When Well Enough Can't Be Left Alone; Backdate, EFI/ITB, AC, and more!
 

I decided that after working really hard today I would take off an hour or so early to tinker with the car- the nice thing is that it lives at my work... that's also a dangerous thing because really, I should be working...



Last night I pulled the wideband and soaked it in gasoline. It was filthy and looked like a fouled plug so I figured, why not. I also cleaned the plugs which were fouled of course.



Today I did the following:



-Checked my timing and found that it was correct and as spot on as I could ask for. there's a bit of variation in the idle (>100RPMs at max) but for now I'm totally happy with that. After emailing with Al and understanding how his setups work everything made sense. He uses both the dizzy and MegaSquirt to control timing where as I understand it's usually one or the other.



-Checked all the linkages and made sure everything was tight. Good lord these ITBs are sensitive. I felt like I could blow on them and change the idle.



-Launched TunerStudio and confirmed all the sensors were calibrated and that all the settings were as they should be. Always nice to known that you're doing it right.



And then I fired it up.



It took a little while to find the sweet spot between idle, balancing the intakes and AFR but eventually I got the idle to average 1100, the intakes pretty closely balanced and the AFR sitting at 13.58 and the MAP at 63. I only have one wideband on the 1-2-3 bank and I suspect that at some point I'll probably run another to the 4-5-6 bank (I should have done that in the first place but I was young and stupid then) also, Chicago has winter every 4 months so projects are welcome.



After a few mins I decided to take it out and see how it ran.



1st and 2nd are bogged down a bit and running rich, but that's fine- I haven't touched the fuel map and Al's starting maps are Saudi rich to be safe. 3rd is a hoot and honestly doesn't feel like the same car I bought. I was kind of shocked at how quickly the power came on when I hit 3500 RPM and how quickly I got up to 60mph. Fourth was just as fast and it felt like a bottomless pit of power. Of course with the 2.7 and the CIS P&C it's pretty limited to about 4500 and lots left on the table but mark me impressed. The car also felt like it was running smoother as it got warmer. Suffice it to say, that even wit a raw and choppy tune this no CIS.



So now I'll keep my fingers crossed that tomorrow I can repeat the easy start up, and short drive. If so, then I'll start diving into the tune.



If anyone is curious the log is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3z46a1u6dhsnu3b/2022-06-28_15.56.37.mlg?dl=0



There are two manual marks, the first just to see if it worked and the second when I start driving. Everything before that is tinkering with the ITBs and letting the car get warm.



I know there are plenty of valleys ahead but I'll take the W today.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...fe2468821f.jpg

Yes please. And before these images get buried with pages on pages of tuning jargon... and I do I agree it is of critical importance for the car to run well.
You nailed it; the result is a fine execution if I dare say so myself! Now back to your regularly scheduled programming SmileWavy

Julian,
Do you have a hand-throttle? Or does your TPS need re-calibrated? I'm reading that TunerStudio screen to show TPS of 1.3% at idle?

You can also re-scale 'engine load' and 'MAP' gauges to give you a more accurate picture...with the needle. I do realize the digital readout at the bottom tells you exactly. But once you start street-tuning, it'll be nice to glance at the gauge and know approximately where the needle is pointing.

When Well Enough Can't Be Left Alone; Backdate, EFI/ITB, AC, and more!
 

No hand throttle- the linkage is sticky. Sometimes it snaps back to 0, sometimes not… when I’m driving and using the pedal it generally returns to 0 but when I’m fussing in the engine bay it’s finicky. I added a pretty strong helper spring to return it but even still it doesn’t always reset to 0.

I should probably replace the bushings or get a heavier helper spring.

Good to know about the gauges- I had no idea.

You're making great progress!!!

It's not a terrible idea to calibrate the TPS to a 1% value (or even less) at no-throttle. Just in case things go out of adjustment to the point where the actual throttle position goes into negative (but the gauge doesn't show it).

So for instance, if your throttle moves a small amount before the TPS starts to show a value above zero it could cause issues, more so if you are running TPS based load.

