THE MAESTRO'S QUIZ, MARCH 1 1998
Copyright 1997, by Harry Pellow, All Rights Reserved.

Throughout his Books, the Maestro has told you about many Amazing Coincidences.

..... He's had Copious Coincidences recently, so several Stories are interwoven into the cloth of the following Tapestry, complete with Flash Backs, Flash Forwards and a few Jump Cuts. Just Suspend your Disbelief a little.

..... The Most Recent Amazing Coincidence- which happened TODAY- had its Roots way back in 1969 and its Connection almost thirty years later at the 1997, 356 West Coast Holiday held in San Diego and to which the Maestro was graciously invited to give his Tech Session Show & Tell, Dog & Pony show: "THE 356/912 ENGINE, EXPLODED VIEW".

..... Ah, the Horror of Headless Cast Iron Cam Followers being bashed through the Case by a rapidly rotating Crank swinging for the Fences. Frighteningly Expensive, "Biral" SC/912 Cylinders split alllll the way right down the middle. Every important part of a 356/912 engine- BROKEN.

..... Now, THAT'S a Scary Show. Especially for a 356 Owner Far From Home.

..... Anyhow, on Sunday, after the Swap Meet, which the Maestro also attended, of course, the boys began the drive Back Home. The Maestro and Andrew were a-crusin' easily up The 405, 'tween San Diego and Los Angeles, when the Maestro's keen Optically-Aided Eye spied a Priority Interrupt Shape- no, not of a MFP (Member of Female Persuasion), though you're close- it was a 356!

..... It was a poor, Broken-down 356, stopped by the side the Road! Fortunately it was a very WIDE side of the Road, with lotsa trees for protection from the crazy-ass traffic down there.

..... The Maestro, always the good 356 Samaritan, naturally stopped. But the gathering of a crowd of three OTHER 356's made it apparent that things were already well in hand and he was Late to the Party.

..... But the Maestro wanted to find out what The Problem Was- for Future Use, perhaps.

..... "Oh, it was nothing said the Owner of the 1957 356A Proudly, half in and half out of the engine compartment, tightening down those two bolts used to attach a 356A Fuel Pump.

..... The Maestro noticed the Original 356A Fuel Pump and said- "See, that's why I like to put on a BRAND NEW 356C/912 Fuel Lump on every engine overhaul. They go 100,000+ Miles with no problem, and of the near-1000 I've put in, I've not had ANY failures. (having said that, just wait till next week.)"

..... "No," said the guy. "The car's pretty Original. And all it was was that the locking snap ring on the "Pivot Pin" Fulcrum fell off. And the Pivot Pin came out. Since I've owned this car for 30 years, I found the Snap Ring in the Fuel Pump Shroud when I took that off."

..... "Ah, yes," said the Maestro. "The Pivot Pin is needed for the right-angled Monkey Motion. That's yet ANOTHER reason why I like the 356C/912 Fuel Pump- there's NO "Pivot Pin" nor Pivot Pin Snap Ring to fall off and fall out. But then, we wouldn't have met!"

..... Turned out the guy fixing his pump had attended the Maestro's Tech Session the previous day, and was well versed in the Forces of Murphy.

..... Anyhow, That's the Way it Was, in September 1997. Fast Forward now to February, 1998, less than 6 months later, wherein the Maestro gets a call from the VERY SAME GUY - the guy who broke down on The 405 that day in his '57 356 "A".

..... Turned out that in December, the Crank in the 1957 engine broke in half, and the guy had to drive it SIXTEEN miles to get it back home! (The Maestro only got TWO miles out of his in Biloxi, Mississippi, 2767 miles from Home. Shows you the difference in Luck. Or Payment of Dues to the Porsche gods.)

..... "That's too bad about the crank," consoled the Maestro, "But now you have an Opportunity to use a Brand New Original 356B Crank from one of the unopened Factory-Sealed Boxes still on the Shelf.

..... Anyhow, that Friday afternoon when things finally calmed down as enough people snuck off for an early vacation, the Maestro was finally working on the Chiropractor's Story *(See "my Achin' Back/Web link). In fact, he was underneath the car, INSIDE the Engine Compartment, replacing the Transmission Bell Crank of the 1961 356B Cabriolet.

..... Do YOU know how many Types of those Carb Linkage Bell Cranks, and mounted on a rod sticking out of the Transmission did Porsche use on the 356 from 1955 to 1965?

