Any data I need to collect for the gurus before dropping?

[911 tweaks]

new tank will fit w/ a bit of effort plus you add value to car plus you have peace of mind which is invaluable...make sure to properly prep, paint & stone guard (rubber schutz) the outside of the tank PRIOR to install...

[sobamaflyer]

What I saw made me think exactly of that first post, not something I want to fight and still possibly wind up with a slightly compromised tank.

Peace of mind here on an area I knew was trouble and was worse after I finally went checking it out. Probably should have looked at this 3 years ago.

I'll definitely be rubber coating it.

sent from my Galaxy S III

[NeedSpace]

Originally Posted by timmy2

I think you're taking the smart road. Your tank could look just like the one in the second link I posted inside. I'm sure you'll be able to make the new tank fit.

I agree with Timmy2. Given this is a 1975, before galvanized. Plus, it has been repaired once before. I wouldn't have given it a second thought. I was just thinking, hey maybe restore it as a back up, but I can't convince myself of that either. Do what I did with my old mercedes gastank. Stick it someplace out of site and move.

By means of comparison, this is what my 1976 looked like after I cleaned it. There was no rust, just crud.

[howard freeman]

Galvanized tanks will rust too. Just had to do a 85 carrera .

[sobamaflyer]

I could be wrong but seems no coating for this particular object (gas tank) could be expected to ward off rust forever. My first one made it 38 years, if the replacement lasts 15-20 I'd feel happy about it.

I'll keep the old one and learn to cut and weld on it in 15 years (when all the fumes are gone).

[Flat6pac]

Run a cars exhaust through it and cook the fumes out of it, then you wont have to wait.
Bruce

[sobamaflyer]

Nice tip Bruce, I need to do that before I seal it up so I feel ok putting it up in the attic.

[howard freeman]

The way we do them is steam clean them first, then sawz all them in half just below the seam. Sand blast them & then you can weld them up without worry. After welding,coat the inside with red coat. BTW replace the plastic swirl pot with a metal one.
Howard
P.S. Don't put it in the attic until you have flushed it out good. Take it to the radiator shop before you store it. Remember how hot the attics get down here in the summer.

[sobamaflyer]

Aaaand BAM!!!

Huge thanks to everyone here that has guided me along! Fresh shiny new gas tank installed, a little tinkering and tweaking and she started up and ran smoothly.

I've got some tuning to do but happy to report that unlike in the past she will smoothly come to life w/ the first twist of the key w/ absolutely no touching of the engine. That was after several hours tonight I'll find out tomorrow morning if it's really really better (previously anything more than 1/2 hour left to cool and I had to do my little twiddle the throttle plate routine).

I did have one snag, I discovered it the other day and Howard confirmed it today on the phone. I didn't think anything about the clutch fork when I put the engine in, so when I went to adjust it I found zero engagement. I had to do a partial drop to align the fork and then slip it back in.

I had gotten running nirvana then gave her a long overdue bath and almost decided to put the drop off until the weekend but I was so way pumped from finally realizing the end of this project that I decided to tackle it. I am happy to say my little family and I took a little cruise around the neighborhood tonight for the first time since last summer.

[NeedSpace]

Congratulations! That is awesome! We look forward to many happy photos of the two of you out cruising.

Oh, and while I am at it, I would HIGHLY recommend replacing your decklid shocks. They aren't that much and holy cow what a difference. I got tired of hitting my head.

[sobamaflyer]

Originally Posted by NeedSpace

Oh, and while I am at it, I would HIGHLY recommend replacing your decklid shocks. They aren't that much and holy cow what a difference

Thanks! And yep, they are on the list. Noone seems to appreciate my fine putter and less my vice grips

[NeedSpace]

Originally Posted by sobamaflyer

Thanks! And yep, they are on the list. Noone seems to appreciate my fine putter and less my vice grips

...we are a picky group.

Personally, I believe that is a better use of a putter than golf...well at least for me with my golf game. I was using a curtain rod for my frunk...it came with the car.

[sobamaflyer]

Oh I have an even better one for the frunk, it's an extendable paint roller handle, even silver and blue like my car! (and as far as I'm concerned that's a monumentally better use for that thing than it's intended purpose)

[sobamaflyer]

I realize it's not factory but I coated my new tank in rubberized undercoating and then painted that w/ the smoke gray from my engine tin.

[Smoove1010]

Congrats on the re-light! That must feel great. If I recall, you re-ringed - did you follow the break-in routine recommended here in various threads? Here's a good one:
Where can I find engine break-in procedures?

..and this website noted in the thread makes a pretty compelling case for their recommended process:

Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines For More Power

Good luck, and be sure to post your results after break-in!

GK

[sobamaflyer]

yep, great weight was lifted when she came back to life.

I didn't re-ring, everything looked nice, mic'd out and tested well so I put them back just as they were.

I did turn it over by hand several times, then cranked w/o spark and fuel for a little bit. Then probably 15 more minutes of tinkering before I found the right mixture (and corrected 2 mixed up plug wires $#@!&^) before I had smooth purring 3-liter nirvana.

[timmy2]

Great job and good to go for another 100K!.
There doesn't seem to be any loud ticking noises any more...
You should be proud.
Enjoy, you deserve it.

[sobamaflyer]

My Cheshire grin is back

Drove her to work this morning, smooth and very strong. Seems to have a bit more power but that's possibly just euphoria and haven't driven her in too long?

Happy to report my starting issues are gone. I'm making a trip across the bay to my new acquaintance, the CIS Whisperer tomorrow morning and hoping he can help me with idle issues. I haven't done any new cis pressure tests yet so...

First start she will settle to a nice 800rpm idle, drove to the gas station, filled up, soon as I crank again the idle is 2100, remained that way until I got to work. Apparently I have the wrong WUR on this engine and that is being resolved tomorrow so I'll wait to see where that leads.

Expecting to join Howard and the other Porsche crazies around here at a charity car show next weekend a couple of hours away.

[howard freeman]

Travis, Make sure the distributor advance& fly weights are not sticking. That will always cause a high idle ( to much advance). Take the cap off ,grab the rotor & turn it,it should snap back to the rest position & make sure it comes all the way back to the stop.
Howard

[sobamaflyer]

~140 miles later - no damp spots, starting almost instantly with the turn of the key after any amount of time.

Spent a couple of hours Sat. with a CIS guru, swapped out my WUR for a newly rebuilt one (and the correct model for my engine), took off an odd electro switch on a vacuum line, checked my timing (which was about spot on), etc.

I [PO] had my vacuum advance capped off on the dizzy, we re-attached that. Well after a little bit we took it out for a test drive, she pulls hard all the way up and running very smoothly.

........of course there's always something (if the past is an indicator Howard is probably right about it) 10 minutes after leaving said guru w/ a finely tuned 911 my idle goes wonky again, sticking at ~2k for a bit at a stop and once dropping enough to stall. We oiled up my dizzy a little bit, and the button does bounce back as suggested above but everything else seems to be working well so I may need to try and take the distributor apart and lubricate/clean up everything to see if it's sticking.

Overall I'm thrilled, just the continued tinkering on an old a$$ car on a budget

And a gratuitous pic from the Sunday morning bath time