Of course this might steal a bit of range from the top end of your throttle but generally the last 5% doesn't make much difference.

ITB linkages can be fussy. It's easy to give into the temptation to add more return spring to the system but be aware it can cause driveability issues - ITB's have such incredible response off idle (which is the reason they are tougher to tune) that if there's a massive amount of stiction in the system you'll have a tough time easing into the throttle.

This approach to timing control would be referred to as "overlay" timing. Again the CDI+ manual explains this fully. There's nothing wrong with that right now your system is completely relying on the mechanical distributor to control the timing, as you're "overlay" timing contribution to total is 0.

Even if you do start to add (or subtract) a bit of timing to the curve the distributor is providing, you'll only know exactly what your timing is doing at idle and at max RPM and have no idea where you're at in between. And you're relying on a 45 year old mechanism of unknown condition to provide timing.

It's a lot of control to give up just for saving yourself the trouble of locking out the advance.

The GOOD part of the approach is that it gives you one less thing to worry about at this point, and you can spend this year fiddling with fuel (and enjoying the car!) without wondering about timing.

Keep up the great work!!

^^Everything that Jonny said.

Building off his comments on ITB return spring pressure...

If you overdo it with the return spring tension/pressure, you can actually affect the sync. You'll have one (or two) TBs that are being pulled hard closed when the rest aren't.

Makes sense when I actually think about it- thanks for saying it aloud.

I think at some point when the engine needs a rebuild (55k on it now) I'll move to COP and do another round of improvements; P&C etc... But for now, as Jonny said- I'm sure I'll be plenty busy with fuel.

Regarding adjusting the TPS at idle, absolutely required to have it correctly fall back to 0% (or whatever you want to be considered fully closed- I use .4%) idle well and to cut fuel during decel. Makes all the difference because if you have configured idle to be active when TPS is < .X% or decel to be active when < x% and the value is higher than that value it won't utilize all the idle maps correctly.
Keep posting about your experience though. A lot of us find this way more interesting than doing our actual day jobs!

Day XX

Where to start…

Wow, it feels like just yesterday that I was dutifully updating this thread weekly and keeping a meticulous log of the life and evolution of this car, and then I kind of fell off the face of the earth...

In late June kind of out of the blue, on the heels of our 11th wedding anniversary, my wife told me that she no longer wanted to be my wife. Sometimes you're the nail, and other times you're the hammer. And sometimes you're the 2x4 at the mercy of a novice with a rapid-fire nail gun... It’s been overwhelmingly difficult and sucked away a lot of my energy for well, everything; work, the car, getting out of bed….

But we have to evolve or we cease to exist and the next chapter will be nothing if not interesting; 42 years old, two kids under 10 and single once again. Wait, wasn’t there an ad about Porsches getting you laid…? Advertising is true, right? Right! RIGHT?!

Anyhow…

One of the reasons I chose to work with Al and X-Faktory, aside from the cool (and affordable) EFI kit he offers, was the promise of having a real live human on the other end of my questions; an expert to help me through the myriad of problems I was sure to face.

After gathering some data logs and sending them to Al he responded with a new VE and AFR table to correct the initially safely rich tune that I was running along with detailed screenshots with arrows and notations explaining what was going on and why. A solution and an education!

I loaded the new tables and fired the engine right up. Low and behold, it was running really quite well. It found idle fairly quickly even though it was cold and settled in.

My newfound marital state has resulted in a lot of free time lately… I’ve been taking lots of drives; 6 hours on Saturday, 5 the next Sunday, 8 the Sunday after that. All the while trying to tune this damn car to run well and perform as it should.

I’ve become amazingly adept at adjusting the ITBs and have achieved a magical state of perfect balance and beautiful idle. I’m very proud of that as I’ve spent countless hours on the side of random roads, sweating into the engine while adjusting the linkages.