..... Go ahead- Take a guess!

..... That's Part 1 of the March Quiz.

..... The Maestro counted Three Basic Bell Crank Families- but with enough variation in one family to really make it a FOURTH family.

..... What defines a "family" of Bell Cranks is the Ratio of the Lengths of the two "arms". 356A's started with a Longer arm on the cable end for More Torque at the horrible carb linkage Single Barrel Solexes have, but which required a long gas pedal "throw". Lotsa foot movement.

..... 356B's and C's both a Shorter "arm" on the cable end and a longer arm on the other end than 356A's to give more "throw" for a given gas pedal movement. That feels better.

..... The Real Oddball Bell Crank was used on the EARLY 1960 356B having the rare Single Front Transmission Mount. These babies were only made for about 6 months in early 1960. Then the Factory wised up and went back to the Dual Front Mount that had been used previously.

..... (The Rare Single Front Mount 1960 356B has a Hellofa Bell Crank- instead of the arms being on the order of 1-2" long, the oddball early 1960 356B has SIX INCH long arms! It's the John Holmes of Bell Cranks. And the Maestro has only one of that type arm in his Carb Linkage Bell Crank Collection.)

..... Anyhow, the Maestro was under the Chiro's car, when the Man >From San Luis Obispo appeared.

..... "Howdy," said the Man from SLO.

..... "Groan," thought the Maestro. "Will I ever get this car done???

..... But the appearance of an Engine Overhaul from out of the Ozone of LA is always nice. The Maestro appreciates Customers who See The Light and come North, out of the Smog & Craziness.

..... The Man from SLO hauled in a 1957 356A Case- the type with the 5-bolt seal ring, where the Pulley Seal is held in a separate, removable circular piece of Aluminum, held to the third Piece of the Case by Five, 6mm nuts. This is called the "Five-Bolt Seal Ring Engine and is the first Three-Piece Case Engine Porsche made.

..... The Man from SLO's engine, like most engines in that era, was a Normal. Which meant it had the 356A Normal rods, the ones that are quite rough on the edges of the Beam. Supers have Smooooth Beams. That's why they're Super.

..... And there was the front half of the two-piece Crankshaft, with the fully-circular #3 Main Bearing still in place in front of the Gears.

..... The Crank had failed at a somewhat unusual place- at the First Connecting rod in from the Pulley end. Usually they fail at the First or Second Connecting Rod out from the Flywheel.

..... And here were the Original 356 "A" Normal Cam Followers of the type that lose their heads, Marie Antonette-like.

..... And then there were the Main Bearings.

..... The Maestro noted something a little funny about the Main Bearings and went into forensic Porsche Pathology mode.

..... First, he eyeballed the Main Bearing Bores of the Case. As he said, the Case was the pre-1957.5 engine with the 5-bolt seal ring, the small oil pump, and the one itty-bitty oil pressure relief valve with the weak spring. Not the best of engines, but this one had gone some 90,000 miles before being rebuilt in 1969 by its then and current owner, the Man from San Luis Obispo.

..... The guy had rebuilt it almost THIRTY YEARS ago- in 1969, but had put only 20,000 miles on it since.

..... He had gotten the 356 Back On The Road Again, just in time to drive it to the 1997 356 West Coast Holiday in San Diego, and then, of course, back home to SLO. It was but a few months latter, when the crank broke in half.

..... The Maestro closely eyeballed the Case Bores. Both the #1 Flywheel Main and the #3 main bearing bore were baldly beaten and had that strange "multifaceted" look about them- a sure sign that a Case MUST be Align Bored!

..... Hummmmh, thought the Maestro that's strange- both the #1 FLYWHEEL MAIN and #3 Main Bearing Bores are badly beaten, but the Middle Main isn't! That's Highly Unusual. Usually, when a crank breaks in half, the Main Bearing nearest the Break suffers badly. But here, both Front and REAR Bearing bores suffered, not the Middle.

..... Wonder why that is?

..... Want to try Part 2 of the Quiz and answer WHY #1 and #3 Case Bearing Bores were BOTH badly beaten, but the Middle Main wasn't?

..... As the Maestro groped for an answer, the Owner brought in a coffee can filled with the usual nuts and bolts from the Case disassembly. Also Inside were those Cast Iron Rockers, (soon to be replaced with Original ATE Super Cam Followers, #3900, 3000 or 21411) that don't break their heads off and therefore, never destroy a perfectly good Case.

