fanfoy wrote: Oh yeah, to answer the actual question of the OP. No, that was not a rebuild. More of a refresh. And reading "well this job was easy because we had the specialized 125$ tool from our buddy" and "we didn't mind spending 130$ on a tool we will never use again in our lives" is the kind of crap that pisses me off.
Learn from this. GRM confirmed why I will probibly never own a 911 
dean1484 wrote:fanfoy wrote: Oh yeah, to answer the actual question of the OP. No, that was not a rebuild. More of a refresh. And reading "well this job was easy because we had the specialized 125$ tool from our buddy" and "we didn't mind spending 130$ on a tool we will never use again in our lives" is the kind of crap that pisses me off.Learn from this. GRM confirmed why I will probibly never own a 911
That is precisely because they never said how to do the job without the tool. We all have that home made bearing puller, clutch alignment tool made out of wood or know the secret to getting hollow cams out of a BMW head w/o the special jig but... those were hard days and you either had to do it blind or know someone who knew it would work.
The article would be much, much more useful if the secret of doing it the hard way was in there.
In reply to dean1484:
After reading your last post, let me clarify a couple things about what I think. And Dean, what I'm about to say isn't aimed at you, just prompted by your post.
First, I don't care so much if they do engine rebuilds or not, I just don't think they should call it one when it wasn't. That said, I actually enjoyed the 911 engine article. I don't need to know about the inner workings of a SBC, SBF, etc..., so if they're going to do an engine article, I'd prefer it be something different. Rebuild or not, I learned some things from both the 911 and Corvair articles, so please don't take any of my comments to mean I didn't think they were good articles.
I too don't care all that much who does the work, but it's inevitable that when the author of the article didn't do the work that some things will get missed. You learn by doing, and if you are going to teach someone else about how to do something I think you should have at least done it yourself. So if they outsource the work, they should also outsource the writing to the same person. They do this sometimes, but not other times, and I think it definitely has an effect on the quality of the article.
That's what I'm saying. Two minutes of google-fu tells me it's possible to do the job without the 125$ tool.
Now, I know to look for tech articles on the net. But ten years ago, I would have said:"well if GRM says you need the 125$ tool, I guess it's because there is no other way."
A little off topic. (I hope you don't mind)
What about starting a thread that is stickied for articles or topics WE would like to see in the magazine?
Such as... How well does brake ducting actually work?
How about a brake pad comparison?
How about explaining cam measurements and what effect they have.
Just some examples.
Do we already have a spot like this and I have missed it?
Sorry for the threadjack.
Rob R.
Tom Suddard wrote: We haven't forgotten about you guys, but it is true that most readers won't rebuild an engine themselves.
Most readers won't participate in the challenge or UTCC or go w2w racing either - it's only a tiny percentage - but that's also the hook of the mag - that anyone with an interest can play and GRM can serve as a reader's guidepost of how it can be done. Just because I may send an engine out doesn't mean I want content dumbed down. I've rebuilt some and sent some out. What makes it worth reading is the aspirational/inspirational aspect that I could be doing this stuff too. So when I read about project cars, I find it a little disappointing when stuff gets shipped off to a shop (specialty stuff exceptions - like machine work) when it could have been tackled on the diy front. Not doing it yourself is perhaps sending more of a message that no - you can't/shouldn't do this yourself, you're going to need professionals). Maybe a fine line between inspiring an audience or mirroring one.
Brett_Murphy wrote: I've done a full rebuild before (see my avatar), and I don't think that a magazine like GRM can go into the details required to do that sort of thing. Aside from the liability issues, there are just too many variables and desired end results.
The thing is... I have Car Craft magazines from the 80's where they went into great detail about rebuilding engines... Some of my off roading mags of the same era weren't light on technical detail either - I remember a pretty specific article about how to set up a ring and pinion. These were picture heavy articles, 12-16 per page over multiple pages. It seemed to take some of the "magic" out of what was being done. Any more, I see tech articles that really seem like scare-tactic justifications for paying someone else.
There are a couple of GRM features that really bother me... The Challenge and UTCC event reviews... but I've commented about those before and it seems to have fallen on deaf ears. I wouldn't mind so much if there were more in depth data online, but so far there's been nothing. From a pure reading-entertainment point of view, those articles take up a ton of print space and offer very little for the paper and ink used.
I'll start of by saying that GRM is by far the best magazine, bar none. With that out of the way, here are a few reflections:
I'm not sure I'm the typical demographic, I don't even own a remotely fun car right now, and the closest I get to "car activities" are reading GRM, basic maintenance, and playing RealRacing2HD on the iPad. But, I'm always trying to learn more for when my time/budget do allow for a car to play with.
