'79 SC Project - That isn't a backdate!

[kerthunk]

I've been lurking on the site here for a couple weeks now, since I went out a picked up a '79 911 SC from a craigslist ad. I love to tinker in my workshop and am pretty handy at building/fixing things. So, I decided to fulfill my childhood fantasy and get my first Porsche and have something to work on (obsess about) in my spare time. Well, truth be told, I owned a '86 944 for a grand total of about 50 hours. Right up till my ex-wife decided she wanted to take it for a spin with a friend of hers and totaled it. It was then dictated to me that a Porsche was too dangerous, and that I should scratch it off my list of wants. Now that she has been scratched off my list instead, I went out and found what I believed would be a fun project car.





I checked it over and drove it around for a couple of hours. After talking about issues that I found with the owner, we knocked a couple grand off the asking price and I drove her home.

There is next to no maintenance records for the car, except for the original warranty book (showing 3 owners, not including the guy I bought it from, which would put me as the 5th owner). I also have a receipt from John Walker's Workshop in Seattle dated 2003. The PO says that JW did most of the work on the car except for the things he did himself.

The car now stands at 189k miles and needs quite a bit of love. Sounds like a fun time to me!

[porschenut]

Originally Posted by kerthunk

It was then dictated to me that a Porsche was too dangerous, and that I should scratch it off my list of wants.

She blamed the accident on the car? The car is too dangerous?

Nice little project car you got there.

[Rob Channell]

You vill join us on ze backdating darkside. Resistance is futile.......


Welcome and congratulations on a nice project car and a decent daily driver. From your post it sounds like you are a good fit for an older Porsche. The 1979 911SC is a fun car. I've owned mine for almost 20 years now and it's the ONLY car I've ever owned that didn't get old after a few years of ownership.

Start fixing the little things as you want and $tart $aving for the big things. Eventually they will happen. Be sure to drive it plenty when it is in a driveable state and drive it some before jumping into a large project that will make it undriveable for a while. The driving makes for great incentive and motivation.

Your 944 story reminds me of the old joke:
Man 1: "I got an older 944 for my wife."
Man2: "Nice trade."

[onlycafe]

welcome aboard.
great color, i hope all goes well with it.
congratulations and good luck with the new ride.

[kerthunk]

Thanks for the welcomes!

I thought about leaving the car as-is for a little while so that we could get acquainted before I start tearing into her, but I had a few issues after a couple hours of driving.

First , the PO installed an "expensive" stereo unit. This one in particular seemed to want to entertain me even when I explicitly told it to shut the hell up. It has a big blue display on it that kept cycling through a little movie with people dancing, woofers throbbing and other various crap. Do you know how annoying it is to drive a car and have a constant blue light dancing around in your peripheral vision? Time to dig up the wire cutters! Anyone interested in buying an ABSOLUTELY AWESOME practically new (to me) stereo that will make you feel like you are the center of the hip hop gangsta community and the envy of every other Porsche owner?

Another problem was that the car was just absolutely dirty inside. The PO lived down a long dirt road, and it showed. When I tried to turn on the fresh air blower, it was more akin to being sandblasted. I need to pull the blower/vent system and clean that up.

The other problem was the fact that I kept hearing a metallic dinging sound coming from the right rear of the car whenever I hit a bump. After poking around under her tail, I realized that it was the tubing for the A/C that was disconnected and zip tied to the underside of the car...poorly.

So, I decided to tackle the A/C first. Looking in the smuggler's box led me to....guess what...absolutely nothing! Just a couple of tubes dangling in there, no evaporator. I peeked in the engine compartment, and there was no condenser or any other A/C stuff in there. Hmmm....I live in the pacific northwest, I don't need no stinkin' A/C anyway. Hey, the heaving lifting was done for me, I'll take that as a benefit. So, I jacked up the car to finish off the A/C delete.



Just for the record, I did this in my driveway. All that mud on the ground came off of the car. And, I had hosed it a few times during this process. I never knew so much dirt could be gathered in two wheel wells and under the edge of the car. That ought to take care of that rattling noise as well a losing several pounds from the car.

After cleaning up the front right wheel well a little more, I noticed a wire in the back of the well that came through a grommet from under the dash. This wire was just sticking out, taped up and rubbing against the tire. Anyone got any ideas as to what it is/was for?



The radio came out without any real issues.

