Nice job, JW. Where did you get the leather dye and conditioner?

I used Clyde’s leather dye kit and worked well for my needs. Comes with a few items to round out the experience. I find the conditioning cream is a must to really buff and polish the leather after.

Ha yea I know that feeling. For now I’m sticking to the wheel wells while I have the suspension out. I’ll go section by section and eventually clean off all the grime underneath the car.

Side mirrors all finished up and reinstalled with new gaskets.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742738234.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742738234.jpg
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742738234.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742738234.jpg

Started work on the rear end today. Removed brake calipers, rotors, and bolts for spring plate. I foresee a battle getting these TB out.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742738532.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742738532.jpg

Hopefully the torsion bars won’t put up much of a fight. My 46 yr old original tb’s pulled out with minimal/ avg effort in my ‘76. Had never done this before then... You gotta this.

I was lucky, they came out in about 10 minutes. The TB was heavily greased and actually looks new, so maybe it was replaced at some point. I’m doing 1 side at a time to ensure they go back in correct.

The amount of dirt and tar caked on was a disaster, but managed to clean the wheel well. Still plenty to replace and get cleaned, but it’s starting to take shape rather quickly.
Upgrading to 29mm tb with rennline adjustable spring plate.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742786733.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742786733.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742786733.jpg

Was removing stuff in the engine bay to get better clearance for the rear strut mount bolts. Old sound pad was toast so I threw that out.
Also found a pool of oil in my air box. I’ve only driven the car once, which was the day I purchased it. As I was pulling into the driveway it started to smoke heavily out of the exhaust. I assume when the previous owner had an oil change done prior to selling, the shop overfilled it. Do we agree that’s the most logical explanation?

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Maybe. This can happen with my 82, but only on cold starts. After initial burn off, it doesn't happen while driving. I try to keep the oil level at a quarter to halfway between the marks on the stick and don't have an issue.

Beautiful car!

How far down did you sand the mirrors prior to re-spraying? Mine look just like your before pictures and was hoping to follow a similar process to clean mine up.

They look great BTW!

Can you explain the process to disassemble the side mirrors?

Thanks.

I was researching this exact subject and found this thread which seems to pretty well cover things

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/177946-sc-door-mirror-removal.html

Nice work, did you get Clyde's regular Dark Blue dye? Or was it a special order color? It looks great

Instead of sanding far down I just filled in most of the chips with a little filler/glazing putty. Then smoothed everything out and applied primer. Added more glazing if needed then applied my color/clear

It’s not too hard but the first time is always a little bit of a process. Remove glass mirror first, that will reveal the bolts behind to seperate the rubber housing/assembly. Then you can de-pin the plastic connector inside to seperate the flag portion from the base. Then one allen bolt to remove the base from the car.

I just used their dark blue and it works great. It’s about as close to the color as it can be, and it doesn’t really need to be perfect in reality… as its purpose is to even out splotchy or dried out leather, and fill in cracks and imperfections. I recommend getting the entire kit that included the conditioner.

Decided to ditch the side amber markers in favor of the rubber trim. Looks alot better in my opinion

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1744262387.jpg

Took out 90% of the heater system to gain better access to the rear strut top mounts, so figured I might as well backdate my system for a cleaner look. Also started the tedious process of deep cleaning/detailing a little as I go. It’s a mess, so seeing any progress in the engine bay is encouraging.


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Little more progress cleaning the engine bay and installing the backdate system. I have to say I’m surprised how well it’s cleaned up, better than I expected. Now the fan sticks out like a sore thumb.

Also got my front spindles back from elephant racing. Raised 30mm, shallow washer seal, Bilstein sport inserts, bump steer kit and reinforced gussets.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1744750268.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1744750268.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1744750268.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1744750268.jpg

I feel the same on my motor / fan! What product(s) are you using for the cleanup of all the nooks and cranny’s.

Let me guess--elbow grease? ;)

You could definitely be my neighbor. I like detailing engine bays and chassis components. Your photos are just right too.

Beuatifull engine bay !! Pictures of course don't do justice to all the work it takes to get that result ..

ok I think I found my next upgrade for sure. love it!

More incremental progress as I aim to have the car back together by the first week of May.

