Wow brother this is fantastic! Slowly going through on mine as well. Only thing holding me back to take some of the major components out is that mine is my current daily 😅
Spectacular! Did similar work on my 88 engine way - pulled the engine to do the clutch and i went crazy, i thought, restoring, zincing etc. You went to another level.
Nice! That definitely makes things a lot easier with the engine out of the car. The block itself along with the balance shaft housing/covers could use a bit more cleaning on mine, but it’s hard to see unless the top half is broken down. 😂
At 0:27 there is some sort of connector piece, and I notice in the shots after the restoration it is not there. What is that piece and why did you remove it? Love the channel! This has been so helpful on my own 944 project!
Thanks Max! The electrical connector attached to the engine support hanger at the rear of the camshaft assembly is the port for the Top Dead Center (TDC) Sensor. It was used by repair shops back in the day to reference the TDC point on the flywheel for troubleshooting purposes. I deleted it since it is no longer used and serves no real purpose at this point.
Nice clean up, are you still going to get the Lindsey racing MAF kit? Does anybody know the part number for the hose that goes from the gas fume hard line to the charcoal canister that sits on the driver sideFender area. My original hose it’s all dried up and cracked, it actually goes to a T before going to the canister. Thanks for your help. And again good work on the cleanup.
Amazing transformation. I see you lined the bottom of the battery box. How bad of shape was it, and what did you line it with? Mine isn't so bad, just some bare metal where a previous owner allowed the loose (!) battery to rub off the paint. The car is new to me, this is just one of those things on the list.
Thanks! This one came to me with a fiberglass patch over the battery tray, under which was at least three holes that passed directly into the passenger footwell area and some decent corrosion around the edges. I ended up removing the patch, cutting out the really weak areas, applying some metal mesh, zinc etching, and POR-15 patch to seal it up. The top coat is Hurculiner bed liner. All in cost was a little over $100. I had gotten a quote from a local custom restoration shop for $1,000 to cut out the entire tray, graft in a good condition donor, and paint it in factory color, but the cost was too high to justify. This one is now clean, functional, and water proof. 👍🏼
Hey, looking great! I make some OEM-style brake wear sensor retaining clips for the engine bay, I'd be happy to send you a set and get your opinion. Please let me know.
Hi. As always, excellent job. immaculate work. I'm in the works of doing something like that but never close to that detailed extend. But I'm trying. This is why I contact you. Where to get the zinc plated hardware for the engine? Bolts, washers, nuts, etc. I looked everywhere and can't seem to find them. Please advise. And lastly, why you didn't choose stainless steel bolts, washers, etc.? I guess because you wanted to preserve the originality look from factory? Regards
Hey! Most of the replacement hardware was purchased from Belmetric.com. I have a video on how to locate the nuts, bolts, washer here - ua-cam.com/video/pWGTLwHT_to/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared I decided to go with yellow zinc hardware for a couple reasons, the first as you mentioned was to maintain the factory appearance. The second point is that yellow zinc is more resistant to oxidation transfer from adjoined components than is white zinc or stainless steel, so it’s less likely to rust over long periods of time.
Question about exhaust that may be relevant to the engine bay. I have replaced virtually every seal in this vehicle. The firewall seal, the rubber boot under the shifter, the rear hatch seal w/new pins, tail lights (cleaned and replaced the old butyl seals) the rear spare area and side buckets. I am getting slight exhaust fumes entering the cabin when the blower motor is on. Is there anything you have gone through that I might have missed? I have resealed all of my exhaust as well. Flanges/manifold gaskets and hardware.
Hmmmm… How does your battery tray look? I’ve seen some badly oxidized ones that end up spreading to the firewall and create holes there as well. I’ve also seen rust holes around where the blower motor mounts. Do you still have the CO2 sampling tube installed? If so, is it capped off on the top? Can you detect any exhaust leaks from the engine bay? I think the blower design is prone to funky smells in general, due to its location and all the dirt that can collect up there. I tend to get the smells of oil and hot metal through mine. 😆
Looks amazing! how do you go about getting all of the correct replacement hardware. I have difficulty finding some nuts and bolts and I hate doing jobs without new stuff.
