Karl_W944

I'll definitely look into the books this summer! But I'm not sure my dad would be up for a DE event..

I've actually got a question about steering around corners. If I were to maintain throttle while around say a u-turn, would my turn circle be smaller than if I didn't use any gas through the turn? And also, can you downshift via rev-matching with the 915 or is it better if I just downshift?

Reiver

Maintaining throttle thru a turn keeps the rear end planted with proper adhesion. With 60% weight bias towards the rear quickly getting off throttle mid turn upsets the balance drastically (depending upon your speed and we are talking an aggressive set) which makes that rear weight seek movement to the outside (outside spin).
Rev matching and double clutching can assist in smoother shifts with the 915 but you still need to place it in gear as opposed to pushing it into gear. Fully depress the clutch pedal before moving the stick..if you feel it jump out of gear during a change you are not fully depressing the clutch first.
If the gears are to vague you probably need new bushings front and rear.
You'll also find it shifts better at speed/higher rpm.....what it was designed for.

Karl_W944

I'm not sure how to "double-clutch" when shifting. I do understand that these cars love to be driven in the higher RPMs or they're just high revving cars naturally. And boy do I love it when they're revved high. I don't shift until about 4000-4500 RPM when it's fully warmed up

Another thing that scared me last night after driving with my dad, we pulled into our driveway after a good drive, now when I normally drive my ST, I just pop it in neutral and coast into my driveway; when I popped the 911 into neutral and coasted into the driveway, he told me to park in the garage. As soon as I tried shifting into first, there was a quite loud, crunching sound, which my dad told me had something to do with the synchronizing of the gears?

Reiver

Search the internet for double clutching and you'll find some examples.
Place in gear, don't force it and first can be a tad tricky...check the bushings in the shifter and the coupler under the panel in the rear seat areas......

Karl_W944

The bushings and coupler are accessible from the interior? As long as there's no chance of me damaging the car from taking a look, I'll see what I can do this week after finals. Is there anything in particular I should be keeping my eye out for when I look?

Is there an instruction booklet, manual or pdf I could possibly find before I dive right in? I've never done anything extremely mechanical on a car before, other than changing some bulbs and reflectors.

WPOZZZ

Lift up the carpet behind the front seats. On the transmission tunnel there will be a cover held on by screws. This gives you access to the coupler.

Get 101 Projects for Your 911 by Wayne Dempsey (Pelican Parts owner), and a Bentley manual. Actually, if you go over to Pelican Parts, they have a lot of DIY info on their parts website.

Karl_W944

Hmm that's convenient! It sounds pretty simple to get to the coupler then. I had originally made an account over there when I thought the WUR was going bad this winter, and I also purchased the aforementioned bulbs and such from there too. I didn't know they had books as well, I'll buy one after I save up some more. This Bentley manual isn't actually for a Bentley is it? Is it somewhat similar to how I assume a Porsche manual would look?

WPOZZZ

Bentley Publishing Porsche 911 Service Manual

Karl_W944

Odd. I'm looking at Pelican Parts now, and the oldest 911 related Bentley manual is for the SC? I'm looking in the technical section of the Pelican Bookstore and there's nothing specifically for '74-76 cars. I assume it'd be best not to get the SC book because the 3.0L isn't the same as the 2.7L?

Cuda911

So your lame uncle would never cut you a fair deal on the 944?

Karl_W944

Cuda! How's it going? Long time no see.

Actually, the Astra ended up having too many problems mechanically all at once, my dad got annoyed with it and told me to sell it and that my next car would have to have a warranty on it. So after some research and debating, my dad and I did the smart thing and bought a Focus ST. Then I got a ride in a 944 and a 951 and regretted not being able to get my own. We'll see what my uncle says about his 944 this summer when I go to visit. Not sure I can convince him not to sell it and just give it to me, because he wants to get a 951 too.

Wachuko

Congratulations!!

Download this if you do not have it. It is the parts catalog for you car. It will give you insight on the parts and part numbers as you get to know your car better:

http://www.porsche.com/all/media/pdf...77_KATALOG.pdf

http://www.porsche.com/usa/accessori...artscatalogue/

Karl_W944

My one-week update.


I've driven three more times since the first drive, and I've noticed some more good, bad, interesting, and unique things and quirks now that I've accumulated about 6 hours of driving.

Today was the best day so far, I essentially used the 911 as if it were a daily driver, I drove nothing else but it, and it was a very exhausting day; going to my last exam of my first year of college, picking up a gift at Target, delivering it to a fellow car enthusiast friend and going to pick up groceries, it was a very busy day for me.

1. I've gotten the hold of shifting and clutch-work in this car for simple, non-hooning driving; there rea;;y is a specific way to shift this car, I enjoy the challenge! Unlike my ST, it actually prefers to be shifted slower than I'd like, but that's alright. I've also noticed that the 1st-2nd shift is a very crucial one. It seems that it is best to take the most time shifting 1-2 than any other gear. It seems that if I take a very quick pause in neutral before fully shifting into 2nd, then the entire process is much smoother. 2-3 and 3-4 is much easier than 1-2, and I haven't had a reason to shift into 5th with my normal driving; that is to say I haven't gone fast enough or on the freeway to use 5th yet. MY only gripe is that when I pop it in neutral at a stop, and then put it in 1st, there are times when it doesn't go into 1st, and I've gotta let the clutch out and push it back in to get it back in 1st.

