PDA

View Full Version : New POS project vehicle!



CurtP
04-10-2008, 10:49 PM
Apparently, I'm a glutton for punishment. I love having a project vehicle and when I get done with one, I start getting bored. Since the 5.9 is all but done, I decided on looking at getting an older car - something that might get decent fuel mileage and be fun to drive. What I really wanted, believe it or not, was an early 70's Honda CVCC. Since those are all but non-existent these days (they all have seemed to rusted away into obviation), I've been looking for something else, but I had no idea what. It had to be cheap, parts readily available and rear wheel drive. A vehicle that I dreamed about in the '80's when I was a teenager would be perfect. It became a reality a couple of days ago, and I didn't even plan it. I came home from work the other day and there she sat in the driveway. Tomorrow is the big day as to which way this project will head. This car has been sitting for 10 years and the starter is dead. I should be picking the starter up tomorrow from being rebuilt and I'm going to attempt to get it started. If she starts, or at least attempts to start, then the project will proceed. If nothing happens, then I'll have to weigh my options, which include a LS1 swap or just parting it out. Without further ado, here is my new piece of shit!

http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips/100015/DSC00002/web.jpg

http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips/100015/DSC00003/web.jpg

More pictures >HERE (http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips#100015)<

napajeep
04-10-2008, 11:06 PM
The LS1 swap probably isn't a bad idea. Finding parts for those is getting kind of tough.

Cue-Ball
04-10-2008, 11:29 PM
Is that a Miata in the background with the roof chopped off??

OverkillZJ
04-11-2008, 01:06 AM
Wow, I think so, LMAO

CurtP
04-11-2008, 04:44 AM
Is that a Miata in the background with the roof chopped off??

Well, with the windsheild and door vent windows chopped off and the convertable top frame removed. Parts car. I think it may have been rolled - there is not a straight body panel on that car. Great autocross cars and turbo kits for them are dirt cheap. If this project is a go, I'll be autocrossing the 951 too.

midwestxj
04-11-2008, 09:23 AM
What is that guage that says "BAR"?

Skyline
04-11-2008, 09:37 AM
What is that guage that says "BAR"?
That would be boost.

ILikeMud
04-11-2008, 11:03 AM
I'm not a Porsche guy so.....I thought it was a 944 Turbo, I love those cars.

Hope the project works out for you.

96_zjlarado
04-11-2008, 01:25 PM
I'm not a Porsche guy so.....I thought it was a 944 Turbo, I love those cars.

Hope the project works out for you.

it is a 944 turbo, but the 951's were a little different. they had a nice rolled bumper cover with fog lights in them versus the regular 944 with the stadium seating bumper that protrudes 6 ft from the front of the car. there were some other little details that my 951 freak friend told me about too, but i can't remember them. they look really nice with 968 mirrors and wing and some 993 turbo wheels.

if you decide to part it out, let me know cuz my buddy would love to have the fog lights and the driver side fender. his interior is a little scarce too. he pulled his from a junkyard and totally rebuilt it. put a link stand alone ems in it and we're in the process of building a new exhaust and tuning it.

http://a271.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/27/l_aaa926630bed30beefca9e3504ec2e86.jpg

http://a376.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/25/l_1514d808e8710458115a1713975fd2b7.jpg

Nice find! good luck with it.

J B
04-11-2008, 01:41 PM
Yeah, I can't keep up with all the Porsche numerical designations either. The current 911 has all sorts of different designations depending on model....I guess kinda like XJ, ZJ, WJ, etc.

CurtP
04-11-2008, 11:06 PM
951 is a Porsche internal number. The internal number of 944 meant normally aspirated. Most people know the 951 as the 944 Turbo; it's one and the same. 1986 was the first year for the Turbo 944; there was no official public 951 designation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_944

There was also a 944 Turbo S which bumped up the HP a bit. The first year for the S was 1987. In 1989, the S designation was dropped as all 944 Turbos were actually a Turbo S (basically, the 951 was dropped). They even had an S2 model, which wasn't a Turbo at all - it was a 3.0L NA motor, but it still had the bodywork of the Turbo. Confusing, isn't it? The sad part, IMO, is that the model I want most was never imported to the US - the 944 Turbo Cabriolet (1991).

My three favorite Porsches are the 928GTS, 968CS (also not available in the US) and the 951. I suspect that the 928GTS and 944 appeal to me because I was a teenager in the '80's and there was a 1984 928S in Weird Science and a 1983 944 was in Sixteen Candles.

Today wasn't too productive. The starter needed a new Bendix and we did get it started. It just wouldn't run for more than 15 seconds. I pulled the fuel pickup from the gas tank, which oddly enough doesn't have the fuel pump in it, and it was completely covered in varnish from the car sitting for 10+ years. I'm going to have to get a new fuel pump, a new pickup, a new fuel filter, blow the lines out and drain all the old, stale fuel. But she did fire and she wanted to run!

Once I get her running well, I'm going to start looking at turbo upgrades. I don't want anything crazy, but I would like to see 250 - 275 to the wheels. I think the power they made with this little 4-banger 20 years ago is pretty impressive. But for this engine only having 4 cylinders, it sure is fucking long!

Skyline
04-11-2008, 11:37 PM
I'd bet you can get to that target power level or very close to it on the stock turbo. Adjustable boost control, more efficient intake and exhaust, upgraded injectors and fuel delivery, and some sort of engine management, etiher piggyback or stand alone. Turbo cars form the mid 80's were stone age compared to what's being done today in the aftermarket.

CurtP
04-12-2008, 12:32 AM
I have a couple of options that are easy - either go to the larger S turbo (big $$$ and near impossible to find a good one anymore), get a boost enhancement kit ($100) or one of the hybrid turbos like Kokeln offers. My first priority is to get it running well, then get the exterior looking decent. I need both front fenders and they're no longer being produced. The NA fenders don't fit the S and good used ones, when you can find them, are going for $500+ each. Initially, I'll go with the $100 enhancement kit. I already know that I'm going to have to replace bushings and shocks/struts. I'm already on the lookout for deals like the S M030 suspension upgrade.

Skyline
04-12-2008, 09:03 PM
So if you can't get the front fenders, fix the one's you have. Clearly the RF is pretty bad, and a new replacement would be the most effiicient course, but it still looks fixable. Can't see anything too serious with the LF.

Clearly you're talking about not restoring this to stock, so what about fiberglass front fenders? There were a lot of these cars that were raced, so are there any sources for glass pieces?

CurtP
04-13-2008, 07:22 PM
This was a very productive weekend. We tried to get her running on Friday and it would stumble with starting fluid being sprayed into the intake. Checked the fuel rail and there was no pressure. Not having a manual for it yet, I started ripping shit apart. When I pulled out the gas tank pickup assembly (which doesn't have the pump in it), it looked like dried tar. The fuel pump was seized up too, so I went to an import shop and picked up a rebuilt pump and filter for less than $100. I spent a lot of time cleaning up the pickup assembly and blowing out the fuel lines. All I can smell and taste right now is stale gas. When I got home from today's autocross event, I finished putting it back together. SHE FUCKING RUNS! And she runs pretty well considering she hasn't run for 10 years. The engine idles smoothly - no shaking or sputtering. Now that I know she can run, I'll order some parts tomorrow.

It does have a massive exhaust at the exhaust manifold on the #1 cylinder. I suspect that it's cracked. I'll have to get it repaired/replaced. The exhaust note coming out the back sounds awesome!


Skyline - what is your first name? I'd rather call you by name than keep referring to you as your screen-name. I haven't been able to find any fiberglass fenders in my brief search, but from what I understand, they're out there. I'll have to look into it some more and see how they're built - they may not be very good for the street. The driver's side fender can be fixed. The passenger side may be fixable too, but it would probably cost more in labor to fix it than it would be to source a new fender. I also found a bunch of dings in the passenger's door today too. I was going to paint it myself, but I'm starting to rethink that. I'm going to try to stop by the body shop this week and see if I can get a rough estimate.

CurtP
04-22-2008, 10:50 AM
More progress on the Panty Dropper!

Parts are starting to come in. I finally got the in-tank pickup/filter screen and upper intercooler hose last night. I'm trying to get most of my parts from eBay to keep costs down. It helps having a sniping service that does the bidding for me at the last second - keeps me from getting into bidding wars.

I think I've sourced the front fenders. Two different guys have them and are asking $175/ea. Shipping may be the only issue. They want to send them via Greyhound, but I don't know if they'll get banged up in transit.

I did get it off the jackstands last night and went to take it for a quick spin when I found a new issue - she doesn't move. Either the clutch is toast or it's not releasing properly. I'm hoping for something easy, but I'm sure I'll have to tear into it and replace the clutch. The book is calling for 24 hours of labor to change it. I have to drop the exhaust, the intake and the transaxle to get the torque tube out of the way so I can get the bellhousing off and get to the clutch. Clutch kits are anywhere from $575 to over $1200, depending on brand and stage. It may sound expensive, but the clutch that's in my Formula was around $1k.

I've been tossing around the idea of a used clutch from eBay, but with that much labor involved, I'm not sure I want to risk it.

J B
04-22-2008, 11:18 AM
Wow, 24 hours to replace a clutch? I guess with a divorced drivetrain, it's pretty labor intensive.

You mentioned an LS1 swap....I thought that was a pretty good idea, especially considering what it would cost to do stuff like this.

Of course, the divorced drivetrain makes that swap difficult unless you wanted to use C5 guts and keep a rear transaxle, and that wouldn't be cheap.

Skyline
04-22-2008, 12:41 PM
Curt;

I just stumbled accross a race shop with what looked like 20 racing Porsches in the bays, 3/4's of which were 944 Turbos. This was on Division Street, in Haverstraw NY. I did not get the name of the shop, but you might try looking them up. I'll see if I can get contact information the next time I'm around there. I'd bet they have a lot of great sources for these cars.

I really don't know why you would consider droping in an LS1, especially since the stock motor runs. Seems to me it would screw up a pretty nice vehicle. If you combine today's turbo technology with a motor already designed for boost, you can get a pretty potent package from the drivetrain you've already got, without completely destroying the handling. The whole reason for the transaxle was to deliver near ideal weight distribution...why mess that up? I have driven a 944T on a racetrack (and the road) back when they were new, and can tell you it's pretty nice in stock form.