Thanks! If you check out my video on locating parts, you’ll have a pretty good idea. The parts catalog includes all the hardware specs for each system and that can be used to track down the needed nuts, bolts, washers, etc.
Breathtaking! How much did the zinc plating cost? I have seen some diy zinc plating online, but not sure that it is worth doing it as a diy. Thanks for showing us what can be done.
Thanks! The plating service was really reasonable, just $100 minimum rate, the guy said I could have included a lot more parts before even coming close to breaking $100. It’s a local industrial shop that does big jobs for other companies, so the little private jobs just get throw in with it, doesn’t really cost them anything more over what they’re already doing. The glass bead blasting was actually more expensive, about $125 as I recall. The surfaces have to be fresh and clean for the plating to take well.
@@NC944erwow that’s amazing! Another 944 owner recently did something similar and I think it was over $1500. I will have to explore options here in Ottawa Canada. Keep up with the great videos.
Nah, you won’t need to seal anything off as long as you rinse out any residual solution from the dip. I didn’t have the damper or regulator re-plated in this case, but have seen others safely do so, again just making sure they are rinsed inside and out with fresh/clean water after the plating process.
As usual-excellent tutorial and presentation with w/super filming skills! I noticed the finish is different on the cam gear F/R covers. Not powder coated like your valve cover. Is it just silver paint or bare aluminum? Mine like most of my engine pay aluminum parts has white speckeled oxidization spots and pits everywhere. It really bugs me! So curious what finish you used for cam gear cover. Also-your belt tensioner and cam gear look like jewlrey, not just "yellow zinc"! Did you do something special in the metal prep or post coating to get it so beautiful? Well done BTW!
Thanks! The cam gear cover is natural aluminum. My original one was heavily pitted so I replaced those two pieces with a like-new/preowned one I found on eBay. Nothing special done to the cam gear and spring tensioner other than the yellow zinc plating. The process tends to create a natural iridescence, but is much more noticeable on larger steel parts like those than on smaller nuts/bolts, etc.
@@NC944er Thank you! After getting part # for the covers I realized new ones are NLA. There are some better ones around on Ebay-I may try cleaning mine up off the car if it's not pitted too badly. I believe your water pipe however is a new OEM replacement? That looks fantastic BTW!
@@stuartwatson6849 I did replace the heater return pipe with a new one ($90), in addition to restoring the original one, which turned out pretty well and I later passed it along to another owner through an eBay sale. 💰😆
That’s a remanufactured unit I picked up. Looks like the company painted the aluminum housing in a dark gray color before rebuilding the internals. It has held up well so far and still looks great.
Hey I'm inspired by your resto and I'm working to achieve similar results with my 89 2.7L. May I ask, how did you paint your AFM and what color paint is it? What products/brushes did you use for cleaning up metal parts, in particular the throttle body? Thanks!
Hey man, that’s awesome to hear! A restored engine bay on a 944 is definitely a rare sight to behold. 😂 My AFM was spray painted with Rustoleum satin paint, the color is called “Granite.” It’s a little darker than what would have been more of an aluminum color on a freshly minted AFM from the factory, but it matched well with the color of the intake manifold and camshaft assembly after they were powder coated in satin clear. The aluminum throttle body was just cleaned up with some wire brushes and a little degreaser on a rag to remove dirt and oil. I replaced the 4 hex head screws with new hardware to shine things up in that area.
@@NC944er Haha true its just mesmerizing to look at! I started with replacing a bunch of the yellow zinc plating bits (Belmetric order kudos to you) and the gold totally pops with my paint color Baltic Blue... now i'm hooked 😄 Thank you for the info i'll do the same with my AFM I think that granite color is perfect, yes I got the hex screws ready to go in haha. Cheers
Parker Metal Finishing in Greensboro, NC - parkermetalfinishing.com They only do the plating process, so you’d want to have any parts stripped clean of oxidation prior to sending them in, usually media blasting works best.
Just bought my son an '86 944 and these videos are so useful. If you don't mind my asking, how much would it cost to duplicate what you've done in this engine bay restoration?
