The Polopolus 4 cylinder 911 engine

[JTR70]

This thread post is to spotlight this incredible custom powerplant by Dean Polopolus. Details,pictures,history and any technical information concerning this awesome engine will be found right here. Dean is a member of this forum and I have forwarded him the link so he will be checking in regularly. He admits to being slightly technically challanged concerning the PC and forum use but if you have any questions please post them. He can read them here and I can post an answer on his behalf until he is up to speed on his computer. Thanks for stopping by! Justin


There she is; Beautiful!! This is without a doubt the most powerful and reliable Porsche based 4 cylinder boxer motor around. It weighs only a few pounds more than a stock fully dressed 356 push-rod engine. It will out perform any 4-cam motor that was ever produced. Also at a fraction of the cost! All the while doing it with legendary 911 reliability! This truely is the perfect Hot Rod "porsche" motor for a 356!

[JTR70]

A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of visiting Dean at his shop in Temecula. Though I wished I'd have taken more pictures here are a few from the trip.


This is a shot inside Deans "clean room" where he assembles his legendary motors. A fresh motor in its final stage of assembly and another to the right of it lagging not far behind.

Same engine different angle.


A mouth watering sight! A stack of brand new casted engine blocks waiting to be built! Dean no longer cuts, shortens and welds a stock 911 engine block. These are expertly casted blocks made from 356T6 alloy. A preperatory heat treament is given to each unit making it hard yet elastic for the perfect balance. Only 3 places in the US offer this service. Many, many years of research devlopment along with finding the right technical people and finally a capable foundry to bring this dream into reality!

[JTR70]

An internal shot a third engine which was in process during my visit. Custom forged chromoly crankshaft,Pauter, carillo rods (owners choice)stock 3-bar 911 oil pump. Shortened drive shaft with stock 911 chain sprockets.We are looking at one of the most important reasons this new engine is bullet proof and is Aces over the standard VW/356 push-rod engine design and also the original 4-cam engine design. This motor takes advantage of all the technical develpments that went into 911 six cylinder. Can you see it? Dean had to point it out to me; with this engine you have a main bearing a rod and another main bearing all the way through for superior crankshaft support. With a push-rod engine and a 4-cam motor you have a main bearing, a rod, a second rod, then another main bearing. Far less crankshaft support inviting catastrophic failer as more HP is produced.

[Trevor]

The dream engine for my 57! Thanks for starting the thread and sharing all the pics, I especially love the one with all the cases stacked up. A question for Dean if you can talk or email with him. Does he have cases in inventory/stock or is there a waiting period for one? I would suspect that when he does a production run of them he only does so many at a time. Thanks!

[JTR70]

Hey Trevor, will ask. Thanks! Justin

Here's some footage of a running one. The muffler totally kills the WOW factor though; should of had a stinger pipe on it!

[Trevor]

Thanks Justin. Have you seen this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgnbv8TTXl4

[JTR70]

Yes, I have seen these footage once before Trevor. As a matter of fact I had the pleasure of actually going for a ride in that very car! Dean and I were already about a year maybe two into the plans for my engine. We had many conversions about it over the phone. Dean really wanted to drive home the point to me about what this motor was capable of. he'd say its one thing to sit here and talk about Justin but you really need to experience it first hand. He went on,"I've got a little pre-A coupe here we are just getting ready to button up I'll call you once we have it going. I'd like you to plan a trip down here so you can see it." We'll I took a day and drove down to see him! I was not disappointed to say the least! It was during this trip that I got the photos of the engines in his shop. Here are all the detailed pics of this red coupe.
Justin


Car has been modified with SWB 911 rear suspension and a 901 5-speed trans with a set of boxter brakes. It did not have a passenger seat in it so they put in a small wooden dolley cart with a blanket and pillow for me. Decided to play the odds that we would not crash. This thing was fast!!!!! I hung onto the chrome "oh shit" handle on the dash and crossed my left arm over the door. then leveraged with my legs off the foot well. I was able to stay out of deans way while he pushed this thing! At the end once in the driveway i jokingly said that this had to have been the first time that this chrome handle was actually needed for its original intended purpose. Not for lack of a seat but just for the power this motor was putting out. It literally took me about 15 minutes to get the smile off my face. I was so excited! An experience that made this trip so worth while now!