Thing is, they don't need to break new ground here. They just need to go back to what they used to do. In other words, reverse the trend. This again is my opinion only.
dj06482 wrote: - GRM could do a better job with their Project Cars area of the website, as the updates are usually pretty brief.
We do that intentionally. If we put everything on the website, why would you subscribe to the magazine. 
The WRX articles, for example, include how much we spent, where we spent it, and why we chose the parts we chose.
There's no question that Per will leave a hole, I think he was one of the heavy lifters when it came to hands-on project cars.
I was hooked on the mag in the early days, but dropped it about 5 years ago, Seems the articles were more of a "checkbook charlie" than actual do it yourself. Same now. The project gets dropped off and someone else does the work. Now I am a subscriber simply to support a group that has an awesome forum. The mag is better than most but not what it was. And the 911 rebuilding article was a joke, that was a freshening and again done by someone else.
For some reason I feel like this thread needs a picture of the piece of furniture I just got to archive my GRM back issues; I hate to whine and not give a pat on the back 
(I apparently read a number of issues to complete destruction; although there are a fair number of missing issues and a couple of gaps, there's stuff back to 1990 there)
wvumtnbkr wrote: How about this one for a teaser: I put in a new cam, cam bearings, main bearings, rod bearings, lifters, head gaskets, pushrods, timing set, oil pump, oil pump driveshaft, freeze plugs, spark plugs and new main seals in an SBC about 6 months ago. Is this rebuilt? I didn't touch the pistons (they stayed in the block).
don't know if it's a rebuild or not, but why tear it down that far and not do a hone and re-ring? how was the job made easier by removing the crankshaft but leaving the pistons and connecting rods inside the block?
Oh, and for the record I'm writing a story right now about racing radios and how they work.
It'll include a step-by-step how-to for replicating (or even bettering) a professional radio system for less than $200. And no, I'm not talking about walkie talkies from WalMart. Like I said, we haven't forgotten you guys.
Keith Tanner wrote: There's no question that Per will leave a hole
that's what she said!
ZOO wrote: We can't forget the "Motorsports" component, either. I'd rather compete -- in autox, time attack, Chump Car, ice racing, or participate in an HPDE than build something from scratch . . . or change my oil.
My counterpoint, as possibly the newest reader. I started a subscription after a free issue with my SCCA membership. I only do the basics on my own cars, I have friends and a very competent garage to help me with many tasks.
I wanted to see the Motorsports, on a Grass Roots level. I love the older car spotlights on various cars, my first issue was a Toyota AE-86! I'm super curious about Chump Car and LeMons racing. I like the reviews on new parts, and the how-to on older stuff. When I saw my first free issue, I was expecting a lot of NASCAR/Indy high-end coverage I would never get to. Imagine my surprise to read autocross, rallycross, Chump Car, etc.
And trust me, I tried a few other car magazines. If you're 20 and want to join "stance nation" with a "slammed S20", there's plenty out there. I love this magazine. .....but I do change my own oil.
You guys seem to have a rather unrealistic idea of how "grown-up" Tim behaves vs. Young Tim. If anything, he spends MORE time on projects than he did in years past; since Halloween he's worked on Mercedes, Mini, Shelby, Miata, Fiesta and Subaru projects (all of which live at our home under his active care) doing everything from rust repair and welding on new body panels to seat bracket modifications to pulling engines. His average workday ends about 6; then he comes home, eats, takes a short nap, then heads out to the garage, where he stays most nights until 11 or 12, and into the wee hours several times a month.
Margie
Quokka approves of Tim's work habits, which are better than my own.
In reply to Marjorie Suddard:
Of that I have no doubt. His intro every issue hints at that. It's not so much how much he's doing, but how much of that work is getting into the magazine.
wvumtnbkr wrote: How about this one for a teaser: I put in a new cam, cam bearings, main bearings, rod bearings, lifters, head gaskets, pushrods, timing set, oil pump, oil pump driveshaft, freeze plugs, spark plugs and new main seals in an SBC about 6 months ago. Is this rebuilt? I didn't touch the pistons (they stayed in the block).
That might be called a partial rebuild or a freshening
Brett_Murphy wrote: Quokka approves of Tim's work habits, which are better than my own.
Is that a Rock Hyrax?
Forgot one.
How about "repair" ? Put in good condition again.
The 911 "rebuild" has been bugging me too. To me a rebuild means to replace all bearings and at least new piston rings. All that has been described in the article is a valve job. What I want to know is that one picture with the new studs in place appears to show the cylinders removed with the rods covered with painters tape. So were the cylinders redone? Can a porsche be honed without splitting the engine because of the design?
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