Hi All. I just want to say I've learned a ton about my car from reading this forum in the last few years. The patience, skill, and willingness to help that is represented here is staggering.
On to my brakes:
I'll spare all the details, but the car had 4 piston racing calipers all around when I bought it (if to do over I would have bought a car that is stock, but c'est la vie). The rears are a pretty straight forward Bremtek configuration as shown in a recent thread. The fronts were JFZs which are a bit more obscure (some research suggests they are similar to wilwoods and used in custom stock car and hot rod configurations), and I have to say the vertical alignment over the rotor wasn't good. When one of them hung last year I decided to go to a 993 setup, and in an overzealous garage cleaning I, now regrettably, tossed the old front components.
I ordered the 993 kit from John Graber (aka North Coast Cab), and mounted the rotor on the right hub and the caliper over the rotor. I'm pretty sure I have the bearing adjustment correct, but the horizontal alignment doesn't seem right.
Here are some pictures showing the alignment:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20243604@N00/sets/72157620884169313/show/
John mentioned that there are two different versions of the 993 caliper. The earlier calipers were the same as the S4 calipers and then were changed on later models. I'm not sure if what I have are the S4 calipers. Here's a picture of the part number on the left front caliper:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2654/3696211383_1c2fb4235e.jpg . It is 20.4565.00.
I don't need the cooling these brakes provide, and now I'm seriously considering going to a stock Carrera setup. I've lost some mojo in continuing with this project as I still lack the 17” wheels needed to clear the calipers, and the budget is tighter now than when I started. Plus I prefer the Fuchs look on the car. But, honestly, replacing all four calipers and rotors with a stock Carrera setup isn't that cheap either.
Should I continue down the 993 route or scrap the project, sell the parts, and go to Carrera brakes? As I type this, being a serious hack (but patient) shade tree mechanic, I have to admit I'm leaning toward the simplicity of the stock setup. Plus I also have a Subaru STi which is a hell of a car with fully modern running gear. In someways it is nice to retain the vintage simplicity of the Porsche. Either way, I'll have a mechanic check over the system when it is back together.
Thanks again for the advice. I continue to feel humbled reading these threads.