[jjeffries]

The work I did to my SC and the approximate order:

Basic chassis work:
Rebuilt brake calipers, new rotors, new brake hoses and a couple of steel pipes, clean/repack wheel bearings, steering rack refresh. The car already had relatively fresh Bilsteins in each corner. I also replaced the trailing arm bushings while there was no drivetrain in the car. I stripped and painted things like backing plates, the cover underneath the steering rack, etc. I like cleaning stuff.

Fuel system:
Knowing that the car had been running well and had already had a new WUR's, I left the whole CIS assembly alone. This proved to be a smart move. As already mentioned, I cleaned-up the tank and replaced the fuel lines using beautiful new lines, rated for e85 and will all new German fittings, from Len Cummings. I replaced all the evaporative and vacuum hoses throughout the car.

Body structure:
The car had never been completely repainted, but the majority of the car had been resprayed during a 2001 refresh, which also included a welded repair to the right side door jamb. This had apparently spread a little, so I removed both sides' rocker trims and discovered that right side had a hole at that (commonly-rotted) area where the jam, rocker and quarter panel come together. I did some welding here, smoothed it and repainted the rocker and entire rear quarter.

Engine:
I overhauled the engine using Wayne's book and the advice of a couple of guru's as my guides. I'll detail this in subsequent posts but suffice it to say, it was an incredibly cool experience, deeper than I'd ever gone before, having previously (only) done a number of Alfa top-end repairs along with reinstalling some of their peened aluminum crankshaft plugs (Alfa owners nod knowingly). I'd also done top-end work on a 74 Beetle and repairs that involved mostly stripping a 67 Triumph TR4A engine. But nothing like a full 911 engine.

After this, the car became roadworthy. Remember that I'd bought the car in pieces , so had no knowledge of how it would drive. I got it aligned by an old-time shop - nothing fancy, really just front and rear toe. Then I started driving it; this was fall 2016.

What did it reveal?
The fuel injection was perfect. I added an AEM air:fuel ratio gauge, thinking I'd need to dial-in the CIS, but all it needed was an idle tweak.
The engine was a beauty.
The transmission had an issue with 1-2 and 2-1 shifts. In the service history, within the prevous 10K miles it had the 1st and 2nd synchro rings and dog teeth replaced, but it was still far from correct. Much adjusting, oil changing and head scratching ensued, none successful. It substantially marred the driving experience.
The A/C worked surprisingly well. Godsend! The original owner had spent huge sums on the A/C system, most of which had been upgraded with Griffiths componenents, and it still remains one of the car's best points

December 2016 I took it off the road for the winter to address the rust visible on either side of the front frunk, and pulled the front bodywork to reveal the classic G-body bumper strut mount rust and some holes or frilliness on the inner fenders/tub. I sorted this out and replaced both bumper blades, which were powdery with corrosion. The I had both fenders, bumpers and the bumper trim panels repainted (off the car)

I drove the car for the season and in December 2017, I pulled the engine and trans so I could take the 915 transaxle out for repair, completed by Auto Associates of Canton, Conn. They replaced the same parts another shop had done for the original owner (already mentioned) but also the 1-2 slider. This yielded an absolutely superb 915 ... I'm not a guy with G50 envy.

You'll see a pattern here: drive all year and improve over the winter. So December 2018 I completed the last major round of improvements to date: adding a sweet used set of SSI's (and the associated plumbing), plus front and rear suspension refreshes using (superb!) Rebel Racing bushing-replacements. I also modified the spring plates (with a skilled welder's help) to allow easy rear height adjustement, and on this project I took things up a further notch and had the spring plates and all the fasteners replated in yellow zinc. I finished it off with my first home alignment and corner balance.

Since then, the car's been mostly "done", in terms of how I want it, trying to avoid repetitively messing with aspects of the car which are already A-OK. It had been such an incredible experience that I wanted to dive deep into another car, which is where the 924S came in.

I'll aim to describe the aforementioned work; it will all be in retrospective form, pointing out the lessons I learned along the way.

thanks,
John