Frederick the Great

[DSPTurtle]

My wife named it... since it is Prussian Blue she decided that Frederick was the right name for this project.
I haven't posted in awhile since I have been doing other things, but I just bought a narrow body 911 (1986) and a 930 engine/trans. My friend told me this is not the 1st, 5th or even 20th time this has been done, but for me it is a first.
The roller was recently painted and looks great from the outside. Unfortunately is has no gas tank, engine, transmission, lights, interior, etc. This is a true puzzle in every sense of the word. Lucky for me I have access to one of the best Porsche people I have ever come across in my short time playing with these cars (about 20 years).
Here are a few pics of the precarious ride back to the house so I could get started. I am sure you can imagine my trepidation as I saw how we were going to transport this bad boy






Since this is going to be something of a project, I figure that it needs to look awesome and I need to keep the family happy. So here is a pic of the kids pulling the tins off the motor so they can be properly powder coated.



And last, but not least... I have always hated bumperettes, so here is the butt end without those ugly growths.



I don't know how long this project will take. I am lucky that a lot of the engineering and hard to find parts are already in the pile. I am a decent parts swapper, but not much of a fabricator. I would like to get him rolling under his own power by the end of September.
I am sure I will be posting lots of questions here as I know this community has awesome answers.
Oh yeah, if anyone wants those turbo twists, I am open to a trade for some 7 and 9" fuchs.

[Dave 86 930 Fl]

Nice project and the color is cool too.

[pete3799]

Sounds like a fun project.
Love the color.

[kilodawg]

Wow I always thought that would be and excellent car when finished. The paint was excellent and the interior beautiful. Good score.

If the twists are the right fitment for a narrow body 993 I would be very interested. I might even know somebody local with a nice set of 7 and 9" fuchs. PM me.....

[DSPTurtle]

Today was not the most productive day I have had in Porsche land... but I did get a few things done.
I spent most of the day rounding up parts and trying to go from this...



to this...



I have a lot more stuff to unbox, clean and catalog. But that will be the kids job tomorrow.

I did get the rear coil overs hung so I could see what hardware I need to buy...



I also spent some quality time with the gas tank today. Having owned and cared for a 914, I have a pretty serious aversion to anything that looks orange (aka rust). So I peeled off the affected (or effected, who knows) areas to make any necessary repairs and realized that it had been a complete waste of time. Everything was surface only and no real issues. Now I just have to figure out what people use to replicate the rough texture for the factory look and color.
I went from this...



to this...



Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit more productive and I will get the list together for Monday's parts order.

[DSPTurtle]

Today started out so promising. We got lots of parts unpacked, cleaned and sorted. The kids did an awesome job of washing and drying stuff and taking the rear wheels on and off a few times.



I even got my wife in on the act by asking her to help me clean the carpets with her fancy steamer.



After about 45 minutes, she agreed with me that the carpets should just get replaced as the progress was way too slow. It took me 13 years of marriage to figure out that trick.
I even figured out how the bag of sunroof parts was supposed to go together to reinstall the sunroof. After that I started washing the engine compartment, rear wheel wells, and aft underbody. Things were moving along.



So, I figured I would break out the air chisel and take off the Carrera fuel filter bracket and install the turbo filter/accumulator bracket. Even that was no big deal and came out great!



Then I decided to install the front sunroof seal. The one that attaches to the body. Ugh, what a nightmare. Too much glue, too much painters tape and too much frustration. I thought I had it nailed until I went to remove the painters tape. The tape was stuck between the seal and the body and decided it was not coming off. So, I had to rip the whole seal back out. In the process of pulling off the new seal some paint chips (from the brand new paint) decided they wanted to come along for the ride. So I now have that to look forward to once Frederick moves under his own power.

As if that was not enough of a total letdown... I managed to destroy a perfectly good and seemingly impossible to find part of the turbo oiling system. I just had to get that freaking last piece of engine tin off of the back for powder coating. When I did, I noticed a little tiny cam seal that I figured I would replace. Well the seal was stubborn so I sent it to the pain chamber known as the hydraulic press. The press got the seal out ok... it also ripped apart the lip that I was apparently too stupid to realize was there. So now I have one busteda$$ piece of crap that is going to slow this whole process down. (Anyone got one that they want to sell ???)



After that I turned on the ALM race and decided to start cleaning and scraping paint off of the turbo oil tank. Now I have to decide if it gets powder coating or good old POR15. Either way, it will never be seen but at least now I know that it is in great shape.



At least the day was not a total waste. I got everything cleaned up enough to fit both cars in the garage. Maybe they will mate at night and pop out a few new 997 turbos.



