1973 911

[LJWA]

Hi all, my name's Louisa, I've found and bought a Porsche 911 that has been sitting in the open in someone's back yard for 10 years. When I took off the air filter the black plastic intakes were full of water!!! I've gotten the water out, but is there anything else you'd normally do before attempting to start the engine?

[H-viken]

Congratulations Louisa! You have a fun road ahead of you, enjoy it!

/Johan

[Hil911]

Hi Louisa

Congratulations: from the photo it looks like a mechanically injected 911T (yellow shroud). That's a pretty valuable car these days!

If the black plastic induction horns were full of water then it is likely that the cylinders have water in as well. You'll do the engine serious damage if you try to start it with water in it. You can't compress water much so something else has to give!

If it were me I would check out the whole ignition system: pull all the spark plugs (carefully - you mustn't damage the threads in the aluminium heads) and check them out. Turn the engine over by hand with the plugs out to make sure that it turns freely and that there is not much water in there. If the cylinder bores or valves are seriously rusty then you may have to rip the engine apart. Open up the distributor and check the points and rotor arm etc. Change the engine oil. Drain the fuel tank. Flush it out and put fresh high grade fuel in. Put in a new fuel filter. Disconnect the input line from the injection pump and run fuel through. The injection pump is a very delicate piece of equipment and does not thrive on dirt. Neither do the injectors!

I'm sure there's more but that should keep you busy for a while!

[LJWA]

Thanks for the congratulations, I'm pretty happy.

I've spent two days cleaning it, but have not tried to start it.

It is mechanically injected Hil911, I'll follow your recommendations and go through it step by step.

[pors1968]

Nice clean up .Look like mostly complete.Congrat.

[ginot912]

Congrats on your new purchase.
Here's a link of the Porsche catalog that could come in handy.
http://www.porsche.com/all/media/pdf/originalparts/usa/911_USA_70_73_KATALOG.pdf
and when it's time to rotate the motor do so only clockwise.
the search engine here is your friend!

Gino

[poorsha]

Good score.
Hope you got it for the right price (what ever that is these days).
Where in WA?
I lived in Mosman Park for a bit years ago.
Miss the place still.

[David E. Clark]

I saved this from one of Grady Clay's posts on this forum several years ago. The man was a Porsche repair genius. Ignore his advice at your peril! You should also look at the two links in my signature block for loads of information about MFI.

Putting your 911 back in service.

Put in new hot plugs. I would use BP5ES but some recommend hot recessed-tip plugs (like some race plugs) to prevent fowling. You want to do everything possible to have the engine fire and run properly on the first try.
Treat it lust like a brand new engine. It will need careful break-in.

Oil the cylinders, cams, etc. and turn over the engine with a wrench on the crank pulley. Turn two or more revolutions and make sure there isn’t hydraulic lock.

Install fresh fuel high octane fuel with some 2-stroke oil in it.

Make sure the fuel system is working properly.

Make sure the ignition system is working properly.

Some use a spare muffler and cat bypass for start-up as it will get oiled.

Start and run at as low RPM possible for 15 seconds. Let sit for 15 minutes. Repeat, extending the running time but keep RPM low. Gradually bring up to normal running.

Never run the engine at high RPM.

For first drive you want to give it some power but not run it longer than a couple of minutes without a “rest.” Again, extend the running time with increasing high power (not high RPM.)

The theory here is that there are localized high friction areas that get hot during this re-break-in process. You don’t want anything to get too high temperature and induce failure or have exceedingly high ware. When under power, the rings seal (mostly) from cylinder pressure. You want them to re-seal asap but not get overheated. High RPM will overheat the rings in a flash and the high friction can over stress the ring lands in the pistons. Some of the other areas are the cam-to-rocker surfaces, chain links, rocker-to-shaft, chain idler sprockets, and more.

This situation is far more delicate than a new engine brake-in procedure. Treat this just like a fresh engine but extend the break-in and be even more careful.

What to do with a 911 that wasn’t preserved for storage?

Drain the fuel from the drain port in the tank. Don’t run the fuel pump. If necessary (probably) clean the tank and outlet filter screen.

Buy a new battery.

Change the oil and filter, clean sump plate.

Remove the sparkplugs and inspect with a light or bore scope. If the cylinders are rusty don’t turn the engine, go to Plan B.

Remove the intake valve covers and inspect for rust. If the cam is rusty, go to Plan B.

