1976 Targa rebuild in Oz.

[racetek]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum and for some time now I have been following other threads but feel it is time for me to start my own. I foolishly purchased a car, a 1976 911S Targa, sight unseen (it was a thousand kilometers away in New South Wales), believing it was a restored car with only the engine needing a rebuild. That was far from the case as the only thing that had been restored was the body. Sounded perfect as I love the mechanical side of cars but I hate doing bodywork. The good news was that the bodywork was perfect, not a spot of rust, and the interior was also perfect, if rather outdated in light brown fabric, and a reasonable paint job in Viper Green. The car was a matching numbers car and the engine parts do seem to reflect the cars supposed 30,000 miles.

The bad news was that the car body had been stripped of all its small parts for painting, the engine was dismantled down to its individual components, the engine bay wiring and plumbing had all been removed and nothing has been labelled. I have no idea if the parts that are there came from this car since there are some parts duplicated, many parts unserviceable, and some obviously missing.

Now I have over 30 years experience rebuilding old racing cars but I have never rebuilt a Porsche, so I am on a steep learning curve. I have completely rebuilt the brakes, including all the lines, the wheel bearings and sway bars, and I have started on the engine (currently awaiting parts from our host).

I was hoping that someone here could assist me with the engine wiring. Is there a SIMPLIFIED engine wiring diagram and plumbing diagram that would help me put this beast together as I literally have nothing but a box full of bits and pieces that I neither understand or consider to be complete. I know I could study the wiring diagrams in various manuals, but hopefully someone can save me many hours with a simple diagram.

here are a few pics to give you an idea of my project.








Regards
David

[tof2.7]

Hi David
Nice car, go on the www.2l7registry.com and in the doc section you can take a wiring harness plan.

[nyne11]

Welcome aboard David. Can't help with a wiring diagram but you are certainly in the right place. I am sure some of the Porsche Guru's will chime in.
Cheers.
Dave.

[Targalid]

If you want I can take photos of the engine wiring. Much of it is wrapped but the ends emerging from the wrap are color coded.

[racetek]

Thanks guys, looking forward to sharing my experiences with you.

Tof2.1 - I have joined the 2I7 site and I am waiting for a reply from them.
Targalid - Thanks for the offer, any photos would be very much appreciated. I have just discovered that there doesn't appear to be an ECU with the boxes of bits, I assume this plugs into the 13 pin plug on the electronics plate bolted to the side of the engine bay. I do have the Permatune CD ignition system.

Here's some pics of what I have.



What a mess!

[tof2.7]

David, yes i have receive your email and i will created your own page.
You can now go on the website and click on "doc" on the left , in the middle of the doc page you can found lots of electric plan with all explain and color for each wiring.
Excuse my bad english i'm french

[tof2.7]

The plan are in french and i will translate but you can have the english translation on the workshop manual and with the twice you will havr an idea to beginning.

[timmy2]

The 13 pin plug in you pics is actually for a plug from the engine wiring harness.
You don't have an ECU. You have the permatune, a coil, points, a vacuum and mechanical advanced distributor, K=Jetronic that works on vacuum and airflow.
Think "old school" no electronics. Set it and forget it...

Read lots...

[racetek]

Thanks Jimmy2,

That's a relief, I actually thought that might be the case, but what plugs into that 13pin socket. I don't have a cable with a plug on it. The pins on that socket look as if they haven't been used.

[tassie targa 76]

G'Day David

my story is almost the same except in reverse

brought my 76 targa from brisbane sight unseen

was told it had been restored just need a few minor repairs , Brakes, stereo but nothing major

when i got it it ran beautifully but compression seems a bit low.

body was a mess full of bog and some signs if significant previous damage

fortunately for me my Dad who is retire was looking for a project and he is a genius

so the restoration began mechanical and wiring a way down the track


i will follow your thread with great interest

all the best Michael

[racetek]

Hi Michael,

Well that is exactly what I was trying to avoid, and I was so impressed by the pics of the body that I really was remiss in checking out the rest of the car. Unfortunately others are not as honest as we would like them to be, even if it is misleading by omission. You are lucky to have such a talented Dad, I could never take on such a rebuild. I do like these cars in white, one of the few cars that do it justice, are you planning to keep that colour? good luck with it and keep me posted.