Nice! Most of the top level stuff seen here totaled around $1,000… the camshaft housing and intake manifold cost $120 to blast and $161 to powder coat, the larger steel parts ran $160 to clean and then $100 for the zinc plating, the fluid reservoirs were about $220 for the coolant expansion tank and $120 for the brake fluid reservoir, then another $120 for a large quantity of new nuts/bolts/washers, along with the replacement cam gear cover, odds and ends.
That is totally awesome. A master piece. Just wondering how much it cost to refinish or replace everything and how long did it take to put back together. My 1987 951 was in good condition until I saw this video.😢 But great work!
Yeah, this is probably “next level” as far as 944s go, I don’t think most people would invest the money as their values are nothing like 911 territory. I spent around $1,000 for just the cosmetic refresh and maybe 8 hours on the reassembly.
@@NC944er if I had the patience and access to the parts / materials and the knowledge, I certainly would have considered what you did. Unfortunately, I don’t have that privilege. Thanks again for the info.
Most of the top level stuff seen here totaled around $1,000… the camshaft housing and intake manifold cost $120 to blast and $161 to powder coat, the larger steel parts ran $160 to clean and then $100 for the zinc plating, the fluid reservoirs were about $220 for the coolant expansion tank and $120 for the brake fluid reservoir, then another $120 for a large quantity of new nuts/bolts/washers, along with the replacement cam gear cover.
LOL! Will the real NC944er please stand up. 😂 There are quite a few of us, which is cool to see. I took the car to First Saturday’s at Southpoint Porsche this weekend and encountered quite a few 944 fans out there. I opted to replace the reservoirs, which is the more expensive option, but you can’t beat new plastic, and the old ones were feeling a little brittle, so this will hedge against future cracks/leaks. The only reservoir I haven’t replaced is the washer fluid tank, but it wasn’t as bad off as the others were for some reason. 🤔
@@cnroseman5438 That’s the place! 👍🏼 Pretty cool to have a local spot where you can commonly see a 356 sitting next to a 918 Spyder. They’ve also really upped their free food game. 😂
Hey! Yeah, except for the zinc plating and powder coating, as I don’t have equipment for that, but all the mechanical work I performed in my home garage.
License-free music options are like aftermarket wheels… tastes vary wildly! 🤣 While I don’t have a particularly close affinity for the music used here, it was the best I could find for free in a short period of time. Appreciate the feedback on my engine work. Cheers!
Hey Larry, depending on the condition of the rubber components and how many "while you're in there" items you want to replace, you could achieve a similar look for around $2,000. Factor in about $800 in parts (the coolant expansion tank is $335 alone), $250 in glass bead blasting, $300 in powder coating, $100 for zinc plating, and about 14 hours of mechanical labor for the disassembly, clean-up, and rebuild. My email address is listed in the "About" section of my channel if you're interested in discussing it in more detail.
@@larrypowers2553 The refreshed engine bay definitely brings a lot of attention at auto events… a lot of 944s look good on the outside, but few do when you pop the hood… components there just aren’t immune to oxidation after 35 years of sitting. 😂
Zinc restoration does wonders to make the engine bay look glorious again.
Dang, I would definitely be embarrassed to pop my hood next to your 944...Awesome work!
🤣 Thanks Pat!
Absolutely beautiful. Fantastic work!
Wow! Beautiful engine compartment,nice music.
This is my goal!
Wow brother this is fantastic! Slowly going through on mine as well. Only thing holding me back to take some of the major components out is that mine is my current daily 😅
Haha! Yeah, that may be a difficult task to complete while driving the car. 😂
Spectacular! Did similar work on my 88 engine way - pulled the engine to do the clutch and i went crazy, i thought, restoring, zincing etc. You went to another level.
Nice! That definitely makes things a lot easier with the engine out of the car. The block itself along with the balance shaft housing/covers could use a bit more cleaning on mine, but it’s hard to see unless the top half is broken down. 😂
Great before and after footage of this excellent engine restoration
Great job sir! Beautiful work.
