When Well Enough Can't Be Left Alone; Backdate, EFI/ITB, AC, and more!

[Showdown]

This is going to be long, so if you want the TL;DR, jump to post #2

When I was a wee child my Swiss father introduced me to the 911 and let it be known that it was the car against which all other cars must be measured. This was completely unfair and also totally correct. We would read newsprint autotraders and circle potential cars on the weekends. Many times we went to look at 911s but none ever seemed to be right. Many years later my father happened upon a 911 that seemed to be the one, but he had to make a decision; he had just started flying sailplanes (motorless airplanes also known as gliders) and he couldn’t have both a 911 and a sailplane. He chose the sailplane. Somehow my mother was more ok with him being in an airplane without an engine than a sports car…

For years I would travel with him out to the airport and work on his planes; fabricating aluminum, carbon fiber and fiberglass parts in a seemingly never ending quest to extend the glide:sink ratio; the aviation equivalent of power:weight.

He unexpectedly passed away when I was 30 having never owned his dream car.

Throughout my life posters, Hotwheels, Testors models, Legos and various Porsche paraphernalia peppered my walls, dorms, apartments, offices and homes yet the real thing was ever elusive.

In the summer of 2020, deep into the pandemic I turned 40. And because a blowout party was verboten, my wife surprised me with a 930 rental for the day. A full tank of 93, a 917 key and nearly 1000 miles later the smoldering coals were now a raging inferno and within hours of returning the keys to the owner I was online scouring the car classifieds.

Two months later my 911 was en route.



They say never to meet your heroes for you will only be disappointed. Funny thing happed once I got the 911; it was kind of anticlimactic. Sure the first few months were a hoot and driving it was thrilling. But then the shine started to wear and it kind of became just a car.

That winter while avoiding work while reading some of the epic build threads on Pelican I decided that I’d try some minor mods.

Lots of CIS repair rebuilding got the engine working like butter. New headlights, fiberglass front and rear bumpers, and tons of other small mods had me feeling great.





And then I went to Checkeditout and realized that these cars are a dime a dozen and mine would never be a Singer, never be a RWB, never be concourse, never be anything all that different from every other 911.

So I started thinking about what made having this car fun and I realized that aside from the driving, it was all the wrenching I had been doing. One Saturday I took my 7 year old son to tinker on the car with me and it hit me like a ton of bricks; I was my father working on his plane, making it his, tweaking it and hot rodding it. It became clear in that moment while my kid was reading off WUR pressure numbers that I had to dive head first into this; I owed it to myself, my father and my son.

[Showdown]

The TL;DR

I realized that simply owning a 911 was kind of anticlimactic; it’s the wrenching, tinkering and hot rodding that does it for me. My dad put that into my blood via his airplane and I want my kids to receive that same transfusion.

Fresh off he heels of my first rallye with FuelFed I drove the car to my workshop and proceeded to tear it apart.

Herein the process of not leaving well enough alone receives documentation.

I’ve given myself 7 Months to complete the following:

Backdating the car
X-Faktory EFI/ITB conversion
Classic Retrofit AC installation

I’ve bartered with my wife to get Saturday until lunchtime to work on the car. My alarm is set for 4:30am.

[Showdown]

Day 1

As soon as the engine was cool to the touch I jacked up the car and proceeded to take off the fiberglass bumpers I had installed last winter. On my modest 1977 S the weight reduction of 200 pounds by removing the old non-functional AC and impact bumpers made a world of difference but I knew almost instantly that the look was just a stopgap.

I cut out the rear reflector mounting panel and trimmed the front crush tube mounting brackets to make way for the new metal light boxes. I also mocked up the hood extension for the short hood and instantly knew that this was the right decision.





In addition, I removed the CIS from the engine along with the skin from a few knuckles.





Having read a bajillion build threads of Pelican and Rennlist, having watched Ahh Garage Time and Home Built By Jeff to the point of memorization I felt confident in this first step. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Having only a half Saturday to work on the car gives me the total of about 2 full weeks (14 days) spread over the course of months to complete the projects. The only good thing about this is that I spend the week planning and choreographing my work so that when Saturday arrives I feel prepared.