..... Also in the coffee can were the Flywheel Main Bearing and both halves of the split, #2 Middle Main Bearing.

..... Hummh thought the Maestro. Now where have I seen these bearings before???

..... It was JUST A HALF-HOUR AGO- 'cause the Maestro was Measuring a whole buncha First Over Align Bore Main Bearings for a Man from Massachusetts. The Man from Massachusetts had a "Racing Engine" with a First Over, Align Bored Case that was some Two-THOUSANDTHS too tight on the FLYWHEEL MAIN Bore, thanks to a rather poor align bore.

..... With Two-thousandths extra "crush" on the FLYWHEEL MAIN Bearing, the Running Clearance is almost 0.0000", or what they call a "net" fit.

..... A "net" fit in almost any engine is just asking for Seizure, but the Man from MA's engine was a RACING ENGINE that normally runs LARGER clearances than "Stock". Not exactly what the Man from MA's wanted in his Racing Engine, but that's what he got.

..... When the Man from MA went around a loooonnng, sweeping right-hander, in the next-to-the-last Race at the end of last season, all the oil in his non-extended Sump went way over to the Left, leaving none for the Oil Pump to suck. For how long the Oil Pressure went to Zero, the Man from MA knows not, for because his State of the Art, Computerized Data Gathering System installed in his 356, only stored the LOWEST value of Oil Pressure- 4.3 psi, NOT for how long the oil pressure WAS "4.3 psi".

..... Since "4.3" psi is probably the Pressure that the residual air space in the Oil Filter Can provides for several seconds after you turn the engine off, which means that he had essentially ZERO oil pressure during that long Right-Hand sweeper.

..... As a direct result, a Connecting Rod Bearing began to "spin", started Generating Heat and the engine started loosing power.

..... The Loss of power was noted by the Man from MA who prudently pulled into the pits and shut it down for the day, with but one race left that season. Tore it down a few months later to realize what had happened- pieces from the disintegrating rod bearing got back into the FLYWHEEL MAIN Bearing and cause SEIZURE of the engine.

..... Anyhow, having had this problem, the Man from MA went out and bought a Dial Bore Gauge and measured all three Case Bores many times to find that #2 and #3 Case Bores were a pretty good First Over.

..... But that the FLYWHEEL MAIN Bearing Bore was TIGHT by .002". Now, you might think it no big deal if your wife/girlfriend/mistress were loose/tight by a couple of thou. Or Vice Versa. But when the Running Clearance of your ENGINE is only about 2 thou, having the Case two-thou too "Tight" means having almost NO Bearing "Ruining Clearance".

..... No "Ruining Clearance" means easy SEIZURE from any foreign particle the right (or for you, the WRONG) size.

..... There are several possible solutions to the too-tight case Problem. Solution 1: Send Case from MA to CA to be Honed on Bridgeport to Proper First Oversize on Flywheel Main.

..... Rejected: NOT ENOUGH TIME TO DO IT RIGHT! Solution 2: Polish Flywheel Main Bearing Journal on Crank down a couple of thou to achieve proper clearance. But this Solution, like the next was Rejected for reasons you shall soon see. Solution 3: Machine the outside diameter of the FLYWHEEL MAIN BEARING itself down to fit the two-thou too small case. This WOULD have worked had the Case Bearing Bore been Completely Circular.

..... But it turns out that the FLYWHEEL MAIN Bearing Bore of this Case WASN'T completely circular- it was "egg-shaped". Even more Unusual- the VERTICAL dimension was the GREATER- IT was almost OK First Over, Vertically.

..... But the HORIZONTAL dimension- the one that really counts and that always gets BIGGER as the case beaten or strrrreeetttchhed in the horizontal plane by the horizontal pounding of the horizontally opposed pistons was SMALLER, TIGHTER by Two Thou.

..... So, the Man from MA's Case had the VERTICAL dimension BIGGER. And the more-important HORIZONTAL dimension SMALLER- Two Thou too tight!

..... So, how he do that?

..... Geez, said the Maestro to the Man from MA. How the HELL can you get THAT far off of a circle with an align bore? The Tool traces a Circle no matter if it's set wrong size-wise. So how'd the Bore get to be oval-shaped that much between the Vertical and Horizontal dimensions?

..... And That's Part III of the Quiz

..... The Maestro was stumped- until the Man from MA said:

..... "Uh, well, Maestro,. I have a Confession to make."