I’ve been making progress but am acutely aware of my own limitations having only been at this for a month or so. I have some tuners who are interested in taking a crack at the car and I’m about ready to hand it over. Partially, I want it done well but I also want to see what they do; to watch a master at work will be worth the cost and provide a lesson that I wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

In addition to tuning and logging miles I purchased an M&K active exhaust. Unfortunately it just didn’t fit my car. I don’t understand why or how as it was designed for an SC and my 1977 has the same bumper mounting brackets as an SC. But for some reason they prevent the muffler for fitting…grrr.

To hell with it. I cut apart the muffler and started making modifications. It needed to be 2” shorter on each end. My bandsaw made quick work of that and now I know what the inside of an M&K muffler looks like!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1659964112.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1659964112.jpg

While I was recklessly cutting my new muffler apart, I cut the vacuum pots off and replaced them with electric gates; I want to be able to decide when and where I’m going to be an obnoxious *******! With it wired up to a toggle switch on the dash I can now go from civilized to hooligan.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1659964202.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1659964202.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1659964202.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1659964202.jpg

Honestly, at first it was a bit of a disappointment. At idle and anything lower than 3000RPMs it kind of sounds the same, just louder and a tad raspier: M&K mufflers aren't known for being quiet, even the Street versions are significantly louder than a Dansk. Now, above 4000, it’s a lot of fun and the car sounds like an early 70s rallye beast, particularly when abruptly letting off a hard throttle and in-gear decel…OMG, I can’t get enough of that!!!

I can’t wait until the engine (55k miles currently) needs a rebuild and I get to put non CIS P&C to use. I can only imagine what an RS spec 2.7 feels and sounds like.

So, for all intents and purposes, my work here, for this phase of the project is done. I missed my June target by about a month but did so much more than I originally planned so I’m ok with that. There are more projects for winter; interior, suspension, buying another one and doing it again ;)

It’s still got a long way to go to being done (will it ever though) but so far, it’s been totally worth it. Totally.

And thank freaking god, because I’m going to have a lot of free time to work on the car in the near future. I know it’s cliché but this car is now high octane therapy.

While out tooling around last weekend I stumbled on a few car shows; in my village of Lincolnwood it was almost all American muscle but they let me sneak in and everyone wanted to know about the car, and up in Winnetka at a massive European car show where my little car seemed to pull people in like flies to... well, you know.

For now, it's driving, tuning, getting ready for Checked It Out and hopefully some road trips this fall to keep my sanity and flog this car like it was designed for.

I do have something else to say; something that I’ve been rumination on throughout this project but I’m going to let that simmer for a few more weeks… I need to spend some time with the car before I put those thoughts to paper.

Julian,
I was going to text you yesterday, but figured you were busy with the car or kids or both.

Glad the car is coming along.
Sorry to hear about the Mrs. That's nightmare fuel for me.

Looking forward to seeing your car and shaking your hand in a few weeks.

I wish there was something I could say, other than sorry, about your troubles at home. Unfortunately many/most/all of us have been there, but you'll get through it all and be better for it in time.

And, yes, great therapy for sure. Nice to have you back. We need more pics of the car in the wild!

No Bueno about the life changes. But, as others have said, This will pass and the future is good.

At least the car is relatively cheap therapy.

Thanks for pics of the muffler. I notice that the perf tube goes all the way through the center. To me, this explains why there is so much drone due to direct center mixing of pressure waves.

Glad to hear the car is running better. drop me an email. I have some tuning stuff that will help you.

Inspiring read! Thanks for commenting in my thread and leading me here. Although I won't be tackling the same projects, I learned a lot reading through this.

How am I just now seeing this, this is one of my favorite threads.

I'm sorry to hear about the wife, I'd be a wreck if mine wanted to leave, but, like they say, this to shall pass.

Thanks for the kind words everyone- no doubt it’s a pretty lousy moment but yes, it will pass eventually.

And I suppose on the bright side, my 26 year old assistant has assured me that if and when I’m ready, she’ll assist me in conducting an anthropological experiment with her pier group to see how effective a vintage 911 is at getting a 42 year old divorce laid.

