Project 9930

[Mustangkev]

I wanted to start a thread covering my first Porsche project, show the progress and to get advice and ideas along the way.

A 911 has been my dream car since I got my license. When I was looking for a daily driver back in 2008 I wanted a 911 but my budget couldn’t stretch to a nice one so I “settled” on an E46 M3. It was supposed to be a stopgap until funds allowed my dream 911 but I ended up really enjoying the M3. Two house purchases, two kids and a job change brings us to 2019 and I was finally ready to pick up a nearly new 911 to take over daily driving duties from my E46 M3. I started searching for a sunroof delete, stick-shift 991 but soon found they weren’t that plentiful and even missed out on a few by not being quick enough, but when Covid came along and prices shot up, that plan went on hold.

After months of watching all of the online auction sites and seeing lots of project level 911’s I began thinking about picking up an air-cooled 911 to fill the gap till prices got back to sensible. Then, in December of 2020, a 1986 Porsche 930 that had suffered the forward dating craze of the late 90’s and modified to look like a 993 Turbo (An amalgamation of 993 and 930  Project 9930). I added it to my watch list but thought that a 930 would get beyond my budget I didn’t pay much more attention. Then came the day of the auction, the price was still low, I brought it up on my work computer and got on with my day. As luck would have it, a co-worker came to my office 20 minutes and distracted me, I missed the end of the auction and the car didn’t meet the reserve. The auction had the option of putting in a last minute offer, so I did that, shutdown my computer and went home.

Get home, check my phone, see that the cars mine…… A week later its being loaded up.



And two days later, it’s on my driveway.



And finally, into it's new home.

[kc911s]

Will be fun to follow this. Congrats!

[rwest]

Great story, will you be bringing it back to stock?

[7783911]

I was watching this one on BAT?

[GaryR]

Actually looks well done for a conversion, assume that hood is not closed/latched and not horrible fitment.. Enjoy!

[slow&rusty]

Very convincing conversion.

You'll be able to sell those 993 parts for a decent price, esp. if they are OEM.

[Coastr]

Call me crazy but I’d keep it 993 for a while. It looks good. I’d probably play with the boost and get it ripping but reliable and then figure what’s next.

[75 911s]

Originally Posted by Coastr

Call me crazy but I’d keep it 993 for a while. It looks good. I’d probably play with the boost and get it ripping but reliable and then figure what’s next.

This 100%. Get it mechanically sound first, drive it a few years while you accumulate original 930 parts.

[Pedro '84 Coupe]

Sweet! I agree with the others - drive and enjoy it!

[onboost]

Kev, you were fortunate to get the car cheap. Many of the wannbe purist will pass on a car like this because they can't see the potential, or they don't want to do the work/spend the cash to bring it back to standard.

Personally, your car looks like it was well done, as all the parts appear to be correct, in a sense you've got the best of both worlds. I'm not sure I would bother to dig into converting it back to 86. I'd just get it sorted if needed and enjoy the boost!

[7783911]

if you want to trade for a well sorted out 77 targa with 3.0 sc engine, wide body and lots of upgrades..i m here for you :-)

[Mustangkev]

Originally Posted by Coastr

Call me crazy but I’d keep it 993 for a while. It looks good. I’d probably play with the boost and get it ripping but reliable and then figure what’s next.

Originally Posted by 75 911s

This 100%. Get it mechanically sound first, drive it a few years while you accumulate original 930 parts.

Originally Posted by onboost

Kev, you were fortunate to get the car cheap. Many of the wannbe purist will pass on a car like this because they can't see the potential, or they don't want to do the work/spend the cash to bring it back to standard.

Personally, your car looks like it was well done, as all the parts appear to be correct, in a sense you've got the best of both worlds. I'm not sure I would bother to dig into converting it back to 86. I'd just get it sorted if needed and enjoy the boost!

It's like you guys can read my mind. I would like to eventually do something with the body work but it's way down on the priority list. The gap between the hood and the front bumper isn't great, and when you get close to the rear fenders you can see the join. The engine lid is a genuine Porsche part but there rest of the panels are fiberglass.