As far as the clutch, whatever the cost, used is not smart. But you might do better not using the stock clutch, especially if you want to up the HP. What about ACT clutches? Might even be cheaper than stock for a high performance clutch.

Another thought...have you joined PCA yet? Its a great souce for used parts and a wealth of information.

Steve

ROKN ZJ
04-22-2008, 01:16 PM
What I really wanted, believe it or not, was an early 70's Honda CVCC. Since those are all but non-existent these days (they all have seemed to rusted away into obviation)...

I didn't know what a cvcc was so I googled it, and whats funny is that when I was up in Cali a couple weeks ago I came across this house in the middle of nowhere that had like 5-6 of those things in front. I joked to my wife that it was a weird car to collect, but I guess not :D

BTW Congrats on the Porsche, it should be really cool once you get it all cleaned back up.


because I was a teenager in the '80's and there was a 1984 928S in Weird Science and a 1983 944 was in Sixteen Candles.

It's funny you mention this, because that same nostalgia makes me yearn to this day for a Ferrari 328 GTS. Every once in a while I look around eBay for a "cheap" project car...

J B
04-22-2008, 02:09 PM
I know a guy that bought a mid 80s Lotus Esprit Turbo about a year ago. Got the car 95% restored and a ton of parts and tools for $10k I think. It was a steal. The car was in really good shape. He flew to wherever this guy was, and rented a U-haul and a trailer, and put the tools and crap in the truck, the Lotus on the trailer, and drove it back.

Must have been some sight to see a shitbox U-haul rental truck with a Lotus on a trailer behind it!

CurtP
04-22-2008, 03:13 PM
Hey Steve - http://www.renegadehybrids.com
Doing the swap changes the F/R ratio only about 1%. Considering that a stock LS1 is putting out over 300HP and with only heads, cam and tuning can be over 400HP, it seems like a logical swap. And with a rear-mounted Turbo, I could turn those numbers up even higher and make retarded HP much cheaper and more reliably than I could with the stock motor. Not to mention no more timing belt to worry about and it would still get decent fuel mileage - it just seemed logical to me. However, with all the ancillaries needed for the conversion, I'm looking at $7500+ which doesn't include the price of the motor.

However, that's getting away from the scope of the project. I already have a car that put down big HP/torque numbers and it's no longer fun to drive. In fact, I'm seriously considering selling the Firebird - it just sits in the garage holding down the floor.

This is going to be a "budget" project, which only means that I'm not going to be blowing money left and right on it. I want to use it as my daily driver, so it needs to be reliable and comfortable. I want to use it on the weekends autocrossing, so it needs to handle. It will get a suspension upgrade, but it will still be a stock suspension - either the M474 or M030.

I also found that the $100 "boost enhancement kit" is a MBC - I would have been pissed off if I had spent $100 for it! Instead I went with a Stage II Autothority chipset that includes the 1.0-bar banjo bolt for $100. The chipset seems to be a popular first mod that many people quickly outgrow. I may build myself a hardware MBC to go along with this if the 1.0-bar banjo bolt doesn't cut it. If I happen along a Turbo S turbo for a good deal, I'll snatch one of those up as well.

I'm open to all clutch manufacturers. I've been looking at Sachs and Clutchnet, but Clutchnet doesn't have a pressure plate available - at least they don't have one listed on their site. I may go with a slightly more aggressive clutch, but it will still have a spring-hub.

If you find out the name of the shop, let me know! I'm constantly looking for resources. So far I've joined 944online, Pelican, RennTech and Clark's Garage.

Oh, the FSM arrived last night. SIX volumes! At least now I know how to tear shit apart (and put it back together!).

96_zjlarado
04-23-2008, 12:36 AM
if you decide to go stand alone. my buddy might want to sell his link ems. he's tossing around the idea of goin with a tech 3 R system for his.

CurtP
04-23-2008, 07:58 AM
I didn't know what a cvcc was so I googled it, and whats funny is that when I was up in Cali a couple weeks ago I came across this house in the middle of nowhere that had like 5-6 of those things in front. I joked to my wife that it was a weird car to collect, but I guess not :D
I was looking for something different. Everybody and their brother has a Civic, Corvette, Camaro/Firebird, etc. I wanted something that you don't see everyday, and how often do you see a CVCC - the predecessor to the Civic and where it got the name. I bet it would take an VTEC engine swap nicely. Problem is that you can't find them and on the rare occasion that you do, they're either completely rusted out or the people selling it think it's still worth $10k. Then I was looking for a Opel GT (the "mini Corvette"). Can't find those around worth a shit and getting parts is difficult. So then I thought about a mid-sixties Mini, but the prices on them have went out the roof since the new MINI has come out along with the movie Italian Job. I had actually just given up on finding a project vehicle. The 951 was literally sitting in the driveway when I came home from work one night. The roommate bought it to part out. I told him I was interested in it and we've been working on it every since. It's a neat car - definitely very interesting how they put it together. I've looked around too - there's not 1 being listed within 100 miles of here and only 2 944s. I never see them at the autocross, much less on the street. Getting parts isn't bad. Many of the parts are dirt cheap, others are stupid expensive. Right now it appears that the hardest part to get is the front fenders since they're no longer being made by the OEM and I have not found any aftermarket fenders.



if you decide to go stand alone. my buddy might want to sell his link ems. he's tossing around the idea of goin with a tech 3 R system for his.
I'll have to look into what's available for the AEM. I was thinking that if I went stand-alone, I'd go with a Megasquirt (or Microsquirt) Series II. We went with the MS Series I on the Miata and it works very well. On another project vehicle, we're going to be using an AEM setup.

I won't touch Electromotive ever again. I used the SDI setup on my Firebird and it was the biggest POS I'd ever laid my hands on and I haven't been impressed with anything from them since. One of their main Engineers left and started his own company - Delteq. I've been running the Delteq on my Firebird and it fixed all my problems. It's not a stand-alone, but it will work with a stand-alone if I ever wanted to go in that direction. Since the stock computer is limited to 7k RPM, and my 396 can only spin up to that, what I have works well. I'm using TunerCat for my tuning, so to me it's as close as it gets to being a stand-alone. The biggest downside is that it takes 5 minutes to upload/download the ECU and it can't be done on the fly.

ROKN ZJ
04-23-2008, 01:01 PM
FYI,
I don't know if you're on Pirate4x4 but there's a guy on there (TexasBlake) who just bought one as well.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=670943


I was looking for something different. Everybody and their brother has a Civic, Corvette, Camaro/Firebird...

Yea I think about the same things. I've wanted a cool project for a while now, but all the cars I really like (70s Firebirds, 67 continentals) are too 'en vogue' right now. I thought about building a rat rod-esque car out of a Willy's truck once when a local Jeep shop was giving away two as parts vehicles. Then I considered trying to clean up and pimp out an old Volvo 244 that a guy I know was giving away, but alas I never pull the trigger.

CurtP
04-23-2008, 01:13 PM
What a shitty day. This car may be too far gone and it might be parted out after all. We just keep finding more and more wrong with it and it's to the point where it will probably be cheaper to just buy one in good condition. I'm finding them in good condition between $5k-$10k.

I'll know more tonight when I get home. It doesn't look good right now. I'm bummed. Somebody make me feel better by buying my 5.9...

J B
04-23-2008, 02:19 PM
Eager to hear more about what's gone south on the car.

CurtP
05-07-2008, 08:16 AM
Ok, who wants to see my progress? From this:

http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips/100038/DSC00002/web.jpg



To this:

http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0991/web.jpg

Z
05-07-2008, 08:34 AM
You sold your old house, bought a new house in a gated community and your new neighbors didn't want you to bring your project Porsche with you so they chipped in a bought you one that met community standards?

CurtP
05-07-2008, 01:43 PM
Who says I have to take pictures in front of my own house?

AgitatedPancake
05-07-2008, 04:07 PM
so your in someone elses lawn? :D

Lookin awesome man, trying to make a decision on the wheels though, dunno if I like the new ones or old ones better. Ehh I think new ones :cool:

CurtP
05-07-2008, 09:43 PM
Regardless of what others think, I have friends who own houses.

It's another 951 though. The one I had is being parted out. I'm keeping a few parts off of it for the new one. The new one is a year newer (1987) and near perfect. It already has most of the mods I'd want to do and I got it for a good price (less than $8k). I'll be the third owner.

There will be a couple of things that I want to change - like the blue silicone hoses under the hood. I like things to look clean and those stand out too much. I'm probably going to retrofit the rear wiper and the headlight squirters. The only thing wrong with it is the AC doesn't work - compressor is good, but it uses R12 - I'll probably convert it to 134a.

Those rims are the Turbo Twists which everyone seems to want. Expensive, so I'm glad they're already on. 17" vs. 15" for the phone dials. It already has the 968 door handles on it too. Now if I can just find a 968 6-speed manual transmission...

I'm picking it up Friday. More pictures >HERE (http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips#100048)<

Z
05-07-2008, 11:08 PM
Congrats! I thought your post implied that your project vehicle was done (which of course would be relatively difficult!), not that you had actually replaced it.

"Phone Dial" wheels? I bet there are a few people on here who have no idea what a phone dial is! :)

JohnBoulderCO
05-07-2008, 11:16 PM
Phone dial, yah. When was the last time you saw a phone booth? I bet even fewer know what a party line is. :D

Z
05-08-2008, 12:04 AM
Phone dial, yah. When was the last time you saw a phone booth? I bet even fewer know what a party line is. :D


My grandparents were on a party line!

CurtP
05-08-2008, 09:08 AM
Congrats! I thought your post implied that your project vehicle was done (which of course would be relatively difficult!), not that you had actually replaced it.

That is exactly what I was trying to imply :D

I really wanted to take on the project, but it just wasn't worth it in the end. I'd be in it at least $10k in parts - everything rubber needed to be replaced, some of the wiring harness had dried out and the insulation was falling off, suspension bushings would have to be replaced, front wheel bearings, timing belt - the list just kept getting longer and longer. Plus body work and paint, which I wanted to do myself, but the bodywork needed is beyond my scope. The clutch is toast and the book calls for 24 hours to replace it if it doesn't have the 2-piece cross-over pipe (this one doesn't).

