Almost 2 years since I last updated this thread.
Would love to say the time has flown by but it hasn't!
They say that life is what happens when you're making other plans.
Been a tough few years but I'm still here and so is the Lawn Ornament.
While I was navigating life, I sent the car off to a local Porsche Specialist.
He was briefed to do three jobs:
1. Tune the MFI
2. Replace factory spec studs with longer ones
3. Corner weights and balancing
The results were largely disappointing to be honest, but hey, that's life sometimes.
On the positive side I now have:
- an alternator that charges
- a cold start solenoid that actually helps start the car
- a motor that I know is not going to tear itself apart.
After driving the car around the hood a few times I was reminded of how much work there still is to be done to sort that last 10%.
1. Electrics (I did these myself and they are a mess)
2. Suspension and alignment
3. Oil leaks from various spots.
4. Exhaust gaskets (it sounds like an old marine diesel at idol!)
5. Oil lines
6. Pedal assembly
The motor is now tuned (sort of) - still rough from start on account of not being tuned properly at low revs. I have RSR headers so no feed to the thermo in the pump. The good news is that once warm it pulls nicely from 4000rpm.
The suspension is, frankly, terrible. Or was.
I have Bilstein sports front and back - the fronts are an old pair of hydrostatic housings with the innards replaced with Bil inserts and the rear brand new. But when I got it back the rear suspension was bottoming out. Not sure if the rear shocks are too stiff for the now heavily lightened body or the spec of the shocks are not giving the torsion bars enough room to travel.
I checked the rear TBs to make sure they were 23mm 69+ spec and installed the right way. They were. I can't afford to replace or revalve the rear shocks right now so I put in a pair of SC 26mm TBs. There is now rear suspension! No more crashing. So that is fix for now until I can do the corner weights and balancing and alignment myself with some old school string theory and scales.
I'll get a Grey Beard to come and go through the electrics. I went to a lot of lengths to not butcher the mostly original harness in the car, but some of the circuitry is beyond me. I need to sort out the oil temp, figure out an electric oil pressure gauge, sort out the indicators (witchcraft I tell you) and a few other bits.
I installed a 3.2 oil line set-up to a front cooler. This seems to be working, but I had to Frankenstein a main feed line from the tank to the intake and it fills me with dread ever time I get the oil hot and drive it. I'll get a custom line made. I've still got to put one of the lovely Elephant oil lines into the car - they have SWB oe spec fittings and my being 3.2 means getting an adaptor made or changing the fitting.
Fixing the home made exhaust pieces from the RSR headers to the OE sausage exhaust should be pretty easy.
Being RHD, finding a used RHD pedal assembly is unbelievably difficult. I'm still looking for one to replace the Frankenstein I made using a combo of a rotten RHD housing, some ratchet extensions cut down and a home made bracket. It works, but like the oil feed line, fills my dreams with terror.
Lots of things to tinker with and tweak but it's alive and it runs.
A friend once said to me that most people grossly overestimate what they can do in 1 year and vastly underestimate what they can do in 10. I started this project about 10 years ago knowing almost nothing about welding, Porsche mechanicals, electrics, paint, internal stitches and the shadowy world of vintage Porsche parts trading. Can't believe its been 10 years but I have learned to do all these things (some not very well) and have a SWB 912/6 that is all mine. Not a bad result for a semi-adult human being.