My Ride ~ She's a mean granite green 87 Carrera

[esmith904]

I've been occationally posting on and off over the last year or two and got a request this evening to share some pix of my car. I've fallen into the syndrom many of us do and can't leave my car alone. Every few years I get the itch to change something. Many of my ideas come from this forum. I try to keep my car looking as "Porsche" looking as possible and do mods that are mostly noticable only to the driver. Although I'm in the PCA, my job and little ones keep me too busy to be very active in the local Austin Porsche community. As the kids get bigger, I'll be getting out more. For now, I get much of my fix from reading the Pelican forums and plotting my next car mods.

My history with the car:

1998: Purchased from previous owner in San Antonio who is now a fellow Pelican and was president of the PCA chapter down in SA at the time. Car was stock except for K&N filter and cat bypass. I bought my dream car at age 29...a 911 Carrera. Sold my first Porsche - a raggedy old 914 that I bought for $700 back in 1990.

2000: Getting bored driving a stock Carrera. Have car setup for PCA DEs - lowered, T-bars, shocks, Charlie bars, strut brace, corner balance, Quaife LSD

2003: 6's and 7's look silly under fenders of a lowered car. Change to 7s and 9's with S-03s

2005: Learn from this forum sport mufflers, cut down air box covers and Steve Wong chips are cool. Steve's chip made the Carrera lag go away. DP motorsport muffer from Ebay and cut down airbox get me the right sound. Lenz sport cat keeps me green and don't loose too much HP.

2006: AC runs out of freon in the middle of the summer. OMG...its horrible driving without AC in Texas. Car spends last half of summer 06 in the garage except for random weekend run to the store. Had made a promise to myself last time freon ran out two years before to convert to 134a after paying $250 for 2 lbs of freon and labor. Also had read old posts a couple years ago on the forum where Mark Wilson drove his SC down to Canyon Lake for Ron at Rennaire to personally install his AC products. Called Ron in October and convinced him to install completely new Rennaire AC system in my car eventhough he really doesn't do installs anymore. Says he can justify doing it on my car because he will use pictures of the install in his up coming instruction manual update for his new AC products. New Rennaire parts: "System II" (barrier hose, Sanden compressor, aluminum adapter plate, evaporator, Procooler), Spal fan on rear condenser and desert duty front condenser. While he still has the car, Ron emails me a picture of vent temps - 28 degrees! Wow that's cold! Outside temps in October ~ 80's. Will have to see next summer when its 95-105 outside.

2007: For last 6 months of 06, I have been shopping online for an earlier car with no tail, but can't justify to the wife why I need spend money on a second Porsche instead of remodeling the bathrooms. Then it hits me...I never liked the tail on my car, but still bought the car because the tail didn't look too bad with the car color. Now I can't stand looking at it. It must go. No need to buy a second car with no tail. Next mod for 2007...find a nice Carrera deck lid and repaint it granite green metallic and swap. Then I will have the Carrera I always wanted with no tail.

It will take me 9 years to finally make the car I always wanted...Thanks fellow Pelicans for the advice and info I learned digging around searching on this board. Now my car is faster, sounds & looks tougher, handles better, keeps me cool and still has the classic Porsche look that I love. Now I just need to initiate the deck lid project...

Here are pictures below from 2005. She got caught out in the rain and was an excuse for me to take some interesting pix. First picture in the dry is before the muffler change.


Cheers,

[Kevin Stewart]

nice car

[88-diamondblue]

That's my second favorite color. Great looking car!

[porsche911girl]

Beautiful car! What a neat colour! (wonders if mine was originally that colour..) it was green...

[Rad Hatter]