Now I really need to get off my ass and get the 5.9 sold!

ILikeMud
05-09-2008, 11:14 PM
Phone dial, yah. When was the last time you saw a phone booth? I bet even fewer know what a party line is. :D

I repaired a party line the other day.
Pain in the facking ass!!

The new 951 looks sweet Curt.

CurtP
05-11-2008, 12:36 PM
I drove it home with no plates. 130-some-odd miles and found some interesting characteristics. I'm definitely going to have to get the AC fixed. Miserable ride without it. It's also been great to have a parts/reference car. The guy who had it didn't do a very good job at installing mods and I've been actually de-modifying it. He had the boost cranked up to 18psi on the stock KKK turbo :eek:

I've already removed the Lindsey Racing hot-wire MAF and went back to the stock airbox and vane MAF. I've removed the computers and went back to the stock ones from the '86. I've had to patch the wiring harness wherever the guy touched it. The coax and triax cables going to the computers were hacked and being held together with crimp butt connectors, there was a huge wiring mess from a shitty radio, amp, boost gauge and narrowband O2 gauge installation. All that shit has been ripped out. It needs paint, but I wasn't expecting 21 year-old paint to be in very good condition. Many screws were missing and he loved to use JB Weld on shit he broke (like the power window switches).

The leather is filthy and it needs new carpet. I'll probably order new OEM carpet and have the dash pad recovered in leather. I've been reconditioning the seats with Leatherique and I'm about to go outside and hit them with my heat gun to get it to really soak in.

I also took out his MBC and installed a 1-bar fitting that I have. I want to see how she runs and I'll go from there.

CurtP
10-12-2008, 09:23 AM
Shit. I guess I need to update this. So much has happened with this car. I've replaced the dash with recovered non-airbag dash and ripped all the airbag shit out. I've found so many problems that were caused by the previous owner. At one time there was a dash fire and yesterday when I tore the interior out, I found a really shitty splice job right by the e-brake handle. So now the new dash is coming back out, the whole harness is getting pulled and I'm going to take the one out of the parts car. Guess this is why I was having weird electrical problems all the time. This car was an electrical fire just waiting to happen. I'm trying to get all the old sound deadener out and was going to use Naval Jelly like I have in the past, but then remembered that it destroys all the seam sealer too. So I'll be in there with a heat gun and a scraper today trying to get the rest of it out. Carpet was fucking nasty as shit too. No OEM carpets are available, so I went with a Feintuft velour from World Upholstery. Retarded expensive, but the carpet is the nicest carpet I've ever seen. Even better, it's incredibly light too.

Replacing the front struts with factory Koni adjustable (M030 suspension). I have matching rear shocks, but I need to see what Koni shocks I have back there - the previous owner had just installed brand new adjustable, and they might be the same.

Pictures forthcoming. There's a few of the new dash already out there. www.geek-racing.com

AgitatedPancake
10-13-2008, 01:07 AM
thats sick man, cant wait for new pics =D

CurtP
10-13-2008, 08:48 AM
Uploaded a few last night.

This is where I got to on Saturday. Interior stripped and I started taking out the asphalt sound deadeners.

http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00005_3/web.jpg

http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00006_3/web.jpg


Found numerous issues with the wiring harness, including this nice little number of half-assed soldered/heat shrunk connections, then a couple of inches down from that repair, a butt crimp connector on the same wire:

http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00012_2/web.jpg


So I took out the new dash and ripped out the wiring harness. The harness in this car is nowhere near as modular as the ones in the ZJ.

http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00009_3/web.jpg

http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00023/web.jpg

http://gallery.mac.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00024/web.jpg


The harness is out, but I ran out of light before I could take pictures. I'll have to start tearing into the parts car so I can get the harness out of it, but I'll have to make some changes to that one. I also broke the fucking studs that stick through the floor that hold the throttle pedal to the floor. I'm going to try to either use a pedal that hangs off the linkage (like GM used to), or have something welded to my linkage. I really don't want to use another floor mounted pedal.


So much for just replacing the carpet. I can STILL smell the nasty ass jute and deadener. That shit is in my sinuses and soaked into my hands. I've had three showers since I stopped working on it and I can still smell it. FUCK!

ILikeMud
10-13-2008, 07:55 PM
Nasty.

I use to hate wiring stuff but lately I've started to really enjoy it. Doing soldering and all that fun stuff.

CurtP
10-13-2008, 10:27 PM
In case anyone is looking for cloth harness wrap - VW part number 000 979 950. It doesn't leave that sticky residue like electrical tape. Eastwood has a similar wrap along with adhesive-less vinyl harness wrap. The VW stuff is around $10/roll and should be available at your local dealer. I doubt anyone cares, but I thought I'd throw that out there.

I was considering fixing this harness, but I really am tired of fucking with it. I'm trying to figure out what happened. At first I thought they replaced the harness after the fire and they spliced it anywhere it left the dash. But the wrap on this harness looks burnt right behind where I think the fire originated. So now I'm wondering if they started to replace the harness, then gave up and tried to put it back together again. I'm finding broken/cut wires tucked into wire bundles, wires with cracked insulation and sharp pieces of soldered wire sticking out of the heat shrink. Some things have never worked on the car (passenger side mirror) and I've had several intermittent issues that I've never been able to track down.

I didn't work on the car tonight, but I did clean and condition the leather on the dash (since it's sitting in my room) :D

I think I'll start working on the sound deadener insulation removal again tomorrow night. I have B-Quiet deadener on hand, but I had to order barrier. I went with Second Skin Luxury Liner Pro - I hope it's decent stuff. Between the factory carpet and dampeners, I'm expecting to save 30-40# with the new stuff while making the ride better.

Shit - I still have suspension stuff to install too :(

CurtP
10-15-2008, 07:35 AM
I'll have to put up more pictures soon. I'm about 3/4 of the way done with the removal of the old sound deadener. What a PITA. But the fun doesn't end there! Newest find - last night after wiping down the driver's side floorboard with lacquer thinner, I looked up and noticed something strange about the windshield at the A-pillar. Well, it looks like I'm going to send the car off next week to the body shop, so I decided to pull off the windshield trim. There is a 3/8" gap down either side of the windshield that was being covered up by the trim. No wonder my floorboards were always wet after a rain. I thought it was the sunroof leaking (and it is). They used the wrong windshield - it's made for an early 944.

So now begins my quest to strip the entire car to get it ready for paint. I'm thinking about removing the air plenum too so I can get to the entire firewall. This ought to be fun...

CurtP
10-19-2008, 06:37 PM
Stripped, and ready to head to the body shop:

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00007_4/web.jpg

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00003_3/web.jpg

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00004_4/web.jpg

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00009_4/web.jpg

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00016_2/web.jpg

CurtP
10-28-2008, 10:39 AM
A couple of new pictures from the body shop posted on my website: http://www.geek-racing.com/Site/Porsche/Pages/Body_work.html#30

Of course this couldn't go without a snag. When I gave him the paint code, I gave him Zermatt Silver, but I wasn't absolutely sure about the color. I just got a phone call saying that the car is painted, but it isn't quite the same color as it was. The original paint was "Diamond Blue Metallic". Uh, what? Sounds kind of retarded to me. So now my car will be Zermatt Silver instead. I think I like the original color a little better, but I kind of like Zermatt too. The new color is silver paint with gold(ish) metal flake and it changes colors depending on the light. Bright sunlight - silver. Overcast - beige. Dusk - silver/gold. Some pictures of other people's cars:

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/5410/clipboard01jghwp2.jpg

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/customavatars/avatar32057_1.gif

http://forums.rennlist.com/upload/951_front_copy2.jpg

nierace
10-28-2008, 10:44 AM
Its not bad I think I like it better than your original color to be honest. But arrest me red would have been better than either :)

CurtP
10-28-2008, 12:33 PM
Ah, red. What most people refer to as Porsche Guards Red, even though it was only available on the '82 and '83 944. For my year, it would have been Malven Red, India Red, Maraschino Red Metallic or Flamingo Metallic (which I think is more pink than red).

Red was definitely more popular. It seems that EVERY NA 944 I see is red. Quite a few 951s out there like that too, but luckily no where as many. My Z4 was Bright Red - my first red car (and probably my last).

Doors are coming off for the jambs to be sprayed. Since there's no weatherstripping, this should be pretty straight forward. My only worry is under the hood.

ELLLLLIOTTTTT
10-28-2008, 07:44 PM
The zermatt looks sweet!

This is really making me want another project vehicle. I ran into an old '76 Audi that is in fair shape for a steal of a price. Only problem is that getting parts for it would be near impossible.

CurtP
10-29-2008, 06:16 AM
I found another vendor for factory parts - Sunset Imports. I ordered new rubber weatherstripping for the entire car and it was almost half the price of where I was getting parts. AND I know that everything I order will be OEM. Some of the shit the other vendor sent me was aftermarket and they don't bother to tell you that on their website. I wish I had found Sunset a while ago. The only downside is that you have to call them - no online catalog. Not really that big of a deal, but it sure is convenient to click through a order process.

AND the hits just keep coming. Last night I was working on the new interior wiring harness - pulling off the old wrap and inspecting wires. While this harness is virgin, there are four 12 gauge wires in the main trunk of the loom with failed insulation that run the radiator cooling fans. A definite fire hazard if they ever came into contact with each other. Guess I'll be placing a order with McMaster sometime today.

But there is good news too - I found another source for loom wrap. The VW stuff was $10 for 55yd. I found another wrap that was less than $5 for 100yd. And they offer quantity discounts. I have 25 rolls being delivered today. I may use it for a Halloween costume. I'll be dressed as a black mummy :D

CurtP
10-29-2008, 06:21 AM
The zermatt looks sweet!

This is really making me want another project vehicle. I ran into an old '76 Audi that is in fair shape for a steal of a price. Only problem is that getting parts for it would be near impossible.