The trunk needs some major cleanup. Do you like my baseball bat style hood shock?



I knew that this was going to be a good time!

[JP911]

The wire in the wheel well is the antenna wire. Looks like a great project!

[boyt911sc]

Kerthunk,

You just increased your horsepower to weight ratio by eliminating those extra weights and dirt. More housekeeping and some engine degreaser will brigthen that engine compartment. Welcome to the club!!!!!

Tony

[Rod.911S]

Great project you've got -- and wonderful car! I'm looking forward to following the story. Especially the part about no backdate...

Cheers,
Rod.

[Rob Channell]

kerthunk,

Way to go on the AC delete. You are ahead of the curve already.

For a quick fix on that darn radio (I dislike the flashy light thing as much as you) just pull the fuse supplying power to the radio. It's what I do to my windshield wipers when I go to the track so I don't turn them on accidently.

[kerthunk]

Originally Posted by JP911

The wire in the wheel well is the antenna wire. Looks like a great project!

I see the antenna wire, and it is hooked up to the antenna still. The other wire that is hanging is a power one (3 conductor) and has it's own hole in the wheel well right beneath the antenna one. Maybe for a power antenna? The car doesn't have a power antenna though. The other end of the wire hits the ground behind the radio, the ignition switch and the 3rd conductor was just hanging near the steering wheel.

[gsmith660]

Great little project the only backdate I see it needing is the heat.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by kerthunk

I see the antenna wire, and it is hooked up to the antenna still. The other wire that is hanging is a power one (3 conductor) and has it's own hole in the wheel well right beneath the antenna one. Maybe for a power antenna? The car doesn't have a power antenna though. The other end of the wire hits the ground behind the radio, the ignition switch and the 3rd conductor was just hanging near the steering wheel.

It *did* have a power antenna. The power ones were on the passenger side fender like yours, the fixed ones were on the driver's side.

You're power antenna obviously broke, and the PO simply ripped it out and left the wires there when he put the aftermarket fixed on in place. I bet it makes a little light show every time they turned the radio on and off.

[kerthunk]

It wouldn't surprise me at all that a power antenna was remove and the wires were left dangling. I have been finding a ton of poorly executed hacks and shortcuts all around the car.

If you look at the earlier pic of the trunk area, there is a big black wire going up through the middle of it. That wire is the negative wire direct from the battery. It went to a battery cutoff switch hidden under the dash and then back out to the brake cylinder. Not a bad idea, I guess, but why just lay the cable through the middle of the trunk and not route the wire in a semi-professional way? I ended up pulling the switch and assembled a new ground line that went to the chassis near the battery where it belongs.

I also noticed that the PO went to town with a black rattle can. He painted all the chrome window trim which is chipping off to reveal shiny chrome underneath...he didn't even bother to use primer or sand the surface before painting. I have a saying: "If you are going to do something stupid, at least take the time to do it right." Hopefully just some paint remover will help undo this. But, it seems like he must have taken the time to remove the door window frame before painting it, because half of the screws that should be holding the thing in/together are missing! And while he had that rattle can out, he decided to touch up the emblem on the hood to give it a nice orange peel finish. And then carefully reinstalled it without putting the retaining nuts/clips back on (obviously to improve the hp/weight ratio). It also looks like he decided to give the wheels a fresh coat of black as well...I just wish he took a lot more time to tape off the edges. The amount of overspray is silly. Looks like learning to refinish wheels is in my future.

My first order of parts from our host came in. One of the things I picked up was that nice lighted Porsche emblem key. The PO only provided me with a single key that looked like a cheap copy on an old house key. I figured a real key would look better on my keychain even though it would be costing me $55 for the bling. So, I excitedly took the key to the only key place on the island here (an Ace Hardware). I gave the $30 blank to the guy, and he ground away on it for a couple minutes and handed me back a $30 shiv. The key was so damn thin I was surprised it didn't crumble in my hand. I told the guy that I was pretty sure that it wasn't going to work in the car as it more resembled a metal toothpick. He gave me a blank stare and asked for his $2 key cutting fee. I contemplated stabbing him in the eye with the "key", but instead countered by asking him for $30. After negotiating with the store manager for a couple of minutes, I walked out of the store with $30 in goods to help with the project.

I know that I may sound like I am ranting in frustration, but all this doesn't discourage me a bit. I just laugh at these things and add them to my list. Hopefully you guys can get a kick out of them as well and then give me some advice/ideas on how to clean up 30 years of PO.

