DIY 4-Cam rebuilding

[jacques]

Hi All
We now have Peter Pohl's book and as he states more parts are available and it does not do the engines any good to be in long term storage. i am afraid that since the cost/value is astronomical that these engines will be not used or built to be used. Any thoughts
j

[JTR70]

If this book can actually take a competent air cooled mechanic by the hand and show them exactly how to build one of these engines correctly then I'd say its worth its weight in gold! Original engines aside in my mind this is the major inhibitor of purchasing a new Capricorn motor or the "stunt motor" both you and Joris are busy making components for. I think okay, so I can buy most of this engine new again for about a 100K am I really willing to spend an additional 60K+ to have you or Billy Doyle put it together for me? Then there is all the tune up maintenance after the fact. Again if this book can provide a roadmap for the assembly then a 4-cam motor option becomes a bit more "practical"; if I can use that word in the same sentence with "4-cam".
Justin

[jacques]

Hi Justin
The actual assembly of a 4-Cam engine is not a big deal yes the Pohl book is worth the price even if it saves a professional engine builder a few hours at the going rate. The book does have many useful tips in methodology to approach the repair of certain items i have also developed my methods of achieving these repairs/modifications that work well for me. So the question really is how much will you invest in buying replacement parts and paying for assembly that will give you an engine that does not expose the original engine parts to a catastrophic failure and enables you to use the vehicle like it was meant to be used. say the incremental cost for the parts and duplicate labor would be under 100K you could use the car worry free and even if there were a failure you could recoup some of the cost of the duplicate parts and have had the use of the vehicle.
j

[neilbardsley]

I think that unfortunately despite your enthusiasm, and this book, many 4 cams will remain on the shelf.

The price/availability of the parts just dictates that you have someone put the engine together correctly not a DIYer?

[roy mawbey]

[Meissen540]

This book will lower that cost you are thinking of Jaques. Of course its true that increased volume lowers cost, its equally true that increased resources/knowlwge will lower cost also.