Back to the pedal cluster itself...

I decided to use the oil impregnated bronze bushings, rather than nylon - Grady has posted on this IIRC.

Some say to soak the bushings in oil... why not:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1274929433.jpg

Considering the very poor design of this thing - holes thru the bottom of the floor and all - I decided that maybe I should use a little dum-dum (3M strip caulk to you modern folk) to help seal out the nasty elements.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1274929809.jpg

I decided it would be smart to get the parts plated rather than painted black or even powder-coated.

This ain't no concoursmobile. I am interested in getting better performance out of the vehicle (in all ways), not freezing the car in time at 1973.

So, rust resistant plating it is:


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1274929985.jpg

Why the clamp? Turns out I forgot to replace the little rubber bump stop before putting the cluster back in. Well, actually, there was no rubber bump stop on mine - so "replace" wasn't really the issue. The diagram is none too explanatory, and I never realized there was supposed to BE a rubber bump stop on there. I was puzzled by the channel where the bump stop went and I guess I should have figured it out, but I didn't until afterwards, so I glued it in later.

a few tips on adjustments I collected over the years:


Setting Clutch Pedal Limit Plate Position

car warmed up & on level surface – put into reverse
if it grinds, raise the clutch stop

Setting Brake Pedal Height

Pull up the carpet and the wooden floorboard (mark the position of the clutch pedal limit plate, the steel plate on the floor board, first). You will see the linkage for the brake pedal.

While holding the link shaft straight (vice grips) break loosen the top and bottom bolts. Then turn the shaft until the brake pedal is about 1.5 inches higher than the throttle.

Holding the shaft straight again, tighten everything up.

BEFORE you put in the floor board, take it for a test ride. Now when you get hard on the brake your foot will be even with the throttle which will make heel and toe very easy.

BONUS, the throttle is held to the floor with two bolts. Remove them and put two washers under the inboard bolt. That will angle the throttle closer to the brake.

You will wonder how you ever drove it before once you do this mod. By the way, this is the mod the factory intended.

OK, back to the suspension...

a brief reprise: 21/27 mm torsion bars - they were 22/27 but that is not a good balance of F/R stiffness IMO
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/192998-help-me-decide-suspension-1971-3-2-a.html?postid=1621136#post1621136

I had some issues with rust on the A-arms & with manf. tolerances on the Al crossbar I installed:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/462553-elephant-mounts-wont-fit-into-al-xbar.html

I also have some funky old sway bar on the front (it's adjustable tho!); the rear has what I think is Weltmeister sway bar on it. I have now rebuilt the Front suspension twice. The first time was with Neatrix or something that a shop ordered long before Chuck began making his Elephant Polybronze items (in fact, it was pre-pelican now that I think of it). I then put the Elph. PBs on the front, and below is my evaluation of their feel. My car has a hotrodded 3.2L motor so is able to put some torque down on corner exits.

Please refer to the pics of my test track on p.2 of this thread for more info. This is a road that I know very well. it is about 5 minutes from my house, and I use it for all my suspension testing (as well as recreational driving). It is very bumpy and quite twisty - I run it both uphill and downhill, sometimes for multiple runs. It is a little too exciting a road to look at the speedometer much, so I mostly go by how the car feels. I also used this same road when I had a 1975 911 with stock rubber F &R in the suspension (stock torsion bars F&R). And I am familiar with running this road in other cars too, including a Boxster S I used to have (which can make mince-meat out of an old 911 on this route, yet somehow is not as much fun unless you go at really dangerous speeds).

I was not able to test 2 identical 911s back to back (i.e. within minutes of each other) but what I did do, is to test the same car (this lightened 1973) with well-greased & fit front polyurethane bushings (before) and with the Elephant Polybronze bushings on the same familiar and difficult road. So, we lack simultaneity (which is important for subjective comparisons), we lack a statistically valid sample size, but we do have the same car, same driver and a very familiar road to use.


In general, the Elph. Polybronze bushings allow much improved ability to "feel the road" - this is w/o putting anything at the top of the strut except new rubber -- no monoballs, etc. on my car.

On very very bumpy bad roads, some might feel that the PB's make the car more quickly track the road discontinuities - I would not say it feels more "nervous" tho as control is not impaired at all.

After my testing, I would not hesitate to tell any sports car driver - of any age - to get them.

If you are really old, have an unusually vocal wife, cannot stand the idea of greasing them once in a while or are otherwise just ready to give up on the 1964-88 "true" 911s and get some car with less sporting feel (but maybe a higher level of sporting competency, e.g. a Boxster) then new rubber might be the solution for you. If I did get rubber I would get them from Elephant and not one of the easier to install makers (Neatrix), tho I have not personally tested those.

Just for the record, the bumpy twisty road I used for a test track is something that you will be going about 20 mph on in places. The differences between the polybronze and the replacement stock bushing are readily apparent at all speeds I drove, including the 20 mph stretches.

Of course, my Boxster S was both faster and more comfy, but...

How much time did you find, if you can't look at the speedo?

can you rephrase that?

How much less time did it take for that section with the pb compared to rubber?

I didn't time it - if I was in a big hurry I'd have kept the Boxster S.

The "feel" is posted above.

People often replace the ball joints, just because. There is nothing wrong with this (assuming the new one are as high in quality as the old ones).

An alternative is to move them around in a full circle and make sure they feel smooth.

Here is a quote posted by Grady Clay:
* * *
When not replacing the ball joints, it is desirable to add a few drops of hypoid gear oil past the pin and work the ball joint all around.

example pic:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1236916036.jpg

[15 ml of gear oil per ball joint courtesy of a local Architect]