Tomorrow is all about ordering the little parts to finish the sunroof and gas tank. Maybe I will even weld in the rear fuel pump bracket... who knows, that should be enough of a challenge to keep it interesting

[Tilikum Turbo]

About the only drawback I saw converting my 83SC 3.0, and dropping in an 86' 930 engine was the MPG dropped down from 18-19(city)/25-27(Hwy) to 9-13 MPG(even with the car completely gutted of all the A/C system, and weight reduced to 2500lbs)

And bring a WHOLE lot of cash to do the car properly from one end to another. That missing tranny alone will be mighty expensive. Did you get the wiring harness and computer with the engine?

In hindsight(looking at the route I took), it would have been about the same price just to buy a properly sorted, non-modified 930.

[DSPTurtle]

Fortunately I have a properly sorted, relatively stock 930 that I can drive while this project is underway. And I also purchased a full tilt boogie 930 transmission to go with this project

Anyway, today was a laid back day. I took a trip to the powder coater. Dropped off 18 individual pieces. Not sure if the process is getting more expensive or the guy realizes that he does an awesome job... either way, his quote was a lot higher than last time. I am gonna stick with him though cause I know what his work ends up looking like (freaking awesome!)

I spent a little time cleaning up the garage. The Vespa seemed out of place, so I opened her "rear hatch" so she could feel more included After all, I do ride her to pick up miscellaneous hardware and other items for this project (and she is "rear engined too!!!).



I got my bead blaster all hooked up and ready to roll. I only had time to get a few parts cleaned up. They look pretty good with just walnut shells for blast media. I love that Harbor Freight Special... I just wish it didn't leak so much media. I could not resist polishing the "Porsche" letters. It just makes them look so much better!!!





I got all the valve covers removed. Tomorrow I will check the valves and set the lash if needed. Tonight I was able to verify torque on all the head studs. Yay, no broken head studs as of yet!!! The motor was restudded in the late-80s so it should be good to go.

Hopefully tomorrow I can find a fuel pump mounting bracket for the rear pump. I would like to get that welded in before Friday comes up on the calendar I also have to replace 2nd and 4th synchros... tomorrow would be a good day for that. That doesn't include all the time with the bead blaster. Those little valve covers get big really quick. Maybe I will teach the boys to bead blast. Only thing cheaper than minimum wage is child labor
Wish me luck!!!

[jimtweet]

i see you are running rear coils...wondering if you are going to brace the shock towers? or not?

are you running these along with torsion bars? what spring rates

[DSPTurtle]

No idea of the exact spring rates. Yes, the torsion bars are staying in there. The springs should be just enough to accommodate the slightly heavier turbo engine. They are easy enough to get in and out so I imagine they will require some tweaking before I finish the chapter titled "what in the world was I thinking buying a completely disassembled car???"

[DSPTurtle]

Today was a decent day in the land of rebuilding Porsches...
I took a quick trip to the powder coater to pick up my parts. They look beautiful and I can't wait to bolt them on the car.



I spent some quality time with my bead blaster today. I am always amazed at how well those old and tired looking aluminum parts come out the other side.



I pulled 2nd and 4th out of the transmission and replaced the synchros. Cutting and pressing those things is an anus puckering experience every time. But, alls well that ends well.




I finally got the valves adjusted too. That is one activity I really never want to do with the engine in the car.




The sunroof seals showed up from the parts gods today so I was able to get those glued down. Maybe tomorrow I can get the sliders and finish getting that installed.




And last but not least... I was able to get the Carrera fuel lines out of the hatch and mock up the 930 fuel lines and components. I may have the guts to weld that bracket in tomorrow. Who knows... a beer or four may give me the courage I need




Hopefully tomorrow I can start adding pieces back onto the car and get out of this phase where I keep pulling pieces off. I am ready to start seeing some progress... ugh.
Oh yeah... I am struggling with whether to change the interior "champagne" carpets to black. I am just not sure how the tan leather will look with black carpets. It might be pretty cool though. I have to decide soon before my wife changes her mind about supporting me on new carpets

[DSPTurtle]

Today I added nothing back onto the car. But, it felt like I was being so productive. Oh well, at least I had a little fun in the process.
I got the ring and pinion reinstalled and the gear stack loaded. Unfortunately I still need that top bearing so hopefully tomorrow that will show up (warning kids... when pulling the gears, be very careful that you grab the whole bearing and not the edge or else you will have to replace that little bugger).



I had some time in the morning so I double checked the valve lash, installed the valve covers and gapped and reinstalled the spark plugs pulled the waste gate cover for bead blasting and put it all back together (that thing is under a ton of pressure so be careful if you decide to play with the waste gate)




Since I could not button up the tranny I decided to bead blast the covers that I could easily get my hands on. Man, does that look pretty!!! Pictures don't do it justice.