[Showdown]

Day 2

The easy part of any project is the demo- tearing things off and ripping things out is fun and yields a great sense of forward momentum. So on day 2 of working on the car I decided to continue that feel good feeling and took more stuff out of the car.

After looking at the original wiring harness that was thoroughly “modified” by the PO when the Pertronix was installed I decided to scrap it and have Dennis (Timmy2) craft me a new CIS-less harness specific for my X-Faktory EFI/ITB setup. Al (X-Faktory) includes some of Dennis’ wiring harnesses for the injectors and comparing them to stock is like going to the Miss America Pageant with someone you met at the bar at last call….

On Dennis’ sage advice I took out the alternator and began preparing for the ClassicRetrofit Wosp alternator that comes with the kit. I’m not thinking about the AC install just yet but given how difficult it was to get the fan off I’m glad I did it now.

Out came the passenger seat and I started preparing for the ECU mounting. These comfort seats are HEAVY! Too bad adding lightness with seats is really expensive…

I installed some rivnuts (my new best friend) and then bolted the ECU to the floor with several rubber shock absorbers on each bolt to isolate the vibrations and keep the ECU off the floor. I thought about fabricating a panel but the fit is tight and I didn’t see it as necessary. Don’t’ worry, the raw metal was coated before the rivnuts.







I also drilled the necessary holes into the tunnel for the ECU harness and the MAP vacuum hose, which will be run next weekend, I hope.



I also began fabricating the mounting panel for the fuel lines and vacuum manifold. The one that RHD supplies is like a wagon wheel and I wanted one that was linear allowing for a tidier install. Once it was painted I installed it loosely with rivnuts and fitted the pressure gauge and vacuum manifold. Unfortunately the MAP vacuum hose fitting, well, doesn’t so I will have to tap and thread the large plug on the right side of the manifold.





While still in the engine bay I started to run the fuel lines. Whenever I do any project be it housework or car work I like to play a game I call “How Many Trips” where I tabulate the number of trip to Lowes, Home Depot, AutoZone, Ace, etc… If it’s more than one I lose. I always lose. True to form I got tripped up without the necessary fittings so an order to Belmetric and the fuel lines will have to wait until next weekend. Ditto with the tapping of the manifold; nobody had a 1/8” NPT/NPS tap and I have Every. Other. Size…grr…

With the EFI/ITB work on hold for fittings, Dennis’ harness and a few other bits I moved to the bodywork.

I purchased a longhood extension panel from Michel Beaudry here on Pelican and began fitting it. Peeling back the front folded edge on the hood was difficult and required lots of hammer/dolly work to get it into a useable state, and that’s putting it generously. I fabricated a pair of pincers to help peel back the seam but even with them it was gross; lots of dents and dings. I understand the utility of doing this but geez, this was kind of ugly and in hindsight I would have probably been better off not peeling back the fold and just butt welding the extension panel; live and learn… This was also the first time that I got a bit uneasy about what I was doing; if the EFI/ITB fails I can always reinstall the CIS (barf) or have a shop correct my mistakes. With the hood it felt like a no turning back moment. Sure, I can always buy a long hood and replace this one but I’d rather save those sheckles.







Breathe. Breathe. Ok.

Once the panel was cut and tack welded I laid down 1,483,273 MIG spot welds. I wanted to TIG weld it but I’m not that proficient so it’ll be grinding, sanding and filing for penance. I suspect my reliance on MIG will be a theme that comes back to bite me later when my hands are numb from grinding and sanding them down.



And with that the hood is long! Feels really great to have the panel on and seeing the car transform. I was very nervous about the bodywork (still am) but I feel much better now and am almost ready to tackle the light boxes and mirror holes. No doubt I’m going to be a stock holder in 3M given the amount of body filler I’m going to need but so what, a concourse car this is not and I’m not opposed to filler; lead or plastic.

A quick clean up of my studio and I called it a day.

