THE MAESTRO'S FEBRUARY QUIZ

Last week, a Very Smart Man from Southern California drove his 356C engine up for a MaestroMassage.

The Maestro eyeballed the engine this beauty. It was Pretty Ugly. That's Good. He likes those, because the Transformation afterwards is so unreal, the Owner can't believe his eyes and pays the bill with a Big Smile.

It was Obvious too that the engine had SOME work done on/to it.

How could the Maestro tell? Simple. It was a 730,xxx Engine- which had the Massive European Heater System. But the Heater System it had now were American Flapper Boxes And "J" tubes, NOT European. So, yes, some work was done.

The guy left, and the Maestro began taking the 356C apart. When the Maestro removed the Zenith Carbs and Manifolds (soon to be replaced with Webers), he saw what he's seen many time in his life: a 356 C/SC/912/Super-90 Head where the IDIOT REBUILDER used the early 356A/B Normal Intake manifold gaskets!

The A/B Normal/Super gaskets have smaller "holes" in them- significantly smaller than the intake ports of the Good Heads.

It's the Ralph Nader Engine Detuner- take a Big Port C/912 Head and THROTTLE IT DOWN with the WRONG GASKET! Make it grab the accelerator pump droplets and bog like hell and then blame the Webers. Make it run WORSE than a Normal!

Read about it in Ralph Nader Rebuilder Magazine.

That cast a shadow of Doom over the engine. Ifin he guy made THIS stupid mistake, what others did he make?

The Maestro wasn't long in finding out- the Rockers and their tips had been "machined" by a grinding wheel, down through the hardened surface so that that even in its brief afterlife, the tips of the ground rockers were wearing like Hell.

The Cylinders and Pistons were the NPR Big Bore kit which the Maestro likes, but these had already been honed (badly) and re-ringed, so they were probably toast.

The Maestro dropped the drain plate to eyeball what Demons may lay inside, and found a layer of iron filings on the magnet. Not a lot, but not a little either.

The screen was the typical 356C screen with the city-block size holes that lets crud the size of buildings through. To the Bearings.

He eyeballed the fronts of the Bearing- many scratches and much embedded debris. This was a pretty dirty engine.

So the previous owner skimped out and replaced the crank with the cheapest one he could find- a Brazilian job.

The Maestro miked the Boy from Brazil. It miked out as a decent Standard.

But oh boy, that crud in the Bearings! Not a good sign for the oil cooler.

The Maestro was puzzling over this as he went back to the Fan Shroud with the Generator and Fan still inside.

Time to deal with the Details.

So he removed the 4 6mm bolts holding the Generator shroud to the Fan Shroud, and pulled on the Generator.

It wouldn't come out.

The Maestro tried again, rotating the Generator Fan around for most favorable removal conditions.

No such luck.

This was another Case of the Stuck Fan Syndrome!

Stuck fans are such fun!

Ifin Joe Crazy takes his recently rebuilt Hot Rod 356 Porsche out and really "cranks the R's", up, he unfortunately forgets that the Generator and Fan are spinning at almost TWICE crankshaft RPM! So that any problems in the Fan System following the rebuild, come to the surface FAST.

One of the them is just the High RPM- the high centrifugal forces can distort the Fan enough that it expands and WON'T COME OUT OF THE FAN SHROUD!

So how DO you get the Generator and Fan out???

Good Question.

Answer:

Since this was a 356C Engine, the Fan Shroud has the Volute inlet- a large, rounded air intake with NO Screen over it.

This allows easy access by a 36mm Socket attached to an Impact Wrench that removes the stucky-poo Fan Nut quick as a bunny.

Then, the Generator (without shroud), slides off just a sweet as you please.

But that leaves you with the Fan, still stuck inside the Fan Shroud. So, how do you get it out??? Without destroying either Fan or Fan Shroud!

Answer:

The Time honored Maestro way.

Take a small to medium Ball Peen hammer.

Redress the LIP of the Fan Shroud with radially outwards taps of the Pendulum like ball been hammer.

Go completely around the large circle twice.

Stop. Grab the fan, and see ifin it doesn't come out now.

Yes, it did? Then thank the Maestro profusely, and in the future believe everything he may say without question.

No? Think the Maestro's a Quack?

Go back and tap some more. Maybe a little harder. Repeat until the Fan falls out.

NOW do you Believe???

The Maestro eyeballed the Fan still stuck inside the Fan shroud. It looked a little weird.

Suddenly, his Center of higher Reasoning slapped him upside the head.

"You dummy- look at the hole in the center, Here, let me move your head for you."

The hole in the Fan is a circle with two chord cut-outs to fit on a collar on the generator shaft that also has two chord cut-outs too.

But not this Fan!!

This Fan had its center hub COMPLETELY CIRCULAR!

The chord cut-outs had long since been machine out!

Which means that the Fan wasn't being driven by the Generator shaft. Which means that the engine mustave run pretty damn HOT without much fan cooling.

Brings a new meaning to the term "Hot Rod", eh?

Maybe this was the reason it was sold! (Dang it Clem. We can't get this SOB to stop overheatin'. Only one thing to do. Better sell 'er.")

Well, she's in better hands now. And with a little help from the Brazilian Crank gods, she might run a little longer and a little cooler next time.

Keep the 356 Faith
Maestro

P.S. With a Brazilian Crank, the A/B Normal manifold Gasket, the Align Bore Case, this engine clearly failed he Lifting Lug Law- the Lifting Lug was there, but the engine was Turkeyized.

So, now we're down to a 80.35% chance of Original Virgin (or good rebuilt) Virginity if the Lifting Lug is present.

Still a good bet though.

Keep the 356 Faith

Maestro
 

 

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