88 Carrera newbe questions

[ashro1]

Recently purchased a 1988 Carrera as you can see I am very happy I have a few minor issues...hoping for a few answers.

There was no tool kit, what did the 88 Carrera tool kit come with?

Shift knob was replace with a momo knob. The knob turns, it looks like it needs to be secured with some type of glue, any suggestions?

PO replaced the steering wheel with a turbo wheel, however the horn does not work. Suggestions?

PO purchased a pre-muffler, never had it installed, gave it to me with the sale. Should I have it installed? What can I expect with the pre-muffler?

I have wanted a 911 for over 20 years...I still can't believe there's one in my garage. WOW

Thanks in advance for any help
Ashton

[einreb]

ok.. i have the 88. i installed the momo knob and the turbo wheel.

the momo knob has small allen screws to tighten to snug it up.

yank the cover off the horn and see if the wires are hooked up to the horn.

as for the premuffler... buy a dremmel and get rid of the cat and shield (dont park on dry grass), replace with the premuffler.. then do a search on this board for steve wong and buy the correct chip for your car... enjoy the extra HP!

[einreb]

oh, the tool kit... look on ebay... but make ure you have the correct lug size to pull the wheels off with, maybe the air pump, a spare fan belt... also, the spark plug tool is helpful.

other than that, unless your worried about not having a period correct set, dont worry too much about the tool kit

[jbripps]

Hi Ashton,

WELCOME ABOARD!! I'm pretty sure you emailed me about my car in the past. I'm glad you finally made a purchase. You should know about one rule here........you can't carry on about your new family member without posting PICTURES!!! Post pix please!!!

regards and enjoy,

[jazzbass]

Good choice on cars... now we need pictures! einreb is pretty right on on his advice. I'll add some unsolicited opinions of my own:

1. Unless you've talked to the last person who did the work personally, get the car a tune up. Oil, valves, tranny oil, brake fluid, fuel filter, air filter, spark plugs, cap, rotor, and if you have some $$$ burning a hole in your pocket, new plug wires.
2. Replace the rubber brake hoses. Your car is 15 years old. Don't worry about SS lines, just get ome nice new OEM rubber lines. Also inspect the calipers while your at it. If in any doubt, rebuild - its cheap ($15 per kit).
3. Forget about that pre muffler. Its crap. Mail it to me so I can dispose of it properly .
4. Always carry a spare DME relay and fan belt. And the tools needed to change them.
5. Enjoy!

[Crachian]

Any of the Porsche dismantlers will have toolkits. If you haven't already, go to the newstand and pick up a couple of Porsche-centric magazines. They will all be advertised in there somewhere. A couple are Parts Heaven and Oklahoma Foreign.

Congratulations. You had better use your, or get a, digital camera too. This board likes pictures.

[masraum]

Make sure you get the tools (socket and allen wrench) for the spark plugs, and also make sure you get the tools (spanner and special lug wrench) to replace the fan belt. The rest of the stuff can be had from any old place that sells tools, it comes with a tool to roll the windows up if the window motors fail, it comes with a couple of screwdrivers, and it comes with several metric open-ended wrenches.

If you actually have a pre-muffler and you don't have to worry about emissions then you will get a little more power, more sound, and less heat in that area of the car, all good things. If it's just a straight bypass pipe, then you won't necessarily get more power than a car with a cat in good shape, but you will get the sound and reduction in heat, again, good things. If you decide to do the premuffler/bypass yourself, make sure you have the bolts and gaskets to do it before you start, and like has been said, you'll likely have to cut the bolts off due to rust.

Yep, great cars, I got mine with approx 110K miles and have put another 50K on in the last 3 years. It's needed a caliper rebuild, I replaced the hoses while I was there, new front rotors, pads all around, a new voltage regulator, and a slave cylinder. not much else as I can remember. I add gas and oil and drive. Oh, and tires don't last long, about 10-15K miles for the rear and about twice that on the front.

[GSpreeman]

Congrats on the addition to the family! After wanting a 911 I finally jumped in the pool last year. Great feeling right?

Now, don't do what I did and drive it like a regular car. After you start it up and drive it for 5-10 minutes (trying to keep the tach under 3K) you can start driving it like a Porsche. That means revving it up to 4-5K before shifting. The best is if you can cruise along at 3.5-4K...the sound is amazing and pretty much wipes out any desire you might have to listen to the radio. And, just to make sure that the rev limiter works I usually get it to redline every time I drive it at least once.

Enjoy!

[kbrown]

welcome to porchemania, I know exactly how you feel, I got mine last March after wanting one for 20 years....I still feel the same way today. oh yes, we do need to take a peak...

cheers

[MOMO3.2]

Ashton:

Congratulations!!! I purchased my 87 Carrera in July. I can't believe it, but I love the car more and more every day. The engine note is a 10+. My Blaupunkt is literally locked in the glove box. The roar, growl, burble, and whine just sound too good. The quality of the parts, the engineering, and the manufacturing that went into producing my car are also waaaaaay higher than I previously realized. The SC's and Carrera's of the 1980's were not "living off" Porsche's legendary reputation for performance and quality. They were defining it!