A few questions for those who have been down this road before:

1.)On the fuel pressure gauge there’s a small hose barb on the right side but the X-Faktory manual makes no mention of what to do with it; leave it, cap it…?
2.)Charcoal canister- Right now the hose from the fuel tank is connected but that’s all. Do I need to connect the hose to the shroud and the other hose to the rain hats? Do I? Do I?
3.)Poll: I purchased both a small filter for the oil breather hose as well as a catch can. Real estate will be tight with the charcoal canister in place but methinks the catch can will keep the engine bay from being oiled up like a coed on spring break… Thoughts? (on the filter vs catch can, not the coed)

[rwest]

#2 yes connect to one of the rain hats.

#3, when I asked about an oil catch can and filter, I heard several comments that you still get a fine oily mist in the engine bay, so no coed and still a messy engine! I used PMOs and they came with a manifold to run all the oil hoses to and then to the rain hats- looks ugly and cluttered, but I was going for function first.

[Mixed76]

Looks like fun thanks for sharing

Sent from my Nokia 7.1 using Tapatalk

[Missed Approach]

Hi Showdown- A fantastic overview- thanks for sharing! I can't offer any insight into your fuel pressure/charcoal canister/oil catch filter questions, but keep up the great work and writeups (the Spring Break Co-ed analogy was particularly good.)

[jac1976]

Nice work. I’ll add that you should look into BF Torino seats. They’ve got the look, are light and affordable.

[ChrisHoover]

My car had a small filter stuffed into a long hose. The hose sat on the engine tin. It was an oily mess. I put a catch can in. I bought a Moroso can. It it too big but the inlet is nearly the same size as the oil tank. Someday I may cut an inch off the height.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Consider crimped fuel line clamps.
In marine applications screw type hose clamps on fuel lines are frowned upon by marine surveyors.

Suggest a filtered breather type Catch Can mounted in the left wheel well with a drain valve, helps keep the engine bay clean.

[RobFrost]

Why do catch cans not simply drain back into the oil tank?

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[chrismorse]

I think the breather, especiallly on a cold engine, may contain moisture condensate. With the stock plumbing set up, this is drawn into the intake and burned by the combustion process. If that condensate is collected with oil vapor, I"d rather not put that back into the oil.

Like Rutager, I did not want to risk oil vapors, via the stubby filter, or fuss with emptying a catch can.

PMO supplied a "T" fitting with the rain hats, (with Al's X Factory kit). I am running the big breather hose from the triangle of death to the oil tank, then the tank output hose to the T, where the two, supplied vent hoses go to the 90 degree fitting on each rain hat. The end of the T is threaded for a barb and i will use that connection to the T to receive the charcoal canister output line. I think i will tuck the canister into the back right corner of the engine compartment.

I too am concerned about fuel lines, so had Len, (BoxterGT), build a set of supply and return lines with stainless flex rather than rubber, (for the engine compartment). I used his tunnel lines and factory rubber, crimped hoses up to the new tank and fuel pump.

My ITB conversion has been stalled for rust repairs, duck tail painting, fuel line replacement, oil cooler and tank work by Pacific Oil Cooler, etc etc.......

chris

[Showdown]

Interesting, so are you running the 25mm hose to the rain hats from the oil breather or down stepping it to something smaller? Also, won’t any oil vomit get stuck in those hoses at the low points or make a right mess of your air filters?

[chrismorse]

Hi showdown,

If i am understanding PMO's intended layout, the big hose goes from the crankcase breather outlet on the top/back of the engine to the tank, then a big hose, (that used to go to the cis airbox, now goes to a plastic "T", then two smaller clear plastic lines go to the rain hats. the K&N filters are oil wetted to capture the dirt/dust before it enters the ITBs.
My sense is that the oil vapor that is being carried from the crankcase to the sump tank has a chance to slow down and likely leave most of the oil in the tank. the big hose then splits into two smaller ones and the remainder gets deposited on the air filter/through, to be burned.

the orriginal CIS air cleaner had a very small drain line that dumped excess out into the atmosphere, in front of the engine mounted cooler. maybe, on high mileage engines, (loose rings), the quantity might be noticeable. I haven't a lot of experience with this, hopefully, those with more blowby will opine.