2. Handling in this car is actually very good! I've actually taken it around corners at faster speeds now that I'm more confident in driving it. I love the effort it takes to turn the wheel and just do simple things, such as parking lot driving and parking; it just feels much more precise than modern electric power-assisted steering and all that jazz. I actually felt the tail swing out a tad as I accelerated hard around a corner, it was very exciting and I wasn't worried about it either! I do however, think that it may be a bit of a hassle if I had to drive this every day, but that's okay, because it's a 911!

Also, the brakes are much better than what I had originally reported, it's probably the lack of ABS that threw me off.

3. The acceleration isn't anything special compared to my ST, but the flat-6 note makes up for it ten-fold! Sure it only makes 150hp, but the 175 lb-ft of torque isn't bad at all; second torquest engine I've driven. And because the 911 is so light, it feels very quick when you get on it. I enjoy holding the revs through second and 3rd up to 4500 rpm.

4. The ride is pretty good I think, even over Michigan bumps and hideous imperfections on the road. It is a very tolerable ride, especially for me if it was daily driven, I wouldn't get sick of it.

5. I'm not entirely sure how slow I need to drive when the car is cold. I know the car loves to be in the higher rpms, but I try to keep the rpms below 4000 when I drive it cold. Once it warms up, the highest I rev it up to is 4500-5000 rpm.

The car currently has some issues, I'm not sure if they're minor or major though.

1. The heater is stuck on, once the car warms up, it feel likes a sauna, even with the windows down it is quite unbearable. I'm not sure how major or minor this issue is or what it'd take to fix it.

2. Odometer is broken, probably some gears I assume, a minor problem, but it's stuck at 81,192 miles, I'll just tack on a 1000 miles since I'm not sure when it stopped.

3. The latch that holds the engine cover down has either worn out or is simply broken. when driving over bumps, the engine cover likes to pop up slightly, we simply push it back down whenever we stop and continue to drive. the hydraulic lifts for the trunk and engine cover are also dead too, The engine cover is a major issue IMO, but the trunk can be left alone.

4. The drivers seat is very worn, the side bolsters have been torn and there are gashes in the seats in different locations that are currently being held together with electric tape. But the more it's used the worse it gets, what would be better to do? Get a new seat, or new leather, if that's even possible? I'd like to take the most "original" path to fixing things if possible.

5. Why is the steering wheel so big? This has bothered me for awhile, did it provide any advantag, or was it just a thing of the 70s?

6. How should I go about cleaning this engine? Whats the simplest, least hazardous way of cleaning this up? The sound-deadening material up top is falling like snow whenever touched, and littering the engine, can I just scrape this stuff out?


7. The last major problem, when the car is fully warmed up, sometimes it idles between 1800-2000 rpm. That's definitely not normal and I'm not sure why, but if I push the clutch in and let it out very slowly, when it reaches the biting point(mind you this is in neutral at stops) it goes down slightly, or back to a proper 1000-1150 rpm like it should.

Now I've got two more questions:

1. What is the typical fuel economy for a 911 this old? It does just as good as my ST in normal city driving which shocks me! I average about 20-21mpg in my ST, is the 911 around there? Also, we strictly put in 93 octane, is that alright?

2. Can't remember what it was, but if I remember I'll be sure to ask!

This has been a very great experience for me and a life changing one too, I knew I loved this car for a reason and I'm glad I was finally proven right in my claims. I know what I'm getting when get out of college(other than a 944 or 968). The question is of course which one? but that's years away! I can't wait to get my own one day, this car is very addicting to drive! I'm gonna sign my dad and myself up for PCA (SEMPCA specifically) this summer so I can go out and meet other owners and learn in person, I'm very excited for this year!

Reiver

Good fun huh.
Trying double clutching when going from 1 to 2nd. Clutch down move to neutral clutch quickly up..then down and shift to 2nd. Sounds laborious but is not and much quicker than using synchros.
When cold try to keep it about 3k rpm until warm...going to 4k should be after the warm up. Accelerate evenly when cold too.
Your heater box is stuck closed....you can open it by hand if you can locate it in the front bottom of the engine area, one each side.
I get about 24 mpg avg with my SC, I suspect you should get about that but not if you are driving around town at 4500 rpm, that'll lower that figure.
There are lots of reasons for a high idle...too lean, or just idle the setting...you need to get that manual.
Try adjusting the rear latch/plunger down a bit and see if that'll make it hold. You can see the screw driver slot on the end and the nut at the base.

Karl_W944

I'll give double-clutching a shot next time I take it out, looks like I was spot-on with cold driving too! I'll need to get that manual soon then! for now though, hopefully I can find a video or pictures on the heater box. I can try the rear latch in the morning though.

I should say, that I'm only driving up to 4500 when I'm driving on long straights, in an actual city, I've been successful at driving between 3000-3500rpm.