If you suspect there is corrosion in the oil sump tank, remove it and clean or replace it. Those rust flakes go directly to your bearings without a filter.
If everything appears OK, proceed as above but even more carefully.






Plan B and what to do with a 911 that has been stored for several (many) years?


Don’t try and start it! You may do far more damage to it in one minute than 100K mi. of driving.

In most cases it is best to just remove the engine and trans and do a maintenance overhaul.

Often the brake master cylinder has failed (or will after a few applications of the brakes.)

Old tires should be replaced with new.

Get the old battery out asap.

Electrical connections may be an issue and need to be cleaned.

Fuel and ignition system components will need cleaning or replacement.

Chain tensioners that sit for long are an issue for any engine.




What to do after your 911 is back in service.

Nice extended calm tours will get everything friendly with adjacent parts.

Change oil regularly. Check the sump screen for anything unusual.

Use higher than necessary octane fuel until the rings are fully seated.

Keep an eye on brake fluid level and possible fluid in the pedal assembly.

Inspect for any signs of tire failure, inboard and out.

As things change, bring them back into spec. If something fails (wheel bearing, CV, door latch, window regulator, hood lift, etc. – fix it. You want to keep your 911 in top form.

If it ever seems to loose power under acceleration – STOP. Find out why. You never want to have a rod bearing failure turn into a rod failure, broken case, and worse.

[Hil911]

What's with the blocky thing with wires to it, on the shroud behind the coil? I don't remember seeing one of those on my early cars?

MFI is a great system but it can be tricky to start. Maybe read up about using the hand-throttle and the starting routine in the owner's manual?

[93nav]

It is a little late, but considering you are from Australia, and thinking of all the nature programs I have seen. WATCH OUT FOR SPIDERS!!

[ginot912]

"What's with the blocky thing with wires to it, on the shroud behind the coil? "

never seen one, not an original Porsche part.

[The cap'n]

That "blocky looking thing" is a resistor, used with non-internal resistor coils. The coil is wrong for the car, as is the resistor. The Bosch CDI units do not like conventional coils, they use a special transformer (which looks like a regular coil). Conventional ignition coils often damage the CDI unit, shutting down the spark.

The Cap'n

[David E. Clark]

Originally Posted by Hil911

What's with the blocky thing with wires to it, on the shroud behind the coil? I don't remember seeing one of those on my early cars?

It's a ballast resistor and they were quite common on early cars that didn't have internal resistor coils. They limit the current going to the coil thus reducing coil temps and increasing the life of the coil. Ballast resistors also help suppress electric static on AM radio stations and improve the life of points.

[Hil911]

Aaah - thanks.

I thought that the coil looked wrong but I didn't want to display my ignorance!

[Hil911]

On the subject of spiders - perhaps it's a bit over-rated.

The Funnel Webs are quite nasty but have a fairly limited range.

The white-tails bite but there is a lot of argument about how bad the bite is and whether it causes ulcers or not.

The red-backs are VERY common around here. I can always find one in my garden to show visitors. But they are not very aggressive and bites are usually from things like putting fingers under the edge of a garden table or wheelie bin or similar. They seldom kill. Red-Backs are very similar to black widows and there is some question as to whether they may BE black widows. Apparently they do not appear in pre-colonisation (or should I say invasion?) art and were initially all reported near ports. But then again, most people who might have written about them were near ports. I don't know the truth of this theory or whether there has been a decisive genetic study. The importation theory is mentioned in Wiki and one of the arguments is that if they ARE imported, then Australia would be unusual in not having a spider of that type! Which is why kangaroos are definitely native to Canada ...

Sorry - not very Porsche related. And that engine compartment looks like a great place for Red-Backs!

[HarryD]

Just remember that the ONLY dumb question is the one that was not asked.

[HarryD]

Nice car! A bit of advice. You only ignore Grady Clays advise at great risk. He was the guru the other gurus look to for the hard questions.

[vintagecarlover]

Nice find. Very exciting. Did u sleep much night before the pickup day?

[47silver]

great car!
is that the original color?

[LJWA]

Thank you guys for the excellent advise and words of encouragement. Looks like I have a LOT to do before I turn the key, nervously, for the first time in a very long time. I am in no rush and will be following Grady Clay's instructions. It has been left under a gum tree for ten years........makes me feel sick just thinking about it! I'm actually amazed that the seats and carpet are not that bad. As for spiders; I've upset copious amounts of Daddy Long Legs and fortunately I've only come across a few Red Backs! I'm not sure if it is the original paint. I was considering repainting it white. Should I keep it the same colour?