A long trip & no starter = no more startup smoke?

[Forza]

A few weeks ago my family and I moved from Boulder to Charlottesville. My 911SC was an absolute joy to drive for 1500+ miles with nothing but the flat six to keep me company. After the first day of driving, the starter's solenoid crapped out--she'd start up in the morning, but no cranking after that. Fortunately, I discovered it after the first day when I went out that night to try to move the car closer to our motel room.

No big deal; my wife is used to me owning classic cars as daily drivers, so we calmly set out on our way, refilling the SC's gas tank Le Mans style, engine rumbling, when needed, and searching out declines as much as possible when parking.

Our need to make quick stops actually suited our 2-year old daughter amazingly well, as she simply didn't have the chance to resist getting back into the van after a longer stop. Counting the need to stop early for my daughter's bedtime, we still managed to make the journey in three and a half days.

Once in Charlottesville, I had Paul Overstreet put on a new (i.e., rebuilt) Bosch starter and retune the CIS for the new altitude, and voilą--she cranks immediately and has about 30 extra hp!

Now that it's all said and done, I realize the starter was going bad before it got worse. In fact, I must admit that one of the things I love about this car is that it always gives me plenty of advance warning before something totally goes for good. In this case, I just thought the initial smoke I used to get now and then was a part of having a flat six in the rear, and that the extra crank time now and then was just the vagaries if the CIS (although its pressures and components are up to spec). No, the only thing out of whack was the sensor between my ears; in the past, after sitting overnight, the car used to smoke a bit after cranking and starting. Now, with the "new" Bosch, it starts immediately--with no more smoke. Oh, and the starter sounds so much cooler now, too!

PS. Jeffrey Elmore (Renn Zenn in Boxsterland) kindly offered his garage and tools to have me replace the starter myself, but as the CIS had to be retuned (properly) anyway from the altitude change, I let Paul handle both, especially as he gave me Pelican pricing on the starter. Thanks to both!

[Rednine11]

glad to hear your trip went smooth. must have been a blast driving it to Charlottesville
When my starter failed I upgraded to the new style mini starter and I'm glad I did.