What are critical updates to 911 sc

[m962b]

Aside from personal preference, what are the critical updates to the 911 sc?

Most specifically, the 1983 year.

Thanks all-

[4flyboy]

Way more knowledgeable guys on here than me.....but I'll tick off the obvious ones.

1. Carrera chain tensioners
2. Pop-Off valve for your air box
3. Turbo Tie Rods and a bump steer kit if she's lowered
4. H-4 (or H-5 in a pinch) headlight upgrade, seriously improves night driving, and relay upgrade to save your headlight switch. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/800021-h4-headlight-upgrade-sugar-scoops.html?highlight=led+lights
5. I added a 3rd brake light for the, SUV from Hell crowd. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/106190-how-3rd-brake-light-install.html?highlight=led+lights
6. Instrument panel LED upgrade http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/644374-ultimate-led-ba7s-bulbs-gauges-ala-etarga-pic-vid-30.html

Best of luck and a bump....Scott

[mv70]

Fix broken head studs

[javadog]

There aren't any. The Carrera tensioners aren't necessarily the last word on tensioners. Pop-off valves have caused problems, too, and a late CIS car probably doesn't need one, if it's well maintained.

If you drive it in a warm climate, you might consider increasing the oil cooling capacity. Improving the lighting never hurts, if it's done correctly, but I wouldn't describe the update as critical. You can improve the A/C, or the audio system, but neither of those is critival, either.

Most people modify their cars because they can't leave well enough alone. My advice would be to leave it alone and concentrate on seeing that all of the maintenance is up to date.

JR

[GeorgeK]

Front AC fan fuse

Dash lighting fuse

At that age, all the rubber lines pertaining to fuel and brakes.

[christiandk]

Originally Posted by javadog

Most people modify their cars because they can't leave well enough alone. My advice would be to leave it alone and concentrate on seeing that all of the maintenance is up to date.

JR

Best advice ever - but not many people get it!

[NYNick]

Java,
I'm a little surprised with your response. You of all people know how much these cars benefit from well planned and implemented suspension upgrades. Critical? Of course not. But better? Absolutely.

I guess you were responding to the word 'critical'. In that case, I completely agree with you.

Nick

[javadog]

I have a different viewpoint than most. I know what an '83 SC felt like when it was new, as I owned one. I've been down the modification road, when I was younger and thought I knew better than the guys that designed the cars. I've driven them hard on the road, autocrossed them, had them on a race track, etc. I've also been driving them long enought to get tired of the compromises that you have to endure with most of the "improvements". One thing that the '83 SC taught me was how nice these cars feel when you return them to stock and remove all of the "improvements".

Most people get nowhere near the limits of the stock suspension. It's hard to do on the street and be sane about it. It's easy to feel that you can go faster in a modified car, and perhaps you can get closer to your personal limits, but I've been around a track in a stock 911 that was being driven by one of Porsche's contracted hot shoes and it's a whole new world, let me tell you.

I find most people have a similar viewpoint to mind if they play with Porsches long enough. Sooner or later, most of what you want to do is keep them nice.

JR

[m962b]

FWIW- Im a member of the "porsche knows better than I do" club and only really want to preventatively fix anything that may cause problems. No performance upgrades desired, just safe driving and years of ownership.

Thanks

[NYNick]

Well said buddy. I hear ya!

[javadog]

Originally Posted by m962b

FWIW- Im a member of the "porsche knows better than I do" club and only really want to preventatively fix anything that may cause problems. No performance upgrades desired, just safe driving and years of ownership.

Thanks

In that case, do what George suggested.

JR

[4flyboy]

So seriously,

Porsche took a step backward when they improved the reliability of the tensioners on their chains and sprockets and backfires don't destroy SC air boxes?

Oh, and halogen headlights don't exponentially improve one's vision while night driving and he certainly wouldn't want to protect an expensive headlight switch or potential wiring damage?

A third brake light on a 35 year old car? Terrible idea.

What are you guys dispensing here?

I appreciate that you consider yourself purists but Porsche made these improvements themselves?

My opinion..... Scott

I'd like to hear what some others have to say.

[Jack Stands]

I'd leave most things alone, but as needed, updates can be nice. The chain tensioners should be OK, though the collars to prevent total collapse are cheap insurance (just as a pop off valve in the air box). If you need tie rods, the turbo ones are nice, but the original ones work just fine.