I have AC, but the car didn’t come with a compressor. So until I buy one and put the system back together I figured might as well remove the condenser. This gained access to remove the rear grille, clean underneath and give it a fresh coat of paint.

Also removed the rear lower valence as it had some scuffs and a dent. Prepped and repainted, along with various other parts waiting to be installed.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1745203232.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1745203232.jpg
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1745203232.jpg

Rear before and after
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1745935229.jpg
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1745935424.jpg

Well done jwolfe! Beautiful car, great color both ext/int.

I see that on the rears you swapped out the green HD Bilsteins for the yellow Sports or Performance. Did you also upgrade to thicker TB's and rear sway bars?

For my 83 SC (silver) I am looking to replace the green Bilsteins on all 4 corners. Wondering if switching to the yellow's would be a good idea.

Cheers!

Hey! I opted for 29mm tb in the rear and 22mm up front. Haven’t driven on it but based on other threads it seems that’s a drivable setup that leans a little stiffer which is what I need for how low I’ll be. Sway bars are stock for now.

I opted for koni rears because of the damper adjustability. I was going to run them up front as well but didn’t realize I have Bilstein spindles (they were black from dirt so I assumed they were boge lol), since they wouldn’t fit, I went for Bilstein sports up front.

Thanks for sharing your thinking process on the upgrades. Very interested to see how it turns out for you, how you like it. Will keep an eye on this thread.

Didn't realize you had Koni's at the rear. I thought that yellow shocks indicate Bilstein Sports.

Good luck next steps --- it's looking really good! I've learned a bit from your thread --- on the leather reconditioning, will have to try it!

Engine bay is back together for the most part. Very happy with the difference some effort in cleaning can do. Will refinish the fan and shroud next to really bring it all together.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1746412396.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1746412396.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1746412396.jpg

A reminder of where it started

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1746412864.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1746412864.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1746412864.jpg

Scored a pair of 16x9 Bbs rs from Carlisle last week. Also started the process of redoing my parcel shelf. The leather on the seat is in good shape but the shelf itself needed new fabric. Now I just need to source a blue leather match.


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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1747104348.jpg

Rear parcel shelf is all finished up. I managed to find a leather that matches better than the original one and re-wrapping it was fairly straightforward. Went ahead and updated my speakers/grills, and deleted the seatbelts for a cleaner look. Very happy

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1749061562.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1749061562.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1749061562.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1749061562.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1749061562.jpg

Decided to reverse my windshield wipers today. I swapped the 2 wiper arms, and bent the one the other way for a more tucked position.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1750302706.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1750302706.jpg

Nice build. Following

Hey can you drop the link or part # for the driver side heat backdate plate? the one I ordered from our host fits like garbage on my '83.

I wish I could, but the kit I bought also fit so terribly. I used thin window seal foam to fill in all the gaps and get a somewhat air-tight duct. it required so much warping, and still didn’t fit well

Still needs an alignment, but it’s finally on the ground and driving around. I just got it back from the mechanic where a laundry list of seals and air leaks were addressed to get it running top notch. Triangle of death was my worst leak that couldn’t be ignored. Mechanic also found 1 broken head stud, but I’m just going to send it for now and worry about that at a later time. It holds compression and doesn’t leak any oil so it’ll be fine.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1750988569.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1750988569.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1750988569.jpg

Since people will probably ask: Wheel specs are 16x8 +10 up front and rears are 16x9 +15, and 25mm spacers.

Looks great - look forward to driving impressions! I respect your attention to detail. That’s a lot of hard work in itself. You’ve made an avg SC look phenomenal.

Drove the car around a little more and noticed some smoking. Got home and saw a decent amount of oil dripping from the top back of the engine. Decided to clean everything to find the source, and it was very clearly the triangle of death. Dropped the car off to my mechanic and had laundry list of leaks taken care of, as well as some vacuum leaks which explained my stalling issues when stopping. Now she’s running strong!
Mechanic did discover 1 broken head stud, but I am just going to drive it and enjoy the summer. I’m not worried about it and can address it later down the line.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1751597322.jpg
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1751596434.jpg

Installed some Tarett camber plates up front for more adjustability right before my alignment. All dialed in and ready to drive


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1753412955.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1753412955.jpg

Gorgeous car , tasteful mods , great results !!