Where we are today...

We have come a long way baby! In just 5 months I've taken a giant jigsaw puzzle and turned it into a [mostly] functioning automobile.

I still have no top which means she stays tucked into the garage on days that there is any chance of turning her into a bathtub.

Just in the last week I made some adjustments and repairs that reduced the time of my startup procedure from 15 minutes to 30 seconds and made driving overall much better. Go Me :D

I've also been able to install several items collected for the most part from my previous post under the heading of others' generosity. Some of these made the car run better (fuel pump). Some made it look just a little closer to being a "complete" car (trim bits).

....I'm a constant reader of internet forums, I've mentioned this before. One small thing I find myself thinking this week is that predominately on Pelican Forums and Rennlist the cars posted there are "Cover Girls", pristine, just as the factory set them out, or painstakingly modified/improved. My own 911 is FAAAR from pristine, it's a factor of what I can afford more than anything else, I'd have certainly sought out a car that had everything working, hell, existing & in great shape if I had twice as much cash for the purchase but I'm not that guy.

I'd love to hear from others like myself that are probably not publicizing their "flawed" 911's, a constant work in progress. I started to post a thread as such but for whatever reason I chickened out. That makes me think there are many like me with these 25-40 year old cars that AREN'T perfect, and that still get heaped on love and enjoyment. I still show her off proudly, using my best pictures, but don't study too hard or you will easily find my huge list of missing parts :)

I've only had this old car for 5 months but I think it's eclipsed my previous 2 favorites out of my 20 or so cars for sheer coolness and attachment. Hopefully we have a long long time together and a year or 2 from now I can report she's almost a complete car, letting people oogle all her closeup shots.

The Generosity of Others

I've discovered recently that the Porsche community, much to the contrary picture many might generate, can be quite benevolent and generous. There is a perception I've witnessed first hand, in both our modern 2010 Boxster and my classic 35 year old 911 that drivers of this type of automobile are summarily a bunch of snobs (or worse). What's odd is I'm far from this, as is my lovely bride so there must be a lurking contingent of genuinely nice folks that happen to appreciate fine sports cars that may have started life quite expensively.

Glenda now sports several bits and pieces offered up for little more than shipping costs, a couple of these I'd have paid several hundred dollars for. Pelican Parts and Rennlist both have some of the nicest car guys I've come across, people that with something taking up space on a shelf choose to offer it up to a fellow obsessed instead of making an extra buck.

We aren't "broke" but are far from "well off" either and these acts of kindness that continue to increase my own joy in my toy are so very appreciated. So Thank You! :) Hopefully I get to pass on this good will in time.

Shifting Improvements

So last week I went from having a vague, somewhat challenging shift action, to having not much rhyme or reason as to where I might find 3rd, 4th, or 5th gears. The day this got seriously bad I had to be super careful not to engage 1st when I wanted 3rd (or 5th). This, an enjoyable drive, did not make!

Past experience and some internet searches added shift bushings to my weekend to-do list. When I opened up the rear access panel (to get to the shift coupling) I found this! Needless to say I felt pretty sure the lion's share of my problems centered around it.








About 2 pleasant hours later I had the whole assembly from knob to coupler cleaned, re-greased, re-bushed and functioning as the good Dr. ordered. The pin for the coupler was a minor stumbling block that wanted to argue with me, but nothing to the magnitude of my past experience with the pedal cluster.

Now it changes gears with a nice slick and solid engagement, I've had a couple of other cars with nicer shift action but it now feels like a proper sports car.

The Saga Continues - Fuel Injection

.....but it's getting better all the time.....

Note: Nothing you will read here is a new discovery, tons of those before me figured all this out so I don't profess to be providing the world with anything "new". But this is my journey and you are reading it so enjoy :).

When we last saw our intrepid quasi-mechanic he'd breathed life (gas really) back into his persnickety steed. Well, the morning startup issue was far from gone, if anything it was getting worse. With the weather starting to cool and dry I used the old girl for work for a few days. Things were getting worse, regular back-firing through the intake and a new shifting problem. So I resolved to address some things last weekend.

So what we learned:

I have/had vacuum leaks, the CIS Fuel Injection System on a 70's era Porsche 911 is not a really complicated device, but it demands precise conditions to work properly. Apparently I was somewhat chasing my tail when I needed to be focusing on some little things. I sanded down and THOROUGHLY cleaned the popping off pop-off valve and re-expoxied that bad-boy, then I applied a gasket sealant to a weeping fuel distributor (this may be a no-no, but I've read there are no rebuild kits for this and it worked, so bite me). I also cleaned up and tightened as much as I could see while I was tinkering around.

Then I read my conditions sounded like a bad lean condition, I found the 3mm hole to adjust the mixture. Started it up and Voila! Cranked and running smooth in 20 seconds, amazing! The boy and I then enjoyed a slow drive around the neighborhood. Then the real test, 2 days later I sit down in the car, turn the key, 20 seconds later she's purring away. I've actuallly fixed a huge headache.

Next up, I've solved some massive shifting woes....

She's Alive!!! (again)

After 3+ long weeks of having my car stuck in the garage she galloped down the road again, the whole family got to enjoy the test run.

The short story (something I'm not good at obviously) is that I've got a metric car in a decidedly standard world. Don't even think about going to your local auto parts store in Southern Alabamy and asking Bubba for a 12mm Banjo Fitting with a Barbed end. Hell, once you find one of those, pay a rediculous amount of money for a funny looking bolt to be sent to you from somewhere else in the country and just need a regular old bolt in a size with "millimeter" on the back and some small fuel hose, they still look at you like you are crazy.

My favorite conversation is this: [This is what I need from you] (Bubba) "What year and model car is this for" (the Geek) "It's for an old 911 but I have a mixture of parts, I'm telling you what I need to make them work together" (Bubba) "So what year and model car is this for?" (Geek) "fine, it's a '75 Porsche 911" (Bubba) "I don't see a part number for anything you are talking about" (Geek) "no $h1t? This is why I'm telling you what I need"

Apparently even mechanics have gone to a lack of imagination in making something work if the computer doesn't tell you a number.

So anyway, I finally got it working, seems buttoned up and not leaking. So far it's starting without hesitation, and I'll know tomorrow morning if I've really fixed my awful hard start problem that's plagued me for 5 months now.

For now, I'll call this a victory, with wind in my hair :)

Braved the superheated garage to accomplish something

An evening out in my toy last night spurned me back to the garage today. Somehow I'd been procrastinating on a usual staple to my car tinkering, a good cut/polish/wax. I had a few hours without a [well deserving] wife and child wanting attention so I gave it to the car.

Oh how I love sparkly, clean, bright silver paintwork shimmering in the sun, also managed to get out some of the staining that had built up from sitting for a couple of years after the fresh paint job.

Then with more time left I got my front parking/signal lights working. This was a great accomplishment as it was something that had bugged me for months, had a missing signal light and hadn't taken the time to decipher what wires went where. In the process I found what I now know to be horn wires, woo hoo! Just need a horn now :)

Looking forward to fall

Must.....have......A/C!

The old girl will certainly make it out of the garage a LOT more in about another month, seems unprofessional to show up somewhere looking like I just stepped out of a shower :)