This is what my ideal look would be for this car....one day.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-porsche-911-carrera-49/

Now that it was in my possession, the next steps were to make sure it was safe, reliable and fun to drive. I wanted to break the jobs down in to manageable tasks so I could enjoy the car and not have it up on Jack-stands for months. I'm trying to stick to fixing what needs fixed and not going down the 'While-I'm-in-there' rabbit hole.

After a test drive I found that the car pulled to the left on hard braking, the suspension bushings were worn, and third gear needed a slow upshift and a double clutch downshift. Oh, and it leaked oil like the Exxon Valdez.

First up was the front sway bar bushings. These were so bad they were almost falling out by themselves. It made getting the sway bar out fairly easy. However, Once the new bushings were installed, it was very difficult to get back in place. Maybe there's a trick to doing this but it's been my least favourite job on this car so far.



The front left rotor, despite being fairly new, was warped. Once this was changed out, I replaced all of the flexible brake lines and flushed the fluid. The front brakes have been upgraded to 993 turbo brakes while the rear brakes are stock 930. The brake bias is pretty bad and the car likes to lock up the front tyres fairly easily. So that another job to add to the ever-growing list.



I cleaned up some parts as I went but I may need a bigger cleaner.

[Mustangkev]

Originally Posted by 7783911

if you want to trade for a well sorted out 77 targa with 3.0 sc engine, wide body and lots of upgrades..i m here for you :-)

I appreciate the offer but the turbo boost is addictive.

[Flojo]

Originally Posted by Mustangkev

I cleaned up some parts as I went but I may need a bigger cleaner.

ultrasonic won't get you far for coked-on dirt

once the loos dust/grime and oil is off (brake cleaner and brush) you can use baken-oven cleaner to get rid of the coked dirt. works like a charm (used it on my SSI and engine case)

[FrenchToast]

Congrats! With the hubs off I would recommend having them checked for cracks.

[Rodsrsr]

Nice find! looks like a fun project.

[1979-930]

Good start for a project hot rod. It sounds like you bought my car.
Only 80k miles on it when I purchased, but suspension was shot, third gear had to be shifted just right, and oil leaks.
That sway bar pulled out is interesting. It took some muscle getting it reinstalled to think it would just pull out like that. Those lower control arm bushing could be totally shot.

I'm going to call bull**** on your ability to avoid the "While I'm in there" bottomless pit.

[pkabush]

I like your long term vision. I believe the car you posted from BAT is one of Dave’s builds.
I guess I’m in the minority here but, personally, I couldn’t lose that bodywork quick enough.
I certainly understand enjoying it for awhile though.
It’s to bad they swapped out the original front brakes.

[Mustangkev]

Originally Posted by Flojo

ultrasonic won't get you far for coked-on dirt

once the loos dust/grime and oil is off (brake cleaner and brush) you can use baken-oven cleaner to get rid of the coked dirt. works like a charm (used it on my SSI and engine case)

Thanks for the tip. The ultrasonic did a fairly decent job, just had to rotate the hub to submerge a fresh sector. and rerun. It didn't take every last bit off though. I'll try the oven cleaner on the remaining crud the next time I have them apart again.

[Mustangkev]

Originally Posted by 1979-930

Good start for a project hot rod. It sounds like you bought my car.
Only 80k miles on it when I purchased, but suspension was shot, third gear had to be shifted just right, and oil leaks.
That sway bar pulled out is interesting. It took some muscle getting it reinstalled to think it would just pull out like that. Those lower control arm bushing could be totally shot.

I'm going to call bull**** on your ability to avoid the "While I'm in there" bottomless pit.

Yes, Lower control arm bushings on this list for this month. I also did the front ball-joints and upper shock mount when I did the sway bar. I forgot to take pictures of those though.

I won't lie, it's been a struggle to keep focused. There's been a lot of parts that I didn't need added to my cart then removed before checking out. And I check the classifieds here most days too.