Home Improvements. (911 style)

[enjefriy]

I would like to post a new thread on any ideas/Modifications/creations (however silly, or unconventional) that our fellow Pelicans have tried, or currently employ on their Porsches. This includes D.I.Y. creative fixes, or retro-fitments which were implemented/manufactured, in order to address a particular problem, was thought of as an improvement, or was simply done due to constraints in Finance or available spares.

I do so because, living in Brunei, and trying to maintain a 1982 911SC has its challenges.
With the Lack of support for anything older than 10 years, and even 5 years for some makes, this presents myself with no option but to order from our host continually.

Having a currency lower than the US dollar, and requiring to pay substantial postage being half way around the other side of the world, maintenance of this classic can be extremely daunting when you are in a third world country.

In good faith, i will start off by posting some of my own creations. I implore fellow Peli's to contribute. Though i am not sensitive to critical comments, please however try to give constructive critisism, as this will promote others to contribute as well. I am sure that there are many owners out there that have amazing ideas. I hope this thread will enable us to share ideas, which would most definitely benefit all of us alike.

[enjefriy]

Having a totally cracked up dash board, the previous owner has the dash removed & re-upholstered. Brunei being such a hot a humid country, does not fair kindly to the PVC used.
Being a cheap fart, and financially inept, i removed the whole dash cover assy, and proceeded to having a new dash material manufactured by the local upholstery.

Using Suede, lined with sponge material, the material was custom cut to cover the metal structure.

Seemed like a good idea, until i was driving at night. The lights from the gauges were reflecting off from the windshield. This was very distracting, and hence to solve this problem, i sawed off the portion off from the old dash, which was the bit which acted as the glare shield above the gauges, and had that lined with suede as well.
Above is a shot of the attachment which i had to make up in order to locate the Glare shield. (i.e the 2 plastic wedges, screwed into the vertical face of the Gauge wall)

Below Picts shows how much space i've gained off from the dash. The removed Dash was quite heavy, so this replacement with a sponged backed suede presented itself as a weight saving.

[enjefriy]

Another Mod that i carried out was to the air-conditioning outlet louvers. The original louver was near enough useless from Brunei's heat. Having spares off from an old BMW e28 that was broken up for spares, i re-used its louver as a replacement for a more unrestricted airflow.

Refer pict of my dashboard above, this required a re-sizing of the aperture within my dash. Armed with my Dremel, i cut out a new hole, as slotted in the BMW Louver. Apart for this, i also had to replace the supply hoses at the back, in order to fit onto this louver, and have it supplied from the Evaporator unit.

[enjefriy]

This picture shows my airconditioner evaporator box. The original unit was located in the front passenger footwell. This unit was inept to do anything for Brunei climate.

So my fix here was to use a generic AC unit made by SuperKings (a Thai make).
This replacement unit enclosed a Blower motor which drives two rotary drum vane, and a significantly larger evaporator. Hoses are also larger, in order to feed to my Louver modification. The water hose out from this unit is simply routed out thru the smugglers box in the Trunk. Two metal strips were used to attach this unit to the pre-existing attachment studs found within the trunk bay.

[enjefriy]

I removed all components within the trunk related to the original AC venting system.
Defogging is not an issue in such a hot country, and this made the control selectors irrelevant.

All control flex rods, and Vent box removed cleared the trunk area very well, and made access behind the Dashboard a breeze.

So i worked an Aluminium rectangular section, painted it black, and drilled in holes, in order to retrofit replacement control knobs and toggle switches.


Chrome knobs were replacement knobs sold for Guitar amps, bought from Tandy.

BTW, the Gauges are for (from the left) Fuel control pressure (tapped from the WUR),
OXY Gauge in the middle (toggle switch on top, to toggle between the standalone Oxy sensors I installed in the left & Right exhaust banks),
and the EGT gauge on the right.

[enjefriy]

Shown is my shift rod bushing in pieces. Dont think this plastic part can withstand Brunei's Heat due premature failure. (barely lasted 3 years).


So my temporary fix was to manufacture a brass bushing out of an old 'Cloth Hanger pole bracket'.

It ended up giving better precise shifting than ever before, that it remains installed to date.

[haycait911]

I like 'home' fixes. if I had to pay some guy $100 an hour to fix all the little things on my car, I couldn't afford to drive a porsche.

[enjefriy]

Heyhey,
Sound like my kinda guy.
With a 3 year old son, another son due in June, and currently a BMW 1986 E28 to tinker with, my love for porsche would have remained a dream if i didn't figure some alternate means of maintenance.
I will post more as i get picts.

I am hoping to get input as well from other members that may help me save money.
I cant afford to be a purist, hence some of my frankensteining.

[80-911SC]

never heard of Brunei, so forgive my ignorance, but were is it ??

also bravo on the fixes, coming from California our cars raise an eyebrow, some cities more than others, and still in some they are just another car. Brunei (as described as third world) yours must be a 1 of 1, you must draw quite a bit of attention.

How about some exterior shots ............