David

[Targalid]

Racetek,
It is called the 14 pin connector. The wiring from the engine plugs connects through it. In turn the rest of the electrics then feed from the other side of the connector to the instruments and other stuff at the front of the car. You have the male portion and will need the female portion to feed electric signals to/from the engine.

[racetek]

Thank's Targalid, looks like this is missing from mile pile of junk. I had better chase around the wreckers and see if I can pick up that section of wiring.

I have just finished repairing the taillights. I cant believe how heavy they are, considering the weight saving they made using magnesium engine cases, these units are really heavy. And expensive, hence the need to repair rather than replace, alloy sure corrodes when exposed to mud and salt.

While I am waiting for the engine parts from our host I have rebuilt the electronics board and started collecting all the oil and vacuum hoses together to see if I can find out whats missing.

[racetek]

Things are progressing now I have my parts. I have assembled the right engine case with no problems. I found cleaning the case a real chore. After sitting for 20 years the case had very heavy staining and some corrosion, but the important areas seem unaffected. I made the special tools for holding the chain and rods, and I fabricated an adapter for the engine stand using an old alloy gearbox adapter. I figured this would spread the load on the case. I have also made a support for the other end of the case which can be removed for rotating. Hope to join the case halves tomorrow.

While I was waiting for the parts I took my heads to our local head specialist and had him take a look. He recommended replacing the valve guides and proceeded to take one out to measure everything. The heads, if the PO is to be believed, have done less than 30k miles and only the exhaust guides were out of tolerance. The guide was very hard to remove and measure up as being original and in spec (OD). He measured the hole in the head and felt that the first oversize guide would be almost impossible to insert. Has anyone had issues replacing guides that are fairly new? are original guides available (or desirable), and what would be the best process to fit the 1st oversize guides, ie ream out the head or re-size the guide in a lathe.

I should say that the engineer has a million years experience with all manner of engine heads, alloy and steel, and does a lot of restoration work on old bikes, but rarely touches a Porsche so I would like to get it clear in my mind exactly what would be the best way to proceed before I continue.

I have now discovered that the engine harness, the one with the 14 pin plug which attaches to the CIS, is missing. Does anyone know where I can get a used one as a new one is worth more than the CIS I would make one if I knew what it looked like.

Some pics of the engine case and crank.

[timmy2]

For the complete engine harness post a WTB ad in the classifieds here. Someone is sure to have one.

[racetek]

Thanks Dennis, why the hell didn't I think of that.

David

[timmy2]

LOL that's why we come to this forum, because we can't always think of everything!

[Walter_Middie]

Racetec,

You didn't say if your 2.7 L magnesium engine cae has had the needed machining done to it. When the cases are split, they tend to twist slightly and need to be assembled and line bored or the crank will not turn freely when you assemble it. The head stud threads also need to be replaced or you will get head studs pulling the threads out of the block as the engine heats and cools. It has affected engines with very few miles, and some like mine went for close to 200,000 miles before needing attention. But while you have the engine apart, now's the time to do it.

[Bob Kontak]

Here is a link to the US pdf parts catalog. Just choose 911 and then 74-77. I have the ROW versions on my other computer and will mail it to you if you PM me the e-mail.

These files will help you, even with the part number for the wiring harness. I believe they are set up for both RHD and LHD once you figure out the coding.

Porsche Classic Original Parts Catalogue - Classic Genuine Parts & Literature - Porsche Classic - Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG

[racetek]

Hi Rex,

Thanks Rex, I had the case checked and did a test fit and everything seems OK. I have now assembled and torqued it down and it turns freely with no binding anywhere, so I am somewhat relieved. The head studs have had timesert's installed and my next step is to decide what to do with the barrels and pistons.
David