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We are happy to work with overseas customers, but we no longer arrange international shipping. The paperwork has become too time consuming for us. It didn’t used to be this way. There are now several fairly priced, reputable international forwarding providers that make the process easy for all of us and are well worth the fee they charge. Aside from handling all the customs forms, these companies are great at finding the most affordable shipping options. A popular one that quite a few of our international customers have used is Bonvu Package & Freight Forwarding
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****************Please be sure to include your valve covers and cam caps.******************
This article was originally written with Porsche M96 & M97 heads in mind, but the information applies to all heads.
We understand that packing up your heads and shipping them seems like a daunting challenge. We get it. But if you follow the simple steps outlined in this article you’ll see that it’s not so bad. Over the years hundreds of customers have followed these easy instructions and safely shipped us their heads, including international customers.
Before I go into the details of D.I.Y. packing I’ll mention here that for a small fee we will be happy to assemble foam lined boxes and ship them to you with return labels. We tack the shipping cost onto your bill. If you’re interested in this service send us your shipping address and we’ll calculate the shipping and let you know what this service will cost. We’ve had a number of air-cooled 911 customers use this service as we send a large foam lined box with 6 smaller boxes neatly arranged inside and ready to receive the precious cargo.
Lowes, Menards, Home Depot and most big box home improvement stores sell quality cardboard boxes and packages of white pre-cut insulation panels that are 3/4″ thick. These panels are easy to work with and have excellent cushioning and crush characteristics, but you can use any style of insulation panels as long as they add up to a minimum of 1 1/2″ thickness on all sides and top and bottom.
Use one box for each head. One typical box with both heads is very heavy and increases the chances of damage from mishandling. The absolute smallest size suitable for M96/97 heads is 23″ x 16″ x 12″. This is the minimum size required to line all sides with 1 1/2″ of Styrofoam and leave some crush room. The boxes we use measure 24″ x 18″ x 12″. HEADS POORLY BOXED OR SENT IN BOXES SMALLER THAN THE MINIMUM SIZE CAN LEAD TO DAMAGE.
Keep in mind that shipping costs are largely based on box size. Some of the readily available boxes that meet the minimum length and width dimensions are much taller than 12 inches. We have observed that UPS has a significant upcharge for boxes whose height exceeds 14 inches. If the boxes you have are taller than that you can easily modify them down to 12 inches. This will save you some money.
The heads need to be drained of oil, but no further cleaning is required. We’ll take it from there. Into each M96/97 head (and all OHC heads with cam bearing caps) bolt the cam bearing caps in position (no cams), place the lifter housing in position with a couple of bolts, bolt the valve cover in place (4 bolts are enough for that) and slip each head into a heavy-duty plastic garbage bag. We do not need any other parts, including the cams & lifters, unless otherwise discussed.
Keep in mind that exposed studs, like Mezger air-cooled Porsche heads have, and any other sharp features can poke through the foam. A couple of layers of cardboard between exposed studs and foam are a good idea.
DO NOT USE BUBBLE WRAP INSTEAD OF FOAM! The bubbles pop from the weight of the head and then you have no padding. It’s okay to line the box in foam as described and wrap the head in bubble wrap, but do not rely solely on bubble wrap to protect your heads.
Be sure to leave a little crush room in the box for the sides to push in without damaging the head, in case the box is mishandled. If there’s no extra space in the box, then the sides can be shoved in and damage the head. A couple of inches of crush room works well. We fill those spaces with soft material like butcher paper, crumpled newspaper, old UPS padded envelopes, etc to keep the head from sloshing around. If you have peanuts that’s fine for the crush space, but please put them in strong plastic bags so they aren’t lose. The goal is to get the head roughly centered in the box. Having more padding on the bottom of the box is good as that’s the side it’s mostly going to get dropped on, but it can get dropped on its top so don’t scrimp up top.
DO NOT USE PLASTIC TOTES. They tend to crack when dropped and in some cases shatter. We have received quite a few heads shipped in damaged plastic totes. In one case the entire corner of a tote broke off and the head was sticking out. Also, shipping companies have a big upcharge for totes.
When you’re ready, we can e-mail you UPS return labels. Since we ship a lot we get discounts that can save you $$$ over the UPS store price. Once you have the labels on the boxes just take them to a UPS store or hand them to a driver. To take advantage of this free service we need the dimensions of the boxes (L x W x H), the address you want the heads returned to when the work is completed and the e-mail addy you want the labels sent to.
Finally, we highly recommend putting an Apple Airtag in each box. We’ve never had a package get lost, but it’s nice to follow the progress and in the unlikely event that the shipper loses track of a package you’ll know right where it is. When we pack the heads for return shipping, we’ll slip them back in.
Here’s a properly boxed Porsche M96 head.
And here’s a pair of 912 heads. Note how centered they are in the box with a layer of foam between them.
And here’s what can go wrong if packing is given quick thrift. Two heads, one little box, nothing but shredded cardboard for packing. The box was too small to safely ship one head, but somehow two were forced in. Both heads are a total loss. One is actually broken in two. Its mate is very nearly in two pieces. Such a shame and so avoidable.
This is an extreme example of terminal damage, but we often see poor packaging cause repairable damage that adds to the cost of the job.
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