82 SC Project: 1st 911 I never thought I'd have

[colingreene]

Id hang onto the E30 if you could. I had one, Sold it because I bought a E46 M3 and really the E30 is a great fun car thats always been cost effective to own.

[75 911s]

Love this story! Great find and I hope you keep it.

[Kool-aid-82]

Great story & pics. That deal would have been hard to pass up even though I already had my 911.

[Reiver]

Great deal so you are ahead of the game.
Once you get it where you are comfortable with it, driving wise, take some time to get to know the 911...the feel etc. and the different handling techniques.
The handling, as you know, with a rear bias takes a dif approach for spirited driving even tho the SC's are not twitchy like the earlier 911's......but when pushed you need to get what the car is telling you. Once you get that you end up hooked on them.
I would trade off older sports cars regularly....but not this one, it is a keeper.

[Brown747]

Originally Posted by Flojo

as you run a Targa, imho you can delete that whole AC stuff.
saves you weight (with all 'em components up front as well) and makes the right cylinder bank way more accessible.

also you can backdate the heating to pre-74.
makes the engine compartment more tidied up.
same here: better access to all that's hidden behind it.

install a pop-off valve in the airbox (remove airfilter/cover).

Great find Mike! Good on ya for giving this SC the proper care it deserves.
Here is what my engine looks like after deleting A/C and backdating the heat system as Flo has suggested. Enjoy!
Thor

[mike621]

Originally Posted by colingreene

Id hang onto the E30 if you could. I had one, Sold it because I bought a E46 M3 and really the E30 is a great fun car thats always been cost effective to own.

I'm planning on hanging onto it, but loaning it to my father for awhile since he's always liked it. Have to button up a drip from the shift selector, adjust the valves, and off it goes for a bit.

Originally Posted by 75 911s

Love this story! Great find and I hope you keep it.

Originally Posted by Kool-aid-82

Great story & pics. That deal would have been hard to pass up even though I already had my 911.

I'm feeling fortunate. Going to do my best to keep it for awhile.

Originally Posted by Reiver

Great deal so you are ahead of the game.
Once you get it where you are comfortable with it, driving wise, take some time to get to know the 911...the feel etc. and the different handling techniques.
The handling, as you know, with a rear bias takes a dif approach for spirited driving even tho the SC's are not twitchy like the earlier 911's......but when pushed you need to get what the car is telling you. Once you get that you end up hooked on them.
I would trade off older sports cars regularly....but not this one, it is a keeper.

It feels so different compared to my BMW. Excited to drive it once I'm able to replace the worn shocks and throw some new rubber at it.

Originally Posted by Brown747

Great find Mike! Good on ya for giving this SC the proper care it deserves.
Here is what my engine looks like after deleting A/C and backdating the heat system as Flo has suggested. Enjoy!
Thor

Gosh, that *IS* tempting. Very clean. I did end up pulling the compressor off, and the heater blower is off now with other work in progress. I hope to replace with a Griffiths kit, eventually. Delayed my inevitable fight on coil clearance vs condenser. MSD is a little longer and now clears fine without condenser in place.

Is yours Minerva Blue? I am having trouble finding the paint code on mine in all the usual areas (jamb, fender), as I want to order some touchup.

[Brown747]

“Is yours Minerva Blue? I am having trouble finding the paint code on mine in all the usual areas (jamb, fender), as I want to order some touchup.”

Petrol Blue Metallic code 376

[HarryD]

snip

Gosh, that *IS* tempting. Very clean. I did end up pulling the compressor off, and the heater blower is off now with other work in progress. I hope to replace with a Griffiths kit, eventually. Delayed my inevitable fight on coil clearance vs condenser. MSD is a little longer and now clears fine without condenser in place.

This is what the factory did to address the condenser/coil interference on my 1973 911. Note the little extension plate.

[mike621]

Checking back in here.

Still have the 911. Still loving it. I drove the heck out of it in late 2020 into 2021 probably putting about 5000 miles on it. Eventually, I decided to park the car until I could perform a proper service/update on it. I spent several months scoping that out and gathering parts. I also had the windshield frame rust fixed and windshield replaced.

I started a DIY engine-out service at the end of May. Had the transmission rebuilt. Leakdown and compression passed. Found safety collars on the chain tensioners so someone with a good eye has been into it before. I hope to have it back on the road sometime later this year or early next.

Updates and maintenance for this service have been extensive!

-Chain Tensioners
-Engine Reseal
-Valve adjustment
-Drain Tubes
-Clutch
-Oil lines, cooler, tank rehab or replacement
-Vac hoses
-Fuel Dist rebuild
-Injectors replaced
-Fix wiring harness issues
-Fuel lines front to back
-Rebuilt transmission
-Rebuilt pedal box
-Shocks

I expected this, eventually. I count myself fortunate that I was able to put some miles on it to love it more before investing a lot more into it. I'm looking forward to the miles ahead.

[RDM]

You have definitely been earning your right to own such a fine automobile! Please don't be shy- share your projects here as they unfold. We all have much to learn.

[mike621]

Originally Posted by mike621

Checking back in here.

Still have the 911. Still loving it. I drove the heck out of it in late 2020 into 2021 probably putting about 5000 miles on it. Eventually, I decided to park the car until I could perform a proper service/update on it. I spent several months scoping that out and gathering parts. I also had the windshield frame rust fixed and windshield replaced.