Research parts availability (and the cost for those parts) before writing it off. What motor? What model car? Expect to do a lot of maintenance that was neglected. You can also count on replacing all the rubber weatherstripping, having any glass that's set in urethane to have to be either reset or replaced. I'd also consider rebuilding the wiring harness as mandatory after seeing what I've seen on mine.

Still, I'd look into it if I were you. It's nice having a project vehicle again and I've been driving the 'Niner for the last few days. I've forgotten what a nice vehicle it is.

ILikeMud
11-06-2008, 06:18 PM
When's it out of the body shop?
Zermatt doesn't look too bad.

My car is pretty much stock again....facking winter.

CurtP
11-06-2008, 08:43 PM
I picked it up last Friday. I've started putting it back together, but the weather hasn't been cooperating - nothing but rain all this week and I haven't been able to get pictures of the progress. The exterior is mostly back together - hatch is on (but needs to come back off), the nose is back together and all the body panels have been lined up. I have the new seals and weatherstripping in the driver's side door, but not the passenger side. I had Safelite come out to replace the windshield just to find out that what they have is the exact brand/model as to what was already in the car. The guy was awesome though - he looked it over, we talked about it and he wanted to do an experiment. We cut out the glass that was already installed, ripped out all the old urethane down to the bare pinch weld and applied a slightly wider weatherstripping to the edge of the glass. It looked pretty good, so we pulled it back out, he glued the weatherstripping to the glass (so it wouldn't pull off), primed the glass, primed the pinch weld and laid down new urethane. I wish I had taken pictures of him doing it - he was amazing. It looks perfect - the only thing that you can tell is different is the wider trim and you wouldn't know it unless you were familiar with the 951. It cost me $50 for him to reinstall the windshield and I'll be giving him a call when I get the hatch apart so it can be reinstalled too.

I had applied a new Porsche sticker across the back of the car, then realized that it was crooked on one side and I couldn't pull it back off without destroying it. It got destroyed. I'll have to order another one on my next parts order. Now I'm debating on the rear badge that goes on the passenger side. It originally had "turbo", but I'm thinking about putting "951" in its place. Or maybe put the "951" in the middle of the panel instead. I just can't make up my mind.

As for the Zermatt Silver - it's beautiful, IMO. I absolutely love it and think it looks so much better than the Diamond Blue Metallic. It's actually a pearlescent paint, not a metallic. I guess that explains the color shift. I posted what new pictures I have on my site. New pictures start here: http://www.geek-racing.com/Site/Porsche/Pages/Body_work.html#45

Here's a couple of pictures:

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00005_6/web.jpg

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00006_6/web.jpg

CurtP
11-09-2008, 10:35 PM
Making a little progress. A couple of pictures:

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00005_7/web.jpg

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00006_7/web.jpg

Looks kind of strange without any emblems on the back. I have a new "turbo" emblem to put on, but I'm thinking about putting "951" on it instead.

ILikeMud
11-11-2008, 04:43 PM
I like badgeless personally. Coming together nice though man.

I'm picking up my new brakes tomorrow and possibly a hair drier later in the week :D

ELLLLLIOTTTTT
11-11-2008, 09:20 PM
This thing is wicked man! Is there a way to paint the rear orange signals red to match the rest of the tail light? It would look alot cleaner IMO.

MuddyV8ZJ
11-18-2008, 02:01 PM
Sweet! When are we going to see some pics of it out at VIR?

CurtP
11-18-2008, 07:15 PM
I like badgeless personally. Coming together nice though man.

I'm picking up my new brakes tomorrow and possibly a hair drier later in the week :D
I have to put something back there. I'm very partial to the lower "Porsche" sticker that goes all the way across the back right above the bumper. I have both the "turbo" and "951" emblems - I just haven't decided which one it will be yet.

Did you pick up a turbo kit?



This thing is wicked man! Is there a way to paint the rear orange signals red to match the rest of the tail light? It would look alot cleaner IMO.
Some people paint the lenses with Testers model paint. I kind of like the factory tail lights - it looks like an old Volvo :smt044

New tail lights are on their way. No plans on doing anything to them though. Maybe at a later date, but I just want to get it back together!



Sweet! When are we going to see some pics of it out at VIR?
Maybe next season. I had hoped to have it back together by now, but it's still in pieces. I started putting the interior wiring harness back in this last weekend and it's quite a chore. I'm still not completely done with the harness either. I still have a few wires to replace and terminate the radio connection. Weather just hasn't been cooperating here. Once I get the harness sorted, I still need to strip out the rest of the old sound deadener and start installing all the new stuff.

ILikeMud
11-19-2008, 12:49 PM
I have to put something back there. I'm very partial to the lower "Porsche" sticker that goes all the way across the back right above the bumper. I have both the "turbo" and "951" emblems - I just haven't decided which one it will be yet.

Did you pick up a turbo kit?

Call me crazy but I dig the badgeless look on a Porsche, it's a fucking Porsche, it don't need no stinkin' badges!

I had a line on a kit but it feel through, ah well. Still hunting for a good deal.

CurtP
12-14-2008, 09:22 PM
SHE FUCKING RUNS! No new pictures - it looks about the same. The harness is in, now it's time to finish removing the rest of the original sound deadener and install the new stuff. I brought the foam isolator in the house to warm up enough to be worked. I still have to figure out what's going on with the passenger side mirror - all new harness and it still doesn't work right. Has to be either wired incorrectly in the plug, a broken wire in the door harness or a broken wire in the mirror motor.

I tried the 951 numbers on the back and it looked like shit. I didn't like it without something, so it currently only has the "turbo" emblem on it. It hasn't been warm enough to apply the Porsche decal.

CurtP
12-28-2008, 10:18 PM
Progress! We've had great weather for the last few days, so I've been taking advantage of it as much as possible. I'd have been further along if it weren't for women drama - too much of that bullshit.

New dampener and isolator is installed, and the carpet is going in tomorrow (as long as it isn't raining). I laid out some of the carpet this afternoon to check fitment.

B-Quiet Ultimate on the floorboards and hump. I already have the isolator laying over the hump in this picture:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00001_4/web.jpg

Isolator installed. Originally, there wasn't any isolator under the seat or on the rear floorboards:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00006_8/web.jpg

I even replaced the isolator behind where the side panels go. There's some dampener under the isolator (there originally wasn't):
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00008_7/web.jpg

Other side:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00012_5/web.jpg

Cutting board:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00015_4/web.jpg

Yes, that's plywood. It's original. The two computers are installed under it:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00021_2/web.jpg

View from rear of vehicle:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00022_2/web.jpg


No, I haven't touched the hatch area. I'm going to have to order more isolator. I don't think I'm going to remove the original deadener either. My main focus has been the main cabin.

Sporer65
12-28-2008, 10:30 PM
Not surprised at all to see some plywood in a Porsche. Corvettes still use balsa wood in their floors and have been since at least 97, maybe sooner.

ILikeMud
01-13-2009, 12:49 PM
Nice man.

I want to put some of the B Quiet in my car this spring. Thing is friggin loud.

CanadaDry
01-13-2009, 07:55 PM
Another gorgeous ride, she is coming along nicely. I still wish your 5.9 would have been up for sale 2 years ago when I was ready to buy I definately would have made the trip for her. Good luck with the baby momma drama:rolleyes:

CurtP
01-13-2009, 10:07 PM
Nothing like a new dent in your fresh body work to put a damper on your day. Wind caught the passenger side door and smacked it against the neighbor's fence post. It's not bad, but just enough to piss you off. I'll have to have PDW come out to see if they can work it out. If not, not that big of a deal - I'm sure I'll be trashing the body work soon enough on the track.

As always, progress is slow. The carpet for the front and rear seats is in, but that shit fought me the entire way. The carpet I'm using is wool and can't be heat set so trying to work it to shape is a pain in the balls. A couple of places I'm not entirely happy with, but I'm expecting perfection. I just don't think it can happen. I still need to install the carpet in the hatch area, but I still need some more sound isolator and spray carpet adhesive.

Things would be moving along faster, but since my company decided to lay everyone off and close their doors, I've been busy with the job search and interviews.

A couple of pictures:

Carpet down - for the most part.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00004_10/web.jpg

Front seats mounted, dash is set in place, but not bolted down.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00037/web.jpg

2jeepsforus
01-14-2009, 12:38 AM
Looking good so far... I like checking in on this, keep the updates coming

WJJEEPIN
01-17-2009, 12:23 AM
That is one NICE POS project vehicle. Might have to change the name to Purdy Project Vehicle.

CurtP
01-26-2009, 03:32 PM
Spent the weekend working on the car. The dash is in and back together, minus the gauge bezel. Center console is in too. After all this work, I still have a couple of electrical issues - the passenger side mirror goes down and in, but not up and out (same problem as before I replaced the harness). The sunroof goes down, but not up (this is a new issue). I'm pretty sure the problem with the mirror is on the mirror itself, since the main harness and the door harness have both been replaced. I'm fairly confident that the sunroof problem is in the back where the harness connector plugs onto the motor. I'll dig out the wiring schematics tonight and compare the '86 harness to the '87.

I actually drove it last night too! The seatbelts aren't back in yet and I need to trace out the connections to the cooling fan ballast resistors, but I'm really close to getting this back on the road again. Between the airbags, sound deadener, carpet, lighter harness, etc, I'm pretty confident that I've dropped close to 100# off this thing. I'll gain some of it back when I finish putting the rest of the interior together, but I expect at least a 60# reduction. The factory carpet and sound deadener was *very* heavy.

Unfortunately I did not get pictures last night - it was too dark by the time I was done. I'll try to get pictures tonight if I get home at a decent hour.

And the new TurboSmart dual-port bypass valve sounds pretty good. I know, kind of ricer-ish, but under normal driving conditions, it's quiet. At least it doesn't make that annoying fluttering noise. Just a "whoosh" until it closes. I can make it into either a full bypass or a full BOV too, depending on which side I install the plug.

http://www.turbosmartonline.com/images/202.jpg

DJJordache
01-26-2009, 05:35 PM
now you just need a duck call!:rofl:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbNxugO-uf0
100% RR free!

CurtP
01-26-2009, 07:52 PM
now you just need a duck call!:rofl:
Thought about doing that, but we didn't have much success on a buddy's car, but his turbo is honking huge.