So I got that goin’ for me. [emoji1787]

Anyhow, not much to report- still trying to find time to gather data and tweak the VE map. Jamie gave me some incredibly helpful times and techniques that have changed how I approach the process and made huge leaps.

In anticipation of Check22 I’ve been doing a bit of final styling to the car. Probably not forever, and probably not the last but it’s fun to play around.

If we recall post 1, my father introduced me to Porsche and though he came awfully close, in the end he opted for a sailplane instead of a 911

All along this project, I’ve had that in the back of my mind. This is of course my car but in part it’s his too.

To that end, a nod to propeller spinners:

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2d41c5b653.jpg

And his tail number as my “license plate”. It’s hand painted on vinyl in hopes that it’ll rock chip and wear with use.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...e6d8dc956e.jpg

I also replaced my missing headlight, finally.

I actually LOL'd when I read this.

Car looks great. I really like the spiral on the mirror.
While I have plenty to do in the interim, I'm very excited to see this car in 10 days.

If you're looking to attract the youth market, the backdate may hurt you a bit. Watching parked 911s in the paddock at vintage races, the teen/20 somethings will routinely walk by a '73 Carrera RS to oogle an impact bumper car. Longhoods appear to pull in the "mature" crowd lol. However, yours has gold bits which may act like a fishing lure, similar to the banjo minnow (it triggers a genetic response!).

Please publish your study!

Julian,
Greetings. Sorry to hear about the divorce....that must be very difficult to be dealing with.
But, as others have said.....digging in to the projects can help you to keep your head screwed on straight.
I' am glad to hear that the last round of tuning mods worked well ....and that you have Jamie helping too! Jamie and i have compared notes, helped to debug EFI installs etc, for a while now. He is who i go to, when i get stuck. You are in very good hands.
I am really liking your 911.....great vision, executed very well.......
It is also great to work with someone who has the hands-on, DIY, mindset and skillset and open to learning a new trick or two...like tuning EFI/M'squirt systems.

regards,
al

PS: Good luck with the project.....and getting laid

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1660911598.jpg

CIO is next Saturday!
Super excited to see this car in person.

Hasn’t been driven in over a week, I somehow convinced myself that now would be the right time to start installing a hand throttle and of course there are a million little checklist things to do.

Sounds about right. [emoji12]

My dad likes to say, "Ain't nothing but something to do." :D
I have full confidence you'll get your list sorted in advance of next Saturday.

For some reason, it always seems like a good idea to add another ball to juggle, or plate to spin when one is already pushed to the limit...

Currently my work is bonkers crazy, I'm off Friday to film for my YouTube channel which has become an all consuming second job (that I love, but it's still exhausting), Saturday is Checked It Out which I'm really excited for as it kind of catalyzed this whole project a year ago, then Sunday I leave for a week in Belgium to once again film for yet another project that I'm putting together. I return on the 1st and take my kids camping for Labor day weekend on the 2nd.

What's the point of me relaying that pandemonium... well, this week I though it was the perfect time to retrofit my car with a hand throttle... because the thought of not being swamped to the point of head spinning seems too easy right now...ha!

Also, keeping busy AF is just about the only way I can move through each day, hour, err, minute...

But I digress.

So, why a hand throttle you ask? After all I did just spend a lot of time installing a new-fangled EFI system complete with a MegaSquirt that's overly capable of handling an IACV. Well, back when I started the project and built the harness I didn't think I'd need an IACV, heck I didn't even know what one was (remember, deep end meet Julian, Julian...godspeed!)

Turns out having one makes starting these cars pretty nice. I have my idle at 1000 rpms and I like it there. I'd like to go a bit lower but after a LOT of adjusting, I have a steady idle, 45 kpa vacuum signal and the car likes it there. Any higher or lower and much like Bartleby, the car seems to not prefer it. So 1000 it is. The thing is, to keep that idle once the car is warmed up, it's going to be lower when the car is cold. Low enough that with the engine at 72 F it's really choppy and can die.

