What Are Your SpringTime 911 Projects?
 

It's just February, but time to plan the spring/summer projects!

What does everyone have in mind?

I'm planning:
1) Elephant finned oil lines to replace my old ones that somehow got half-crushed last year - grrr.
2) Bit of interior freshening - replace worn carpet, lay down some Dynamat, get the racing seat upholstered in leather to match the rest of the interior, replace the old cheapo speakers, new plastic bits for the seatbelts.
3) Fix parking brake - been parking in gear for the last year-plus.
4) Find something useful to go where the stock Carrera fogs are - don't see the point of the stock fogs, really.

Need to put off the dream engine for another year, alas - need to make some $$$ . . .

Mine is somewhat aggressive:

Complete my first Porsche engine rebuild.
Install a used engine on the 4Runner.
Sell the 4 runner
Sell the miata
Sell the LandCruiser
Sell the speed-bike.
sell the house.
Buy either an NSX or a DB7.
Keep the 2 Porsches.
Pay cash towards a house in either Arizona or Texas (with a barn or 5 car garage, of course!).

and........ retire @ 43 years of age!!!! SmileWavy SmileWavy :D :D http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/...s/beerchug.gif

Ummmm....

Finish making a new wiring harness for the 951
Flush 951 cooling system
Install the new 951 oil cooler housing and P/S pump
Figure out why 951 has a what appears to be a lean stumble
Sell the 951 :)

Finish custom wiring harness for 911
Put new hot 3.4 into 911
Tune said motor on the dyno (stand alone ECU)
Fab custom muffler for 3.4
Install the front mount oil cooler in 911
Carpet kit in 911
Finish 935 style suspension product development
Finish development of custom metric/AN adapters
Finish fitting all the fiberglass parts to the 911
Corner balance and align 911
Paint 911
Drive the $hit out of 911 on the track....... :)

Build new ramps for corner balance scales
Sell my Tournament Ski boat
Finish rebuild on 3.3l twin plug turbo motor

Finish up development work and actaully produce prototypes of Forged 3 piece Fuch wheels in 17 and 18 inch sizes.

Finish up development work and actually produce prototypes of new one piece forged wheels for 90 and up Porsches and other cars. (Could still be used on a pre-89 911 if you reaaaaaaly wanted that look)

Then I am going to pull the cork out of something special and get pi$$ed.

Ok, maybe I need more than just the spring

Iron out hiccups on 3.3ss motor.
Install 930 brakes and booster
Recover sparcos with leather and houndstooth
Install half cage with harness bar
Install Xenon H.I.D. racing lamps
Install L.E.D. signal lights, backups and such
Fuel Cell
Go to coilovers
Redo entire wiring harness
Obtain parts to take 3.3 to 3.5
Build custom GO pedal
Build throttle linkage system
Etc, etc, etc

Oil change.
Driving! :D

Oh, and perhaps a superfluous valve adjust just for the fun of it.

Tires for the SC, and gutters and downspouts for the house!

Woo woo!

Spring is no time to be starting new projects. NOW is the time! Just finished new bumper "smile", new horns, cut window in bottom of bumper for cooler, installed voltmeter. Past winter projects: memory tach, MSD and Pertronix, selectable rev limiter to dashboard, battery to smugglers, bumperette removal, throttle bellcrank bushings. All slow, easy, enjoyable winter projects.

My winter/spring project list has suffered from "mission creep". Pics to follow, in theory, but I seem to do most of my posting when I am out of town.

Original plan:
1. Replace semi crushed oil lines and ineffective trombone cooler with new Elephant finned lines and Carrera fender cooler. I had to cut a lot of run groups short last summer due to heat issues, which sucks.
2. Drop engine and tranny to gain access to rear banana arm pivots.
3. Update suspension with monoballs, polybronze bushings, new torsion bars, etc. I broke a torsion bar on the track last summer and that was not much fun. I figure this means I should replace them all before this happens again. So it is time to deal with all of the 29 year old bushings.
4. Replace rear sway bar mounts. They have not broken yet, but they don't look good.
4. Reinstall engine & tranny.
5. Install roll bar, one piece seats, harnesses.

