81SC: Operational
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 562
Likes: 1
From: Newcastle, WA
81SC: Operational
(I accidentally posted earlier on the 993 board. Here goes my second attempt.)
Well I had my 40th birthday this weekend and my sisters threw me a party. All my friends from all over the place flew in for a 3 day party. I used this as motivation to get the car done. This last week I got the ball joints in, hooked up the struts with new Bilstein Sport inserts, new rotors and calipers and pads. Bled all 4 brakes. Adjusted the ride height as best I could and then Friday am took the car in for it's first corner balance and alignment. Tru-Line did my car and set the car up for "agressive street" specs. Height was set to euro specs. The front t-bar adjustment screws had to be adjusted for ride height, so I let Byron adjust to euro. If anyone is interested in the numbers, I can post later. But everything was way off, and the front toe was (-)16 and (+)9 degrees. I was a little worried about the euro specs and speed bumps, steep driveways, etc., but I have had no problems. The PO had the rears set to euro, and I guess the front height had drifted way upwards over the years of no use. I have never felt bump steer, but I don't seem to have this problems either.
I didn't have time to put in the sway bar. I let all my friends drive both of my cars. It was one big Porsche-fest. I rode shotgun in the 81SC and it drove very well. But then yesterday, after everyone had flown home, I put in the sway bar and MAN what a difference. My tires were about 10 lbs underinflated all around, which I didn't know until yesterday. So when I got the sway bar in and topped off the tires, Damn if that steering wasn't "tight"! It feels like my 993. The turbo tie rods and the polybronze bushings make a wonderful difference. I call the steering "f***ing surgical" now.
I decided I am gonna postpone some of my major restoration projects on the car so I can drive it and have fun with it. I have mentioned before that I want to drop the engine and replace all the "usual" oil seals, I bought SSI heat exchangers and a Monty dual in single out muffler, I want to rebuild the rear brake calipers, and I bought new rear rotors and pads. But this can wait for a while. The weather is super nice in Seattle now and the car likes to be driven. I want to replace all of the shift bushings, replace the clutch, and I bought new Bilstein rear Sports to match the fronts. And I need to replace the rear speakers. I think I want to get some Infinity speakers.
If I can figure out how to get to the rear upper shock nuts without removing the engine, then I will do that this weekend. Otherwise the other mods will have to wait.
I had the day off yesterday, so I washed the car, used 3M Hand Glaze to remove old swirl marks, and then waxed with Meguiar's carnuba. I used Mother's Back to Black to condition the Whale tail and all the other black stuff on the car. I am utterly amazed at what the paint looked like after the hand glaze treatment. Not one swirl mark to be found. The car looks like oiled glass to me. The car thanked me for the wash. Here a few pics of my restoration project thus far. Thanks.
Well I had my 40th birthday this weekend and my sisters threw me a party. All my friends from all over the place flew in for a 3 day party. I used this as motivation to get the car done. This last week I got the ball joints in, hooked up the struts with new Bilstein Sport inserts, new rotors and calipers and pads. Bled all 4 brakes. Adjusted the ride height as best I could and then Friday am took the car in for it's first corner balance and alignment. Tru-Line did my car and set the car up for "agressive street" specs. Height was set to euro specs. The front t-bar adjustment screws had to be adjusted for ride height, so I let Byron adjust to euro. If anyone is interested in the numbers, I can post later. But everything was way off, and the front toe was (-)16 and (+)9 degrees. I was a little worried about the euro specs and speed bumps, steep driveways, etc., but I have had no problems. The PO had the rears set to euro, and I guess the front height had drifted way upwards over the years of no use. I have never felt bump steer, but I don't seem to have this problems either.
I didn't have time to put in the sway bar. I let all my friends drive both of my cars. It was one big Porsche-fest. I rode shotgun in the 81SC and it drove very well. But then yesterday, after everyone had flown home, I put in the sway bar and MAN what a difference. My tires were about 10 lbs underinflated all around, which I didn't know until yesterday. So when I got the sway bar in and topped off the tires, Damn if that steering wasn't "tight"! It feels like my 993. The turbo tie rods and the polybronze bushings make a wonderful difference. I call the steering "f***ing surgical" now.
I decided I am gonna postpone some of my major restoration projects on the car so I can drive it and have fun with it. I have mentioned before that I want to drop the engine and replace all the "usual" oil seals, I bought SSI heat exchangers and a Monty dual in single out muffler, I want to rebuild the rear brake calipers, and I bought new rear rotors and pads. But this can wait for a while. The weather is super nice in Seattle now and the car likes to be driven. I want to replace all of the shift bushings, replace the clutch, and I bought new Bilstein rear Sports to match the fronts. And I need to replace the rear speakers. I think I want to get some Infinity speakers.
If I can figure out how to get to the rear upper shock nuts without removing the engine, then I will do that this weekend. Otherwise the other mods will have to wait.
I had the day off yesterday, so I washed the car, used 3M Hand Glaze to remove old swirl marks, and then waxed with Meguiar's carnuba. I used Mother's Back to Black to condition the Whale tail and all the other black stuff on the car. I am utterly amazed at what the paint looked like after the hand glaze treatment. Not one swirl mark to be found. The car looks like oiled glass to me. The car thanked me for the wash. Here a few pics of my restoration project thus far. Thanks.