So, abck to by a hand throttle and not a fancy IACV... Well, I didn't want to tear into the harness, I didn't want to add any more stuff to the engine bay, I most certainly didn't want to introduce anything that was going to mess with the strong vacuum signal I tried so hard to get, I've seen others have trouble with IACV's and also, hand throttles are really cool, purely mechanical and did I mention, cool.

So, how hard could it be?

Go buy a hand throttle. Nope. NLA.

Go buy an old parking brake with hand throttle assembly on Pelican. Nope. No answers.

Go buy an old parking brake with hand throttle assembly on eBay. Nope. No way I'm spending $1000

Ok, so I'll build one myself from the PET. Bwahahah!

Turns out, most of the parts are available. It also turns out that the parts that are NLA are the really important ones!

The knob, the lever, the little rubber thing that pushes on the throttle cable, and a few other parts are available.

What's not available is the stop nut that clamps on the throttle cable, the double threaded stud to fit an assembly with two heating levers, and some strange but critical washers. Ugh.

Ok, lts problem solve.

Stop nut: SketchUp and we're good. I designed a replacement wit a modification of two stop bolts instead of one for extra strength. I had 3 versions 3D printed: carbon reinforced plastic, Aluminum, and Steel.

The steel was out of spec and not all that great. The aluminum was really nice but again, a bit out of spec, the plastic was spot on perfect. the tolerances for aluminum and steel printing are still pretty high but plastic is really tight. That said, the aluminum could be worked with a file, so I settled on that.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1661476945.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1661477000.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1661477000.jpg

The next two parts I had to fabricate and didn't take any photos of because I was working hard, pissed that I had to make these parts and just wanted to get it done. The washer was cut from sheet steel and bent to match the existing one on the heater knob side- it's used to isolate the lock nut from the rotation of the lever which would loosen it up and as a stop for the lever so that you can't go to 5000 rpm.

The stud I ordered was about 1cm too short so I cut it down and welded on another threaded nut. It wasn't pretty but nobody will ever see it so I'm ok with that.

Assembly, like everything Porsche was a pain and took more time than I wanted but i made it harder for myself because I left the seats in and didn't disassemble the hand brake assembly.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1661477367.jpg

In the end, I managed to get it all put back together and now I have a working hand throttle. Just in time for me to start another project before Checked It Out... ;P

I really love how we midwesterners absolutely can't be ready ahead of time for any car event. There's always another thing we think we can cram in when a 'sensible' person would just call it good enough.
I made more tweaks to my calibration 20 minutes ago.
You've [literally] built a hand-throttle for your car this week.
MD was working on lights last night.

The throttle bell cranks are different for CIS cars vs longhoods - this makes the hand throttle super touchy when adapted to later cars. Unless you've already swapped the bell cranks when moving to ITBs, in which case, I'll see myself out...

Shoooo32, are you referring to the bell crank on the transaxle? If so, I'm confused. I'm about to add manual throttle control to my '83 SC. I was fortunate to locate an early e brake with throttle control, albeit in desperate need of restoration. I do remember reading that there is a difference in bell cranks on the transaxle as you have related. However, I just did a search for an early bell crank ('72 for example), to fit to my now carbureted '83 SC. The search results on our hosts site list a part that is described as fitting '72 to '88. So, not really indicating a difference from long hood to short hood era.

I'd rather not derail Julian's thread, but this info is a massive time saver. Jack Schroder did the heavy lifting and I've corroborated portions of it on a 2.7 BAE turbo I built for a friend.

Hand throttle part #s

Lever 901 424 037 00

Knob 901 424 323 01

Value lever 901.424.317.00

Accelerator lock nut 901.424.319.00

Washer (x2) 911 424 737 00

Extended main stud to add the hand throttle 901 424 519 00

Lever lock plate 911 424 735 04

Cir-clip (you need 1 m6 washer) N01-243-51-OEM

Washer 911-424-735-02-OEM

You will also need 1 additional M8 lock nut for the new stud that goes through the hand lever, ebrake, and 2 heater controls. New nut goes on the hand throttle side.

