theiceman

As many of you know I have had my car on Jack stands since last August when I bought it . I have done pretty well everything I want to do and this weekend I will be taking her for her first run if the weather co operates . I just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone on the list and especially Pete who has always been there for advice and recomendations when I got stuck . Here is a brief list of some of the things I have done since August.

Repaired WW pump
repaired headlight pump
repaired headlight pump relay
replaced front rubber impact strip
replaced front marker lens
replaced wipers
replaced steering shaft bushing
replaced front strut inserts
Turbo tie rod upgrade.
replaced brake lines
replaced front wheel bearings
replaced front cargo carpet
replaced antenna
replaced all fluids including brake, gear oil and engine oil
replaced relectric mirror switch
replaced stereo and 4 speakers
removed entire interior down to the tub and refurbished
replaced all shifter bushings and coupler bushings
instaled rear seatbelts
replaced all cv joints
replaced clutch cable
replaced pedal bushings and refurbed cluster
replaced all instrument light bulbs
replaced front sway arm bushings
replaced rear sway arm bushings and drop links
replaced rear shocks
replaced plugs, wires,valve cover gaskets, cap rotor, fuel filter, oil filter,
replaced engine sound pad,
replaced engine deck lid and front struts
replaced heater blower motor
refurbished alternator and replaced bearings
cleaned and polished fan and housing
replaced bumperettes
repaired targa roof panel

There is more but I just can't think right now. I know I am even behind the US Air force ( as they get to actual fly an f-16 for an hour after 8 hours of maintanance ) sine I have zero hours of flight time for 8 months of maintanance but to tell you the truth it is a bitter sweet moment as I enjoyed working on it so much .. but what the hell , time to let her rip ...

I do have some other things planned but I consider myself a preservist not a restorer by any means,, and I am not into "hopping up" cars by any means. But the things that interest me for next winter include.

replacing exchangers with ssis and a 2in 2 out muffler ( although the thought of busting a stud scares me a little.
Pulling the engine to do a clutch and some other stuff with the engine out Pete has been mentioning
I have a strut brace I may install over the summer.

Other than that I can't think of much else to do as I don't want to track it and won't need any suspension upgrades.


PS I did take out a CAA membership .. can't really trust my mechanic ya know

well heres one to you guys ...

ice

Jay H

Iceman,

That's an impressive list and you have a nearly new 911 now! Great stuff to read about!

May I ask what year your car is and how many miles are on it?

Jay

bmcallister

Hey Iceman, you wrote that you "replaced engine deck lid and front struts." Did you get around to those pesky rear decklid struts, or do you prefer the hockey stick! Just kidding, great work - ENJOY!

Dan Cobb

Excellent list. I'd be interested in hearing more about a few of these items. Care to elaborate on some of those that gave you the most trouble?
I'd also be interested in which instument lights you replaced, and how you managed to locate the elusive BA7 bulbs.
I just finished my dash/instrument light upgrade last week and haven't even had the opportunity to drive the thing at night since doing it.
I'll just take a guess that you shopped around for the best deals on your parts as well. Care to elaborate on the list of suppliers that you used and if you had any issues with the parts not fitting, etc?

Oh yeah, get off that keyboard and go drive the car!
+++

SeattlePorsche

Man oh man, I can't wait to see some photos of that baby! You need to add one last project to the list. Wax that baby and show it off for us. I find your work very motivational.

Great job man!

theiceman

Thanks guys for the comments, I will actually get you guys some pics now that it is actually of the Jackstands. I always wanted to contribute to the pic threads but was a little embarassed as you guys have these gorgeous machines and I had a tub on a jackstand. The car is a 78 Targa. It is copper colour with the gold cross hatched BBS rims with Porsche Centre caps. The car has 174000km and although a lot of what I did did not NEED doing , I did it out of interest and wanting to learn about the car.
Actually I have to tell you guys NONE of the projects I did were particularly difficult. Don't get me wrong the air guide on the alternator on a 78 is a PITA , but it is not difficult.
The one I worried about the most had to be the rubber brake lines where they atatched to the hard lines. I had to show a ton of patience with lots of pb blaster a tooth brush and a line wrench. if anyone has any questions about any of the projects I did feel free to PM me or throw the question on the forum for everyone to see. I tried to take lots of pictures.

I can tell you guys none of this was expensive , it was mostly inexpensive parts with lots of labour. in fact I had just as much fun researching parts as I did working on the car. My primary lists of parts suppliers included

autohausaz.com had great service from these guys but know them from my Audi days
shox.com
ebay ( never had one dissapointing experience and got some good deals such as a heater blower for 20.00 )
motion canada - 2 mins from my house and got me all the bearings and seals I used
Spaneur - my supplier of all SS hardware in KW ontario.
I also had some success with smaller suppiers by using google and spending long cold winter nights talking to you guys and doing research research research ...

The 101 projects book and Bently were huge for me. To be honest most of the time i would thumb through the 101 figue I could do that .. start the work , get so into it I would finish it and then think .. uh maybe I should check the manual to see if I did that right ...
One funny story . I disconnected the alternator and wrote the connections down on a post it note and stuck it on the wall of the garage. near the door , Sure enough I had it out so long ( polishing my fan ) it fell off the wall and I saw it get sucked out in a snow storm when I opened the wrong garage by myself. I chased it down the street with no shoes on in a t shirt in a snow storm .. never did get it back . I struggled for 2 weeks searching the net for the right config as it is an original Marschall with an external regulator.. then I remembered I had a Bently and there is a great picture n there of all the wires .. what a DUFUS ...

