Who should I use for a rebuild?

[kepster]

On my way to the Fathers day tour I gassed up and added some oil (possibly overfilling the tank some). As I drove away from the gas station my car was putting out a cloud of smoke that was so thick you could not see through it. It put out some significant smoke for a short period of time at the last autocross, too, but this was for a short period of time. I think it may be time to rebuild the 3.2 that I have in my '74 911. Who would you recommend for the job. Any advice here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[ttweed]

I would have some diagnostics done on the motor to see if it truly is a candidate for rebuilding before doing anything. An overfill on the oil could cause the smoking you noted, as could oil leaks dropping onto hot heat exchangers. The engine internals could still be fine. Have leakdown and compression tests done on the motor to determine if the cause is really rings or valves, requiring a teardown. The cost of rebuilding one of these aircooled engines is truly depressing, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

As far as who to have do the job, there are many shops available (look in the Windblown Witness for those that advertise their services and support the club) but personally, my recommendation would be either Steve Grosekemper at Dieter's or Mark Kinninger at Black Forest. There are people who have had good experiences with Mind Over Motorsports and European Motorsports in N. County, as well. I can tell you for sure that you do NOT want to use Motormeister in LA. They advertise cheap prices, but there have been some horror stories about the quality of their work.

Good luck,
TT

[kepster]

I appreciate the feedback. I will take your advice and have the compression and leakdown tests done before jumping to have a rebuild. I have heard horror stories about Motormeister, too. I will stay away from them. Thanks.

[4est]

Volker Brukman is also really good with older air cooled cars. He advertises in the Witness, and is probably the most honest mechanic I have ever met. He'll bend your ear about the old days ( a bit) but is very good at the work. Gives a million mile warranty on some of his engines. Definitely worth a call.