..... "Bless you my son," said the Maestro. "For all we want is to get to The Truth Of The Matter. But this Confession, does it have anything to do perhaps with the preparation of the Case Halves?"

..... "Yes, Maestro. I confess. It does. When I "stoned" the case with a machinist's stone- went over the case Mating Surfaces to remove any burrs- I might have been a little over-zealous in the FLYWHEEL MAIN Area. And maybe I took off a tad more that I should have."

..... "Bless you again my son, for Confessing. For now we have arrived at the Truth of the Matter- an EXPLANATION of WHY the Case was Big Vertically but small horizontally.

..... And why machining it back out to "Standard" would be the best Solution.

..... Otherwise, you'll have to take a First Over FLYWHEEL MAIN bearing and hand-sand/polish/lens grind the Outside Diameter of it, taking a thou or so off from the Equator at the Middle of both sides of the FLYWHEEL MAIN to taking almost nothing off at the "North" and "South" Pole where none needs to be taken off, to CUSTOM-FIT the Bearing to the Case!"

..... "Yeah," said the Man from MA. "I could do that..."

..... In fact the Man from MA WANTED to do that- probably as penance. He was gonna to differentially hand-machine a new First Over FLYWHEEL MAIN to Fit the slightly oval-shaped Case.

..... More Power to him thought the Maestro. He's an Experimenter. We need more Experimenters. Used to have a lot more of 'em.

..... So anyway, the Maestro had been measuring his collection of First Over Main Bearings that morning for the Man from MA to find one of smallest Outside Diameter to minimize the hand-machining.

..... The Maestro's somewhat twisted brain was rehashing the morning's measurement of main bearings, so when he eyeballed the Mains of the 1957 Engine from the Man from SAN LUIS OBISPO, he noticed Something Unusual 'Bout the Bearings.

..... And what was so Unusual that it caught the Maestro's eye?

..... The Oil Holes in the Main Bearings.

..... And WHAT was the Deal with the Oil Holes in the Bearings?

..... The Oil holes in the Main Bearings of the 1957 Porsche Case were just an itty bit smaller that they should have been.

..... Why is this important?

..... That's Part IV of the Maestro's March Quiz.

..... WHY was it Important that the Oil Holes in the Bearings in that 1957 Porsche were a little smaller?

..... Because the Oil Holes in a PORSCHE Main Bearing are slightly LARGER than the Oil Holes in a Volkswagen Bearing.

..... And the Bearings in the 1957 engine were supposed to be PORSCHE. But they had the Oil Holes of a 36HP VW!

..... "Has the Case been align bore?" questioned the Maestro.

..... "NO, I put it together myself, way back in 1969!" It was still a good Standard. "

..... "Not any more though, said the Maestro pointing to the obvious Grooves in what should be a smooth section where the FLYWHEEL MAIN sets. There was a fingernail-scraping, raised section of Case - where the bearing doesn't touch- which caused the "raised, unworn section" in the Case. >From the Fingernail Test, the Case was worn about .003"- on each Case Half- or 0.006" total, darn near approaching First Oversize (0.010" approx.).

..... The Maestro reached out and grabbed the two pieces that make up the split Middle Main Bearing. IMMEDIATELY it hit him!

..... What did he see when he eyeballed the Middle Main? That the Middle Main was NARROWER than the Porsche Middle Main Bearing. Only 2 millimeter smaller, which isn't much, perhaps, but it's noticeable- especially ifin you've been working with these things all morning.

..... "See that?" said the Maestro. "That's a 36HP VW Main Bearing! It's NOT a Porsche!"

..... The Man from SLO was speechless.

..... The Maestro pulled out his 2-3" Micrometer and adjusted it to near 2.383". Then he measured the Outside Diameter of the FLYWHEEL MAIN of the 1957 Porsche engine.

..... Want to guess what he got for a size?

..... Yep, That's Part V of the Quiz!

..... And WHAT was the Outside Diameter of the Flywheel Main Bearing that had been in the 1957 Porsche Engine?

..... Nope, it wasn't 2.383 which would have made it (and the Case) First Over.

..... And Nope, it wasn't 2.373" EITHER which would have been STANDARD PORSCHE SIZE.

..... Nope. THIS Bearing measured out around 2.363", a number the Maestro's somewhat twisted brain refused to accept at first- for it DOESN'T EXIST IN PORSCHELAND!