Anyway I would encourage anyone to take on any of the projects I did if you are even a little bit mechanically inclined and have some decent tools. It is very rewarding.

I can definitely help with the light bulbs too as I had a challenge also . I got all kinds of cross references and ended up getting them from a british bike shop 30 mins from my house. I iwll post an article on it later ,,,, because it is a nice day out , I have my plates and insurance , I have butterflies in my stomach ,,and it is time for the inagural flight.......

later guys ..

theiceman

Oh yeah I almost forgot .

I did in fact fix the front and rear deck lid struts, But so many people over the last 6 months or so have commented on my Avatar it has become an integral part of my Rennlist identity and I just can't remove it ... How can I be the Canadian iceman without a hockey stick .... go leafs go !

My87Targa

congrats man, go drive it and get some pics posted up asap

SeattlePorsche

Iceman,

Keep the avatar. Don't even think of changing it. It is way too cool. (It's all about the details.)

Almost all of my instrument panel light bulbs are dead. Can you give me your bike shop info so I can call them? If so, what part number should I tell them?

Should I tell them "the Iceman sent me"?

theiceman

Okay Guys here is the summary.

Overall a pretty successfull drive. Given the fact I am typing this you would know I didn't break down and made it home. A couple of problems but over all a successfull drive . Here were the issues.

shift **** came off... didn't see that one coming .. made that shifting timing difficult... I need some kind of crush washer I guess I have heard mentioned a few times here .
HAd trouble shifting into first when pulling away especially when cold. I found that if I pushed the shifter in the neatral plane to the passenger side first after coming to a stop it would work . I think I may need an adjustment on the coupler ? anyone else experience this ?
I put the turbo tie rods on and that may explain why my wheel was cocked a little to one side, but i also think it may have been that way when i bought it . The car tracks perfectly and I can take my hands off the wheel and it will track straight for about a quarter mile before drifting to the right due to camber in the road. better than any of my other cars. I wonder if I should just move the steering while on the spline shaft.
One other strange thing that I have definitely heard of here . Every time I stopped to get out ( 3 times ) I would walk around back and the decklid is unlatched. Obviously the body is twisting and it is popping open , but it allignes perfectly with the latch when I check , anyone have any ideas on this one ?

I have a small leak at each side on the valve covers. Not sure what to do with that . I took out my tourque wrench and rechecked the nuts. Tightened each one in order in a criss cross opatern to 6lbs. maybe that will help. Though I had done that already but who knows. The problem with that is most of the torque is taken up by the nylon on the nuts and I am not sure how tight it actually is.

But that was it , it pulled strong and sounded great. I kinda got sick of people pulling along side and speed matching me to take a look though.

a succesfull test .. now for another 8 months of maintanance ..just kidding ,,

ice

SeattlePorsche

Interesting, mine does the exact same thing with first gear. It's not every time. When I took the car in after I bought it the mechanics test drove it and said it should go away after I replace the clutch. They didn't realize I was planning to do this myself. But I have been reading various threads and others have suggested it's a coupling problem, so readjusting alone might do the trick.

Why is your wheel cocked to one side? They say you are supposed to get an alignment right after you change the tie rods. My 993 tracked perfectly, but the PPI mechanic said the tires were wearing unevenly, on the insides. I got it aligned yesterday (at Tru-Line in Bellevue) and what a world of difference in handling. All of my numbers were off, but toe-in was -10 and -11 degrees! And the rear wheels were way off too. It only cost me 200 bucks. As soon as I finish the front and back ends on my SC, I will get it aligned and then start work on the engine and transmission.

Great job getting your car on the road. I didn't know you have cool wheels too. Looking forward to seeing it.

theiceman

James

Why the wheel is cocked I guess I will find out at my allignment. I am going to try playing with the coupler a little also down the road. Like yours mine only does it occasionally, and once I figured out the "trick " I was fine.

I iwll keep you updated on what I find.

ice

joey c

i will send you a plane ticket if you want to come to nc...i have a grill,i live near a golf course,swimming pool,oh yeah and i have an 87 carrera with a small list..lol

theiceman

too bad I was jsut in NC. Spent March Break at kitty hawk... and i had about 8 months to kill too..what a shame ...

I have tried everything and can't get that deck lid to stay closed.hmmm... was out tonight and could hardly get any warm air in my exchangers I am sure are bleeding hot air.. as the outside box is loose on both sides.
The shifting is working great now that I have that little trick , very smooth. I think I'll park it till my allignment now that I know everything is okay ..

theiceman

Well it has been a while since I posted to this thread but thought I would post some additional updates in case anyone had any questions. I have been on the road now for a couple of years and it has all gone well. I have just done regular maintanance. I have had a few mishaps, most self inflicted and I won't embarass myself here with them. The only thing not self inflicted was the smell of gas one day . Turned out to be the small evapourator line from the gas tank to the vapour tank under the drivers front wheel well split. I must have overfilled the tank cause gas leaked down the inside of the wheel well and took off my under coating. Fixed all that up and resealed the undercoating ( thread on rennlist )

. Most of you know by now i blew my airbox right off the car this year due to a Bentley missprint . The car has run flawlesly since that time ( project on rennlist ) . That was another great project i really enjoyed .
I hate to even bring up the phrase motormeister here but there is a good video on u tube of a MM guy showing all the different airboxes and how they blow .. I found it very interesting. BTW i reglued mine and it is sitting on a shelf as a spare..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MVRXS5ILvI

Other than that the car has been fine and rock solid.

here are those hard to find bulbs if anyone is still interested.

http://www.germansupply.com/home/cus...cat=295&page=1