Adding fuses is simply another cheap, easy fix for a mistake that Porsche didn't correct till years later.

Besides, everyone like to play with their cars, but driving them is the best thing!

[GeorgeK]

Critical carries its name well:

Going through a turn slower (because of worn bushings) is not critical.

Losing the car to fuel fire or brake failure, I would call critical.

Not being able to drive because the airbox blew, or a tensioner collapsed is also "2nd rate critical"

[javadog]

When the Carrera tensioners came out in 1984, they were considered bulletproof, and the final solution to the problem. Years later, with a little experience, we know that they can fail. Porsche had partially solved the problem a few years prior, with some other changes they made. Nowdays, you'll find more than a few of the top engine builders using another solution. Research it, if you want.

As for the airboxes, Porsche made yearly improvements to their CIS systems and the biggest step for the 911, as far as blowing up airboxes was concerned, was the introduction of the later style box that had the improved cold start fuel distribution manifold. I've owned at least a dozen CIS-equipped cars and have yet to have a single problem with an airbox. I think you'll find that by 1983, there wasn't much need for a pop-off valve, unless you were the type of owner that didn't service a car regularly and let things deteriorate to the point of not running before fixing things. I think Pete Zimmerman wrote a piece on why he doesn't like the pop-odd valves. You should look for it and read it.

Porsche installed halogen lights in their US cars in the 1980's. I have a bunch of them sitting on a shelf. GE, Wagner, etc. What you see as an improvment in an H4 or H1 isn't the type of bulb technology used, it's the design of the entire light. The DOT mandated sealed beams for the US. The H4 and H1 lights weren't sealed beams. They were never legal in the US. The lighting standards have since been relaxed and nobody ever cared, really, if you changed the lights. The local police didn't really know the difference. The improvements come from the optics of the light. And, there are trade-offs, which is why the US used a sealed beam light for so long. One seldom-mentioned aspect is the light distribution. The US wanted more of it directed above the road than the Europeans, the better to illuminate the road in dips and to illuminate the overhead road signs, like on an interstate. I've run H4 and H1 lights for decades and there are a few instances where I find them lacking. Choices...

I've never liked third brake lights, as they often interfere with my rear view of the road. The only time I was rear-ended, it was in a truck with a third brake light. Ironic, no? Some people just can't drive.

The advice I was giving has more to do with hindsight, than anything. I have loads of documentation of techincal issues related to Porsches, going back more than 3 decades. I find it humorous at times, to go back and read what was the common wisdom in days past. Straight weight motor oil was mandatory, not the multi-weight oils that came later. Strut braces that kept your front strut towers from collapsing inwards under cornering, never mind that later it was figured out that they moved the other direction. You get the point, I hope.

JR

[Macroni]

I also am part of the "if it aint broke school" ..... with that being said mods are fun!

[euro911sc]

Everyone has their own idea of what should be done... Having owned my SC for quite some time I would do the following:

1. carrera tensioners if not already done
2. Pop-off valve
3. replace all vacuum lines in the engine bay($15/m at your local VW dealer and you need 1 maybe 2 m)
4. replace the 2.5" of fuel line from the tank to the pump
5. flexible brake lines for SS ones, though I track my car with new set of stock lines
6. Replace the spark plug lines with a high quality set
7. replace small rubber fuel lines in the boot
8. replace the S oil hose if it looks cracked at all
9. build my travel spares kit for the glove box:
   1. bulbs for all but head lamps (dont forget the alternator bulb as your car will not run if that is blown!!)
   2. fan shims
   3. fan belt
   4. transmission circlip
   5. fuses of all kinds
   6. red fuel relay
   7. black relay
   8. clutch pedal cotter pin
   9. shift rod to transmission rod coupler screw
   10. tire stem caps

Enjoy!

[Kraftwerk]

It helps the handling of the car to remove all the 'heavy junk' you will never use anyway..

[wannaporsche]

Originally Posted by 4flyboy

A third brake light on a 35 year old car? Terrible idea.

Curious why you say this. Can you expand on your thinking here?

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by wannaporsche

Curious why you say this. Can you expand on your thinking here?

Just saying. Safety.

Not talking for 4flyboy but, old 911 brakes lights don't quite set the persons face behind it on fire with lumens.

Just use hand signals at weird (higher risk) left/right turns. It will attract way more attention that the third light.