I started a DIY engine-out service at the end of May. Had the transmission rebuilt. Leakdown and compression passed. Found safety collars on the chain tensioners so someone with a good eye has been into it before. I hope to have it back on the road sometime later this year or early next.

Updates and maintenance for this service have been extensive!

-Chain Tensioners
-Engine Reseal
-Valve adjustment
-Drain Tubes
-Clutch
-Oil lines, cooler, tank rehab or replacement
-Vac hoses
-Fuel Dist rebuild
-Injectors replaced
-Fix wiring harness issues
-Fuel lines front to back
-Rebuilt transmission
-Rebuilt pedal box
-Shocks

I expected this, eventually. I count myself fortunate that I was able to put some miles on it to love it more before investing a lot more into it. I'm looking forward to the miles ahead.

It has been some time since I've posted here, but I am happy to report that I've picked up this project again after buying my first house, and moving the car (on a trailer and in boxes) from CA to Oregon.

Some of the recent progress:
1) Installed Rebuilt Pedal Cluster
2) Refurbished and Installed Oil Tank
3) Installed New Tunnel Fuel Lines from Len
4) Procured New Engine Wiring Harness from Dennis.
5) Repaired the body side oxygen sensor harness with the Kroon kit
6) Tested and Resealed the fuel sender
7) Installed new bilsteins in rear

I did not open the engine beyond the timing covers, but I did reseal the valve covers, triangle of despair, installed an aluminum sump plate, upgraded the tensioners, etc.

I'm going to redo the trailing arm bushings, replace the spring plates, and redo the oil thermostat before I consider the rear of the car 'ready' to accept the redone engine.

I'll start chipping away at refurbing the CIS and getting hardware and clamps refinished, soon.

[mike621]

Originally Posted by Flojo

as you run a Targa, imho you can delete that whole AC stuff.
saves you weight (with all 'em components up front as well) and makes the right cylinder bank way more accessible.

also you can backdate the heating to pre-74.
makes the engine compartment more tidied up.
same here: better access to all that's hidden behind it.

install a pop-off valve in the airbox (remove airfilter/cover).

Based on reading lots of threads here, and my desire to drive this in hot and cold weather, I am going to keep the heat and refurbish the AC eventually.

Someone had already installed a popoff valve in my airbox, so I'm good to go there .

[Chaplin]

Great thread. I am looking for a similar project car for my first Porsche, but I don't think I'll find one that nice at that price! LOL!

[schiarchianis]

Originally Posted by Brown747

Great find Mike! Good on ya for giving this SC the proper care it deserves.
Here is what my engine looks like after deleting A/C and backdating the heat system as Flo has suggested. Enjoy!
Thor

I'm late to the party, bu absolutely beautiful Thor. Hope to get my '78 looking like that.

[mike621]

Its been awhile since I posted any photos in this thread, so here are some from this morning:



911 and SVX are now re-joined with my E30. The E30 has been on its own journey and I'm happy to have it still.

Abridged version of a story: I gave the E30 to my dad, driving it from CA to CT after my covid vax in 2021. He passed in 2022, so I drove it from CT back west after the funeral. Over this past summer, I was in a pretty bad wreck where a truck ran a red and t-boned me in the driver quarter. Thankfully, I walked away, and I was able to have the car fixed. This took about 6 months.

All three vehicles in the photo are in some stage of project:
911 with resto/engine out
E30 with interior reassembly about to take place the next 1-2 weeks
SVX with a steering rack and heater core replacement queued.



Tidied up the engine bay in the 911 and installed the Kroon Oxygen sensor repair plug, though the plug already appears to be separating . May have to revisit that again very soon.




Oil thermostat is on the radar again in the near future. I had this out in 2020, but couldnt get the unit open. I replaced one of the long oil lines due to crimping during previous ownership. Thread repair thingie is installed, but the tstat still appears to have been leaking. The other long oil line appears to be bent a little bit as it meets the tstat. Unsure if I should replace the line due to this bend.

Regardless, planning to take the tstat out again soon to install the fancy caps I bought, and replace the thermostats/springs inside the unit. Kinda hesitant to pay $500 for a new housing, but we will see how dissecting it goes. (Edit: as always, opinions and advice are welcomed)

[mike621]

Originally Posted by mike621

I'm facing a cold start issue and backfire/stall at cruising speed I haven't eradicated yet, but I found a receipt from a few years back where a shop played with the mixture (could have been when there was still a big vac leak). I'm curious to try that as a next step to address my cold start idle and backfire, but haven't done a fuel pressure or mixture testing yet, so I'm approaching cautiously. Appreciate any thoughts or advice on things to check. Excited to own one of my dream cars and be digging into it!

Going back to the OP, there were two issues which caused or contributed to these conditions:

1) Corroded electrical connection at the bulkhead was causing my FV to not function/ function intermittently. I cleaned the pins after advice received in another thread, and corrected that condition.

2) green wire to the distributor was cooked. it was brown and I thought that was the correct color XD. I would find this out during my engine teardown in 2022.

The condition which frustrated me the most was overheating. That must have been due to the mud and acorns that were packed in the cooling fins between the cylinders. That has been cleaned and corrected during my current 'engine-out phase'.

Moral of my story: I could have found these issues earlier if I dropped the engine to clean, inspect and correct when I first bought the car. But, in 2020 I was on tighter budget and sharing a one car garage, so that was just not really possible at the time.

[colingreene]

Very sorry to see the news about your dad.
glad the cars are still in the family and making positive progress.