Check out put I picked up today...

1956 356 super 1600 as complete as they come. It was said to have come out of a running car that had a brake failure and smashed the front..... Can't wait to fully rebuild / restore it.....

Cool!

angela

AWESOME!!

Kevin, that early engine has Zenith 32NDIZ carb's. They're great carbs, flow a lot but are hard to jet. They require a bit of a learning curve to get the hang of how they are adjusted. Sit down when you start looking for internals such as pistons/cylinders, bearings etc. They can be very cost prohibitive. You may be wise in going to the Maestro's web page. Unfortunately, Harry Pellow, aka the Maestro passed away some time ago but he was considered the ultimate authority on 356/912 engines. Much of his literature is available by going here: http://maestroslibrary.com/index.html

Thanks guys and gals, and thanks alot Larry for the info. Not sure how much stuff I'll have to replace, because the engine still turns over freely and still has compression. Whom ever pulled it from the wrecked 356, drained the carbs and engine oil, then stored it in a garge here in southern California. Besides paint it look great...

Glass top....What a coffee table! I think the patina is cool.
Great find. Take ur time and enjoy.

I just noticed that I had a typo.. The carburetors are Zenith 32NDIX, not NDIZ.

Do a leak down test, (if you don't have the tester, they're available at Harbor Freight on L st. in Chula Vista, just east of I-5)
If you hear compressed air through the carburetors, you have an intake valve leak, if you hear air through the exhaust, you have bad exhaust valves and if you hear air from the oil filler then rings are your problem. This test is best done on an engine that has been started with oil circulating through out the system. Dry cylinders can give a false indications that the rings are bad.

If the engine has been sitting for a long time, I'd check the valve springs and depending on the leak down test, you may be able to get away with honing the cylinders and re-ringing the pistons. A valve job and new springs may also be in order. Bearings in these engines are remarkably stout and "probably" don't need replacing.

Yea, I think what my plan of attach is to first pull the plugs, dump some marvel mistery oil down the cylinders. Rotate the engine by hand a few times. Let the engine sit over night and then hook a bell housing up and rotate the engine with fresh oil in it until the oil presure light goes off. Then let it sit dump a little more marvel into the cylinders and then spin it again until the light goes out. Re-install the plugs and fire it off and let it idle until it reaches temp. then do a leak down test. If everything checks out then I'll pull the engine down, clean and check everything, replace what is needed and anything that may be needed soon. Rebuild and then most likely sale it to someone that wants it more then me. I just enjoy building engines and have five engines right now. What can I say, it's a hobby..... :)

NICE score on the engine. Should be another cool project for you.