New pictures are up, and I've redone my website to show some pictures of my Formula and ZJ. I don't have any recent pictures of the 'Bird though - I'm no longer running the Electromotive SDI or shorty headers. www.geek-racing.com

Bypass valve:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00028/web.jpg

Dash mostly done:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00031/web.jpg

Rennline pedals installed:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00041/web.jpg

CurtP
02-02-2009, 10:18 AM
Moar!

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00034_2/web.jpg

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00035_2/web.jpg

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00038_2/web.jpg

Of course, I can't seem to ever make much forward progress. I've driven it a couple of times and it's been falling flat on its face between 1750 - 2100 RPM. If I hit that range while driving, it feels like the engine cuts off - no power, no acceleration, no anything. Once I rev it past 2100 RPM, she's fine. I wasn't sure what to expect, but she ran fine (for the most part anyway) before I tore it apart, and the wiring harness I replaced didn't touch the engine or the computer harnesses. I figured I'd check out the TPS - the seals wear on the TB over time and dry out letting oil blow into the TPS, messing them up. So I took it apart and it was clean - thankfully, because I just tore the TB apart and rebuilt it not too long ago. Looking at the TPS closer, there's a microswitch in there that tells the computers when you're at idle. The plunger on the microswitch is stuck, so it never comes off the idle program (which kicks off around 1750 RPM). $91 at AutoZone, and it's not in stock. I'm calling the Porsche dealership today to see how much a OEM one will cost. One online vendor I found has it for $140, but they're known to be high and it doesn't say if it's OEM (Bosch) or an aftermarket one. If a new TPS fixes it, I think that will be the cheapest fix I've ever done to this car!

ELLLLLIOTTTTT
02-02-2009, 10:44 AM
Who cares if it doesn't run. It looks sexy enough just sitting. :D

Out of curiosity, where are the window switches?

CurtP
02-02-2009, 11:29 AM
That's all I need - another static display. The Formula is that job just fine holding down the floor of my garage in IL. Damn, I miss driving that car too, but for different reasons. :D

The window switches are on the doors, right above the speakers. That's where the mirror adjustment knob is too, but the switch that changes between the driver/passenger mirrors is on the center console :screwy:

When I had the harness apart, I almost pulled the wires back from the doors to relocate the window switches to the center console. I wasn't sure how I was going to blank off the holes in the doors though, so I left them where they were.

Speaking of the harness, I can't find my alarm bypass plug and it's annoying the hell out of me. I know I took it off the original harness and put it someplace specific so I wouldn't lose it. I swear it's like I'm missing a box of screws/parts to put this thing back together :rolleyes:

SuicideTireZJ
07-28-2009, 02:33 AM
5 Months and no update? Where ya at on the POS?

DJJordache
07-28-2009, 08:10 PM
yeah where you been Curt?

CurtP
11-04-2009, 09:56 AM
yeah where you been Curt?
Trying to get through a really rough time in my life. Just seems like everything bad keeps coming my way. Still having ongoing GF issues and I'm growing tired of being alone all the time (she lives 4 hours away). My last grandparent passed away a couple of months ago and a few weeks ago one of my rescued Rhodesian Ridgebacks had to be put down (who was in FL with the ex-GF's parents, so I didn't even get to say goodbye). Selling the 5.9 was one of my biggest mistakes that I'm sure I'll regret forever (just like I regret getting rid of my BMW). The Formula is now here with me in VA, but put away in storage until spring. I haven't hit the dirt since I sold the 5.9 and seeing pictures being posted of it from the new owner is too depressing for me. AND that asshat Nick still owes me for the damaged trim pieces from two years ago. I've already come to terms that I'll never see that money again. He stopped responding to my emails about a year ago. Now I'm getting similar treatment from another guy who is supposed to be sending me interior pieces for the 951 that I've already paid for.

So basically, I hate my life and am presently only just existing from day to day.



As for the 951 - it was running great. I was using it as my daily driver for a while. I'm now on my 4th windshield - the aftermarket one that was in it was broken while I was gone to my grandmother's funeral in IL. The roommate chucked a 3" wide ratchet strap over the load in the bed of his truck and the hook landed right on the glass. He replaced it with another piece of Chinese glass and it was a horrible job. The whole thing was distorted, and it was set too deep in the body and the guy got cold-set urethane everywhere. I couldn't live with it, so I called my glass guy and had him install the correct embedded antenna Sekurit glass. He did a great job and it looks fantastic.

I'm on my 3rd steering wheel. I ripped out the power steering and installed a brand new OEM manual rack. The 350mm steering wheel was too small in diameter and made driving the car a PITA. So I went to a 360mm Momo Retro. Better, but still not quite right, and the grip was too small. Found a NIB 360mm Momo wheel from 1991 on eBay from a seller in Italy. Overall, I'm happy with it and can now actually turn the wheels in a parking lot.

About a month ago, I decided to change to a set of stock heat range spark plugs since it was getting cooler out. What ended up happening was a piece of steel made its way into #4 cylinder through the spark plug hole and damaged the piston, pushed up the head enough to leak coolant into the cylinder. So currently the head is off (just came back from the machine shop), I'm gathering the parts needed to put it back together and I'm about to send off a bunch of nuts, bolts, washers and heat shields off to get zinc plated. I've been toying with the idea of dropping an LSx motor into this thing and calling it a day, but I really do like the idea of keeping it all Porsche.

Pictures forthcoming.

CurtP
11-04-2009, 10:07 AM
How the engine bay looked when she was all together and running.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00043_3/web.jpg?ver=12419745820001

The newest steering wheel. Notice only one wiper - the guy who installed the windshield while I was gone damaged the wiper transmission, so I had to order a bunch of parts from Germany to fix it. What should have been a $400 windshield install ended up costing me $1k out of my own pocket to fix correctly.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00057_3/web.jpg?ver=12528569880001

Headliner is done - at least for now. I ended up using inexpensive foam-backed headliner material that is commonly found in domestic vehicles. It took 5 yards of material because of the way I installed it (the whole thing is seamless). This will do me until I can find German headliner material and do it over again.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00069_2/web.jpg?ver=12528569870001

CurtP
11-04-2009, 10:12 AM
Selective yellow driving lights. It's just a film, but eventually I will end up buying the factory selective yellow lenses. The air splitter is aftermarket - made by a local guy in the area.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00048_3/web.jpg?ver=12528569860001

Current stance.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00038_8/web.jpg?ver=12528569860001

Current gauge cluster from a late 968. I didn't see a need to keep the stock boost gauge, so I used the 968 gauges to delete it (it's normally in the lower half of the tach).
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00077/web.jpg?ver=12528569880001

DJJordache
11-04-2009, 10:14 AM
YOUR ALIVE!!!


edit: sorry about the alive comment I didn't see the last post on the pervious page about your grandma, my condolences...


the car looks super clean nice job!

CurtP
11-04-2009, 10:20 AM
I recovered a 968 cab rear seat delete with matching carpet, then covered the doors with the same headliner material. I wasn't very happy with the look overall.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00037_7/web.jpg?ver=12452763310001

So I recovered the doors with the same leather that's on the lower half of my dash. I think it looks much better.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00066_2/web.jpg?ver=12528569870001

I got tired of the craptastic plastic hinges breaking on the armrest cover, so I replaced it with the 968 Cup coin tray/pad. All the plastic in the center console is new with the exception of the cubby hole. I even replaced the blank-off plugs in the shifter bezel.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00085.jpg?derivative=medium&source=web.jpg&type=medium&ver=12528569890001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00079/web.jpg?ver=12528569880001

Aux input. I plug in my iPhone into it and use Pandora.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00083/web.jpg?ver=12528569840001

CurtP
11-04-2009, 10:23 AM
YOUR ALIVE!!!

Yeah. Alive, but I'm a miserable asshole right now. I'm hoping things will change soon.

CurtP
11-04-2009, 10:26 AM
Another shot of how shitty the engine bay looked. I'm hoping to change that when I put it back together. You can see that I rerouted the fuel lines around the back of the cam tower so they no longer sat directly above the exhaust. These cars are notorious for catching on fire because the owner neglects to replace those fuel lines on a regular basis.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00055_2/web.jpg?ver=12528569890001

DJJordache
11-04-2009, 10:27 AM
I edited that post after you quoted it...

sorry live is sucking right now..... you still have us:partyman:

CurtP
11-04-2009, 10:36 AM
I edited that post after you quoted it...

sorry live is sucking right now..... you still have us:partyman:
No worries - these things have a way of working out. Obviously I'm not drinking enough beer.

I thought I'd stop by, say hi and see if I couldn't find a n00b to pick on :smt042

paulkeith
11-04-2009, 10:42 AM
I'm going to try to word this in a way that doesn't make me sound like a huge cock, but cheer up mang. I know life is probably tougher than I understand for you, but you alone are capable of reframing your perspective....you're alive, healthy (?), and you get to play with sweet cars at your leisure. You could be much worse off.

You do some excellent work, btw. That interior is sexy, gauge cluster in particular. I have a soft spot for old porsches. We've had a euro-spec gray market '83 911SC in my family since I've been alive.

Paul

rstrucks
11-04-2009, 11:11 AM
Cars looking good man. I'm a sucker for those yellow lenses - even if it is just film.

CurtP
11-04-2009, 11:31 AM
I'm going to try to word this in a way that doesn't make me sound like a huge cock, but cheer up mang. I know life is probably tougher than I understand for you, but you alone are capable of reframing your perspective....you're alive, healthy (?), and you get to play with sweet cars at your leisure. You could be much worse off.

You do some excellent work, btw. That interior is sexy, gauge cluster in particular. I have a soft spot for old porsches. We've had a euro-spec gray market '83 911SC in my family since I've been alive.

Paul

You don't have to try to word things in a non-offensive manner around me. Feel free to let it fly. I shoot straight from the hip and I expect everyone to do the same to me.

I know I'm being a whiny little bitch and I'm self-absorbed in my own little world when others out there have it much worse than I do. I'm not going to make excuses about it either. I know everyone gets down every once in a while - I just haven't been able to get back up yet. I'm crying because I want a regular piece of ass without all the drama and bullshit associated with it and I'm really sick of getting shit on. I'm miserable because I'm doing it to myself and wallowing in my own self-pity over things I have no control over (my grandmother, my dog, etc).