Amazing...absolutely amazing
At 0:27 there is some sort of connector piece, and I notice in the shots after the restoration it is not there. What is that piece and why did you remove it? Love the channel! This has been so helpful on my own 944 project!
Thanks Max! The electrical connector attached to the engine support hanger at the rear of the camshaft assembly is the port for the Top Dead Center (TDC) Sensor. It was used by repair shops back in the day to reference the TDC point on the flywheel for troubleshooting purposes. I deleted it since it is no longer used and serves no real purpose at this point.
Gorge. looks friggin amazing
Nice clean up, are you still going to get the Lindsey racing MAF kit? Does anybody know the part number for the hose that goes from the gas fume hard line to the charcoal canister that sits on the driver sideFender area. My original hose it’s all dried up and cracked, it actually goes to a T before going to the canister. Thanks for your help. And again good work on the cleanup.
I was about to pull the trigger on the MAF purchase, but they are still out of stock… waiting on an EEPROM chip manufacturer I guess. 😢
Beautiful ❤
Great!
Amazing transformation. I see you lined the bottom of the battery box. How bad of shape was it, and what did you line it with? Mine isn't so bad, just some bare metal where a previous owner allowed the loose (!) battery to rub off the paint. The car is new to me, this is just one of those things on the list.
Thanks! This one came to me with a fiberglass patch over the battery tray, under which was at least three holes that passed directly into the passenger footwell area and some decent corrosion around the edges. I ended up removing the patch, cutting out the really weak areas, applying some metal mesh, zinc etching, and POR-15 patch to seal it up. The top coat is Hurculiner bed liner. All in cost was a little over $100. I had gotten a quote from a local custom restoration shop for $1,000 to cut out the entire tray, graft in a good condition donor, and paint it in factory color, but the cost was too high to justify. This one is now clean, functional, and water proof. 👍🏼
Hey, looking great! I make some OEM-style brake wear sensor retaining clips for the engine bay, I'd be happy to send you a set and get your opinion. Please let me know.
Oh man, that’s cool! I found that part to be NLA from Porsche and had to modify a similar smaller clip, but they are not a perfect fit.
Hi. As always, excellent job. immaculate work. I'm in the works of doing something like that but never close to that detailed extend. But I'm trying. This is why I contact you. Where to get the zinc plated hardware for the engine? Bolts, washers, nuts, etc. I looked everywhere and can't seem to find them. Please advise. And lastly, why you didn't choose stainless steel bolts, washers, etc.? I guess because you wanted to preserve the originality look from factory? Regards
Hey! Most of the replacement hardware was purchased from Belmetric.com. I have a video on how to locate the nuts, bolts, washer here - ua-cam.com/video/pWGTLwHT_to/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
I decided to go with yellow zinc hardware for a couple reasons, the first as you mentioned was to maintain the factory appearance. The second point is that yellow zinc is more resistant to oxidation transfer from adjoined components than is white zinc or stainless steel, so it’s less likely to rust over long periods of time.
Question about exhaust that may be relevant to the engine bay. I have replaced virtually every seal in this vehicle. The firewall seal, the rubber boot under the shifter, the rear hatch seal w/new pins, tail lights (cleaned and replaced the old butyl seals) the rear spare area and side buckets. I am getting slight exhaust fumes entering the cabin when the blower motor is on. Is there anything you have gone through that I might have missed? I have resealed all of my exhaust as well. Flanges/manifold gaskets and hardware.
Hmmmm… How does your battery tray look? I’ve seen some badly oxidized ones that end up spreading to the firewall and create holes there as well. I’ve also seen rust holes around where the blower motor mounts. Do you still have the CO2 sampling tube installed? If so, is it capped off on the top? Can you detect any exhaust leaks from the engine bay? I think the blower design is prone to funky smells in general, due to its location and all the dirt that can collect up there. I tend to get the smells of oil and hot metal through mine. 😆
@@NC944er Ahh, very good. I will check these things. Yeah, it’s the nature of the vehicle/beast haha 😂 Thanks man!
Looks amazing! how do you go about getting all of the correct replacement hardware. I have difficulty finding some nuts and bolts and I hate doing jobs without new stuff.