Accelerator backdate parts

Bell crank (early style) 901-423-027-03

Bell crank to carbs linkage
901-423-026-02 (early 911 weber) 901-423-026-03 (later 911 zenith)

Accelerator coupler to bell crank extension rod 901-423-223-01-OEM

Gas pedal 901-423-010-01

Pedal stop bracket 901-551-065-20-OEM

Pedal stop nylon SIC-551-671-20

short ‘77 throttle linkage 911 423 043 00

Tom,
I'm 90% certain the bellcrank Tony is referring to is on the engine, not the trans.

When Well Enough Can't Be Left Alone; Backdate, EFI/ITB, AC, and more!
 

No, I did no adjustments to the bell crank. If it doesn’t work well; angle grinder and full send.

I love it.

Well, it's been a minute so I figured while it's pissing rain all day today I'd get an update in.

Checked It Out was pretty awesome. It was great to finally meet a whole bunch of folks that heretofore I've only known by their screen names and cars. Suffice it to say, nobody disappointed and lots of laughs were had. I took precisely one photo- I was to busy chatting and enjoying myself!!

The day after Check22 I hopped on a plane to Belgium for the week to do some work. It was a bonkers busy trip with 14 hour days. Unfortunately as we were hauling a lot of film gear, we needed an SUV which made driving less fun than, well anything else. It was a BMW X3 and I did get to toss it around some of the tiny and hilly roads around Liege; my passengers were white knuckling the whole time! I was desperately missing both my Colnago and my Porsche...

I returned to the states and immediately had to take my dog to the vet to be euthanized due to cancer. Devastating to say the least.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1662925865.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1662925865.jpg

Just a few hours after saying goodbye to Miko I packed the kids up in the car and headed to Wisconsin for a Labor Day camping trip which was awesome.

Coming back to reality was rough for sure!

I've been sneaking out of work when I can for an hour here and there to do some tuning using Jamie's Left Foot technique in anticipation of my proper dyno appointment on the 21st. I've gotten the car tuned to maybe 85% and it runs really well. The AFRs are getting really close to the map and lots of the stumbling I was experiencing is now gone.

I'm super excited to see what the tuner can do. Unfortunately he won't let me watch or even be present for anything other than the power pulls which is disappointing but I totally understand.

And because everyone likes pictures...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1662925557.jpg

My condolences Julian,

Miko looks like he was a fantastic dog and you treated him like a king.

Car looks great and what a coincidence, I also have a Colnago! Great bikes for sure.

Rutager

Julian,
Sorry to hear about Miko.
Glad to hear about the rest of your update. Sounds like you made the most of Belgium & Labor Day.

My condolences Julian,

Both my pups are old and I expected to be broken hearted any day now, glad you're back safe.

When Well Enough Can't Be Left Alone; Backdate, EFI/ITB, AC, and more!
 

This was supposed to be a Monday morning update but I just got too darn busy!



Last week while having a few adult beverages and perusing the great and wild interwebs as one does, I employed the use of my heretofore relatively unscathed credit card and well, scathed it a bit.



I purchased a pair of BF Torino Nurburgring R seats. These are the reclining version of the ever popular throwback 60s and 70s racing seat found, well, everywhere.



My comfort seats are tired and look a bit out of place in the car. Refreshing them would cost more than it's worth so new seats seemed to make a lot of sense. Also, the new seats will be a LOT lighter.



The only problem is that they only come in variants of black and that just won't cut it for my cork colored car. I love the brown/white combo so I'll have to do something about the seats.



Did someone say WINTER PROJECT?!



I have decided that I'm going to take brand new seats and rip off the perfectly good upholstery to recover them to match the car.



Fabric and leather samples arrived and the leather was an easy match. Choosing the fabric for the inserts on the other hand is proving more difficult. Oh, some of the leather will be perforated with the same pattern as the headliner and dash insert that I made.



