How to Rebuild and Modify Your Porsche 911 Engine 1965-1989

Rating:
Summary: Engine Rebuild - a boatload of info you can't get elsewhere!
Review: I found this book to be worth its weight in gold. The diagrams and pictures are perfect for rebuilding the task at hand. I am not a mechanic but with a small amount of tools had no problem working on the engine. Saved hundreds or more in labour and everything works fine. With this book I increased my horsepower and made the body of the car more appealing. I did everything myself and with the help of this book I found it easy and fun. I found myself reading it over and over as all the project seemed so easily done. I highly recommend this book. [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: I have always had the desire to buy and rebuild a 911. However, because of the Porsche mystic of being a high performance sports car I thought the reality of me performing the regular maintenance, not too mention rebuilding, on 1 911 was beyond my capabilities. After reading Mr. Dempsey's 101 Projects for your Porsche 911 I felt confident performing (and now do perform) all the maintenance on my car. I bought Mr. Dempsey's How to Rebuild and Modify Your Porsche 911 Engine 1965-1989 book hoping it would provide me with the same knowledge to take the next step in working on my car. Although I have not rebuilt my engine, Mr. Dempsey does not excellent job in describing the tear-down and rebuilding process which has help me gain a better understanding of how the 911 engine works. Furthermore, Mr. Dempsey's website, www.pelicanparts.com, provides a wealth of information to supplement his two books. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about the 911 engine with a desire to perform more of their own work.

Rating:
Summary: An encouragement and guide the weekend mechanic
Review: I have always had the desire to buy and rebuild a 911. However, because of the Porsche mystic of being a high performance sports car I thought the reality of me performing the regular maintenance, not too mention rebuilding, on 1 911 was beyond my capabilities. After reading Mr. Dempsey's 101 Projects for your Porsche 911 I felt confident performing (and now do perform) all the maintenance on my car. I bought Mr. Dempsey's How to Rebuild and Modify Your Porsche 911 Engine 1965-1989 book hoping it would provide me with the same knowledge to take the next step in working on my car. Although I have not rebuilt my engine, Mr. Dempsey does not excellent job in describing the tear-down and rebuilding process which has help me gain a better understanding of how the 911 engine works. Furthermore, Mr. Dempsey's website, www.pelicanparts.com, provides a wealth of information to supplement his two books. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about the 911 engine with a desire to perform more of their own work.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: This book is one of the most impressive productions I've seen in a long time. The care and precision taken with the photos is simply amazing. The writing is very logical, and is easily digestible even for a guy like me who doesn't own a Porsche and has never rebuilt an engine before. The many summaries (eg, parts costs, machine shop costs, must-replace components, etc) and "group photos" of related parts was very informative. I especially liked that Dempsey attached actual prices to the various parts and machine shop tasks, rather than wimping out and saying "prices vary". Of course they vary - but now at least I have a ballpark idea.

I found a lot of the info to be generally applicable, ie, many of the tips and techniques helped me doing major engine work on a Toyota recently.

The book does an especially good job on explaining common problems, their root causes, and the tradeoffs with the various fixes.

The lengths to which the author goes to keep a pristine work environment are stunning.

My only complaint was that it was a bit sad to learn that a)the cost to rebuilt the typical 911 engine is $8k, and (even worse), apparently that only goes down to $6k if you do the labor yourself.

It would be great if the author wrote a similar book for a 3-series BMW. There's probably a larger audience of guys who can justify rebuilding a "practical" car like a 3-series, versus a 911.

Rating:
Summary: Great detailed info, a lot of opinion, very retentive
Review: Wayne Dempsey may be the Harry Pellow (r.i.p.) of the 911 world, based on his warm and encouraging style of writing as well as his deep technical expertise.

Since his original "101 Projects" book, the author has improved quite a bit as a writer. The level of detail here is comprehensive without being overwhelming, and the style is very user friendly. Rare among technical manuals, you can read this book cover to cover in your favorite easy chair like a novel, or weight it open on your workbench as you follow each detailed instruction and example.

The photography is excellent and there's plenty of it. Close ups with good captions abound. Unlike some other well known 911 technical books, the photography actually supports and illustrates the text very well.

This book is not just for engine builders. If you're the sort of 911 owner that pays more attention to the tachometer than the stereo, and who understands that dry sump lubrication isn't when you run out of hair gel-YOU'LL LOVE THIS BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: Great detailed info, a lot of opinion, very retentive
Review: Wayne has put out another good how-to book packed with great detail and very specific step-by-step procedures. This book fills in most of the details left out of the other books covering the subject, and adds in a number of the latest updates that should be done.

The down side is this book gives an all or nothing approach, with no allowances for low-cost rebuild appropriate for a low value car, or a partial rebuild for a race motor. The list of parts that must be replaced is excessive and out of line with most engine rebuild books, and even the factory work-shop manuals. His recommendation on machine shops is to go to the most expensive one in the country. The procedures for cleaning are extreme, and time-consuming, and not realistic for a shop interested in making money or an individual without unlimited time. There are also a number of number of recommendations made that are still up for debate in the 911 community.

I have rebuilt a number of 911 engines, and this is a must have book if you are planning to do one yourself, but take some of the recommendations with a grain of salt.