..... "Uh-Oh," thought the Maestro's somewhat twisted brain.

..... "Tell me," said the Maestro. "Just out of Curiosity, do you happen to remember WHERE you got these Bearings from Thirty Years Ago?

..... "Well," sand the Man from SLO, closing his eyes and thinking back. WAYYYYYY back.

..... "Back in 1969 a friend of mine ran an Auto supply shop, and he liked Federal Mogul Bearings. So that's what he supplied. Federal Mogul Mains."

..... "OH NO!" SHOUTED the Maestro! "Why that's AMAZING!" "Way Back in 1969, when I was just beginning to play with Porsches, I took a Case to a man we'll call "Jay", who then worked at a Quality Machine Shop in a not-so Quality part of town, to measure the Case Bore of a pretty nice 1963 Super that the Maestro and the Late, Great, Dean Pfundstein were Restoring.

..... Jay measure the Case and said it was First Oversize.

..... The Maestro was shocked- it was a one-woman-owner Original Engine, and the Maestro could swear it had never been taken apart before!

..... But Jay said no, he looked it up in the Book, and it was First Oversize.

..... So, the Maestro bought a set of Expensive (even then) First Over by Standard Main Bearings and began to assemble the engine. When he started to torque the 6 Case Acorn nuts down, it became Immediately Obvious to the Most Casual Observer that Something was Seriously Wrong- the Crank just seized tight at 10 ft-pounds.

..... Repeated struggles met with no success. But some research did. So the next day, the Maestro brought the Case and the bearings (and the Factory's his Spec Book) back down to Jays.

..... "So," said the Maestro. "Now what was the Case Again?"

..... "If it hasn't changed overnight," said Jay. "then it's still First Oversize, and measures 2.3716" or 60.24mm. I looked it up in the Books and that's First Oversize."

..... "No it's NOT," said the not-quite-yet Maestro. "STANDARD PORSCHE 356/912 CASE BORE IS 60.24mm (2.3716"). FIRST OVER is 60.49mm (2.3814") The Case was STANDARD, but you thought it was oversize. And I've probably ruined this expensive set of First Over Mains from torquing then in a Standard Case."

..... "Hey, sorry", said Jay. "But come here, I'll show you."

..... Jay lead the Maestro over to the Counter were the Catalogs were kept And pulled out a big red Federal Mogul Catalog, turned to the Porsche Page, looked up 356 and there it was-

..... CASE BORE: 60.00mm

..... Which although correct for a 36HP VW, is NEVER THE RIGHT SIZE FOR a 356/912 PORSCHE! (Even two-piece Case Porsches, which used basically 36 HP VW Cases, were bored to Porsche Size- which is, again, 60.24mm!)

..... So the little error in the Federal Mogul Catalog from way back in the late '60's cost the Maestro a set of Main Bearings (which he still has, incidentally).

..... But it cost the Man from SAN LUIS OBISPO a LOT more- it cost him a CRANK. AND an Align Bore. And a premature Engine Overhaul THIRTY YEARS LATER!

..... But that wasn't the Amazing Part.

..... The Amazing part was when the Maestro eyeballed the Split Middle Mains of this engine. They were Stock 36HP VW- and were two silly little millimeters NARROWER than a Real Porsche Middle Main.

.....And THAT'S Part VI of the Quiz- What else was there about the VW Middle Mains that so AMAZED the Maestro?

..... And WHAT was so very interesting about the Standard 36HP VW Middle Main Bearings that were stuck into this 1957 Porsche Engine?

..... There's one Real Interesting Characteristic of the 1955-1957.5 Five-Bolt Seal Ring Porsche Engines you should know about. That one Real Interesting Thing is that the oil is fed to the Middle Main Bearing, and then to the Crank, and then through the Crank to the Rods, by a little "notch" in one Case Half, right at the Case Mating Surface.

..... This little "notch" at the Mating Surface of the one Case half requires a similar "notch" or "cut-out" in the Middle Main Bearing!

..... And 36HP VW Middle Mains DON'T HAVE THIS NOTCH. (Are you listening, Richard?)

..... And no notch had ever been machined into them either!

..... Which means that ABSOLUTELY NO OIL was getting to the Middle Main of the Crankshaft. Which means that even LESS oil was getting to the two rod bearings that are FED by the Middle Main!

.....So, with absolutely NO oil to the Middle Main, how the Hell did this Engine go 20,000 miles!!!??? That's PART VII of the Quiz!

