Originally Posted by sugarwood (Post 10842032)

How did you pick that shop?

Originally Posted by GaryR (Post 10842108)

I was wondering that also, so many great Porsche shops in CT, never heard of it..

Originally Posted by sugarwood (Post 10842032)

How did you pick that shop?

Originally Posted by sugarwood (Post 10843157)

I wonder if shift linkage can be considered Porsche specific. Just like HMO, I'd rather go right to the specialist from the get go. Let us know how it goes.

Originally Posted by GaryR (Post 10842249)

Old air-cooled experienced Porsche shop is where she should be, there is really no other car built like it...

Bela at EPS in Watertown, Dan Jacob's Hairy Dog Grrrrage in Southbury, Auto Associates in Canton, Musante, SpeedSport.. there are quite a few expert shops out there!

Originally Posted by ClickClickBoom (Post 10843473)

Having read the thread front to back, NICE!
Having all the synchros go south at the same time is unusual. Shift linkage and bushings. The one under the tunnel is critical and after 30-40 years will occasionally fail. Clutch cable adjustment is critical, done poorly shifting is affected and anything but just right gives a very stiff clutch, leading to premature pedal cluster wear. The clutch was designed to allow a 5'2" 100lb female easy operation, when properly adjusted it does. Adjust to factory shop manual specs/procedures.
Enjoy!

Originally Posted by GaryR (Post 10845103)

I say the same thing top you, as you have apparently already learned, as well meaning the Bronco rebuilder "experienced in 911's" is, you can't feel your way through getting an old 911 running correctly. Either plan on a deep dive into some reading on proper maintenance or bring it to a professional air-cooled 911 expert. Hate to see your dad's car (or any 911) end up worse off than where you started.

Originally Posted by Tremelune (Post 9984333)

Lovely car. Lovely story.

I'm of the mind that you should get this car safely on the road with a minimum of expense before spending or changing much more. You may find your priorities will shift drastically once it's on the road.

I've had three 80s 911s. The one that drove the best was the bone-stock car at stock ride height with stock torsion bars and shocks, stock rubber bushings everywhere, and 6/7 16" wheels. I'm not saying this can't be improved upon, but it can much more easily be ruined, particularly on the majority of streets that have bumps and potholes and steep parking lot entrances. The two cars I've had since have been lowered. Motion control was not noticeably improved and ride quality was significantly reduced. Steering is worse, unless you raise the spindles. Pushing wheels out also negatively impacts steering, and wider wheels make steering heavier (both to a negligible or significant degree, depending on how drastic the change is). Most go for a look and accept the compromise—which is fine—but I think it's important to understand what you might be giving up. A lot of "upgrades" you'll read about are geared towards maximizing tire grip around turns, and if you're not already sliding around on dry roads, this probably isn't an area that needs to be improved upon, and since it comes with downsides...well. It's costly to do right, and easy to do wrong.

Similarly, you may find a 350mm steering wheel to be irritating in the way it blocks gauge visibility and exacerbates heavy steering feel. I have one, and it's fine, but it's suboptimal. There are ways to mitigate the effects by using an offset adapter, and there is a current thread pleading with Momo to reissue the 370mm Prototipo, so. There are options, but maybe see if the current steering wheel actually bothers you during a run up a mountain first...I never liked the stock steering wheel on these cars, but my concern disappeared after the first drive.

The Wevo, on the other hand, is hard to beat. Whatever you can do to improve the shifting of the 915 transmission without opening it up is money well spent. It might still be worth experiencing the stock shifter first, though.

Get the car on the road, put a few tanks of gas through it, see how much oil it uses, and enjoy it. Over time, you'll find areas for improvement and personalization that are based on first-hand experience, for which no amount of research can substitute.

Hang around here enough, you'll soon come away with plenty of ideas (good, bad, and counter arguments to both—all costly)...

Originally Posted by famoroso (Post 10867727)

Super solid thread and story! I just read it for the first time and very much appreciated the progression.

Also, props to Tremelune for his early post. I've always respected his opinion, but his post really encapsulates new old car ownership. We all have ideas about what we want to do and / or what would be cool to do, but... living with the cars first and then making informed decisions is absolutely the way to go.

"Over time, you'll find areas for improvement and personalization that are based on first-hand experience, for which no amount of research can substitute."

Truer words have never been spoken on the internets.

Originally Posted by famoroso (Post 10867727)

Truer words have never been spoken on the internets.

Originally Posted by Erbe_911 (Post 10872853)

Haven't gotten the car back yet, but I wanted to solicit feedback regarding lighting.

I think I'm going to stick with the sugar scoop look, it's grown on me and it keeps the car as it's always been. For headlights, I've heard that H5s (right?) drop right in without modification. Is that right? If so, what parts and tools are needed and is it an easy DIY for someone who's car wrenching days are largely behind them?

Secondly, tail lights. My '84 predates the CHMSL and since lighting on this car is limited and because people are generally morons, I'd like to evaluate improving the rear lighting. Does anyone make an aesthetically pleasing LED upgrade for the rear that can be installed without modifying wiring?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Erbe_911 (Post 10890145)

it drives completely differently and miles better. I've had so many miles with it all broken and crappy that I need to learn to drive it again,

Originally Posted by sugarwood (Post 10891574)

How exactly does it drive so differently now ?
All you changed were ball joints and shocks?