My car is also faster than I initially believed too. When you get it up to 5,000 rpm, the Carrera 3.2 motors scream to life. It is a seriously fast car in the upper RPM ranges.

Welcome to the club. I hope you have many miles and hours of fun driving your new Porsche.

Sincerely,

Mike

[Paul Franssen]

Welcome to the 88 Carrera club, bro!

[911jon]

Congratulations and welcome.... you have purchased one of the finest cars any amount of money can buy! A late 3.2 is one of Porsche's pinnacles. I've had mine two years/15000 miles now, and I still love it more each time I drive..... it just gets better. It is built to incredibly high standards... mine has been utterly reliable, routine maintenance only despite my year-round wet/dry use. At 84,000 miles the engine is strong and smooth, burns/leaks no oil at all.

The shift knob was originally color matched leather and these are still available from Porsche if you prefer (I do). Mine is "linen" (cream), so it needs regular cleaning though! Again, I really like the original four-spoke Carrera wheel, feels good, right size, looks right. You might find one on ebay.

You need to check the throttle linkage adjustment too, many cars never hit full throttle due to neglect in this area (requires a helpful friend). Fit the pre-muffler and chip (the excellent SteveW). Breakers will have a spare toolkit... do get a complete one, if you can find it. Oh, and no-one has mentioned our host, Wayne Dempsey's, excellent book "101 projects for your Porsche 911". It's a must. There are many little projects in here that you will find extremely satisfying to apply.

Don't expect to drive it at 10/10's initially.. unless you are an experienced racing driver, it will take a little time before you can really push the car, particularly on the road... it is faster than you might think, and on a winding road can embarrass some heavy duty modern machinery in experienced hands. These cars can make you a better driver, and some tracktime/instruction is a fine investment too.

I don't have to tell you to have fun, mine still puts a schoolboy grin on my face EVERY time I get in......

[danmatar]

I'm enjoying my '88 as well! I've already replaced the DME relay and fan belt, and keep spares of both. I'm sure you'll smile everytime you open the garage door! "101 projects" book is a must have, you'll use it! Enjoy

[RickM]

Ashton,

Congratulations on your '88, a truly great car. I've attached a pic of an '85 Euro 930 toolkit from Ebay. I didn't have time this morn to snap one of my own. I have most of what you see with a couple of exceptions....as noted below. I'm sure someone will chime in to fill in the blanks.
Also, I believe I only have one lug style wrench. Perhaps the Fan pulley nut and wheel lug nut are different on the 930....or do I have two? Just can remember as I haven't opened my kit in a while.

This set is on at about $200 with jack and nice case. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2433293842&category=6763


As mentioned before don't forget the air pump.

Good luck!

[arerrac]

Welcome to the club!!!! You won't be disappointed!
-W

[Jdub]

Great year for the 911 -- good job!

What Steve said about the spark plug tool that comes in the toolkit -- it is indispensable when swapping 'plugs.

Are you mechanically adept? As others have said, you will do well to baseline the car. New air filter, new gas filter (mark with date of installation).

Replace oil and oil filter, but do this AFTER putting 20 oz of Techron in your near-empty gas tank and filling it to Full. Drive the car hard for that tank, preferrably for no less than one hour to heat the engine and get the deposits loosened up. This will work WONDERS on a car. I just revivied a '90VWGolf this way and the difference is amazing, esp. at idle.

Best of luck,
John

[TomTurtle]

Ashton:

Welcome to the board - but beware it is totally addicting! There is loads of info here and much to be found under "search" topics.

Love my '88 too, albeit a CS version. The "oomph" over 4K is really great! However, I am planning on a Steve W chip and along with the Borla and K&N I should get a little more of that stuff under 4K too!

[moazam]

TomTurtle, wow! That is a frickin nice looking car! I looked at it and said to myself "Man, I wish I had a car like...hey wait a minute...I do have a car alot like that, only it's midnight blue!!"

Awesome pic. Once I install a new shift coupler, a Robotek shifter kit, then I'll be on the way to getting a Steve W chip also..

[TomTurtle]

Moazam:

Thanks, had it down at the Ventura AutoFest for that pic.

Sounds like your'e on the right track! Coincidently, theres a Midnight Blue CS on sale on eBayMotors!

Tom

[ashro1]

Thanks so much to everyone that replied! I have read all posts and I appreciate all the good info that was given. I have (i hope)attached a few pixs of my baby. By the way I purchased my Carrera from a fellow board member, 88Porsche911, Bill in Carmel, NY. FYI the PPI was very good, few minor details, new rubber, which I just put on Friday, Yokahama AVS 100's. Will need new rear shocks soon. Plan to replace all four, probably with Bilsteins. Some paint work on the whale tail...thats about it aside from all the other cool upgrades Iam starting to learn and hear about
Thanks again!