My "Blank check(s)" overdue project intro

[Capt.Danimal]

This post is long overdue.. I've been shopping and browsing this site for years now without contributing.. Partly because I dont spend enough time sitting still but mostly because I dont feel as though I know enough about these cars to chime in. I've been learning as I go and making plenty of mistakes along the way and still feel like a complete noob.

I've been on the Porsche slope / cliff for about 3 years now. It all started at the Ft. Lauderdale boat show of all places. I went down from my home in Daytona beach with a pocket full of cash to snag a good deal on a flats boat. A few too many drinks later I ended putting a 1981 ROW SC on a trailer and dragging it back to my garage.



The car didn't start, didn't turn over, didn't roll or stop. Best I could tell it hadn't been driven or registered in about ten years and it just sat around year after year collecting rust and rat detritus . It's paint was so burned by the Florida sunshine you could literally wipe it off.

Needless to say I was excited and oblivious to what I had gotten myself into at the same time. My only experience with Porsche was idolizing them as a kid and having owned a 73 VW super beetle that we always called the poor man's Porsche.

The body is Euro 81 SC, engine is euro 83 and the intake is Motronic injected conversion which I finally got started and running (with a few minor gremlins,, more on that later).



Short list of sweaty very hard earned accomplishments
Brakes rebuild, shocks, wheels, tires, rollcage, IROC front and rear bumpers, trim, full custom interior, electric window and sunroof, front strut brace, exhaust baffle delete, tow hooks, oil driven tensioners, gigantic fwd oil cooler and some wiring as needed.













Fast forward 3 years.. ~5000 hrs (of bodywork/sanding and painting) later. Very proud to say that there is now ZERO body filler on the entire car and every panel, crease and seam looks as it should have right out of the factory.





Getting closer everyday... I still have plenty of electrical to clean up inside the dash where what must have been a few communities of rats living and chewing on wires. The speedo doesn't work, AC is still in there but I'm not even sure where to begin so I've just left in unplugged until I decide if it's even worth keeping???

I have yet to paint my engine bay, its still that merlot and grime tint.. There has been too much to do in there mechanically and I'd be a shame to have do touch ups because an errand scratch or getting some errand chemical on it all.

I've got some very weird engine hesitation when i slowly reduce throttle input that I cant quite figure out..????? It usually only happens in the lower gears 2-3.. So far my best guesses are vacuum leak and/or the 3.2 barn door AFM intake... If it's not the barn door I am going to start taking a serious look at putting in a megasquirt style system into the car?? I am a complete rookie when it comes to electrical sensors and engine ecu's so the learning curve is going to be steep without some guidance. I've never been down that path so I'm hoping to find a jedi on here to guide me..

I've also been feeling a shudder in the clutch pedal starting off into first..

I still have a long to do list on the car and it gets overwhelming when I think about writing it all down so I'll save that stuff for later..

Alright gents , sorry for such a long post. hope you enjoy the pictures and if anyone has any tips and tricks or even questions just reach out.

[DRACO A5OG]

Wow! Welcome Welcome!

Beautiful car! Welcome and please keep us posted every step of the way.

[RSBob]

Beautiful. Like you vision and execution.

For the engine bay, just mix equal parts of flat and gloss black Rustoleum cans, after it has been thoroughly cleaned. Easy to brush or use a small roller.

Did mine years ago and still looks good.

[Trakrat]

If that's the only few spots you have of rust... then you did pretty good on finding a clean car.

it's too bad you didn't keep the original color though... it is not a common color.

[Flojo]

Hey, nice car you running there.
Whatever you Do, you get it on the road, that counts!

[Capt.Danimal]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I've spent more time researching how to properly de-gremlin the engine and I"m (at least for the foreseeable future) going to skip the ECU swap. I really think it will just set me back more than it'll help me at this point.

RSBOB- thanks for the engine bay painting tips.. It's on the to do list..

anyone got any tips on a brake pedal that requires superhuman strength to stop? it's not spongy or soft at all, just doesn't seem to have any mechanical advantage to it..

[RedCoupe]

Lack of vacuum getting to the brake booster, or bad booster?