New 73.5 Fixed - mirror questions

[Deschodt]

Well, for those who followed my acquisition of a 73.5 with low oil pressure etc, it's now all fixed. Not cheap mind you, especially when we started dropping the engine to remove a dead rat from the oil cooler... In the end the car cost me more than other cars I'd passed on, but at least I know it's been done right by a guy I trust...

New vacuum hoses for the CIS, new filters, thermostat, senders, valve adjustment, turbo valve covers, new oil lines, plugs, plug wires, new clutch, tranny oil, engine oil (pressures are spot-on now), and yeah, engine drop and gutting to remove a rat, pressure washing of the motor and oil cooler, a variety of small seals (no leaks), chain tensioner guards, brake job etc...

So $6000 later - let me catch my breath here for a second - the car pulls like a train and screams like a banshee. It's about $2000 of parts and $4000 labor, at california rates! Yikes, I could have saved 1/2 of that amount doing work myself, which is why I will never again buy a car far away from home and trust that I can drive back - PPI be damned ! (how do you miss a rat during a PPI?)

Now, onto questions: My 73.5 door mirrors won't stay put and are apparently held by black duct tape at the elbow. I saw those on other older cars:



Will they fit mine ? I dont care if they are not the correct black ones...

Also, the rear bumper seems to be loose on the passenger side, there is a gap between it and the tail light, you can push it up and pull it down a bit... is that a common thing that can be tightened or is is a broken bracket of soem kind? The car is now on a truck so I cannot see it for about 2 weeks !!! It's tough, especially after footing the bill, but the one hour drive to the shipper did put a smile on my face ! It felt like a 3.0 !!!

[Jim Sims]

What I fail to understand is why you paid all that money out to get it fixed and then put it on a truck for home? Why didn't you ship it home and THEN do the work yourself? For a $500.00 jack, jackstand and other special tool investment (plus common metric hand tools) you could have done eveything listed yourself.

The bumper issue is likely a loose or missing fasteners or a rusted mounting bracket; these early car rear brackets collect debris and rust from the inside out (even the Cali cars). Jim

[Jim Richards]

The mirror in the pic is correct for your year 911. A passenger side mirror, if installed, would've been a round one like you'd see on a 70-71, if I remember correctly. I didn't understand your tape & elbow comment. Would you elaborate?

[Deschodt]

Circumstances Jim, circumstances... The car passed alocal PPI... I was supposed to spend the vacations with wife and inlaws, not under a car... I was gonna pick it up and drive it to a shipper and forget about it... Well, I had to fix it just to drive from the pickup point to the drop off for the shipper... it would not idle at all... So it was going in for an oil change, a quick tuneup and some CIS troubleshooting... The rest just "happened". Ooops, there's a rat. Oops, now might as well do the clutch, etc...

In hindsight, yes, based on what I know now I should have towed it to the shipper, paid extra for the non-runnign car service, and do this at home... Then again I might never have spotted the rat or other issues that my mechanic found... I know nothing about CIS or clutch work... I could have done the valve adjustments and valve covers, yes...

I only got the price at the end ! ;-( Serves me right !

[Jim Sims]

"I know nothing about CIS". You will soon

The 73.5T is a joy to drive around town with it's engine setup and transmission ratios and is also a real treat when you get out on the road and spend time between 4 and 5K rpm. Mirror ball joints are loose probably from wear, perhaps you can get them tightened. Cheers, Jim

[Deschodt]

Well I only drove it for an hour before and an hour "after", and other than the pain in my backside from the bill, it was very enjoyable. It felt very similar to my 83 SC engine wise (admitedly it's been a while so I may remember wrong), the gearbox is superb (not all 915 have to be crappy) and the handling was more playful than modern cars...

I still need to run a new wire to the temps gauge and oil tank level gauge, both seem pinched somewhere.. and the rear bumper thing....

[Sunroof]

My 73.5T is all stock and the left mirror is rectangular. They have cheap (anything compared to OEM at least) but excellent quality replacements that several vendors are offering. Two allen bolts hold it on from under the door lip accessible by removing the two plastic weather seals.

Congradulations on the repairs. It seems like you on your way.
I got great advice from a P-mechanic that cut his teeth on these vintages and that was, "feed the beast a jigger of two of Marvel Mystery Oil every other fill up". So, I took his advice, considering his experience and I will pass that on. I use a small plastic 4-5 ounce cup and add to gas. Two years of this provided me better upper end lubrication and may keep the fuel distributor free of tarnish. No miracle, but so far so good.

The 2.4 is not known for overheating. I added the cooler collar and the heet sheets on the bottom valve covers. Gives me a needle or two worth of extra cooling. Cheap insurance.

The bumper issue cannot be addressed until you get in and look around. Behind the bumpers may be years of dust and debris and a great place for rust. Probably no rodents, but you should get in their and assess the situation.

I can go on and on about the 73.5T because mine has gone through a very decent restoration, but I still clean fittings, tweek the mixture, reset the hand throttle cable, and on and on. Bottom line.......the most fun 911 I ever owned.....best of luck

Regards
Bob

[BillyIdaho]

Congratulations!

I have one too, and it has turned out to be WAY more fun that expected.

Cool, under-rated engine. Fun to drive, fun to work on as it is fairly simple, and bulletproof.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but this motor is the only non interference motor ever put into a 911...right?


Anyway, good luck, and enjoy the car!

[randywebb]

'"I know nothing about CIS". You will soon'

Rip that stuff off your sports car and put it on an old Rabbit where it belongs. Get yourself carbs or a FI system that fits with the notion of sports car.

Nauturally, I do not want to appear biased in anyway.....