356B T5 engine rebuild question

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Dennis Vogel
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#31 Post by Dennis Vogel »

Marc Walz wrote: Sat Jul 30, 2022 1:53 pm I will start to rebuild the engine of my 1960 356B T5 Coupe.
I rebuilt the Super 90 engine from our 1960 T5. I am an amateur, but documented most of what I did. Maybe it will help you. If assembling yourself, I highly recommend the Harry Pellow (aka Maestro) videos and his book The ABC’s (and 912’s) of Porsche Engines

The engine was far from original, save the case, heads, and carbs. I took it back as close to original as I could. Where I had to make choices, I did a lot of research, got advice from this forum, and checked some references. I'm happy we went with the following. The engine has run quite well on a stand. These links the might save you some time.
Last edited by Dennis Vogel on Sun Jul 31, 2022 2:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jay Darlington
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#32 Post by Jay Darlington »

i would go for the blue tooth distributor. a pro is going to get your car no mater what. its the freelance gang banger that wants to take it for a joy ride or turn it to a dismantler or scalp some parts himself. this is the high percentage of thefts, and it only takes a couple jumper wires to do it. the blue tooth dist. is good insurance. i'm going to have a 123 programable for sale in October it will probably have apr. 500 miles on it.
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Mike Wilson
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#33 Post by Mike Wilson »

+1 on the aluminum oil cooler. My engine ran cooler with it and even more so after I added Willhoit's remote oil filter system.

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Marc Walz
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#34 Post by Marc Walz »

Thank you so much guys, your help and advice is really great!

A lot of you guys recommend the iron cylinder and the cast pistons when buying the big bore kit. I‘m a little bit confused, as I thought the biral cylinders are lighter and the aluminum rips are better for cooling. Same with the forged pistons. I thought forged pistons are the best money can buy? I know biral cylinders and forged pistons are double the price than iron cylinders and cast pistons, but I don‘t want to save money on the wrong side.

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Dennis Vogel
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#35 Post by Dennis Vogel »

Marc Walz wrote: Sun Jul 31, 2022 4:42 pm A lot of you guys recommend the iron cylinder and the cast pistons when buying the big bore kit.
The guidance I found from Harry Pellow, Jack Staggs, and others was:
cast iron cylinders are well machined, to close tolerances. The hypereutectic piston is solid, stable and dependable. The technique has been around for many years, and is well proven.
This led us to a “Best bang for the buck” candidate. I have no first hand experience to add. Just info from reputable sources.
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Martin Benade
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#36 Post by Martin Benade »

The Shasta set is iron cylinders and forged pistons, one way to get known good quality. I have over 70 miles on mine, working perfectly!
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David Jones
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#37 Post by David Jones »

A whole 70 miles Martin? Was that all in one day?
I have used multiple sets of the AA performance and NPR P&C sets and so far no problems at all.
Price varies but around $500 a set. Just be sure that you buy a set with the correct piston crown angle either 22 or 30 degrees.
If I had known I would live this long I would have pushed the envelope a little harder.
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Dave Erickson
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#38 Post by Dave Erickson »

The 02 and 03 heads differ in one respect: if you have an S90 (or a set of S90 valve covers), they will not fit on 03 heads due to the extra aluminum.

The 02 and 03 heads are 30 degree heads, so if you go with them, make sure to get 30 degree pistons.

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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#39 Post by Marc Walz »

Thats a good point Dave. So will the valve covers of my stock 60hp engine fit or do I need to get new ones?

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Martin Benade
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#40 Post by Martin Benade »

Yours may have a domed screen that needs to be mashed a bit, but you shouldn’t have the check ball S 90 ones.
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#41 Post by Dave Erickson »

A, B and C valve covers will all work with 03 heads. S90 valve covers are the only ones that won't work.

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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#42 Post by Marc Walz »

Cam is ordered from Elgin, had a nice chat with Dimitri today. Cam should be here in Germany next week.

Also had a chat with Candace Delaney from 356 Carb Rescue. They have a set of fresh overhauled Zeniths ready to go for 1800 bucks. Don't know if this is a good price, as the restauration/overhauling itself is already 1200 bucks. Candace also told me to get some C spec intake manifolds to match the 912 heads, which I bought yesterday. Can you guys tell me how to identify the C manifolds? We have plenty manifolds for sale here on the German eBay site, some have the number 616.08.311 casted on (upper photo), others have no numbers on and look a bit different (lower photo).

It's crazy, most parts and the best support for a German car I get in the US :D We also have a Zenith carb service in Germany, but they have a leading time of 20 weeks!!! Plus they are pretty arrogant on the phone. Same with engine builder over here. We have 3 "famous" 356 engine builder in Germany, maybe you heard about Bienert, Ahnendorp and Bernauer. They build those engines for over 30-40 years now. When I first asked them for a price for the engine rebuild with the specs we discuss here, they ask around 20 grands for it. Holy shit! I had all the engines of my early 911 rebuilt, also from well known specialists. And they were between 18k and 20k. How does it come that a 356 engine is almost the same price to rebuild than a 911 engine? Wrong world ... Anyway, I build bikes for living for meanwhile 33 years (air cooled BMW Boxer) and decide to rebuild the engine of my 356 by myself at least together with my team of 8 talented (motorcycle)-mechanics. To go the right path I just bought the book "The ABC's and 912 of Porsche Engines" from Mr. Pellow which was a view times mentioned and recommended here. I think well invested 250 bucks for a used book 8)


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Martin Benade
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#43 Post by Martin Benade »

The C manifolds have larger ports at the bottom, they look like the SC/912 port sizes at the head, easy to see the difference.
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David Jones
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#44 Post by David Jones »

According to the parts list the same part # applies for all the Zenith manifolds for the A, B and the S and then the "C" engines. 616 08 035.
I would think that it would be well within your capabilities Marc, to match whichever intake manifold you buy to the carbs and the head intake ports. The outside dimensions are all the same.
If I had known I would live this long I would have pushed the envelope a little harder.
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Re: 356B T5 engine rebuild question

#45 Post by C J Murray »

The C manifolds are different.
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