Porsche 993 Top-End Machine Shop Work

Return Shipment

I am way behind on updating the blog. I shipped the cylinder heads for valve-guide replacements almost three months ago, and they came back the day before my daughter was born (the original deadline for finishing the project - oh well).

As long as I had it all apart, I ordered some other work done as well.  I asked Steve Weiner at Rennsport Systems to do the following:

• Distributor - rebuild
• Pistons and Cylinders - inspect, clean, install new rings
• Cylinder Heads - install new valve guides 
• Camshaft - inspect and polish
• Camshaft Housing - inspect and clean

I think they are boring photos, but my wife suggested the dozen hours I spent packing the boxes merited a post.  

Before getting into the photos and build instructions, a few notes.

• FedEx Ground was the cheapest shipping option for the box sizes I had.  I also checked UPS and USPS. 
• The final weights for the boxes really surprised me.  If I did it again, I would still use the 1/2 plywood, but I would have tried to save some weight on the vertical supports.  I also would not make a multi-layer box like the camshaft housing/camshaft/distributor box, but instead ship multiple boxes.

Following Steve's instructions, I took special care in packaging the heads and camshaft housings. First, I bought two 22" x 22" x 21.5" Heavy Duty Extra Large Moving Boxes from Home Depot.  I used one box for the heads, one box for the camshaft housings.  Be sure to get the heavy duty box with the sturdier cardboard as they also sell a thin-walled box in the same size.

For the heads, I cut 1/2 inch plywood into two 22" x 22" squares (actually slightly less than 22" to fit in the box).  Two bolts affix each head to the board, and I used some spare strips of wood (not shown) on the bottom side to keep the nuts off the floor of the box.  I think I used M8 x 60mm bolts, but double check that if you're building your own.

911 Engine Heads Prepared for Shipping

I cut some spare lumber to size and screwed it to the bottom of the second board to make a "top" for the heads.  

I realized the top was very hard to get back out of the box, so I cut handles into it.  Finally, I trimmed the box down to the proper height.

When this box was all done, it weighed 68 lbs (!?!) and cost ~$54 to ship.

The box for the camshaft housings followed a similar principle, but I decide to put two levels on this box.  The bottom level contained the camshaft housing bolted to the bottom.  I used rubber spacers to keep the camshaft housing off the wood.  You can see here that Rennsport Systems used a piece of paper for the same effect.  Several 2x4 pieces provided the vertical support here.

Here is the middle "floor," again with handles to aid removal.

The top level on this box contained the camshafts, carefully packaged in their own box.  When I shipped it out, the top also contained the distributor box, but that was shipped back separately.

The top to the this box, which also has 2x4's (not shown) on the bottom for vertical support.  

When this box was all done, it weighed 76 lbs and cost ~$68 to ship.

And the other two boxes, which didn't require nearly as much effort to pack...

Distributor in a Spare Box

Pistons and Cylinders Individually Wrapped and Separated