Thanks! If you check out my video on locating parts, you’ll have a pretty good idea. The parts catalog includes all the hardware specs for each system and that can be used to track down the needed nuts, bolts, washers, etc.
Breathtaking! How much did the zinc plating cost? I have seen some diy zinc plating online, but not sure that it is worth doing it as a diy. Thanks for showing us what can be done.
Thanks! The plating service was really reasonable, just $100 minimum rate, the guy said I could have included a lot more parts before even coming close to breaking $100. It’s a local industrial shop that does big jobs for other companies, so the little private jobs just get throw in with it, doesn’t really cost them anything more over what they’re already doing. The glass bead blasting was actually more expensive, about $125 as I recall. The surfaces have to be fresh and clean for the plating to take well.
@@NC944erwow that’s amazing! Another 944 owner recently did something similar and I think it was over $1500. I will have to explore options here in Ottawa Canada. Keep up with the great videos.
When you plated the fuel rail did you (need to ) protect the inside? Did you re-plate the fuel damper or regulator?
Nah, you won’t need to seal anything off as long as you rinse out any residual solution from the dip. I didn’t have the damper or regulator re-plated in this case, but have seen others safely do so, again just making sure they are rinsed inside and out with fresh/clean water after the plating process.
I love zinc
As usual-excellent tutorial and presentation with w/super filming skills! I noticed the finish is different
on the cam gear F/R covers. Not powder coated like your valve cover. Is it just silver paint or bare aluminum? Mine like most of my engine pay aluminum parts has white speckeled oxidization spots and pits everywhere. It really bugs me! So curious what finish you used for cam gear cover. Also-your belt tensioner and cam gear look like jewlrey, not just "yellow zinc"! Did you do something special in the metal prep or post coating to get it so beautiful? Well done BTW!
Thanks! The cam gear cover is natural aluminum. My original one was heavily pitted so I replaced those two pieces with a like-new/preowned one I found on eBay.
Nothing special done to the cam gear and spring tensioner other than the yellow zinc plating. The process tends to create a natural iridescence, but is much more noticeable on larger steel parts like those than on smaller nuts/bolts, etc.
@@NC944er Thank you! After getting part # for the covers I realized new ones are NLA. There are some better ones around on Ebay-I may try cleaning mine up off the car if it's not pitted too badly. I believe your water pipe however is a new OEM replacement? That looks fantastic BTW!
@@stuartwatson6849 I did replace the heater return pipe with a new one ($90), in addition to restoring the original one, which turned out pretty well and I later passed it along to another owner through an eBay sale. 💰😆
I see the alternator was cleaned up as well. Was it powder coated? If so, I assume it can be completely dismantled to do that?
That’s a remanufactured unit I picked up. Looks like the company painted the aluminum housing in a dark gray color before rebuilding the internals. It has held up well so far and still looks great.
@@NC944er ok. Thanks for the reply
Hey I'm inspired by your resto and I'm working to achieve similar results with my 89 2.7L. May I ask, how did you paint your AFM and what color paint is it? What products/brushes did you use for cleaning up metal parts, in particular the throttle body? Thanks!
Hey man, that’s awesome to hear! A restored engine bay on a 944 is definitely a rare sight to behold. 😂 My AFM was spray painted with Rustoleum satin paint, the color is called “Granite.” It’s a little darker than what would have been more of an aluminum color on a freshly minted AFM from the factory, but it matched well with the color of the intake manifold and camshaft assembly after they were powder coated in satin clear. The aluminum throttle body was just cleaned up with some wire brushes and a little degreaser on a rag to remove dirt and oil. I replaced the 4 hex head screws with new hardware to shine things up in that area.
@@NC944er Haha true its just mesmerizing to look at! I started with replacing a bunch of the yellow zinc plating bits (Belmetric order kudos to you) and the gold totally pops with my paint color Baltic Blue... now i'm hooked 😄 Thank you for the info i'll do the same with my AFM I think that granite color is perfect, yes I got the hex screws ready to go in haha. Cheers
Can you please share the name of the shop that did all the yellow zinc parts?
