Inheritance 911 Project

[Erbe_911]

Dropped off to get a line-item estimate for some serious TLC... finally!




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[sugarwood]

How did you pick that shop?

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

How did you pick that shop?

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

[Erbe_911]

Originally Posted by GaryR

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

Originally Posted by sugarwood

How did you pick that shop?

They're nearby and do quality work. Granted they aren't a Porsche specialist but they do restorations and restomods on all kinds of cars. Most of what I need done is more general than Porsche-specific (diagnose the brake issue, ball joints, shocks, shift linkage etc.) but if anything significant materializes then I'd reroute to a specialist.


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[GaryR]

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!

[sugarwood]

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.

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

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.

The Rubik's Cube of 911's... off by just a tiny bit, no bueno..

[911SauCy]

Originally Posted by GaryR

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!

+1 for Bela at EPS.

Great guy, no nonsense, gets it done

[ClickClickBoom]

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!

[Erbe_911]

Originally Posted by ClickClickBoom

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!

That's how mine is! Out of all the things that can fail, the clutch in mine seems solid and doesn't slip (knock on wood...). It's also super easy to operate as you outlined above; I drove a friend's '84 3.2 and his was waaaay over-sprung and nearly impossible to feather. Mine felt great afterwards.


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[ClickClickBoom]

The Good Doctor and his pack of Teutonic elves understand mechanics. If you do it their way, magic, not their way 1962 Mack Truck. There subtle differences between a hair too much and just right. Get an owners manual and read it cover to cover a few times. It will explain lots of mysteries.

[GaryR]

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.

[Erbe_911]

Originally Posted by GaryR

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.

Appreciate the input! These guys have done a few, and if anything appears awry it'll get pulled in a second. I have confidence though.


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[Larmo63]

You will be glad you kept the wheels 16". 7s and 8s are perfect for these cars, yours is more on the stock-is side, so well done. I have Michelin Pilot Exaltos on my car. Nice tires and still available. It looks so much better lowered!!!

Great story, but fix up and drive the 993 before you dump it. You'll be surprised at what fantastic cars they are and they aren't going down in value!

[sugarwood]

Could it be clogged injectors?

[J-Gel]

Thank you Gary, although I believe I undersold my friends experience and capability with 911s, all the same I completely understand the sentiment and appreciate you looking out for the car! I definitely plan to use this opportunity to read and learn as much as I can.

Sugarwood, it sounds like that could make sense. I'll be reading up on how to check the injectors.

Otherwise, I have deleted my post from here as it seems I may have derailed the original topic and led to some confusion, Ill be reposting elsewhere. Thank you!

[Erbe_911]

Making progress, hopefully only another week or so left!

The project manager sent me a sneak peek of the refinished wheels and the new shocks. I can't wait to get it back!






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[famoroso]

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 Tremelune

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)...

[Erbe_911]

Originally Posted by famoroso

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.

Very true! As of now the only modification I've done was to drop the front to Euro height, and all that's pending is upgrading the stereo (primarily to add Bluetooth streaming) and replacing the speakers (which are shot anyway) with better ones. Also adding a fire extinguisher. Eventually I'll probably do a layered wood shift knob with my dad's initials engraved but that doesn't really count as a mod.

I may start looking around for a 380mm Momo wheel, and I will need to do something about the headlights at some point for safety reasons. I like the old-school way it drives, though, so I'm pretty much going to leave it as-is.


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[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by famoroso

Truer words have never been spoken on the internets.

Yes, solid post, but it's fairly common advice around here.

"Don't make any mods, sort out the oil and brake fluid, and just drive the car for a season, repair what arises, and then after getting used to the car, understand why you think you need the mod in the first place"