Prerequisites for original plan:
1. Add new circuits to garage to support a large heater, and a welder (done - still waiting for first electric bill w/ heater).
2. Buy a welder and learn how to use it.

New plan:
1. Fix rust holes in front fenders and a more ominous hole in the left rocker panel. I found all this when I removed the rocker panel covers to get the old oil lines out. Not a great day.
2. Search for and resolve additional rust:
2a. Remove fuel tank, clean & examine inside of front pan (done, looks OK).
2b. Strip undercoating and PVC from underside of body (started, but I regret this, because it's going to take a long time).
2d. Seal underbody and trunk with POR15.
2e. Replace fuel tank.
3. Replace oil thermostat which was destroyed during removal of old oil lines. Gotta love those fragile aluminum threads on the thermostat.
4. Resume original project list.

Now the question is not if the car will be ready by spring, but whether it will be 2007 or 2008. If I make it this year there are going to be lots of lovely primer spots on the car. Sadly this will probably improve the look of the current paint job (not my doing ... pretty sure my 3 year old daughter could do as well).

My wife suggested that I take her BMW 325 to the track this year. That was a nice offer, but I am not sure it is a good plan.

Originally I bought this car as a daily driver that I was going to restore over time. Then after years of not restoring it, I started going to the track, got another car for daily use, and figured that was my out, as I don't really care what the car looks like on the track as long as it is solid.

Now it appears that I am restoring my car for track use. Despite the seemingly unanimous opinion that I am insane, I want to fix this car instead of buying one that needs less work. I spent weeks trying to talk myself out of this plan. I cannot. What is it about these silly little cars?

Cheers,
Scott

Howard M

sent you a PM

Starting next week:

1. Remove and rebuild 915
2. Engine clean-up (while it's out)
3. Caliper paint and new seals/brake job
4. Bleed brakes
5. 6-pack CD player and new tuner
5. Drive. (Fingers crossed)

Install track seats
Replace brake pads and flush brake fluid
Change engine/tranny oil, replace fuel, oil and air filters
Have my track tires mounted
Check ride height - change if needed, corner balance & align
Go out and play :D

For my 1985 Carrera:
1. Install new Lemforder Turbo Tie Rods.
2. Install Steve Wong Chip.
3. Install Stainless Cat Bypass Pipe.
4. Refinish Fuchs wheels in "RSR"-look & mount new Kuhmo MX rubber.
5. Do complete ride height adjustment & alignment with more negative camber.
6. Install OEM Short Shift Kit in shifter.
7. Install aluminum pedals from Euro East.
8. Install Momo steering wheel et al.
9. Install stainless brake hoses & Hawk HPS Plus pads, flush fluid.
10. Wash, wax, & drive the snot out of it as soon as the snow's gone! :)

Spring plans=
1. put parts on engine.
2. put engine in car
http://eskimo.org/blog/chain3004.jpg
I hope this works.

BW Ruf bumpers
Getty hood

Hopefully nothing but track time after this is done.

Install Rennaire System II
Replace speakers and tape deck

1. grind off sway bar mounts....replace with Wevo's
2. new 930S steering wheel
3. change oil

The car needs nothing else at this point

4. gut the entire kitchen......I will be doing this for "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed" just in case the car needs anything else.

Steve

+1

...but no valve adj. She got one before I put her away.

Howard M what/how are you doing your voltmeter?

Everyone, see freq ref's to 'DE', what does that stand for?

Thanks

As the funding permits, been an expensive winter on things I really didn't need, I NEED:
1. New front tires
2. Replace fuel hoses from tank/pump to lines in tunnel
3. Rebuild steering rack (sounding gritty)
4. Replace assorted vac hoses on engine (most are cracking)
5. Drive the heck out of it until it gets too hot (removed a/c)
6. Get to another DE

Sould be a fun summer and I might pull the motor and trans to clean things up and toss in a new clutch. Just depends on what is going on with everything else.

'DE' is driver's education sessions at the track.