First 911: My impressions.

[Jonathan S]

Well I just got my new to me and also my first 911 on the road. 1980 MY. It is a race prepared car with a full cage, racing seats, suspension and brake upgrades etc. I have several dedicated race cars, but wanted one that I can drive to the track, race and drive home using pump gas. I usually go with friends so they can carry the tools and tires for me.

The shifter was a huge disappointment and will be the next thing to be attended to. Very sloppy and unpredictable. I was thinking about the WEVO unit but will search the site for opinions.

Ride is predictably hard, no surprise there. But I can live with it for short trips to the track. There are no creature comforts either so just the engine sound and ambient cabin temperature. I re-installed the blower unit so as to have air on the inside windshield in case of temperature inversion.

The electric windows are still installed, but the driver side switch is broken, I tried to fix the switch but it is cracked and cannot function so a new switch will have to be found.

The engine runs very well with Weber 40 IDA set-up and MSD. I had to install a new alternator first as it was fried.

The aftermarket front spoiler was cracked so that was repaired with fiberglass and is ready to re-install. The car rides low so I will have to be careful with this. I was planning to make it removable with pins. Later I will get a different style, probably an IROC style.

Overall, I was expecting a bit more punch from the engine as it has had some work done such as cams, flywheel, oil system upgrade, but I am not overly impressed with the acceleration. I have a set of stainless headers to install, but I do not expect that to amount to much. It is a 3.0.

Brakes are really great, they are the 964 set-up and the wheels are 17". Steering is also great.

I will scale the car to get the weight, but other than removing the sunroof and power windows I cannot see where any significant weight saving will come. I could remove the dashboard, but not until it is a dedicated track car. That is when the windows will be removed also. I will also remove all sound deadening and the funky speaker tray in the rear package tray.

The car will be street driven and odd track days this season, after that it may be set-up with a higher ride height, softer suspension and skid plates to run in the Targa Newfoundland, or if that desire disappears then leave it as a track day, sometime driver for another year. Decide later.

After that who knows, maybe a full IROC conversion with coil-overs? Paying for kids college will be done by then so that frees up $$$$.

I certainly need to get a better shifter before anything as it is just awful. I plan to use the info on this great forum to tackle that job.

Otherwise satisfied with the car, but like everyone else, just want more power. I will have to wait until I get some lap times at Mosport to see how it compares with other cars. As we have a bracket racing system, I hope it falls in at the pointy end of a bracket rather than the dull end of the next bracket up as I hate sandbagging to stay in a bracket. Hmm I wonder how much a used KERS system would cost?

Pics later as it is raining now.

Cheers,

Jon

[tuchan]

Yeah sort that shifter out for sure!

Learn how to drive it properly and reap the rewards, or the rewards of spending a lot of time backwards hehehe yep I learned The fast way to drive a 911 or the much slower way, keep the boot in

[Joe Bob]

Usually it is bushings that crap out as opposed to crappy shifters.......simply replacing it with a WEVO gives you crappy shifting and an expensive shifter.

[Jonathan S]

Yes you are right, but I have not even looked at the shifting mechanism or diagrams so not familiar with the linkage set-up. Will certainly do the whole thing from transmission connection to shift knob as it is 33 years old.

Just have to get a list of parts and part numbers to get it done. It seems that there are extended levers available with a short shift unit which sounds good. The stock unit is a bit of a stretch into third and fifth unless I move the seat up which is not so comfortable.

Learning curve begins.

Jon

[Joe Bob]

The Bentley manual is a good source. It has errors, like having the firing order on the 3.0 bassackwards.

The coupler, shifter, trans and engine bushings are all sources of slop.

Might want to list your location. Pics are always welcome.

BTW, do you have a build sheet on the engine? Carb conversions tend to ignore cams and exhaust upgrades. My former 914/6 had a 3.0 that put the fear of God in me.

[RSBob]

When the time comes you could build a 3.2 short stroke and gain some real power. Congrats on the purchase. (I bought an SC yesterday and that is my plan for the motor). I have a 3.0 in my 914 and the power is a bit underwhelming, so that may bet the same treatment.

[SilberUrS6]

Running 17" wheels, evne if they are light for 17s, might be some source of problem. They have to be really damn light to match the 15" Fuchs that came with your car originally.

When I swapped real Fuchs in and some fake cast Fuchs out, the difference was surprising.

[Jonathan S]

Of course. It is the taller tire changing my final drive ratio. I do no think a 15" will fit, but I was planning to go to a 16" Fuch. That should make a bit of difference in acceleration, lose some top end but no big deal on that.

Jon