PCA Chesapeake Region Patter - March 2018

Chesapeake Region
Engine Build
Article by: Aaron Miller (Chesapeake region) & Sean
Martinez (Southern Arizona region)
The Beatles famously exclaimed they got by with a
little help from their friends and the sentiment certainly
rings true for the Porsche community as well.
Through my Porsche obsession, I’ve made some
wonderful friends who share the passion of the
marque and more importantly understand the
unique challenges of keeping a stable of 30 year old
sports cars in prime driving condition. A few months
ago I started to notice the tell-tale signs of an impending
head gasket failure on our 1987 944S; coolant
disappearing mysteriously, water temperature
spiking in stop and go driving and a general lack of
power. After performing a compression check and
an exhaust gas test on the coolant my fears were
confirmed which brought me to a crossroads.
Should I pull the cylinder head, refurbish it and replace
the head gasket or should I search for a second
option? Compounding the problem was the 944S’s
duty as a daily driver which meant the time the car
was down would create scheduling and logistics
challenges for the female half of Team Miller. Then,
shortly before Christmas 2017, a second option appeared
in the form of my good friend and Southern
Arizona region member Sean Martinez. Sean is an
engineer by training and trade who regularly prowls
the local Pull-A-Part junkyards in Tucson, AZ keeping
an eye out for old transaxle Porsches, rare BMWs
and other parts of interest.
Our Christmas miracle came in the form of a 1990
944 S2 Cabriolet in the local junkyard. The yard informed
Sean the car was complete and the previous
owners, and current Cayenne owners, had the non
running car in their yard for a few years and finally
lost the desire to have it fixed. Sean called from the
junkyard to tell us about his find and ask if we needed
anything. Once we confirmed the car was complete,
we told him simply, “We need the engine as
soon as you can pull it.” Sean set about raiding the
donor 944 of it’s valuable brakes, suspension, wiring
harnesses, Turbo and S2 specific trim and interior
parts before running out of time to remove the
drivetrain. I spent the next week in suspense, certain
some keen-eyed junkyard wanderer would spot
the S2 and help themselves to the engine I so desperately
needed. But the Porsche Gods were on my
side and the next Saturday, Sean enlisted the help of
a few local friends and was at the Pull-A-Part when
the doors opened. Within a few hours Sean sent a
picture of a very dusty, but otherwise complete
powertrain hanging from the ubiquitous self service
junkyard A-frame engine hoist. With the prize in
hand, we set about planning how we would get the
motor 2,000 miles from Arizona to Maryland.
As I mentioned before, Sean is an engineer and isn’t
known for doing anything part-way. Naturally, he
recommended a full rebuild for the motor before
shipping it to Maryland due to the unknown history
of the engine. Luck would have it that I was finishing
a large project at work and really needed a break
from work and the winter doldrums of Maryland.
We blocked off a week in February and I set about
ordering the parts necessary to complete the project.
There were still a few unknowns which we had
to address before we could complete the project
plan, with the condition of the cylinder bores as the
primary concern. In early January, Sean popped the
head and crank girdle off, noting the bores were free
from scuffs and the bearings were in good shape
with normal wear for a 130k engine which meant we
could proceed as planned.
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