Wacko's 1978 911SC

wacko · 02-25-2013, 12:05 PM

Hey All,

I thought I would start a thread that chronicles the work I do on my newly acquired 1978 911SC. I purchased it in November after my first 911, a 1982 911SC caught on fire and was totaled 3 days after I purchased it

Here is a picture of the car as it was when i purchased it

It is said to be an early RUF conversion but unfortunately no documentation to prove it. During the PPi the Mechanic was unable to confirm or deny that it was a RUF car.

These are the facts, it has both fiberglass hood and engine cover, no sun roof, never had switch for front fog lights, no air-conditioning, front fairing correct to what an early RUF car would have had. It is originally a German purchased ROW car that was imported into Canada by the original owner in the early eighties. It has the stamp in the owners manual for the first couple services in Germany.

The previous owner claimed it's 3.0 liter engine had been bored out to 3.2 with 230 HP. I have been told there is no way to confirm displacement without pulling the motor apart?

Anyways, if it isn't a RUF car it is a pretty clean 78 911SC, if it is a RUF Car it is that much cooler in my opinion. Just a little different...?

wacko · 02-25-2013, 12:15 PM

So onto what I have done to the car so far.

Shortly after purchasing the car it became quite apparent that there was a problem when it rained. I purchased the car as a driver and since the paint isn't perfect I plan on driving the car more than polishing it. However when ever I would drive it in the rain it would hesitate badly and so the research began. I am by no means a mechanic but with the help of these forums was able to determine it was a problem within the ignition system.

I started by changing the cap and rotor as that was the cheapest thing to start with. No luck. Next I replaced the ignition wires with some manacores.

Wow!!! What a difference. The was a noticeable difference in performance and no more hesitation in the rain!!!

.

wacko · 06:24 PM

Next was the height of the front end. If you look at the first photo the previous owner had the front end sitting way too high. I assume it was because he was worried about hitting the front fairing on speed bumps and such.

Initially I tried just adjusting the adjustment screws but unfortunately that wasn't enough. I ended up having to re-index the adjustments which turned out to be quite a bit easier than I was expecting.

Here is a photo of the new ride height

carl74344 · carl74344's Garage

nice car. how come your first car catch fire?

wacko · 02-25-2013, 12:27 PM

Another issue with the car when i purchased it was the seats.

Both had splits in the side panels, just along the seams but they needed repairing none the less. I got a couple quotes as initially I wanted to keep them as I believed them to be original to the car. But after some more research I am not so sure. I have seen some photos of cars with the same seats but they also have the same upholstery on the door panels and my car has back vinyl door panels.

Anyways I prefer the look of vinyl/leather seats and after pricing out the cost of the repais I ended up purchasing a set of used seats from a fellow pelican which I like a whole lot better.

wacko · 02-25-2013, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carl74344

nice car. how come your first car catch fire?

They were not able to tell me for sure. It was an engine fire that caused mostly electrical damage. They thought possibly the fuel control valve leaked?

And after I dealt with the arching of the ignition wires on this car I can see how any fuel leak could go up pretty quickly.

Scooter · 02-25-2013, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wacko

I have been told there is no way to confirm displacement without pulling the motor apart?

You might want to get it on a dyno and compare your results with a stock SC and the claimed 230 hp number the PI gave you.

wacko · 02-25-2013, 12:39 PM

Next up was the wheels. I wasn't crazy about the Red. The first 911 I purchased came with a second set of 17" CUP wheels that I was able to keep so I tried them for a couple weeks.

However I was getting some rubbing and truly preferred the classic look of the Fuchs wheels better so I ended up painting the red wheels black.

wacko · 02-25-2013, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scooter

You might want to get it on a dyno and compare your results with a stock SC and the claimed 230 hp number the PI gave you.

Yes, that is what I am hoping to do. Like I said, I don't really care that much, but it would be nice to know one way or the other

wacko · 02-25-2013, 12:44 PM

The last thing I have done is to backdate the heat and remove the rear window wiper. Here is a pic of before and after

Vin-barrett · Vin-barrett's Garage

You can pull out a spark plug and stick a borescope in the hole.
Upgraded pistons will look different than the early CIS style the car came with.
I believe it's the Max Moritz kit that was popular back when the engine work was done in the 80's which will look a lot different the the originals.

Make sure you get a borescope with a head small enough to fit down the plug hole.. Many of the popular scopes like at home depot won't work.

Abby3.2Carrera · 02-25-2013, 12:51 PM

Nice work man!
I am in abbotsford, good to see someone very near by.
I actually heard about your last car catching on fire from an insurance agent when I went to insure my car. The insurance lady said you only had the car for two days

Josh D · Josh D's Garage

Nice! Looks like your off to a great start! I'm a fan of the sunroof delete RoW cars myself!

porsche930dude · porsche930dude's Garage

nice fixes. thats a damn shame about your 1st one! what did you use to plug the wiper hole?

1982911SCTarga · 02-25-2013, 01:03 PM

Wasn't it somewhat popular in Europe at the time for an SC to go directly from Zuffenhausen to Pffafenhausen for the 3.0-to-3.2 hasenpfeffer upgrade?

Brian

wacko · 02-25-2013, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abby3.2Carrera

Nice work man!
I am in abbotsford, good to see someone very near by.
I actually heard about your last car catching on fire from an insurance agent when I went to insure my car. The insurance lady said you only had the car for two days

Yeah, I insured it on Friday and it caught on fire Monday morning after dropping my kids of at school

Abbotsford??? Let me know if you ever want to go for coffee or something. Would love to see your car

wacko · 02-25-2013, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by porsche930dude

nice fixes. thats a damn shame about your 1st one! what did you use to plug the wiper hole?

Currently I am using a 1/2" plastic plug I found at home depot. Its not perfect but it will do the job until I find something better.

Abby3.2Carrera · 02-25-2013, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wacko

Yeah, I insured it on Friday and it caught on fire Monday morning after dropping my kids of at school

Abbotsford??? Let me know if you ever want to go for coffee or something. Would love to see your car

sure. Lets meet up sometime as I go to chilliwack often. My car is still under construction for another month or so.