Thanks for the compliment too. Working on the car is my therapy. Obsessing over the little details is probably not healthy though :D

Now help me decide on cam tower bolts. Stock allen-head bolts @ $5/ea, ARP 12-point polished stainless @ $4.50/ea or ARP 12-point black oxide bolts @ $4/ea? I need 23 bolts total.

sevenslats
11-04-2009, 11:54 AM
the polished ones.

Oh, wait... Was that a joke?

ELLLLLIOTTTTT
11-04-2009, 12:37 PM
Car is looking awesome!

ATL ZJ
11-04-2009, 01:12 PM
Now help me decide on cam tower bolts. Stock allen-head bolts @ $5/ea, ARP 12-point polished stainless @ $4.50/ea or ARP 12-point black oxide bolts @ $4/ea? I need 23 bolts total.

Not knowing what a cam tower is, it's hard to say. But I normally shy away from stainless for anything non-cosmetic, even though you said they're ARP. And black oxide just rusts, so that's out. I'd go with the stock socket head cap screws.

chadjans
11-04-2009, 02:07 PM
And black oxide just rusts, so that's out. I'd go with the stock socket head cap screws.

Stock is probably also black oxide.

What do they get torqued to?

Good to see you typing Curt.

CurtP
11-04-2009, 02:21 PM
Not knowing what a cam tower is, it's hard to say. But I normally shy away from stainless for anything non-cosmetic, even though you said they're ARP. And black oxide just rusts, so that's out. I'd go with the stock socket head cap screws.

On this engine, the cam is above the valves in a housing. To get the cam out, you have to take the whole housing off - there is no cam cover. The lifters are hydraulic followers that sit between the valve stem and the cam. It's a pretty crazy design if you're used to domestic V8s.

The cam tower is held to the head by 15 metric grade 8.8 8x1.25 bolts. The original bolts are cad plated allen head with a captured wave washer. It is recommended to replace these bolts when the head comes off. There are 6 of those bolts under an allen head cap on top of the tower (look at the picture of my engine above - you can see the caps right above the raised "PORSCHE" letters on the cam tower. You remove those aluminum plugs to get to those bolts, but you cannot fit a standard 3/8 drive 6mm allen drive in the hole - it's too small. So you have to get a really long allen drive making the torque value worthless because of the excessive flex in the shaft. Or you can machine down a standard allen drive to fit through the hole.

The ARP bolts in 8x1.25 have a 10mm head on them, which can be easily accessed through the hole with a 1/4 drive and doesn't flex as much during the torque sequence. A 3/8 drive 10mm socket is pretty close to fitting through the access hole, so a couple of minutes with the bench grinder will do the trick. I do have a 1/4-3/8 adapter that fits through the hole too, so I can use a 1/4 10mm socket, the adapter, then a 6" 3/8 extension with no issues.

Normally, I shy away from stainless bolts, but I have had very good luck with the "ARP 300" stainless in numerous stressed applications. Their catalog lists the "ARP 300" stainless and the heat treated 8740 chrome moly (black oxide finish) as both having a 170,000 psi tensile strength and as being stronger than SAE grade 8. And there's 15 of these bolts holding the tower on. The other 8 are to bolt the intake to the head (same bolt).

Since I would have to buy the ARP bolts in bulk, I would end up with 25 of them at a cost of $4.45/ea (plus shipping) for a total of 111.25 and I'd have two bolts left over. Summit part number ARP-771-1004.

The stock bolts are $6.50/ea from 944online.com. 23 of them will set me back $149.50 :smt101
Pelican has them listed for $3.75/ea, but I'll have to verify that they're the correct ones and that they're OEM.

I could order aftermarket bolts for $1.50/ea from a vendor, or go to McMaster and get them in bulk for less. I'm not very inclined to go this route at all.

jfowlzj95
11-04-2009, 02:29 PM
Working on the car is my therapy.

When shit hits the fan, that always seems like the best way to get through it.

Car looks awesome! Glad to see you're keeping at it with great detail.

CurtP
11-04-2009, 02:31 PM
Stock is probably also black oxide.

What do they get torqued to?

Good to see you typing Curt.

Original ones were cad plated. New OEM are yellow zinc. Torque is 14 ft lbs. Exposed bolts corrode.

Here's a whole write-up and breakdown of the cam tower: http://www.dietersmotorsports.com/tech/2002/8-2002.htm

Good to be back! :D

Z
11-04-2009, 02:57 PM
Nice ride. Except for that crappy headliner. :) What about using Alcantara?

ATL ZJ
11-04-2009, 04:07 PM
I'm a hardware snob. And I think you're coming close to oversnobbing this decision.

Check these out- http://www.mcmaster.com/#91303a192/=4cyovo . They have a higher tensile strength rating than the ARPs. What I don't know is how ARP's rating methods vary from those used by the mcmaster bolts' manufacturer's. So ARP might call "minimum tensile strength" 70% of the load at which the fastener failed, whereas mcmaster's "minimum tensile strength" could be 75% of failure. Who knows.

Unfortunately, mcmaster has no metric 12 point fasteners, nor do they have any flanged socket head cap screws. So if you need a flange, this option won't work for you. Otherwise, they look fine for the application, and you save a boatload of cash.

CurtP
11-04-2009, 11:05 PM
Nice ride. Except for that crappy headliner. :) What about using Alcantara?
Ha! Crappy on purpose, but looks better in person than it does in pictures. Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of your headliner with a point-n-shoot camera? That headliner is temporary until I decide what I want to do. The original was perforated vinyl. There's a header panel where the sunvisors go that is covered in vinyl. There's another wide header behind the sunroof, so there's not a lot of the cloth exposed. I was thinking either leather or German cloth. I don't think Alcantara would look right in this car and I'm not a huge fan of it.



I'm a hardware snob. And I think you're coming close to oversnobbing this decision.
Yup. And I'll probably end up with the ARP bolts anyway. I have the grade 8.8 version of the bolts you posted a link to and there's no way I'm using them. I'm sure they're adequate, but I know they'll rust quickly where they're exposed. The stock bolts don't have a shoulder either, but they're stupid expensive.

ATL ZJ
11-04-2009, 11:25 PM
Yup. And I'll probably end up with the ARP bolts anyway. I have the grade 8.8 version of the bolts you posted a link to and there's no way I'm using them. I'm sure they're adequate, but I know they'll rust quickly where they're exposed. The stock bolts don't have a shoulder either, but they're stupid expensive.

Chevy used blue-coated hardware to attach their LS motor mounts, and the bolts on mine look brand new. Black oxide rusts almost immediately. But it's your money to waste!

CurtP
11-05-2009, 10:35 AM
Chevy used blue-coated hardware to attach their LS motor mounts, and the bolts on mine look brand new. Black oxide rusts almost immediately. But it's your money to waste!

Have you used McMaster's blue-coated bolts? I had a few of them on the 'Bird and they rusted fairly quickly.

As of right now, I'm sending the bolts that I have to the plater - I may reuse. Most of them look good, only a couple didn't pass inspection (flattened wave washer, threads corroded or stripped allen head). If nothing else, it'll let me get the car back together.

And I'll need to get it back together soon to get it to the body shop and into storage. I pulled the car cover off of it last night to find the hood and roof badly damaged from falling acorns. My WK got beat to shit too.

ATL ZJ
11-05-2009, 10:57 AM
Have you used McMaster's blue-coated bolts? I had a few of them on the 'Bird and they rusted fairly quickly.

Yes, but just very recently. I am using some to bolt my c30 pressure plate to my vette flywheel. I'll post up in this thread in a few years if they rust. ;)

CurtP
11-14-2009, 06:49 PM
I ended up with the 12-point ARP in stainless 300 and the old bolts went to the platers anyway (just in case I don't end up using the ARP bolts. All the brackets and bits and pieces were sent to the plater with the bolts, so I hope I'll have those back soon.

I bought new factory nuts/washers for the head. Widefire head gasket, Viton covered steel core cam tower gasket and a complete upper gasket set is here. Still trying to decide what to do with the headers - mine are cracked around the mounting flanges. I may just weld them and hope for the best. ARP stainless 300 header studs will hold them on.

Fuel injectors were sent off to WitchHunter Performance for cleaning and flow testing. Various coolant hoses, clamps and heater control valve are on order.

Currently I'm looking for a NA cam and I need to do something to clean up the cam tower, head and intake before installing it. I'm tempted to bead blast them. But afterwards, do I paint/clear them or leave them bare?

I still have the wheel bearings to install too.


As a side note, I've decided that just because nobody else gives a shit about me is not enough reason not to give a shit about myself. I'm changing my look and I'm getting back to the gym. I joined Bally's yesterday and will be hitting it 5-6 times a week.

CurtP
12-12-2009, 09:46 PM
How about a pic of the progress? I've already posted the before shots, so here's the teardown:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0018/web.jpg?ver=12606648620001

Here's where I am today:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00034_9/web.jpg?ver=12606648620001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00038_9/web.jpg?ver=12606648620001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00040_7/web.jpg?ver=12606648620001

I found a set of aftermarket SFR headers to replace the factory manifolds. They arrived and right back out the door they went to Swain Tech for coating. Other than the headers, there's only a handful of small parts that I need. The plater lost one of my brackets and various washers, bolts and nuts. I have a new chip to install in the computer before I start it too. I only have a couple of waste gate hoses to connect then I can install the intake. I'm getting close.

DJJordache
12-12-2009, 11:53 PM
stellar work as usual!

CurtP
12-13-2009, 12:56 AM
Thanks, but to be honest, it isn't up to my usual standards. I'd love to pull the engine and have the entire engine and engine bay soda blasted. The Alusil block cleans up really nice - I've seen quite a few of them polished and they look amazing. Not that I'd go that far, but it would be nice to get rid of all the oxidation.

Basically once everything is installed, everything that you see will look nice. From underneath it looks nice - it's all the stuff that's in the middle that still looks like crap. It will have to do for now until I figure out what else I want to do with it. Next round of plating will be all the hardware I forgot this time, plus the heat shields and exhaust hangers from under the car. I had quite a bit plated and all of it was around $100. I'm just not happy that some of the stuff is missing.