..... So, after the Maestro pointed out this BIG BAD BOO-BOO to the Owner, the Man from SLO said:

..... "Oh Sweet Jesus, how could I have MISSED THAT??? The Bearing is BLOCKING the Oil Hole! Sheesh!

..... And, said the Maestro. "I'll bet that one or BOTH of the Rods that were fed by the Middle Main had the most worn Rod Bearing."

..... Why that's Amazing Maestro- said the Man from SAN LUIS OBISPO- One of those WAS the worst Rod!"

..... But what's most amazing to the Maestro about all this is- IF the Middle Main Bearings HAD been the CORRECT size for the Case, the Oil Hole WOULD have been Absolutely, Positively, Completely BLOCKED!

..... But remember- the Middle Main Bearings used in the Man from SLO's engine were INCORRECT Standard 36HP VW Main Bearings that were a quarter millimeter (.010") SMALLER in Outside Diameter. Being smaller, the Split Middle Main would not "fill" the Case completely, nor would it block off that Oil Hole completely- there'd be a small "gap"- right at the Parting Surface- right where the Oil Supply "notch" is, so a LITTLE oil would still be sprayed in.

..... A small amount of oil certainly. But it was Sufficient to run this engine for how long did you say?

.....How long was that?

.....That's Part VIII of the Quiz.

..... "20,000 Miles," said the Man from SLO.

..... "Boy do the Porsche gods like YOU," said the Maestro. "Ifin I had built this engine, I wouldn't be able to get Outa Town!"

..... So there you have it- The 30-year-old Federal Mogul Error Connection. That itty bitty error in their Catalog that said Porsche Cases are 60.00mm bore that caused Expense for the Maestro and Disaster for the Man from San Luis Obispo.

..... But the Maestro learned from his experience thirty years ago. He went out and bought that Dial Bore Gauge that he uses to This Very Day to measure the Bores hisself. Thirty Years later. And yes, that guy Jay STILL does his machine work.

..... 'Cause he: KEEPS THE 356 FAITH!

..... P.S.

..... There is yet one more Amazing thing about this Amazing 1957 engine with the one-undersize too small VW Main Bearings.

..... The Maestro fully expected that since this was a Normal that it would, of course, have the flat-topped, Low Compression, Extremely Unexciting, Normal Pistons.

..... And that the weak load imposed upon the somewhat screwed-up Lower End with Damn Near NO oil to the Middle Main nor to the two rods fed thereby, could possibly explain how the Owner managed to get 20,000 miles out of it!

..... (When Jay was informed of all the above, he said- "Yeah but Model T's originally had NO oil source of any kind. No Oil Pump. No Oil Pressure. No oil scoops on the Rods even! Nothing. Only windage and capillary action carried oil to the Rods and Mains on Model T's.)

..... Then the Man from SLO brought in the Pistons and Cylinders. And they weren't Normal.

..... They were Abnormal.

..... Very Abnormal.

..... What Were those pistons from 30 years ago?

..... That's Number 9, Number 9, of the Quiz

..... The Pistons were a set of the old Forged "MC" pistons, but which had gone 20,000 miles, and having done so, just set a New World Record for MC longevity!

..... This set of "MC's was 85mm, not 86mm and a little lower compression. But it still had a Hellofa Dome on the top of the piston.

..... "Didn't these Pistons hit the Head or the Spark Plug or SOMETHING!" asked the Maestro?

..... "The Spark Plug. The first time I assembled the Engine, the Pistons hit the spark plug electrode. So I shimmed them with a 1mm thick shim."

..... "But what was your Compression," asked the Maestro. "Even with a 1mm shim, it's still gotta be at least 10:1 unless your head volume was increased a bunch."

..... "Nope, They're still stock 356A Heads with 59.5 cc Head Volume."

..... Geez, thought the Maestro. So the Compression MUSTAVE been at LEAST 10:1.

..... OK. So let's take bets. Given an engine with Main Bearings One Undersize too small (.25mm or 0.019"), whose oil supply to the Middle Main is essentially blocked off, with Cast Iron Cam Followers, weak 356A Normal Rods and a High Compression MC Big Bore Kit with unknown but very High Compression, how far do you think YOU would go?

..... The Maestro knows how far HE'D get- about to the end of his DRIVEWAY!

.....But this 30-year-long owner went 20,000 miles! That's cause he: KEEPS THE 356 FAITH!!!
 

 

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