Great story
I was very tempted to go your route ...Owned the car 12 months and have done 7,000 kms.
Runs great and am deliberating when to do the 'annual' service..
Cost here is 800 USD !! ...for the following:
Work Description
Check onboard Diagnostic system & read fault memory.
Change engine oil & filters.
Change air filter if required.
Change fuel filter.
Replace particle filters ( climate control system ).
Replace spark plugs.
Change manual transmission oil.
Change Automatic / Tiptronic transmission oil if necessary.
Change brake fluid.
Check condition of Distributor cap, rotors & HT leads.
Check Condition of all belts, Alternator, A/C, Water pump & Air pump.
Check operation & condition of all A/C system components.
Check tightness and condition of all oil & coolant hoses.
Carry out visual inspection for oil or coolant leaks, & check levels.
Check fuel system for leaks or damage.
Check air intake system, hoses lines & connections for tightness.
Check throttle for ease of movement and full throttle position.
Check resonance flap operation.
Check brake system: visual inspection of brake pads discs and lines.
Check hand brake operation & adjustment.
Check clutch free play and final position.
Check. steering gear for leaks or damage.
Check track rod links for excess play or damage.
Check power steering fluid level & condition.
Check all suspension components for tightness & damage.
Check condition of axle joints, drive shafts & dust boots.
Check exhaust system for leaks or damage.
Check tyre wear & inflation.
Check condition of all road wheels & wheel nuts.
Check wheel torque.
Check doors, lid locks & safety locks on front lid for tightness & operation.
Lubricate door locks & hinges.
Check battery, electrolyte level, corrosion of terminals & tightness.
Check safety belts condition & operation.
Check all electrical equipment & warning lights.
Check headlights for alignment & operation.
Check horn operation.
ROAD TEST
Check operation of all instruments, heating controls & A/C.
Check operation of transmission, engine response & performance.
Check operation of brakes & hand brake.
Check for exterior & interior rattles.

Anyway ... great car and congratulations

[mgbruno]

I've got an 84 Cab and am at the other end of the mod journey - haven't really started yet. Just getting my feet wet with these cars. Would like to get a Monty single in/single out muffler. The 75mm one. Is that what you've got on there for a sport muffler? I concurr with everyone else - great looking car BTW.

[livi]

Really nice color! Funny how I never get bored with the old 911 shape. No matter how many pics I see on this board I always think to myself - what a lovely car, I really want one - but wait I do already..

[esmith904]

Thanks everyone for your nice comments!

Nice car Red Hatter!

mgbruno - My muffler looks very similar to 1in/1out Monty. However, mine has 90mm opening on the tip as does dp motorsport model dp-11. Also, mine has seams running full length on the front and back just like a dp motorsport. The welds look the same also. I figure mine is either an early dp-11 without dp markings or darn good clone. See this thread about it below. A fellow from Europe posted pics of his real dp. Looks just like mine except for dp name plate is missing on mine. I felt lucky to find it on ebay several years ago. Have not seen one since on ebay and not on pelican classifieds either. I was surprised and pleased to have a pelican in Europe post pictures of his for comparison. If I hadn't gotten mine when I did (before Ben's M&K 1in/1out for Carreras was available), I probably would go for Ben's. I like the idea of early car sound, but a dp is pretty wicked too. I presume Monty would be similar to what I have. There are lots of Pelican Monty fans out there...

Who makes this muffler? Maybe...dp motorsport?

[sirhc37]

I think it'll look great without a tail, good idea!

[CarreraDan]

Eric,
Nice car, it looks strangely familiar. I really wish everyone would quit finding Granite Green cars, they are supposed to be rare in the US. Now we have 5 or 6 on Pelican. After four years I can no longer resist the urge to start making the car the way I want it and am working on modifications. I should have aero mirrors back from paint at the end of the week. Then I plan cat bypass and M&K muffler with SSI's and heater backdate in the future. I haven't decided on wheels yet. I like the 7 and 8 Fuchs but they are so expensive (Moses looks to have a good solution in the works) I really like FM-10's except for the price. Time will tell, and again a well thought out car.

[w21055]

Nice looking car! What size tires are you running up front?

[azasadny]

Beautiful car!

[turbo3six]

Very nice! It will look great w/o the tail.

[Rad Hatter]

Originally posted by esmith904
Thanks everyone for your nice comments!

Nice car Red Hatter!

mgbruno - My muffler looks very similar to 1in/1out Monty. However, mine has 90mm opening on the tip as does dp motorsport model dp-11. Also, mine has seams running full length on the front and back just like a dp motorsport. The welds look the same also. I figure mine is either an early dp-11 without dp markings or darn good clone. See this thread about it below. A fellow from Europe posted pics of his real dp. Looks just like mine except for dp name plate is missing on mine. I felt lucky to find it on ebay several years ago. Have not seen one since on ebay and not on pelican classifieds either. I was surprised and pleased to have a pelican in Europe post pictures of his for comparison. If I hadn't gotten mine when I did (before Ben's M&K 1in/1out for Carreras was available), I probably would go for Ben's. I like the idea of early car sound, but a dp is pretty wicked too. I presume Monty would be similar to what I have. There are lots of Pelican Monty fans out there...

