesfield]

Mark / Justin, I think its such a shame when you get caught especially when it involves the loss of so much cash and its so evident of the lack of care, for them to not even clean the item properly before starting the work involved When the job is done really well as for example with my starter motor a few years ago and you cannot find fault with any aspect of their work and presentation of the item its just so pleasing when it all works so well.
Like yourselves, I always try to repair everything myself on my car but there are always exceptions to that when for example, you don't have the correct equipement to check the faulty itrem as with my startermotor.

You both do such a great job in restoration that is so evident in all your photo's !!

Roy

Thanks Roy.

[roy mawbey]

Mark / Justin, I think its such a shame when you get caught especially when it involves the loss of so much cash and its so evident of the lack of care, for them to not even clean the item properly before starting the work involved When the job is done really well as for example with my starter motor a few years ago and you cannot find fault with any aspect of their work and presentation of the item its just so pleasing when it all works so well.
Like yourselves, I always try to repair everything myself on my car but there are always exceptions to that when for example, you don't have the correct equipement to check the faulty itrem as with my startermotor.

You both do such a great job in restoration that is so evident in all your photo's !!

Roy

[merbesfield]

Sadly, I think we all seem to have at least one "bad experience" with engine rebuilds. My 912 had what looked like caulk oozing out of joints, the end play on the crank was excessive, and that was enough to tell me to look further. What I found was disgusting. But, it is all good now, other than my restoration funds are now $16K less than when I started because it was all wasted.

[JTR70]

I sympathize with you Mark. I went through a similar situation with my Honda
I let myself get intimidated by the V-tec logo on the valve cover so I thought I needed a Honda "expert" to rebuild my motor. This is how it looked after its rebuild and 2,500 bucks later. The head and block went to a machine shop and my expert did the reassembly. Other than the residual dirt I was getting old black oil running out as I rolled it over to install the accessories, I was screwed.
All the old oil and grime was there along with pet hair and Debrie from sitting on his floor for month. Nothing was cleaned just reinstalled.
I found oil galley's on the cam caps plugged with Honda bond.
After watching several really good reassembly videos on youtube I had all knowledge and confidence I needed to handle it myself. Back down it came for a proper prep, cleaning and reassembly.
Leak tested all the chambers and found three valves that needed further lapping. Back to the machine shop that performed the work it went.

[merbesfield]

An update. I ended up getting totally screwed by the one and only master of deceit, Jack Lewis. He said he would build my engine for a fixed price, which I agreed to. I got a phone call telling me to come pickup my engine and bring cash or I would not get it back! WTF! Out of the blue. Apparently, he decided he was going to retire and didn’t want to do any more work on anyone’s cars or engines. When I showed up, he was hostile and it was all I could do to get out of there and get my engine. Once I started looking, he had not used any of the parts that we had discussed. He was supposed to be using Shasta cylinders and JE Pistons and a Neutek cam. There were a lot of telltale signs that made me very skeptical of what he had done Least of which the cylinders were cast-iron AA units, not the Shasta I paid for. I took it to another mechanic and after he inspected, he agreed we needed to tear it down and start over. Not only did he not use the Shasta cylinders, but the pistons were JE units that he had probably laying on the shelf that were 11 to one compression ratio that he machined down to supposedly 10 to one compression ratio. The cam was something we could not identify and definitely not a Neutek cam. I bought all new parts myself and we redid everything. Needless to say thousands of dollars stolen from me. My engine is now back together and I’m happy, but disgusted with how he treated me, his last customer supposedly.

[JTR70]

I haven't heard anything negative about them Mark. Sounds like they may take a little longer for the rings to seat but that just means that the super hard nickasil coating is doing its job.

[merbesfield]

Justin, those pistons look like jewelry. Have you heard anyone say that the LN’s don’t seal? My mechanic who builds motors seems biased towards not liking the LN setup. Not sure why. He said they took a while to not smoke.

[merbesfield]

Thanks Roy. Having a lot of fun. I love getting the details right.

[roy mawbey]

Well done Mark and lot of work on your project keeping you busy !

Roy

[JTR70]

Check out LN engineering for the cylinders and either JE or Carillo for the pistons and of course total seal for the rings. 912 makes the perfect base for a hot rod.

I went with Carillo's for my project and LN's for the barrels.

Justin

[merbesfield]

PS I am building a 69 912 motor for my 356 😎

[merbesfield]

I have been busy order lots of cool parts and stuff. Just placed an order for some alloy wheels and an LED bulb kit from Jules at Vintage. Taking my time to detail every nut and bolt before sending them out for plating. Past experience has taught me that final quality in plating is all about the prep prior to the platers job. The internal engine parts are not getting plated btw 😉

[merbesfield]

My car is now back on level ground, though not on its own wheels yet. Engine is currently being built by Jack Lewis and myself. Going 86mm Big Bore. Haven’t yet finalized who will supply the P&C’s. One option is Shasta. Another is Wossner out of Germany. They don’t currently offer oversized a 86mm big bore piston but they have committed to build me some. The question is how long to get produced.

https://wossnerpistons.com

I have been busy cleaning and detailing all the engine parts along with all my bits that will be freshly plated Clear Zinc.

[JTR70]

Hey Mark, Great to hear from you. Just a skeleton crew around here these days but glad to see you back. Last time we spoke you were selling this project right? Maybe a change of plans then?

Looking forward to any updates.

Justin

[roy mawbey]

Mark all the best for 2024 and your 356. Bit by bit and keep smiling ! Roy