Bushrod

I bought my 86 Carerra last month, my first 911. I picked it up reasonably because it was spilling oil onto the crossover pipe...smoking, stinking, etc. I put on jackstands, replaced the oil cooler, thermostat seal, oil breather gasket, and finally yesterday morning, adjusted the clutch and drove it to the autocross. I did not go 10/10s because I have no seat time and had no idea how the car would handle, but it was a blast. I'm been racing my 95 BMW the last 2 years, and I'm not used to the body flex of the Targa, the bump steer, and the slow shifter, but I believe it will be a good racer once I have the hang of the car.

Any other autocrossers out there? How about people that work on their cars?

johnnyquest

Bushrod, I haven't yet autoX'd mine yet, but the targa body flex on a slalom course and on the track is ameliorated a bit by Bilsteins, and its lowered and cornerweighted. It won't ever be as stiff as a coupe, but that's the trade off for an open car in nice weather. I'm considering the aluminum targa body stiffeners that run between the seat belt mounting bolts. Anybody have experience with them?

Always love to see action shots. Congrats on your first 911! I was a confirmed BMW guy, having had three of them ('86 535i, '89 750iL handmedown, and 2000 328i)because I never thought it made sense to have a 911, my dream car since childhood. I have three kids. Then I watched a close friend who always dreamed of a 911 fall into bad health and now he'll never drive again. That was all it took for me.

Cheers!

<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Chris Bennet

Putting the roof on will stiffen the car some.
-Chris

aquabat911

Welcome,
I'm glad to see your enjoying your car so quickly, I havent autocrassed in several years, and I kinda miss it sometimes. One thing that realy tightened up my coupe was a harness bar, I think it actualy had more effect on the car than my whole cage. I had a weltmeister unit in the car before the cage and I would recomend one those. With the stiffness you can also install harnesses, always a good idea. I have also seen rods that attach the lap belt anchor bolt to the shoulder strap bolt, I would imagine these would also help to stiffen your car. Good luck and keep enjoying your car, oh and by the way I do just about all of my own work, cheers

RJay

Autocross is an addicting isn't it? Just finished my first year in my 996, seemed too much like cheating so I just bought a 1973 RS clone for DE and auto-X next year. Certainly will wind up doing a bit of wrenching on it, something I haven't done in 20 years, and actually I'm looking forward to renewing my acquaintence with bruised knuckles and dirty fingernails. Ain't life grand! BTW, if you don't mind the hassle, a roll cage is the best way to add stiffness as, unlike strut bars (which in my region immediately bump you into a modifed class) roll bars are considered a safety improvement and therefore no penalty.

Weaver

JeffG

Do you have a front strut tower brace in your targa, and if so, does it help the targas as much as the coupes?

Fahrvergnuugen

I've only autoXed twice [in my Corrado] but man, was it a ball! I'm looking forward to autoXing the 911 next fall when the SCCA has their anual event at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

I need to figure out whats up with my second gear by then though

Ed Bighi

Don't worry about chassis flex. When I used to autocross in South Florida, there was a black sc targa that would just about dominate. Regardless of class.

johnnyquest

Weaver, I don't have a brace across the strut towers...yet. Although I imagine that would help, seems like most of the body flex is along the B pillar door sills. That's why I was considering the braces that run from the lower to upper seatbelt anchor bolts right along the B pillar line. Would probably interfere with ingress/egress to back seat, but not as much as a harness brace. My boys are still little enough to squeeze in back there.

realtime

For DE's in my '87 cab I bolt in a roll bar that mounts by 6 bolts: two on each side just behind the doors ("B pillars"?) and 2 in the outer rear seat belt bolts. It goes in and out in about 15-20 min. and does not interfer w/ the top but renders the rear seats useless for riders. There are harness attachments on the cross-member of the bar.
I also have front strut braces and HD torsion bars.

It is unbelievable how much more rigid the car is w/ the rollbar in place. I dont know if it would have the same effect in a Targa.

I put Bilstein Sports all around and "sport" motor mounts too- those mods didnt do a whole lot to stiffen the car IMO.

Sorry- I dont know rollbar's the manufacturer.

Good luck,

Dan

HarryD

Hi,

welcome to the "club". I just completed my first year of 911 ownership and after 7 autox's, I want more. It's a blast and I can;t wait till next season.

If you haven't already, go to Pelicanfor yet more enthusiasts.

I use a harness bar that I take out between events since my kids ilke the ride in the jump seats. I am not sure if it adds any torsional stability, but it does allow me to use 4 piont belts to keep me in my seat and use the steering wheel for steering instead of staying in place.

Weaver

Jeff, thanks for the reply, tell me how those pillar to floor struts work out if you get them before I do. Thanks