Parker Metal Finishing in Greensboro, NC - parkermetalfinishing.com
They only do the plating process, so you’d want to have any parts stripped clean of oxidation prior to sending them in, usually media blasting works best.
@@NC944er thank you so much.
Just bought my son an '86 944 and these videos are so useful. If you don't mind my asking, how much would it cost to duplicate what you've done in this engine bay restoration?
Nice! Most of the top level stuff seen here totaled around $1,000… the camshaft housing and intake manifold cost $120 to blast and $161 to powder coat, the larger steel parts ran $160 to clean and then $100 for the zinc plating, the fluid reservoirs were about $220 for the coolant expansion tank and $120 for the brake fluid reservoir, then another $120 for a large quantity of new nuts/bolts/washers, along with the replacement cam gear cover, odds and ends.
@@NC944er Thanks! Super helpful
That is totally awesome. A master piece. Just wondering how much it cost to refinish or replace everything and how long did it take to put back together. My 1987 951 was in good condition until I saw this video.😢 But great work!
Yeah, this is probably “next level” as far as 944s go, I don’t think most people would invest the money as their values are nothing like 911 territory. I spent around $1,000 for just the cosmetic refresh and maybe 8 hours on the reassembly.
@@NC944er if I had the patience and access to the parts / materials and the knowledge, I certainly would have considered what you did. Unfortunately, I don’t have that privilege. Thanks again for the info.
What cost did you spend on new Porsche parts & zinc plating?
Most of the top level stuff seen here totaled around $1,000… the camshaft housing and intake manifold cost $120 to blast and $161 to powder coat, the larger steel parts ran $160 to clean and then $100 for the zinc plating, the fluid reservoirs were about $220 for the coolant expansion tank and $120 for the brake fluid reservoir, then another $120 for a large quantity of new nuts/bolts/washers, along with the replacement cam gear cover.
@@NC944er
Thank you
Looks really good,
Whats next?
Did you just replace your reservoirs or do you have a secrete to cleaning... fellow NC944'er
LOL! Will the real NC944er please stand up. 😂 There are quite a few of us, which is cool to see. I took the car to First Saturday’s at Southpoint Porsche this weekend and encountered quite a few 944 fans out there.
I opted to replace the reservoirs, which is the more expensive option, but you can’t beat new plastic, and the old ones were feeling a little brittle, so this will hedge against future cracks/leaks. The only reservoir I haven’t replaced is the washer fluid tank, but it wasn’t as bad off as the others were for some reason. 🤔
@@NC944er Southpoint? as in Durham?
@@cnroseman5438 That’s the place! 👍🏼 Pretty cool to have a local spot where you can commonly see a 356 sitting next to a 918 Spyder. They’ve also really upped their free food game. 😂
Just curious, Did you do all that by your self?
Hey! Yeah, except for the zinc plating and powder coating, as I don’t have equipment for that, but all the mechanical work I performed in my home garage.
Looks good. Did have to mute your music though...
License-free music options are like aftermarket wheels… tastes vary wildly! 🤣 While I don’t have a particularly close affinity for the music used here, it was the best I could find for free in a short period of time. Appreciate the feedback on my engine work. Cheers!
How much you charge to do mine like that
Hey Larry, depending on the condition of the rubber components and how many "while you're in there" items you want to replace, you could achieve a similar look for around $2,000. Factor in about $800 in parts (the coolant expansion tank is $335 alone), $250 in glass bead blasting, $300 in powder coating, $100 for zinc plating, and about 14 hours of mechanical labor for the disassembly, clean-up, and rebuild. My email address is listed in the "About" section of my channel if you're interested in discussing it in more detail.
@@NC944er ok man I'll get with you I appreciate that your engine looks damn good after all of that definitely need to do mine
@@larrypowers2553 The refreshed engine bay definitely brings a lot of attention at auto events… a lot of 944s look good on the outside, but few do when you pop the hood… components there just aren’t immune to oxidation after 35 years of sitting. 😂
I don’t have the time for that. Btw mine has covered 467.000 km. 🎉
Thats lowrider attention to detail level.