[Trevor]

Sweet! I remember seeing that car at Dana Point, I thought it was the same one from the video but wasn't 100% sure. That car and engine are so nice, the engine just sings.

How are you coming along on yours, have you bought P&C's yet now that you have the heads done? Or did I miss that in the Registry thread?

[JTR70]

Hey Trevor, I spoke with Dean about your first question. He says he has 1 maybe 2 engine kits left and once they are gone it will be about another year before his next production run. Here's a link for you or anyone else if they would like to inqure. http://advanceperformanceeng.com/contact_us

I posted a shot of one of the Pistons and Cylinders I'm using on the registry a while back. The are factory Mahle 3.8 RSR units that were run with those I heads. I bought them before I had the heads actually. The are low mileage partial set of 5 which was perfect for my application.


all 5 Units show minimal wear. I think I may even get away without having to rering these but Dean will have to make that call. My next major purchase is going to be the connecting rods. I think I'm going with Pauter rods. Thanks again! Justin

[Trevor]

Thanks Justin for the heads up on the Polo motor. I'd love to pull the trigger on it now, but just not financially in the cards yet. Hopefully I'll be able to get one on his next production run. I've got plenty of welding to do in the meantime...

I do think I recall seeing that pic with your P&C. Looks beautiful.

How come all the cool stuff costs the most

[JTR70]

Hi Trevor,

Its a commitment for sure, Especially for regular guys like us. Once my engine is complete, running and in my car I am figuring I'll have invested right around 50K. You could certainly build it for far less money but because I have chosen factory RSR components it has driven the price tag up considerably. That expensive cool stuff you are talking about. Here are a few parts I have rounded up for it.

Bought a pair of early Italian version Weber 48IDA's. Nice shape but will have to be rebuilt. On the fence still I may go EFI. Fan housing with rebuilt alternator


nice 911 oil cooler, pump drive with nice sprockets.


My rest of my Pistons and cyinders. used Front main brearing and seal but in perfect condition. Craig Stevenson said its a waste of money to buy this new since they almost never wear out. He was right this one looks perfect though used. I also have a long block 2.7 which will provide all the hardware to assemble. Thanks! Justin

[JTR70]

Here's a photo I found on line...

[Trevor]

Oh man, $50K wowzers, you're committed for sure Justin! At least you can take some comfort in the fact that you're doing the metal work yourself so you have some of that money you would've spent to use on the motor.

Ok, if you would, educate me a little (or a lot) on the oil cooler for a Polo motor. I know I could be emailing Dean, but I really don't want to bother him with questions when I haven't bought anything yet and this way doing it online others can learn as well. Anyway, for the oil cooler, I know on yours your mounting it up front like the original four cams. Is there anywhere else to mount it? The idea of having to route all the lines like to you did looks very daunting and crazy time consuming. Thanks!

[JTR70]

Hey trevor,

I know it the heads really tipped the scales as far as cost once they were done. As for oil coolers the best place for max air-flow is going to be up front. I went over it with Dean several times trying to think of a way out having to mount a remote cooler. I asked him if the stock one which mounts on the back of the engine would be enough? He said under normal circumstances it would be alright but for the motor I had planned he highly recommended a secondary remote cooler. Once I got to thinking about it I realized how foolish I was being by not wanting to build the system or modify the car to do it. It would be very stupid of me to spend all that money on the engine then burn it up or least shorten its life because I didn't want to take the time. A much, much simplier and cheaper route would be to use softlines from end to end. So if you don't want to get too involved this would be the easiest way to go Trevor.


Here are the most recent pictures from week ago. The rocker and front hardlines are fully sealed and mounted in for good now. I see no reason to remove them again. Famous last words I know.

I don't blame you trevor, this whole deal was very time consuming and involved. It doesn't look like it but after the cooler, tools, tubing, machine shop time for special parts and the fittings (my time excluded)I am over 2K approaching 3k with this system.
Thanks again! Justin

[Trevor]

Cool thanks for the education! I like the idea of soft lines for mine if I decide to go that route. I understand since your car was originally a Carrera why you'd want to do hard lines as that is much closer to authentic. I remember reading all your posts about making them and all I could think is man that is a lot of time, I mean a lot. Don't get me wrong, they came out absolutely beautiful!

Again thanks, more food for thought.