But for the most part, getting everything plated was a way to stop the corroding and make what's left last longer. Plus I did discover some parts were in dire need of replacing (like a coolant line that was severely damaged in an area that couldn't be seen when it was installed). I found a wicked vacuum leak coming from a ruptured diaphragm in the heater control valve too. I had no idea, but since I had it apart, I decided to replace all the heater hoses and the control valve since they're prone to failure. So as I'm putting it back together, I'm testing the vacuum lines and inspecting the wiring. I'm hoping that all this will pay off with considerably better fuel economy and more reliable driving.

I can't wait to see what it looks like with the intake and fuel rail in place! The rail looks great and I think the intake turned out nice too. The cam tower is painted with Eastwood's wrinkle paint, and the intake was done with their Aluma Blast paint. I had acid etched the intake and it looked great until I touched it with dirty hands - then it stained and nothing would get it clean again (except another cleaning with acid). I'm hoping the weather holds out tomorrow so I can wrap up the upper engine.

CurtP
12-21-2009, 09:11 AM
Getting there:

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00045_5/web.jpg?ver=12612581320001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00044_5/web.jpg?ver=12612581310001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00046_4/web.jpg?ver=12612581290001p

Bort62
12-21-2009, 05:01 PM
Looks great man!

Hang in there btw - Life has it's ups and downs.

CurtP
12-25-2009, 12:25 AM
Headers arrived today. I'm planning on having it running tomorrow :smt077

Today I redid all my vacuum lines. Previously I had just replaced the sections the PO had installed and never really check to see how he had them run. Like everything else that moron did, they were all fucked up. Each individual vacuum device was tested, then each branch was tested prior to final connections to the intake. Found a couple of issues that are now resolved.

I refinished the AFM the other day - it looks great. It's installed along with the airbox. I'm still missing some parts, but nothing that will prevent me from getting it running.

I think the only things left is the header heat shield needs to be installed, the headers installed, the heater crossover tube needs installed, the reference and O2 sensors connected, and the cooling system filled/bled. Oh, and I still need to install the chip in the computer too.

No pics today. Ran out of light before I got to a stopping point.

MoparBoy01
12-30-2009, 10:42 AM
Looking good man, awesome work

CurtP
01-04-2010, 11:39 AM
Well, that sucked balls. Car was together for about 24 hours. #4 is still a geyser and when I pulled it back apart, found that the cylinder is cracked. So now I'm back to square one.

I have sourced several short blocks. Looks like the one I want is 17 hours away and still in the parts car. Looks like a road trip to go yank a motor, bring it back and do a complete refresh (all seals, gaskets and bearings).

It will be a while before I have any new updates.

CurtP
01-20-2010, 06:45 PM
Small update: Drove 17 hours to Arkansas to get an engine. Got there, dropped the engine from the parts car, stripped it down to a short block and had it on the stand in just a few hours. Did an acid wash the next day, stuck it in the back of my WK along with a bunch of interior parts and drove 17 hours back home. I was at the guy's house for 23 hours. The following day (yesterday) I jumped back in my Jeep and drove up to Ashburn, VA for work. Since Friday, I've been in my Jeep for close to 40 hours and logged over 2500 miles.

Looks like I'll be picking back up on this project sooner than expected.

Ken L
01-20-2010, 06:56 PM
Oh but it's going to be so cool to have that back on the road. I really like the details that you're taking care of.

greengc4x4
01-22-2010, 02:41 AM
Wow Curt, I forgot how beautiful that car is since I saw it in person. You surely do amazing work to any vehicle you touch. It is looking very good.

CurtP
03-15-2010, 11:01 AM
Saturday:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00055_3/web.jpg?ver=12686516390001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00058_2/web.jpg?ver=12686516490001

ATL ZJ
03-15-2010, 11:26 AM
LS...?

paulkeith
03-15-2010, 12:25 PM
crazy...are they transaxle cars?

Jeeptech01
03-15-2010, 12:49 PM
I think it is similar to a vette with the torque tube/ transaxle setup.

CurtP
03-15-2010, 01:26 PM
I have been tossing around the idea of a LSx engine swap for some time. A big part of me wants to do it. I've also thought about pulling the LT1 out of my Formula (396ci), detuning it a little and stuffing it in the Porsche. But a huge part of me wants to keep the Porsche all Porsche. If there was a way to stuff the 928 engine in the bay, I'd do that (it's too wide)!

A big problem with the V8 swaps is everything is half-assed. I have seen ONE that looked good, but I didn't dig down too deep into the install to see how good it really was. The headers made for the swaps don't fit and are stupid expensive. The alternative is a mis-matched set of shorty block huggers, which don't fit for shit either. And nobody that I've seen has a set of long tubes, which is the only way I'd do it. So I'd have to either fabricate my own or have someone make me a set. Wiring harness is another issue - it either takes some time to build your own or $1k to have someone else make it for you (and you have to provide both harnesses; the $1k is labor). If I lucked into a super cheap LS1, I would consider it. But I'd have another $10k-$15k wrapped up into doing it my way (968 6-speed, long-tubes, stainless exhaust, brake upgrades, etc etc etc...

Maybe I should part out the Formula and use that engine and have Stainless Works build me a set of headers.

CurtP
03-15-2010, 01:34 PM
crazy...are they transaxle cars?

Yep. The 928, 924, 944, 951 and 968 all have the same basic layout and have a 50/50 f/r weight split. Clutch is still up front, and a clutch change is a 24-hour job.

I still have to drop the rear suspension assembly and transaxle to get the torque tube out. I have a spare torque tube being rebuilt with new driveshaft support bearing assemblies. When I'm done with the car this time, there won't be anything I haven't touched. I was even able to source a brand new engine bay wiring harness for cheap (they're $2200 new). I'm on the lookout for a new engine harness too, but I don't expect to find one of those.

The engine bay is going to be cleaned up and painted while the engine is out. A big box of parts will be shipped out for plating.

CurtP
03-31-2010, 07:37 AM
I forgot to take pictures last weekend - I'll try to get some this weekend. AC system is out, everything in the cowl is out, headlight buckets are out and disassembled, most of the brake system is out. There's not much left of her. I'm still piling hardware up to send off to get plated - I have to empty out the inside of the car and go through all that crap too.

The good news is I was able to find my titles for my Formula! I hope the DMV is open Friday so I can go get new plates for her and get her out of storage and inspected. If I can't drive the Porsche, then I'll at least drive the beast this summer!

CurtP
07-09-2010, 09:31 AM
I keep meaning to take pictures, but I always forget. I've been in the process of gathering parts and doing more disassembly. The new engine is half assembled and I've been at a stopping point until my parts came back from getting zinc plated (which came in a couple of days ago). I've been trying to sort through 60# worth of nuts, bolts, washers, brackets and heat shields for the last two days. I have a pile of Ziploc bags full of hardware and I'm still not done. This weekend I'm going to try to get the engine done and get started on the engine bay. Engine bay paint is on the way, and I need to pick up my paint guns from storage. The new headliner material arrived and is similar to Alcantara. Last night I ordered yet another steering wheel (a factory one this time) and a couple of parts I will need to put the headlight buckets back together. Dash is out, HVAC plenum is out - I'm down to the bare firewall. I still need to drop the transaxle, rear torsion bar housing and take out the torque tube. My room is full of parts and I have another huge box of parts in storage.

CurtP
07-12-2010, 08:26 AM
Pics:

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00053_5/web.jpg?ver=12789330240001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00044_6/web.jpg?ver=12789330200001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00035_13/web.jpg?ver=12789330150001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00040_10/web.jpg?ver=12789330190001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/DSC00036_12/web.jpg?ver=12789330160001

DJJordache
07-12-2010, 09:56 AM
nice shiny hardware!

CurtP
07-13-2010, 10:47 AM
I'm not happy how the engine looks. I'm going to pick up some small wire brushes and Simple Green tonight and try to give a good scrubbing. Normally I'd use aluminum wheel acid, but it destroys the zinc. I also didn't want to get the acid in the bearings.

This engine was not well taken care of. I could not believe how much sludge was in the counterbalance shaft housings, the oil pan and in the crankcase. It's taking me a lot longer than anticipated and I've had to order more parts - I'm tired of ordering parts!

CurtP
07-23-2010, 10:11 AM
The final pieces for the headlight buckets came in yesterday, so I finished getting them together. New pivot bushings and rubber caps on the bump stops. Everything was completely disassembled prior to being plated. The black backdrop is my new headliner material. If the weather holds up this weekend, the plan is to get the engine bay and cowl painted. Engine is coming along pretty well. Oil pan was installed last night.

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0002/web.jpg?ver=12798513610001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0003/web.jpg?ver=12798514100001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0008/web.jpg?ver=12798514110001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0009_2/web.jpg?ver=12798513700001

DJJordache
07-23-2010, 10:58 AM
:bling:

CurtP
07-26-2010, 08:15 AM
Some painting was completed this last weekend.

Bedliner in the cowl:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0007/web.jpg?ver=12800063720001

Engine bay in primer:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0010_2/web.jpg?ver=12800946810001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0012/web.jpg?ver=12800946790001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0013/web.jpg?ver=12800946790001

downtowncb
07-28-2010, 06:04 PM
Where did you get those headlight assemblies coated? How much did it cost?

CurtP
07-29-2010, 09:46 AM
http://www.fourdmetal.com out of Sunnyvale, CA.

I had 51# worth of stuff plated (nuts, bolts, washers, brackets, heat shields, etc) and it was just around $225 (including shipping). Price varies depending on what you have done. Minimum charge is $65 lot, or 65¢/lb for nuts, bolts and washers. Anything that can't be done in a lot is charged per piece. The example they gave was a 6"x6" bracket costs $1. Parts have to be free of grease, oil, dirt and paint. I bead blasted some of my parts prior to sending it to them.

downtowncb
07-29-2010, 01:13 PM
Cool thanks! I'll have to look into them, and they're near by.

CurtP
08-06-2010, 09:34 PM
Got a hair in my ass and decided to go ahead and do some painting tonight after work. I'll clear coat it tomorrow.