I present to you the following:



The whole lot



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1663635182.jpg



Option 1



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1663635182.jpg



Option 2



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1663635182.jpg



Option 3



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1663635182.jpg



Option 4



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1663635182.jpg



Option 5



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1663635182.jpg





My favorite is Option 5; a wool boucle that looks to some of the great Mid Century Modern furniture pieces by Knoll, the Saarinen Womb Chair in particular. It's also the most expensive by far. BY FAR.



Options 1 & 2 are also nice and in the running. Please feel free to tell me your favorite and include a cultural, aesthetic and emotional assessment of its merits as well as a critique of the potential shortcomings, while contextualizing it both within the narrow scope of this project and the larger Porsche zeitgeist. What, this isn't how normal people approach decision making?





In addition to playing JoAnn Fabrics all week I took the car out for a 5 hour circuitous drive to clear my cluttered head, gather some data and tune the car a bit. At this point I have the car running just about as good as I can get it without a proper dyno- Jamie's approach was masterful and aside from getting the stink eye from some homeowners along the road I have been using, everything has gone really well.



It just so happens that this Wednesday I'm taking the day off to bring the car to a dyno and Megasquirt tuner to have the final once-over done. I'm excited to see how close I came and where he makes changes.



In addition I made some other purchases for yet another winter project. This one is more experimental and as such I'm not yet ready to share but I'm super excited about it and think that if I can manage to pull it off it will be pretty darn neat.





http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1663635569.jpg



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1663635569.jpg

Julian,

Am I correct that the 5 textile choices are solely for recovering the new seats?

If that is correct, my vote is a contrived mess.

Without having the fabric samples in hand, I vote against 4 & 5 as they look very plush. I associate that plushness with being hot. As we drive these cars the most during the warm/hot months, I always try to be mindful of ways to stay comfortable whilst behind the wheel.

I also associate that plushness with a lack of durability. All those soft, fuzzy fibers (again, to me) look like they'll shed all over you and pill and pull and be otherwise unruly. This probably speaks to my allergenic sensitivities, but fuzz is a non-starter for me.

I will admit that it appears 4 & 5 are zoomed in more than 1-3. (enlarged to show texture?) This may be the source of all my feelings; and if so, I will gladly adjust my 'hot take'. (My gut says they look like grey oatmeal.)

It's worth noting that wool can be sensitive to the combination of heat and moisture. Specifically why we don't dry wool clothing in the dryer during laundry. I'd really hate to see your inserts shrink/distort because your car isn't 100% water-tight and then it gets hot in the summer sun. **I'm thinking road trip here, not day to day living.

#2 looks like the tweed found in my door cards. I've specifically decided to not use it for seats as it's not pleasant to touch. I reckon seats are in constant contact while you're in the car. For these reasons, I'm out.

#1 is my second choice. The more I type this reply, the more I'm realizing that of the five choices presented, I prefer the variegated colors more than the 'solids'.

Based on the info I have at this time, I vote #3. The nap provides a subtle pattern, while the weave stays tight and smooth. A larger sample may prove to look cheap next to the others while #1 may surpass it as my current fave. IDK. It's so hard to get a feel for textiles when you can't actually feel them.

/rambling

Good food for thought as always, Chris.

These are the seats. The fabric will replace the pepita, and the rest will be brown leather, some perforated, some not.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1663680800.jpg

All of the fabric is industrial grade upholstery so it'll be plenty durable but I do hear you about the fuzzies and how that may be an issue- it may be too textural and plush for a car interior.

Also, of note- I've been eating gray oatmeal for breakfast for the past few weeks so... parapraxis?

The more I look at them the more I think that #2 is the right balance of neutral with a bit of texture to create interest without having a dominant narrative.

Good talk! ;)

Two thoughts; 100x yes for dumping the stock comfort seats. They're anything but comfortable and straight trash in the twisties. If you like the look of your samples and want to keep with tradition, maybe take a look at the factory SC berber fabrics. They have a similar look, breathe well and are very durable.

Which direction with the cord?

I'm thinking #2 or #3 for the reason mentioned already, leaning towards #3 if I saw it in person.