:-)
chris

[rwest]

Hi Show,

Looks like our cars are the same color on the inside- mine is still brown on the outside as well!

Here’s a picture of the device- the huge hose still goes to the crankcase breather on the engine, the breather hose by the oil cap goes to one port of the black plastic 4 port piece. The two top ports go to the rain hats, the last port is where the vapor canister hose attaches. This is basically how the CIS airbox was “fed”. The only difference is the airbox had a small drain hose if the oil quantity got to be too much.

I have thought about drilling a hole in the 4 port piece and connecting the old CIS drain hose, but haven’t yet.

[timmy2]

I went with a simple filter on a 90 at the end of the vent hose tucked in the corner for now.
If it gets oily back there, I’ll go to a catch can before the filter.
A lot of my really old cars used to just have a breather before emissions regulations.
They weren’t extra oily. If they were, they needed repairs…

[al lkosmal]

+1

Originally Posted by timmy2

i went with a simple filter on a 90 at the end of the vent hose tucked in the corner for now.
If it gets oily back there, i’ll go to a catch can before the filter.
A lot of my really old cars used to just have a breather before emissions regulations.
They weren’t extra oily. If they were, they needed repairs…

[chrisbalich]

Originally Posted by Showdown

Day 2...
1.)On the fuel pressure gauge there’s a small hose barb on the right side but the X-Faktory manual makes no mention of what to do with it; leave it, cap it…?
2.)Charcoal canister- Right now the hose from the fuel tank is connected but that’s all. Do I need to connect the hose to the shroud and the other hose to the rain hats? Do I? Do I?
3.)Poll: I purchased both a small filter for the oil breather hose as well as a catch can. Real estate will be tight with the charcoal canister in place but methinks the catch can will keep the engine bay from being oiled up like a coed on spring break… Thoughts? (on the filter vs catch can, not the coed)

1. The hose barb is a manifold reference. It basically lowers fuel pressure when you let off the throttle, and increases fuel pressure (max is what you've set it to with the reference disconnected) when you mash the throttle.
Whether or not you choose to use it with ITBs is up to you...or your tuner. I've known folks to do both.

2. This IDK about. My fuel tank vent hose is plumbed to a rollover vent valve in the nearside front fender. (behind the headlight) I park my car inside my house and very seldom does it smell of fuel. This has more to do with temp fluctuation than fuel level. But like I mentioned prior, it's very seldom that my garage smells like fuel.

3. I really worried about this a lot when I did my ITBs. Everyone talks about how much oil/vapor moves between the engine and oil tank and I knew I intended to spin this mill as high as I could get away with. I spent several days trying to come up with some sort of clever catch can solution. I then consulted Erik Lind who said, 'just stab a filter on the vent barb on the tank and get on with your life'...or something to that effect.
So that's what I did. It's yet to drip a drop of oil in nearly 20k miles.
Emissions compliant? Hell no.
Messy? Also no.
Simple? Very.


Like you mentioned earlier in the thread, the journey (and tinkering) is half the fun. So if you opt for something simple and it fails, just revisit at that time. If you spend your whole life chasing some idealized/optimized setup, you may never get to really enjoy driving it.

[Flojo]

I like evrything about it, especially that -just like for me - good is never well enough and there you go.. things escalate quickly.

but PLEASE stop putting them futuristic headlights on these vintage cars.

a regular LED plug-and-play H4 conversion kit does the job perfectly for improving brightness at night.
and if one still can't see **** then get some glasses (haha)

[Showdown]

Originally Posted by Flojo

but PLEASE stop putting them futuristic headlights on these vintage cars.

They're going. It was an experiment and while the light quality is excellent they don't fit with my future plans.

Sometimes you don't know if something will work or if you'll like it until you try it... I keep telling that to my kids... they keep not listening