9M Engine Process

The Process. At Ninemeister, the environment in which your engine is built has received the same attention as the motor itself. It starts with a dedicated engine build room, fully equipped, immaculately presented and staffed by specialists with decades of experience in building Porsche engines.

Disassemble. Some perceive this process to be of lesser importance to assembly, but issues and weaknesses can be missed unless scrutiny is applied to the disassembly phase. And with an engine room that is capable of catering up to ten engine builds at any one time, our bespoke workflow ensures a consistently high standard during this critical process.

Engine Department

Engine Clean. Simply put, there are too many expensive parts to take risk. Dirt on the outside means dirt on the inside, so we double or triple-check everything to ensure build cleanliness. If necessary, we replace the oil system if there was any remaining doubt.

Measure. It’s our job to ensure that every component remains within factory tolerances. So, out come the micrometers to measure the bearings – two places at least – and we even measure valve springs for force and length. Something not right? Replace or repair.
9m Engine Department Disassemble

Machine. Not just bringing things back into tolerance, the most common machining job is to refurbish cylinder heads and updating the troublesome early 964 heads to the later 993 style. Big valve conversions, crankcase boring, shuffle pinning? No problem.

Parts. Don’t think about parts in isolation. An engine has around 200; to improve performance you have to consider the interaction and synergy of them all. Sadly we see too many engines with unnecessary or incompatible parts that can only ‘fight’ each other.

We will only recommend parts as a package to achieve your goals for the car.

Assemble. Grab bolt and tighten? Never. Engine building for Ninemeister is a process of combining feel with knowledge. From the smallest process (pre-lubricating bearings), to the big stuff – crankcases and cylinders – decades of experience are poured into each and every build.

Refit. Never assume anything and consider all peripheral components. Fuel lines, electrics, alternator wiring, earth points – there is just no point in completing an exquisite new engine with decrepit or unsuitable ancillaries unless you want to return your car on a low loader…

Test. This is where the Ninemeister team pools its knowledge and applies a deep layer of scrutiny to the process. We crank, check oil pressure, connect relays and power up under the watchful eyes of our team. We check the oil level, clutch & gear selection and then (only then) go for a drive. 40 or 50 miles later, we inspect.

Dyno and tune. Whilst the 9m dyno has been used to develop some of the most powerful air cooled engines in the world, it’s not just about performance. For bedding in, the dyno can be essential for running a fresh engine on intermittent load and fixed rpm whilst using a special low additive, mineral running in oil – a process that allows us to bed all bearings and achieve a near instant piston ring seal.

Remaps are one thing – but a dyno is a multi-dimensional tool and should be used for much more.