Who makes this muffler? Maybe...dp motorsport?

Thanks I put an M+K one in One out supplied by Ben on mine. lst week ..very happy with it.
Rich
Hong Kong

[esmith904]

I'm running 205/50s up front and 245/45s on back. I thought having a 55 profile up front with 45 in the back would be too much of a delta and look unbalanced, so I went for a 50 profile up front. Looks great to me. Also, thought about running 951 8" fuchs in front, but did not want to roll the fenders and add neg camber. I'm trying to not to make changes like body mods that can't be easily undone back to original.

Daniel, as you can see with my 9 year timeline, it took me a long time saving my pennies to do the mods that I wanted. Take your time with the changes as your wallet allows and get the wheels you really desire, even if you have to wait longer to save for them. Fulfill the dream! I'm also curious to see these 17" fuchs Moses is cooking up.

[sp_cs]

Originally posted by esmith904
Thanks everyone for your nice comments!

Nice car Red Hatter!

mgbruno - My muffler looks very similar to 1in/1out Monty. However, mine has 90mm opening on the tip as does dp motorsport model dp-11. Also, mine has seams running full length on the front and back just like a dp motorsport. The welds look the same also. I figure mine is either an early dp-11 without dp markings or darn good clone. See this thread about it below. A fellow from Europe posted pics of his real dp. Looks just like mine except for dp name plate is missing on mine. I felt lucky to find it on ebay several years ago. Have not seen one since on ebay and not on pelican classifieds either. I was surprised and pleased to have a pelican in Europe post pictures of his for comparison. If I hadn't gotten mine when I did (before Ben's M&K 1in/1out for Carreras was available), I probably would go for Ben's. I like the idea of early car sound, but a dp is pretty wicked too. I presume Monty would be similar to what I have. There are lots of Pelican Monty fans out there...

Who makes this muffler? Maybe...dp motorsport?

Hi Eric

I used to have a DP11 'copy' on my old CS. Its manufactured by DW-Technik on behalf of DP Motorsport and I think labelled DW90, as in 90mm tailpipe - mine was a DW76. Items sold through through DP Motorsport would have the DP badge welded on.

Great sounding exhaust IMHO



Anyway, my entry into the Granite Green world


Edit to add, have downloaded your pics to my hard drive, hope you don't mind. A fantastic looking car and a great reference point for me

[svb]

esmith904 great looking car...two questions:

1. Are those 8 or 9" fuchs in the rear?
2. What is your F and R ride height measured from the top of the fender. It looks just right.

Thanks.

[esmith904]

Hi Shirish,

Thank you very much for your feedback on the muffler. It doesn't seam like these DP or DW-Technik mufflers are very common in the US. Most folks here in US run Dansk, M&K, B&B, Monty, Borla, Triad and a few others. I've only heard of folks running DP type in Europe, so I really appreciate hearing from you from the UK. The other fellow who responded to my muffler post was from Sweden, and he had a real DP muffler. My muffler looks identical to DP, so it couldn't just be some random copy. It makes sense that it would be a copy of DP done by DW-Technik who is DP's OEM. I really appreciate your feedback. I've been wondering who made the muffler ever since I got it.

You have a nice car too!

If you are interested in getting the high resolution pictures of my car, just drop me a PM with your email address.

Cheers,
Eric

[930zx]

that looks just like the 87 carrera I had. I always thought it was silver but my wife said it looked green. Well I guess I was wrong. Beautiful car and love that exhaust!

[esmith904]

svb,
Running 9's on the back.

I just measured the ride height.

Drivers:
Front - 24 1/2
Rear - 24 1/8

Passengers:
Front - 24 3/8
Rear - 24

I presume there is some variation in the body panels.

Maybe I got lucky with the look with the ride height. When the suspension was done and ride height set, the car had 6s & 7s at the time back in 2000. The car did not look nearly as cool back then. When I put on 7s & 9s in 2003 with same suspension setup, it was just perfect.

Moorespeed did my suspension back in 2000. These guys really know what they are doing...They almost won the Speed GT series back in 2000 with a 1973 RSR (Peter Kitchak's car) against new Vetts & Vipers. The sanctioning body banded the old Porsche saying it was too old for the series. I think the old RSR was just too good for that modern sports cars series...