After all that I pretended like I was going to start putting the motor back together... yeah right, I still need that oil pump housing. Anyway, the bead blasting and powder coating makes things look so pretty.




And last but not least... I could not resist massaging the intake manifold just a tad. Nothing serious. I just got rid of some of the flashing from the casting process. I did not open up the ports as my heads are only 32mm anyway. But, I did get everything smoothed out and I may even drop it off at the powder coater tomorrow if I don't decide to paint it... :roll eyes:



I really thought I would be much further along by now. Oh well, parts is parts... and when they don't show up there ain't nothin' a normal person can do
Hopefully tomorrow will include some tangible progress.
For you guys that have done this before... how long before you could see your handiwork make a difference???

[DSPTurtle]

I forgot to mention one major activity for the day... I worked with Brian (RarlyL8) and finally got the exhaust ordered. I can't wait to have a piece of his artwork on one of my cars. Its gonna be awesome. I may have to put it on the Slope in interim just to play with it

[DSPTurtle]

I made it a little further along today. Not quite as far as I hoped, but I guess the boats carrying parts from Germany can only travel so fast.
I decided to give the old rattle can a chance at making the intake look pretty. 500 degree engine paint so hopefully it will stay put. Not perfect, but not too bad for a rattle can...



We have all seen them before, but a rebuild/puzzle thread like this needs some clutch porn... I will spare you the pressure plate and T/O bearing pics for now.



While I "was in there" I figured I might as well replace the rear main seal. Not sure if the old one was leaking but there was a lot of grime at the bottom of the case right there.



I didn't get all the parts I wanted... but Santa, oops, I mean UPS did bring some POR15 products!!! Fuel tank will be ready for install tomorrow...



Oil tank came out great. Too bad no one will ever see it. It will go in tomorrow also.



Other than that, I put a few of the tins back on.



Here's to hoping that logistics improve a little bit tomorrow!!!

[j930]

its coming along

[AFD660]

You're getting alot done to the car. The parts you've painted look awesome, cant wait to see the whole thing done...

[PrimeMvr]

Jeepers, this only started a week ago. I'd say you're flying! Nice work.

[DSPTurtle]

Today was kind of a letdown. Lots of parts won't show up until next week.
Fortunately I took the time to get some of the basic items buttoned up and ready for engine/tranny install...
First order of business today was installing the freshly painted 930 oil tank...



Next order of the day was getting the fuel tank put back in its rightful place. I decided to paint the top gray and the bottom black. Depending on how long I keep this beast after it is running, the whole bottom will get POR15'd



With the oil tank and fuel tank installed, it was time to start looking at the wiring. I have a feeling this is going to be the long pole in the tent. I really wish there was a wiring diagram for an 86 that showed voltage and amp by harness. That way I know where I could splice. Oh well, something has to be exciting. I did manage to pinout the cut harness to figure out where everything goes. Here is what I stared at for about two hours...
This --->

and this --->


Since I could not get that done, I decided to breakout the welder and weld in the fuel pump bracket for the rear fuel pump. I am hesitant to show pictures of my welding skills since there are some true artists on here. But, I will say, I hit it with a hammer and hung my fat a$$ off of it to make sure that it ain't goin nowheres



While I was waiting for the paint to dry I installed the 930 stub axles. I can't believe these only get torqued to 35 ft lbs. (edit, for anyone keeping track, it's 200ft/lbs) My 914 needed like a million ft lbs and I remember jumping on an iron bar for my 944.



After all that was done I still had a few minutes before bedtime so I painted the engine mount...



and torqued the flywheel and mounted the clutch and lightened pressure plate. I added a few more tins tonight but without that oil pump bracket I am hesitant to go too far.



Tomorrow I will jump back into the harness and see what I can figure out. If anyone has any hints, I am all ears!!!

[DSPTurtle]

I just realized something... back when I was on here all the time we used to b!tch at people to put down their goals so we could understand what they were doing.
Here's my goals...
0. Get this puzzle back together so I can go drive it ASAP to figure out exactly where it is at on the butt dyno.
1. Make a hella fast, sleeper style 911 (that still has AC!!!). Unfortunately the big whale tail is gonna make that a little hard.
2. Not make this a chop job. I want to use correct 930 parts for the appropriate conversion areas. That way if I ever decided to sell it, the next owner doesn't have to fret with Ace Hardware speciality items. Kinda like a 920.5 ((930+911)/2). All correct Porsche parts doing the job they were designed to do but in a different chassis then the original designer intended.

I know that sounds kinda boring, but I think it will be cool to make a 350hp narrow body with decent AC. I am not looking for a 700hp monster... I would rather do that with a 996TT This is gonna be the classic 911 with a bark and bite that makes you look twice.

[redridge]

Cool thread, keep up the good work... And yes, you are flying. What are your plans fors suspension?