Steve

I turn my own wrench, and with the resources here it is still difficult

[enjefriy]

Brunei Darussalam is one of the smallest countries in the world. Located on the Top tip of the Borneo Island. We are surrounded by Malaysians. 2 hours flight from Singapore, and quite smack by the equator. Barely pass 350,000 population. (near a third of which aren't even Local (Expats + Permanent residents).

Its an Oil and Gas producing country. Porsches are quite easy to see here. Thou mainly Cayennes, Boxters, Caymans. But what i have is rarer (heheheh) Cheaper, but i'd stick to rarer..
Couple of GT2/ rarely GT3. American cars now growing in popularity. Humvees now appearing, Lots of Japanese like WRX's, Evo's, Odd Nissan GT-R or so.

On a yearly basis, the American Navy would drop by here. Hang out a couple of nights in our small town.
We were a protectorate under the old British Rule. Only given independence some 20years back, so we'r a very young nation.
Not quite developed, but not too bad. We are defined as a third world country.

I possibly have the oldest 911 (82). Though i believe, a royalty may have a 70s RSR (i saw one fly past one day). The royalties here are car collectors themselves, and generally speaking, so are most of the population.
Being a Dry Muslim country, entertainment is limited. No bars, Clubs etc. Thou Tourist & expats do still have there watering holes.

[enjefriy]

The country is quite rich, as the GDP is quite high. (due to small population anyway).
I however am not rich. The first job i had was as a Grease Monkey in Volvo.
Got a scholarship from the one and only airline in the country.
I've been to the states twice. (Seattle & Connecticut).
On rare occasion, i did meet some who knew what Brunei was. (its not apparently a Hawaian Fruit)

Pretty daunting experience getting into the states incidently. Some convincing required. Mr immigration very worried bout where I'm from. (i was always getting the pleasure of so called RANDOM SECURITY CHECKS). I guess i didn't mind the cavity checks so much.
Once I got in, the states was pretty good actually. Love your homes, fantastic shopping. (I want a Mustang too).

[enjefriy]

f

As a student in the UK, the fist car i bought was an Austin Mini city for 200quid.
Upon my return to Brunei, i told my older brother that i wanted to find an old VW beetle as a project car. Some days later, he called me up and said that he found me a Super-Beetle.
Hence this 911sc. The only car that i've ever bought whilst in Brunei.
The E28 is a hand me down from Dad.
He is into his two Mercs 126 series, 300SEL's.

Sounds sad, but Brunei is one of the safest countries in the world. Rated in top 10 best places to live in the world (Albeit not the most happening one)
But we have natural beaches, all round Warm to Hot weather. We get monsoons yearly, NO Income Tax.
Free Medical
Free Education
So i guess how we survive with relatively low incomes. Cost of living also very low.

[TRE Cup]

so what is this i hear about the Sultan leaving most of his extensive car collection, just rotting away in the elements? Sad if its true. There is a post on this board that lists his hundreds of cars. Just amazing !

How are the roads there? Any local race tracks to play on? Car clubs?

I like the color of your car- nice!

[enjefriy]

Not True. That would be his brother.
Roads here are good. Not the Autobahn, just good.
Races are not organized here. You have to enroll across the border, malaysian side to get any action. About 2 hrs drive away mind you. Brunei is about the size of Norwich, UK

Thanks Btw. Colour is code 190 off from a 1960's merc.
I like the Gulf Blue too, but i dont think i could pull it off.

[Davewjunior]

I remember reading an article years ago about the car collection of the Sultan of Brunei. It was AMAZING and would rival anything you've ever seen (to include Jay Leno, Haynes, Lauren, etc). Most of the cars (hundreds of them) sat in aircraft hanger-like garages and saw no street time. I remember thinking how little they'd have to pay me to be the official "Mile-pile-upper" for the royal collection. Hey, someone's got to shake those things out every once in awhile.

[dicklague]

You should get a copy of our host's book 101 PROJECTS FOR YOUR 911. You may already have the book. If not available from this site and worth every USD or BND.

[kidrock]

I applaud you for your ingenuity and perseverance in keeping your SC alive, which looks very nice by the way.

I know what it's like to have an earlier Porsche in a place where there is none to be found. I don't dare take mine to a garage in El Paso, in fear of having to pay for it getting raped by someone who knows nothing about these cars. I'm still learning, and I'd rather take the chance on my own mistakes than someone else mucking it up.

Good luck and keep posting.

[enjefriy]

I hope i can help somebody here. Having applied near enough the whole 101 PROJECTS book, i wanna see if whatever ideas that i've conjured up for my 911sc may benefit someone else here.
Having been rescued here by some of our more senior members, i wanna see that maybe i could also contribute.
Having seen some of the solutions, projects carried out here by some of the members, i can only imagine the things that they have in their minds.

Hoping to squeeze out more info from our Porsche magicians here somemore.

My car is rare here. The Agents wouldn't know where to begin, since my 911sc doesn't have a diagnostic port.

That's what its turned out to be here.

Maybe i can help someone save money (more likely, make em laugh also with my so call ingenuity)

[Paulporsche]

Great use for the pole bracket. Love it!

[jpnovak]

Its funny. I have a CAD drawing for a bronze shift tube support bushing. I never had the part made. This is the first time I have seen someone post this type of part.

Great job!