[Mike Andrew]

John;

Welcome to the sickness. You have the right idea about laughing at these things and moving forward with more serious issues. Eventually, you will get the car where you want it(at least temporarily) and can just enjoy driving it.
Truthfully, it looks like a nice SC and is just in need of a bit of TLC and some mold repair.

Enjoy.

[jcunning]

Originally Posted by kerthunk

Now that she has been scratched off my list instead, I went out and found what I believed would be a fun project car.

LOL on that one!

You definitely have a nice project car there. Hopefully you got the car at a very good price. It looks like everything needs to be redone to bring it back to its former glory.

[jsmithcds]

+1

Originally Posted by jcunning

lol on that one!

You definitely have a nice project car there. Hopefully you got the car at a very good price. It looks like everything needs to be redone to bring it back to its former glory.

[kerthunk]

Well, I successfully yanked out the blower/heater/fresh air and all the related parts. I got some big cleanup ahead of me. I found a house key and a few assorted nuts and bolts in the ducting. Maybe I should visit the PO and ask him for some money back. I ordered a bunch of CEET duct to replace the nasty stock stuff since I don't even want to bother trying to clean that up.

When I was pulling the fresh air inlet box, I took a look at the drain tube for it and found this:



The red arrow is pointing to the drain tube that just dumps incoming water into the smuggler's box. I am assuming that it should be running out one of the holes in the bottom and not just turning it into a smuggler's foot bath. So, when I put a new tube in there, and run it out the bottom, how do I attach the bottom of it? Should there be some kind of fitting there? Does the tube just dangle out the bottom of the car? Anyone got some pics of how the drain tube should be run?

Not to mention that the hole in the picture to the left of the tube is where the unshielded battery cutoff switch was mounted.

And in case you are wondering, yes, that is a check valve for the washers sitting there. Found it like that. All hooked up except for being connected to the sprayers. The other one was disconnected in the same manner. Maybe it is set up to add bubbles to the smuggler's foot bath every time you try to clean your windows.

[kerthunk]

Originally Posted by jcunning

You definitely have a nice project car there. Hopefully you got the car at a very good price. It looks like everything needs to be redone to bring it back to its former glory.

I'm beginning to wonder if it was a good price or not...paid about $9k for it. I am excited about being able to touch/fix/care for every part of the car, but the part costs are starting to add up, and I still haven't gotten to the nasty interior or even began to look at why I have a good sized puddle of oil under the rear end of the car. I'll be rebuilding/repairing as many of the parts as I can. I know that the car will be great when it is done, and meanwhile I am having a great time and learning tons. This forum is an invaluable resource!

[RarlyL8]

Ain't it fun?
My fist 911 was a '73T hack job. Best I could figure the PO must have been a 12 year old with OCD and a tool kit consisting of duct tape and a phillips screw driver.
Good luck with your "adventure".

[Rich76_911s]

Hey John,

Welcome to the sickness. It is worse than swine flu.

After seeing all that dirt come off of your car, getting the rest of it out would be priority #1 on my hit list.

Our cars have a tendancy to trap and hold dirt for long periods of time. If that dirt gets wet, which inevitably it will in the pacific northwest, it stays wet and leads to RUST.

An ounce of prevention can go a long way. There are three particular areas you should thoroughly clean.

The first is in the rear wheel wells looking towards the doors. Get the car on jack stands, remove the rear wheels, stick your head in there and look towards the front of the car. Get all the dirt and mud out of there. Keep this area as clean as possible.

The second area to look is in the front wheel well. Remove the front wheel, stick your head in there and look towards the back of the car. There is a fender joining panel that has a tendency to hold a lot of dirt. On some SC's the driver side with have an A/C component that is an extra dirt and moisture holding device.

The final area, is also the hardest area to see. It is all the way in the front of the car, where the bumper shocks attach to the car. There is a great chanell up there that is about an inch deep and holds dirt PERFECTLY. Here is a picture of what can happen and should clarify where it is for you:







Oh one more place to clean is in the front wheel well right above the wheel on the drivers side. THere is a tube that runs along the fender wall for washer fluid to the windshield, or its a breather for the gas expansion tank. Anyway that hose traps dirt and leads to rust right around the shock towers too. It would be just beyond the edge of the second photo above.

Congratulations and best wishes on the project.
Rich