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0007_2/web.jpg?ver=12811431250001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0004_3/web.jpg?ver=12811431230001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0005_3/web.jpg?ver=12811431240001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0008_3/web.jpg?ver=12811431230001

Jeeptech01
08-07-2010, 12:03 PM
good luck getting the hair out and nice work!

CurtP
08-27-2010, 03:05 PM
I refreshed the upper strut mounts:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0005_4/web.jpg?ver=12820945090001

Starting to put it back together. I painted the brake booster too:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0008_4/web.jpg?ver=12820945080001

Brand new engine bay harness. I wish I could find a new engine harness to go with it. Oddly enough, it's made in Germany by Delphi.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0001_2/web.jpg?ver=12824416720001

Rebuilt the HVAC plenum. Took it completely apart, washed everything and bleached the evaporator coil and heater core. New foam seals, recovered the flaps with new foam and am making a new gasket to seal the openings to the dash.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0021/web.jpg?ver=12824427140002

I had to come up with my own solution for the firewall grommets. They're all NLA from Porsche:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0013_3/web.jpg?ver=12827730200001

There's more done, but I don't have pictures of it yet.

Ken L
08-27-2010, 03:09 PM
Nice work.

CurtP
09-29-2010, 10:04 AM
Progress has been slow. The torque tube has been replaced with a freshly rebuilt one, transaxle is in, rear suspension assembly is in, engine is in. Brakes and clutch are bled, front suspension is in, wheels are mounted. I have a rolling chassis! However, the front control arms are coming back off to replace the ball joints, but that should only take an afternoon. I'm still waiting on the battery cables which is all I really need get this bitch started. Axles are out and I finished rebuilding the CV joints last night. If it doesn't rain tonight, I should have them back in along with the rest of the exhaust.

Modified transaxle mount. I used 2-part urethane from McMaster Carr with a Shore hardness of 80A.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0014_4/web.jpg?ver=12849811720001

Engine in:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0035_2/web.jpg?ver=12849811720001

CurtP
12-22-2010, 02:49 PM
Well, shit. Guess it's been a while since I've posted, so might as well give an update.

Filled the transaxle mount with urethane (shore hardness 80A). This is to tide me over until I find a semi-solid mount that I like.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0014_4/web.jpg?ver=12849811720001

Finally found a good deal on a blower fan assembly that has the provisions for cabin filters. This is probably one of the hardest things to find for these cars as they were only available for the last year of the 968 (1995), there's no documentation in the parts catalogs except for the upper housing. The recirculation flaps are different, and there were some changes to the lower housing too. I used the original lower housing and a new upper housing. New filters, of course.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0103/web.jpg?ver=12859863780001

There's about 4 hours worth of alignment work on the hood, headlight doors and header panel. It's still not perfect, but it's about as good as it's going to get. The whole alignment process on the headlight doors is a huge PITA.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0105/web.jpg?ver=12866693580001

Harness adapter I made. It allows me to use a 1986 main harness with a 1987+ engine harness.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0110/web.jpg?ver=12874124820001

She's a driver again!
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0115/web.jpg?ver=12879305910001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0117/web.jpg?ver=12879305960001

Yet another new steering wheel. This time, it's a factory 968 Club Sport wheel. The shifter is experimental. I cut my shifter in half then welded the upper section of a MINI Cooper shift lever to it. I hate the knob, but it was never intended to be permanent. I'm having a billet shifter made which will take a screw-on knob. I have one of the knobs already - a black round Delrin knob with a simple shift pattern engraving. I'll be ordering a stainless knob from Whalen Shift Machine soon.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0118/web.jpg?ver=12879305930001

I found out that my alignment was really fucked up. The PO messed it up, and the last alignment shop that tried to fix it made it even worse. This is the best alignment I've ever had done on any car, and they used equipment from the '50's.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0140/web.jpg?ver=12886143160001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0141/web.jpg?ver=12886143090001

Old door panels. Black over grey/beige. Always looked dirty to me.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0134/web.jpg?ver=12879636170001

New door panels from a later model with the 10-speaker setup. All the speakers are new OE. These are black over linen.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0135/web.jpg?ver=12879636180001

The map pockets/speaker grill assemblies were trashed. I spent a good week doing repair work on the plastic using Plastex from Eastwood. Holy hell does that shit stink. When I started, the screw holes were completely broken away and there wasn't anything to hold them to the door. The pins at the top were all missing on the driver's side. I didn't think I'd be able to fix them at all. New ones, if there are any left in inventory, are over $600/ea. I refurbished these for around $60, which included new carpet. Picture of the repaired broken pins:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0169/web.jpg?ver=12886144330001

Picture of the repaired screw hole. When I started, the entire flat area around the screw hole was missing. The blob above it is a repair area where there was a big crack that started from the screw hole and ended where the blob is. I know it isn't the prettiest, but it works.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0168/web.jpg?ver=12886144340001

The stripped and repaired map pocket:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0171/web.jpg?ver=12886144320001

Map pocket recovered, reassembled and installed on the door:
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0174/web.jpg?ver=12886144310001

Guess that's about it for now.

ELLLLLIOTTTTT
12-22-2010, 03:02 PM
You're ALIVE! I love this thread, you've done an awesome job on the car and all the hard work is definitely paying off.

K2
12-22-2010, 03:52 PM
Wow! Waaaaaaaaaaay more patience than I have, great job!

CurtP
12-27-2010, 09:19 PM
New shifter in the works. Mine is the silver one - obviously, it's not done yet.

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/shifter/web.jpg?ver=12934990250001

downtowncb
12-27-2010, 10:41 PM
Lookin awesome. Going to be a brand new 25 year old car!

Are you having those pieces machined by a shop or doing it yourself?

I laughed when I read that you used Plastex, I can't believe it's still around. I used to work for the guy that invented it. I sold it at trade shows and stuff for him, we parted ways when he refused to pay me for several weeks of work. Unfortunately it was all under the table.

CurtP
12-28-2010, 02:33 PM
I'm having it made by a shop in Finland. There are several aftermarket shifters made here, but I didn't like any of them. The most common aftermarket shifter uses a straight shaft. Not only do you have to use a clamp-on shift knob (like Momo), but the lower shift boot has a large hole in it where the factory knob goes through it, and there's no place to seal it on the new shifter. The tapered shaft will fill the lower shift boot nicely, and it will have a M10 x 1.25 thread for a knob.

I already have a ball knob made out of black Delrin with a simple shift pattern milled in it. I'm also looking to have a knob made out of stainless too with a little nicer pattern. And I may order another Delrin knob that has a tapered tail on it too. I'm just not sure the round knob will look good in my car, but does have a nice feel to it.

I also had a new upper shift boot made so it will fit over the new shifter. The stock shifter has a one-piece boot that covers the shift knob too. I went with black leather with linen stitching as a accent. I'm hoping it will have a subtle look to it.

CurtP
02-22-2011, 10:11 AM
Finally - the new shifter is installed! It should have been easy, but of course, wasn't. I ended up having to replace the shift rod which was a huge PITA. So on with the pictures:

Here you can see the bevel that allows clearance for the shift rod.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0324/web.jpg?ver=12980775750001

Here is the other side. The nick is what happens when you're not paying attention and install it backwards. Oops.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0323/web.jpg?ver=12980775850001

Here is the adjustable pivot. Yes, I know the isolator is shredded, but it'll have to do for now. This one is only a couple years old, and I'll replace it with another new one next time I remove the transaxle. You can see the bushings in place on the shift rod. With the bushings in place, there is absolutely zero side-to-side movement.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0321/web.jpg?ver=12980776310001

Here is the adjustable pivot trimmed down. I wanted it as low as possible, so I removed eight ridges from the pivot. I can still move it up a bit if I want the shifter a little taller.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0326/web.jpg?ver=12980776000001

Here is everything in place. The thread size is M10 x 1.25, which is a pretty popular thread and there's quite a few shift knob options which is why I chose it. Getting everything together takes some effort as it's tight! I used a little Swepco 101 moly grease on the bushings and pin.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0327/web.jpg?ver=12980776450001

Lower shift boot in place.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0332/web.jpg?ver=12980776260001

Console in position. Yes, I install the radio prior to installing the trim. It's easier to get my hands in there to manipulate the wires. I tuck everything behind the radio, including the Blitzsafe iPhone/iPod adapter. If you don't, it makes getting the cubby installed a PITA. There really isn't a ton of room back there.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0333/web.jpg?ver=12980776510001

It's together! I went with a black boot with linen stitching as an accent. Please be honest - what do you think? I don't like a lot of flash, but wanted a little something.
http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0336/web.jpg?ver=12980776180001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0337/web.jpg?ver=12980775930001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0338/web.jpg?ver=12980776140001

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0340/web.jpg?ver=12980775790001

AgitatedPancake
02-22-2011, 12:05 PM
Clean and simple man, this car is honestly looking incredible! I personally like the shift boot also :D

KDUB
02-22-2011, 01:18 PM
That all looks sharp. Nice choice with the stitching.

JordanA
02-22-2011, 01:26 PM
Looks great. I like the simplicity of the shift knob. The accent stitching on the boot sets it off.

19onebadzj96
02-22-2011, 03:11 PM
Wow very impressive, looks awesome!

Jeeptech01
02-22-2011, 05:39 PM
Very tasteful. Keep up the good work.

CurtP
02-25-2011, 10:10 AM
Thanks everyone. I'm really happy with how it turned out and it makes driving it much nicer. Absolutely zero buzzing/rattling coming from the shifter, which is a problem I had with both the stock one and the modified one I was using.

Next up - seats! I have found a set of Recaro Turbo seats (which were a less expensive model of the Sport from when they had the Modular line). They're cloth, in near-perfect shape and I've already replaced some of the plastics on them (seat back releases and trim). I still have to order a set of rails for one of them and the mounting brackets for both. While I really wanted OE seats in the correct color (linen), I got these seats for next to nothing. I figured if I like them, I may end up shipping them off to get reupholstered in leather later on.

http://gallery.me.com/curt.phillips/100048/IMG_0296/web.jpg?ver=12969420500001